It wasn't a standard flat-tire situation that a typical motorist support club (or a person with a lug wrench and a basic degree of know-how) could cope with- the couple were traveling in a camper van, but not a Camper Van Beethoven... the sort of thing which demands a special jack and a special lug wrench. Luckily, the owners had a membership in an RV club that provided roadside assistance. This organization had a service contract with a tire company which specializes in truck tires.
The roadside assistance tech arrived in a truck which, frankly, needed a new set of tires:
That thing was balder than I am. I guess the shop owner doesn't want any of his employees dipping into the profits.
The whole process was fascinating to watch- the tech used a pneumatic jack to elevate the dual-wheel assembly, removed the tire, which had a leaky valve stem, from the rim and exchanged it for a new tire. Picture this on a larger scale. Oddly enough, it took longer for the owner of the tire place to figure out the billing than it took to change the tire, because the RV club operator had told him that the camper van was a rental and he didn't know who to bill. A few phone calls, and the billing kerfuffle was eventually resolved and I was able to lock up the parking lot.
Basically, half of my shift was spent dealing with this situation, three hours and change spent in order to lock up a parking lot. At least it was a gorgeous evening, a temperate night after a glorious sunset. Sometimes, even when work is a pain in the ass, it's wonderful.
Yeah, I'm not sure about the deal today. There's an auto insurance commercial on the teevee that has a teenager who got a flat in the middle of the night and called his parents - who, on the commercial, called the insurance company's roadside assistance company.
ReplyDeleteTo. Change. A. Tire.
Jeez, I try to imagine if I'd called my dad up in the middle of the night, waking him up, to tell him I needed help because I had a flat tire, I'll tell you what would happen. He'd drive out in his pajamas, change the tire, drive home, and I'd never be seen again.
I get that this was a special case, being a dually and all, but according to the teevee at least, kids today don't have a clue how to change a tire. That seems...pathetic.
In a similar vein, my Fiat doesn't have a spare. It has a can of compressed goo that you can squirt into the tire and just drive home. I figure it ruins the tire, so it's bad economics, but it's at least a simple, painless way to get home...
Changed flat on jan 1 3 am. 28 degrees .rain. lucky some one had a 4 ft bar.
ReplyDeleteAnother time1974.3 am. Chrysler rimmed tire cut all lug nuts. Bounced down the road. Take another tire/wheel off.pound 2 lug nuts off. Pound 2 lug nuts off totally lug nutless wheel. Pound 2 in.reattach wheels.put tires back on. Ruined a good buzz.
Gas linkage comes apart on 1964 v dub. I rode on shakey rear bumper doing the gas while friend drove. He said go faster.i said switch places go as fast as you want. No cops that night. Good times.schlub beer.😆
This is what you miss out on living in ny,ny and not detroit.😅😄😄
Chrysler rims on a ford. Holes line up but doesn't work.well it does for about 100 miles.
ReplyDeleteChrysler rims on a ford. Holes line up but doesn't work.well it does for about 100 miles.
ReplyDeleteChanged flat on jan 1 3 am. 28 degrees .rain. lucky some one had a 4 ft bar.
ReplyDeleteAnother time1974.3 am. Chrysler rimmed tire cut all lug nuts. Bounced down the road. Take another tire/wheel off.pound 2 lug nuts off. Pound 2 lug nuts off totally lug nutless wheel. Pound 2 in.reattach wheels.put tires back on. Ruined a good buzz.
Gas linkage comes apart on 1964 v dub. I rode on shakey rear bumper doing the gas while friend drove. He said go faster.i said switch places go as fast as you want. No cops that night. Good times.schlub beer.😆
This is what you miss out on living in ny,ny and not detroit.😅😄😄