Friday Night Fun

[AZRedhawk44]

I was headed out to the movies with a friend Friday night, and it was raining pretty well. 

We're motoring down the highway, and I've got a pretty healthy following distance from the truck in front of me.  At least 50 yards, and I'm doing 60mph.  Definitely driving within the limits of the conditions and my vehicle (my truck).  Or so I think, at least.

Out of nowhere, a shovel appears in the roadway.  The mist from the truck in front of me was cloaking it, and I had maybe 50 feet warning.  It was just invisible, and then it was practically in front of my bumper.

A gigantic clang is heard, then grinding.  I decelerate slowly and pull over on the side of the road, and when I get out and look one of my rear tires is just absolutely shredded!  Sidewall and tread surface.  I was worried, based on the noise of the shovel impact, that I had done other damage as well... but an inspection shows no body damage or any dangly bits from under the truck.  So I lucked out.

I changed the tire with my full size spare and we ended up seeing the movie a little bit later than we expected, and this morning I headed over to Discount Tire to get back to a +1 status.  I've known my tires are getting close to needing replacement anyways, but I didn't really want to blow $800-$1000 on 4 new tires right now.  I had another 10k miles or more left on the set, and with me riding a motorcycle most of the time that's almost 2 years worth of tread.  But, I hate replacing just one tire.  So I ended up replacing 2 of the 4 tires.  $500 dent in new motorcycle funds for the Triumph Tiger.

So, I'm back to +1 on tires. 

I'm a bit taken aback at my preparedness for a simple flat though.  I used to have flares in my truck.  I couldn't find them.  Not sure where they went.  But they would have been very welcome while on the side of a 4-lane urban freeway on a rainy night.  I was constantly watching my back and oncoming traffic for danger.

And, I need to add an old bedsheet or something.  So I can wrestle a 20-inch tire that's been living in an exposed undercarriage and covered in mud, muck and dirt, without messing up my clothes.  Gloves, too.

[tokugawa]

Crap like that makes one happy to be in a four wheeled vehicle!   I keep large sheets of used shipping cardboard around here to lay on, it really helps with the cold concrete- but a drop cloth for the truck- that is a really good idea. It would probably work well to keep tools from rattling also. Maybe even help keep somebody warm in extremis.

[Lee]

That's a good reminder. I've gotten out of a number of good habits that I used  to have. I finally got around to learning how to get to my truck's spare - I've had the truck for over three years.

[Ben]

I keep a tarp and Tyvek coveralls in each of my vehicles. I keep high output flashlights in the vehicles as well, but no road flares. I have a couple of Cyalume sticks in the vehicle BOB - I suppose they could be a crappy substitute if it came down to it.

This does remind me to check the air pressure in my spares, which is something I'm really bad about.

[never_retreat]

I keep a tarp and Tyvek coveralls in each of my vehicles. I keep high output flashlights in the vehicles as well, but no road flares. I have a couple of Cyalume sticks in the vehicle BOB - I suppose they could be a crappy substitute if it came down to it.

This does remind me to check the air pressure in my spares, which is something I'm really bad about.

Just give the tire a thump every time you change the oil.

Speaking of tires I need to get 2 of them, my fronts only have the semblance of tread on them.
Theres 400 some bucks, doh.

[Perd Hapley]

You think you're unprepared? My spare don't hold air. 

[AZRedhawk44]

Well, I went out to the Great Center Of All Commerce (i.e. Walmart) and got flares, a CO2 cartridge tire inflator,and a tire plug/patch kit.

The CO2 inflator is intended more for my motorcycle, the patch component of the kit will end up in my dirtbike emergency kit.  The plug components will end up in my truck.  Both my bikes, as well as the Tiger I want, have tubes inside the tires making plugs worthless.

The CO2 inflator came with a 16gr cartridge, but I got a package of 12gr cartridges intended for air guns as well.  You supposedly can use the 12gr cartridges in a 16gr unit if you stack the bottom of the unit with a rock or coin to raise the 12gr cartridge to the regular height of a 16gr cartridge.  And the 16's cost 3x as much as the 12gr cartridges.  I'll practice with it before relying on it... I got 15 of the 12gr carts for $6.

I've put a set of old work gloves into the truck kit as well. 

Also, I was talking to some sales guys and mechanics at one of the local bike shops this morning.  The topic shifted to ethanol in fuel, and several of these guys are now in the regular habit of ethanol-treating every tank of gas they put in their bikes.  Seeing way too many come in with gummed injectors.  The manufacturers are rejecting warranty claims, and designing bikes for the global market where ethanol is not added in Europe or Asia.  These guys at the shop just carry a bottle of treatment and put an ounce in each time they fill up.

I can see that happening with a bike that only gets recreationally used... 5000 miles or less per year.  I don't see it happening with my primary bike, when I put about 15k a year on it.  But my dirt bike and my truck are vulnerable.

So, I have a bottle of ethanol treatment now.  I'll be joining the crowd and treating all my vehicles on fill-up.  Particularly my truck.  I had to have fuel injector service about a year ago.  I don't want to go through that again.

[Perd Hapley]

I've put a set of old work gloves into the truck kit as well. 

I found a pair of coveralls at a yard sale, and put them in my wife's car. You never know just what's going to happen, or what you'll be wearing when it does.

For my vehicle, I just keep my insulated bibs behind the seat in the winter, and my denim bibs there for the rest of the year.