On the road with our route mapped
out by 9:15 a.m. Sky was kind of
overcast and the temperature was in the mid-20s. Lookin’ like a good day to drive.
----------
By 9:30, we were scratching our heads, asking “What the hell?!” As we’re cruising along on US70 West, we hear and feel a THUMP! Just as Kim said, “Did we blow a tire?”, I saw smoke blowing from the camper. Why, yes, indeed, a camper tire decided to blow. Eased the rig to the side of the highway and then the question became, “Now what?” as we both took a deep breath.
We both turned to our phones to start looking for tire stores that had mobile service. Made several calls before I heard “Yes, ma’am, we do have mobile tire service”. Goodyear to the rescue!! Unfortunately, they didn’t have the tire we needed in stock, but the tech would come out and put our spare on. That spared Kim from getting on the ground to do it. It would be about 20 minutes until the tech could be there, so we passed the time by listening to The Black Echo.
When the service tech got there, Kim got out to chat with him; I stayed in the truck and took pictures through the mirror. From my vantage point, the tire guy looked like a young Justin Timberlake. 😎
Spare tire secured on the camper, Kim came back to the truck and said, “That spare looks horrible” and called Big O Tires to see if they had the tires we needed. Yes, they did so we made a plan to head back to Topeka for new tires all the way around on the camper. As we headed for the next exit, I say, “It’s all part of the adventure, right?” To which Kim replied, “Well, let’s hope the spare makes it back to town so the adventure doesn’t get any bigger.” Just as we got on East 70, there was a weird grating noise thrown back at us when we passed a guardrail. We stopped so Kim could check the tires…the spare was shredded and the rim bent. Back to “Now what?!” and taking deep breaths. For the second time today, we sat alongside the highway, brainstorming on how to get out from between a rock and a hard place. Kim came up with a plan and started making phone calls, hoping that the people involved
would take
mercy on our situation.
The plan: Since Big O Tires doesn’t have a mobile service (they’re not licensed to work offsite) but they do have the correct size we need, so maybe they would send someone out to pick up the original rim (the spare rim was ruined) and take it back to the shop to mount a tire on it. Then maybe ‘Justin Timberlake’ from Goodyear would pick the tire up from Big O, bring it out to us and put it on the camper. Then we’d be able to drive to Big O and get the other tires replaced. Big O and Goodyear agreed with the plan; all we had to do was wait along the road while everyone else did their part. It took some time, but it played out like a finely choregraphed dance.
----------
Before we parted ways, I asked the Goodyear service technician if anyone had ever told him that he looks like a young Justin Timberlake. He tilted his head, gave a shy smile and said, “Yeah…yeah, I’ve heard that before.”
----------
Made it back to Big O Tires for tires (and lunch); we were back on the road, heading west by 2:45, feeling almost giddy with relief that the whole tire business was behind us. Fifteen to twenty miles down the road, we exited for fuel and heard a grating noise again. Giddy turned into panic in a heartbeat! Kim checked and the same tire is shredded again! Those tires are new, they only have 20 miles on them! What the hell is happening?! Kim called Big O to report the bad news; they dispatched someone to pick up the rim, take it back to the shop, mount another tire on it and bring it back to us. This time we got to sit at a truck stop instead of along the highway…that’s an improvement.
----------
The truck stop parking lot had some snow in it, just the right consistency for making a snowball. So, I got to work, creating a 10” snow girl. I used small rocks for her eyes, a straw for a smile, put my Kokopelli necklace on her and found a headband in the truck; then we had a photo shoot. Eventually I left her on a cement barrier to enjoy the sun while I went back to the warmth of the truck.
----------
So…Kim just got back in the truck saying that we’ve got bigger issues than blown tires. Something about the tires rubbing against the camper on the passenger side…does the axle have problems? Round 3 of “Now What?!” and deep breathing. Decided the best course of action was to unhook the camper at the truck stop and head back to Topeka with just the truck. Got permission from the truck stop, put a lock on the hitch, and headed back to the same hotel we stayed at last night. I’ve got calls into a couple of RV repair shops open on Saturday; hopefully one of them returns our call and we can get a plan in place.
----------
The bulk of our day was spent sitting in the truck within 17 miles of Topeka. Not the outcome we’d hoped for today and I’m not excited about what it might cost, but I’m thankful this happened close to a large city with all the necessary facilities. And I don’t mind saying that this adventure sucks at this point!
----------
We grabbed the Nintendo Switch at the last minute when we left home; tonight seemed like an excellent opportunity to play some Yahtzee on the Switch. It couldn’t be hooked up to the TV…something about the way the TVs are set-up in this place. So, we tried to play it with just using the console while sitting/reclining on the bed. Because we ‘re old, that was neither comfortable nor easy to see. Then we spent an hour or so figuring out how to make a laptop act as a monitor for the Switch. Couldn’t make that happen but Kim was willing to try one more thing with the TV and it worked! I’m still sitting on the bed, Kim is sitting in a chair instead of reclining on the bed and since the TV has a 50” screen, it’s much easier on the eyes. Bakker ingenuity for the win!
----------
Tally for day: 68 miles…travelled the same 17 miles four times. We’re no closer to Picacho tonight than we were last night.
----------
By 9:30, we were scratching our heads, asking “What the hell?!” As we’re cruising along on US70 West, we hear and feel a THUMP! Just as Kim said, “Did we blow a tire?”, I saw smoke blowing from the camper. Why, yes, indeed, a camper tire decided to blow. Eased the rig to the side of the highway and then the question became, “Now what?” as we both took a deep breath.
We both turned to our phones to start looking for tire stores that had mobile service. Made several calls before I heard “Yes, ma’am, we do have mobile tire service”. Goodyear to the rescue!! Unfortunately, they didn’t have the tire we needed in stock, but the tech would come out and put our spare on. That spared Kim from getting on the ground to do it. It would be about 20 minutes until the tech could be there, so we passed the time by listening to The Black Echo.
When the service tech got there, Kim got out to chat with him; I stayed in the truck and took pictures through the mirror. From my vantage point, the tire guy looked like a young Justin Timberlake. 😎
Spare tire secured on the camper, Kim came back to the truck and said, “That spare looks horrible” and called Big O Tires to see if they had the tires we needed. Yes, they did so we made a plan to head back to Topeka for new tires all the way around on the camper. As we headed for the next exit, I say, “It’s all part of the adventure, right?” To which Kim replied, “Well, let’s hope the spare makes it back to town so the adventure doesn’t get any bigger.” Just as we got on East 70, there was a weird grating noise thrown back at us when we passed a guardrail. We stopped so Kim could check the tires…the spare was shredded and the rim bent. Back to “Now what?!” and taking deep breaths. For the second time today, we sat alongside the highway, brainstorming on how to get out from between a rock and a hard place. Kim came up with a plan and started making phone calls, hoping that the people involved
The plan: Since Big O Tires doesn’t have a mobile service (they’re not licensed to work offsite) but they do have the correct size we need, so maybe they would send someone out to pick up the original rim (the spare rim was ruined) and take it back to the shop to mount a tire on it. Then maybe ‘Justin Timberlake’ from Goodyear would pick the tire up from Big O, bring it out to us and put it on the camper. Then we’d be able to drive to Big O and get the other tires replaced. Big O and Goodyear agreed with the plan; all we had to do was wait along the road while everyone else did their part. It took some time, but it played out like a finely choregraphed dance.
----------
Before we parted ways, I asked the Goodyear service technician if anyone had ever told him that he looks like a young Justin Timberlake. He tilted his head, gave a shy smile and said, “Yeah…yeah, I’ve heard that before.”
----------
Made it back to Big O Tires for tires (and lunch); we were back on the road, heading west by 2:45, feeling almost giddy with relief that the whole tire business was behind us. Fifteen to twenty miles down the road, we exited for fuel and heard a grating noise again. Giddy turned into panic in a heartbeat! Kim checked and the same tire is shredded again! Those tires are new, they only have 20 miles on them! What the hell is happening?! Kim called Big O to report the bad news; they dispatched someone to pick up the rim, take it back to the shop, mount another tire on it and bring it back to us. This time we got to sit at a truck stop instead of along the highway…that’s an improvement.
The truck stop parking lot had some snow in it, just the right consistency for making a snowball. So, I got to work, creating a 10” snow girl. I used small rocks for her eyes, a straw for a smile, put my Kokopelli necklace on her and found a headband in the truck; then we had a photo shoot. Eventually I left her on a cement barrier to enjoy the sun while I went back to the warmth of the truck.
----------
So…Kim just got back in the truck saying that we’ve got bigger issues than blown tires. Something about the tires rubbing against the camper on the passenger side…does the axle have problems? Round 3 of “Now What?!” and deep breathing. Decided the best course of action was to unhook the camper at the truck stop and head back to Topeka with just the truck. Got permission from the truck stop, put a lock on the hitch, and headed back to the same hotel we stayed at last night. I’ve got calls into a couple of RV repair shops open on Saturday; hopefully one of them returns our call and we can get a plan in place.
----------
The bulk of our day was spent sitting in the truck within 17 miles of Topeka. Not the outcome we’d hoped for today and I’m not excited about what it might cost, but I’m thankful this happened close to a large city with all the necessary facilities. And I don’t mind saying that this adventure sucks at this point!
----------
We grabbed the Nintendo Switch at the last minute when we left home; tonight seemed like an excellent opportunity to play some Yahtzee on the Switch. It couldn’t be hooked up to the TV…something about the way the TVs are set-up in this place. So, we tried to play it with just using the console while sitting/reclining on the bed. Because we ‘re old, that was neither comfortable nor easy to see. Then we spent an hour or so figuring out how to make a laptop act as a monitor for the Switch. Couldn’t make that happen but Kim was willing to try one more thing with the TV and it worked! I’m still sitting on the bed, Kim is sitting in a chair instead of reclining on the bed and since the TV has a 50” screen, it’s much easier on the eyes. Bakker ingenuity for the win!
----------
Tally for day: 68 miles…travelled the same 17 miles four times. We’re no closer to Picacho tonight than we were last night.
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