Wednesday, March 16, 2016

Well This Sucks!

We got a good start out of Fort Stockton this morning and made it a hundred miles or so and then BANG! a blow-out in the drivers side front tire! Even though I was doing over 70 (probably 78, my standard cruise control setting in a 75 MPH speed limit). I got it to the side of the road and inspected the damage. It was bad!

By luck we had cell coverage so I called AAA for road service. I have a donut spare but it is 27 years old and has never been used, I was not about to trust it. They dispatched a truck from Del Rio Towing (Del Rio is the nearest town of any size) which arrived in about an hour and a half.

I was happy to see both the driver and his helper (a woman) were Mexican so I knew they could find me tires. The size I needed 195/60R/14 are hard to find. She started calling tire stores while we were traveling and after phoning every tire dealer in Del Rio, they could not find any. She called the Goodyear dealer back and asked if he could order four of them. He could and they will be here before noon tomorrow and he can mount them right away. We will be on our way to Laredo by 2:00 at the latest.

We asked the tire dealer about hotels and he pointed us to the nearby La Quinta with three restaurants close by. Perfect

It was good that Norma insisted on an extra day "just in case". We will still get to Chris and Juan's in plenty of time.



16 comments:

  1. Dang. You got the right attitude though...could have been a lot worse.

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  2. Well if it was going to happen, it did in a good area. But truly a nasty blow out. Thank goodness for Norma and the extra day. Glad you are both safe and have shelter, food and no doubt several adult beverages for the evening.

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  3. No rush you guys. We don't need to leave until Sunday but we do have dinner at La Mistura on Saturday night :) Good thing you know how to handle a blow out and made it to the side of the road alright. These things happen but I have to laugh, "you're 27 year old donut spare". Hey, if it ain't broke, why fix it!

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  4. Oh the old ships that pass in the night - we were also on I-10 heading the other way - came up from Del Rio and spent the night in Van Horn - 3-15 - 2016. Must have passed somewhere along the way. We stayed at Broke Mill RV park the night before. Tip on I-10 El Paso - take the 375 loop around and avoid the city area altogether. There may even be a better route but we haven't tried it. Tire problems are no fun. At least is was on the car and not the RV. Things to do in Del Rio but by the time you see this it will be too late. Have fun in MX and SMA and say hi to C & J ............

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  5. You guys are okay and that is the most portal thing.

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  7. The Honda is going to love a new set of shoes. It definitely deserves them.

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  8. All is well that ends well, when back in Canada it might be prudent to replace the spare...

    Saw a great movie yesterday on Netflix caled "Pride" you guys and Chris and Juan would enjoy that for sure.

    Cheers from chilly, wet Langley, BC.

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  9. I do not know about you Croft if it is not tunnels then tires....how does Norma cope??? Be safe and glad you are both OK cheers les

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  10. At least you are safe and can carry on.

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  11. I know Les, it is always something. Luckily for me I have developed the right attitude.

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  12. Having made that run to and from Ft. Stockton, TX MANY times I hear you about the boredom - but the tire blow out gives you some adventure ;-0 Be safe you two!

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  13. So glad you were able to pull over and not be hurt - and then get the tires replaced. Good luck on the rest of your journey!
    Sue & Tobey

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  14. That blowout looked NASTY! So how old were the tires? I hope not 27 like the spare.

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  15. The tire was 5 years old, due for replacement. I meant to inquire about replacing the donut spare but I forgot.

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