Stuff Happens – Flat Tire

This story is both sad and a bit funny too. The other morning I happened to look out the window at the neighbors campsite to see his pickup had a flat tire. This morning as I was outside doing my waste management duties a roadside assistance service truck from one of the local tire shops pulled in.

It didn’t take long to learn the my neighbor who I was just meeting for the first time was new to RVing and wasn’t too familiar with his new (used) pickup apparently having purchased it recently along with his new (used) 5er. He didn’t even know where or if he had the key that unlocks the spare tire or where the tool to lower the spare from under the rear was located. Good thing this wasn’t happening along the side of a busy highway!

After thorough inspection of the vehicle there was no jack, handle, owners manual or key! So the he tells the technician, go ahead and cut the lock and the cable used to hold the spare in position so it can be removed. So the tech does then rolls the spare up to the front of the truck where the flat tire is and proceeds to jack up the flat off the ground so it can be removed.

The technician removes the flat tire and asks the owner…”Do you want this fixed? If so I can do it right here.” I’m watching this and thinking…Redneck Roadside Repair. The owner responds yes go ahead and fix it, if you can do it here all the better. So we watch the technician break the tire down, remove the sizable nail that punctured the tire and patch the hole. It didn’t take much longer and the tire was remounted on the rim and the newly repaired tire back on the pickup’s axle where it had come from right next to where the spare tire still laid.

Lug nuts tightened, air pressure on both tires sharing the axle were double checked and all was good. Except, now there was no way to return the spare tire to its storage space under the truck so I asked…”Wouldn’t it have been better to ask about fixing the tire BEFORE cutting the spare out from under the truck?”

The owner’s response was…”I never even thought to ask if he could fix the tire.” The technician just went about packing up his tools and filling out the paperwork knowing he screwed this guy over because his head wasn’t on the task. Now besides the cost of the service call the owner now has to pay to purchase and have the spare tire mechanism replaced so its available when needed again.

Lessons to be learned here: First, if you’re buying a new or used vehicle make sure that the necessary safety equipment comes with the truck and you know where it is. READ the owners manual…make sure the dealer provides one (they’re not expensive). Familiarize yourself with all aspects of operating your vehicle especially the emergency items and procedures.

Ask the service technician exactly what his capabilities are…can he repair on site or will he in fact need to utilize the spare. What’s his course of action to resolve the emergency. Those unnecessary steps come at a cost and could come at a higher price than you were expecting.

Things done right: The owner had Roadside Assistance Insurance for such emergencies. He called the number and they made the arrangements to send out someone to service his tow rig. The technician did get the truck back on the road quickly and provided the owner with proper documentation he needed for his records.

RVing Is Genetic

Here’s proof! My grand father made his own Pop-Up Camper…a scratchbuilt camper from a scrap axle out of a Ford Model A and some common sense engineering.
Though I never had the pleasure of traveling and camping in it, my dad and my older cousins did. That trailer lasted long past its camping days. Many years later it was the family’s utility trailer used to haul just about everything. In fact when we got married, my bride and I hauled all of our possessions to my first Air Force duty station in Missouri. We towed it behind our 1968 Plymouth Barracuda. Later the trailer was returned back where it started and saw continued service with someone else in the family.

I’ll share more photos of this homemade classic in the future.

Too Dark To Grill Out

Though I have a set of rope lights that I can attach to my awning, its not always practical to do so but there are times when you need some light to cook outside on the grill. Sure there are now “grill lights” that you can get that mount to your grill…but they are typically expensive and do little else to illuminate the rest of the work space or table where you plan on eating.

While cruising the seasonal clearance items at Wal-Mart one day I spotted some solar spot lights while picking up some solar accent lights. Later I saw these same solar lights being used by others to keep their US Flag illuminated throughout the night. IDEA!

Why not use them to do the same for my work area while cooking! So on my next visit to a Wal-Mart I found the same lights on sale there…for $7.00 each so I picked up two. Now I have yet to come up with a more permanent way of mounting them to the awning supports…I’m thinking flag pole bases mounted to hold the spot light posts. So far I have held them in place with some Velcro cord detanglers  which held them just fine.

If you don’t need them for your grill or table, use them for your flag or to cast a security light on the dark side of your RV or Towed. Here’s another great tip. How to keep your solar lights charged between uses while traveling. Simple place them in a window such as on the back of a couch, on your dash or anywhere they can get direct sunlight. They’ll recharge and be ready for use the first evening at your new site.

Feeling Bugged?

Regardless of whether you live in a brick n stick or an RV it seems that you can never get through the door fast enough to prevent pesky flies and other bugs from entering. “Hurry up get inside and close the door before every skeeter in neighborhood sneaks in!” Well sometimes they may not be using the front door at all.

I’ve been reading a lot about sewer flies and if your units plumbing doesn’t have P traps then yes its possible for bugs to enter through your plumbing coming up from the sites sewer through your discharge hose. But I would look elsewhere if you have a problem with Mosquitoes and Flies. First, if they are small flies look at the fresh fruits and veggies you might have stored on your counter. In an RV since the space is more confined than it is in a conventional dwelling they are instantly noticeable.

Another place to look where they might be entering is around the doors and windows of your unit. Are the door seals sealing tight? How about the windows? Are they shutting completely and are your screens free of holes? An often overlooked spot insects can infiltrate an RV is the gap between the windows and the screens, especially those where the glass slides past the screen and the screens can be slid open as well. There are brushes between the two, usually mounted on the screen itself to prevent insects from slipping between the two.

These sweeps should be checked to make sure that the space between the Sweep and the glass is narrow enough to deter insects from entering. If the gap is greater than an 1/8th of an inch, you probably should replace the Sweep with a new one or add a second one to the glass to double up to narrow the gap further. You can purchase this material which comes in a couple of different “brush heights” at a glass sales and service store. I have a couple windows and the entry door that can use some attention in this matter, so I will be doing that soon! Its just a matter of removing the old material, cleaning the surface and applying the new. Some used adhesive strips others slip on depending on surface being applied to.

Badlands National Park

Regardless if you sit in the Cedar Ridge Campground or drive around the Park, you will be treated to ever changing scenery from well before dawn to well after sunset. Here are just a few images I captured during our two day visit to Badlands National Park, Interior, South Dakota.