Don’t let a blowout ruin your camping trip!

     We had just finished camping for a July 4th weekend with no problems, except the fish weren’t biting as expected, and the humidity was very stuffy!
     On Sunday morning I fished about an hour from shore just before breaking down our RV setup, and the humidity was already starting to zap my energy, so that was slowing me down somewhat, but we still completed our departure checklist.
     After dumping our tanks, we pulled out of the park onto the main road and headed toward our storage.  Less than 30 minutes later we turned onto one of the last roads, about two miles away from our storage, and within a few minutes I head a noise that sounded like a shotgun going off.  Our RV really didn’t handle any different so I first thought we hit something. The road itself was very smooth without potholes, rocks, turtles or armadillos.
     Luckily, there was a side road we could pull off onto to check things out.  What we found absolutely astonished us. 
     One of our four tires had completely blown out, including the steel belts inside.  It was a sight I shall never forget!
     At first I was going to just change it myself, only to realize we had Good Sam Roadside assistance, so we called.  We waited about 45 minutes before I got out the jack and removed the spare tire.  During our wait, three people stopped and offered assistance.  We made the decision to call our favorite tire store, and they had the tire we needed.  A few minutes later roadside assistance called us for service, so we just told the driver that I had done it myself and we were OK.
     Although I normally keep correct air pressure and stay away from animals, potholes or rocks in the road, this gave us a new appreciation for maintaining everything on our RV.
     So, what would you do if you suspect one of your RV tires had blown out?  Well, you probably already have the answer so here's a few reminders: Put on your flashers and pull off to the side of the road if possible, check all tires, either call for roadside assistance, or hopefully you have a hydraulic jack handy.  Place jack under axle where tire is bad and jack up so tires barely clear the ground.  Hopefully you also have a lug wrench, so loosen them all and proceed to continue jacking up until tire is clear of the ground.  Pull tire off and replace with your spare that's inflated to the proper pressure.
     One very important thing to remember is to make sure you buy the right trailer tire and not a car tire.  There is a difference, so get the size right off the tire and you’ll be safe driving any road.  Just don’t let a blowout ruin your camping trip!
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