We have had an exciting 2-day drive to Canada...NOT!... complete with a totally blown-to-pieces tire, flat spare... even tho i asked the guy at home to check it when i had the oil changed... and no Fix-a-flat ... I gave my can to Stan when he needed it and forgot to replace (it is now 3pm on the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend and we are stuck between exits on I81)
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| Removing the tire only to discover that the spare was flat too! |
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| The tire blew so hard it ripped the bumper/side panel off the screw that holds it together. Luckily we had some duct tape in the car! |
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| This is the biggest piece of the hubcap remaining after the blow out! |
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| This is what the tire looked like. It totally split apart! We left a scattered trail of pieces of the tread along the highway behind us. |
Stan put the flat tire back on and the spare in the back of the van. I had to drive 3 miles on the side of the road at <10mph to get to rest area. There was a sign saying dial #77 for roadside assistance, so I called and explained the situation and the woman said help was on the way. I'm thinking a tow truck.... but no... a very nice cop arrived and spent 2+hrs trying to find someone on his list of wreckers willing and able to come help. the biggest problem is a bent rim (now its after 5pm saturday-holiday weekend)
Finally, 730pm a wrecker arrrives with his flattbed to tow us 3mi to the next exit. ... picture a guy from the movie Deliverence!!!! OMG!!! He loads up the van and the 3 of us squeeze into the front seat w him...he's on the phone to his guy at his "shop". He drives to the next exit, turns off the main road and proceeds to take us down a series of dirt roads through fields and woods... its dark..... its late..... we have no idea where we are..... and we are in the hands of a guy straight out of Deliverence!...we're gonna die!
His shop was a huge metal building full of "junk" and equipment. His guy pulled a worn tire out of the mess .. they banged the heck out of the rim and got it straight enough to mount the tire, filled the spare...and we were back on the road at 10pm for $300. I believe we got hosed, but we really had no choice.
We drove an hour to our previously scheduled (missed) meet-up with friends for "dinner" . Grabbed dinner at Waffle House and drove another couple hours to our hotel in PA at 2am!..asleep by 201am
Finally, 730pm a wrecker arrrives with his flattbed to tow us 3mi to the next exit. ... picture a guy from the movie Deliverence!!!! OMG!!! He loads up the van and the 3 of us squeeze into the front seat w him...he's on the phone to his guy at his "shop". He drives to the next exit, turns off the main road and proceeds to take us down a series of dirt roads through fields and woods... its dark..... its late..... we have no idea where we are..... and we are in the hands of a guy straight out of Deliverence!...we're gonna die!
His shop was a huge metal building full of "junk" and equipment. His guy pulled a worn tire out of the mess .. they banged the heck out of the rim and got it straight enough to mount the tire, filled the spare...and we were back on the road at 10pm for $300. I believe we got hosed, but we really had no choice.
We drove an hour to our previously scheduled (missed) meet-up with friends for "dinner" . Grabbed dinner at Waffle House and drove another couple hours to our hotel in PA at 2am!..asleep by 201am
