How my 6 hour trip turned into 15hrs

[moonlitcoyote]

I had checked over the Winny I bought and thought everything was ready to make the 177 mile trip up north to park it on my new land. Got it registered and insured. Changed a shock that was bad, replaced 3 tires that looked bad. Made sure everything was in working condition and checked all the fluids. OK I thought I was good to go. So yesterday morning I pulled out of the driveway at 9am thinking that I would be in Sherman Maine by 1:pm at the latest. BOY WAS I WRONG !!! .. After traveling 30 miles on the interstate, I got a blow out on a rear tire, thank god this thing has duellys. So I pulled off at the next exit and had my father who was following me in his car, take me into the closest town to find a tire. After checking 5 different tire stores we finally found one about 3 miles away from where I left the winny that would put a tire on if I drove the winny to them. So I got the winny there with no mishaps and had them replace 2 tires, the blown one and the other one on the same side. I wanted to be on the safe side and not have any more problems. So that cost me $300 for the 2 tires. We finally got going again but by this time it was already past noon and we still had a 2.5hr drive to make. Down the interstate we go and I am so excited I am finally going to make it to Sherman.. HAHAHA the joke is on me. Another 30 miles down the road and guess what... ANOTHER blow out!!!! OMG, can this day get any worse? By this time I have 5 brand new tires on the winny and yes the only one I didnt replace was the one to blow. So after a call to AAA and YES the day gets worse, it was my fathers AAA and it doesnt cover RVs. But they call around and find a guy that can tow the winny to Sherman for me, no one could find another tire for me or be able to put one on. What is it with no one being able to put a tire on a Winnebago? So the tow guy shows up after being told that I have a 27ft Winnebago, in a little tiny truck. I'm thinking is this guy crazy? Well he looks at the winny and says he can tow it to Sherman for me for $550 but he needs to go get his bigger truck. Oh what fun it is waiting on the side of the highway!! An hour later he comes back with his "big" truck and I can tell it's not big enough. He hooked onto the back of the winny and started to lift it off the ground, BUT he couldnt lift it high enough to get the tires off the ground. By this time I want to bury my face in my hands and bawl like a baby. But he told me not to give up. He has a friend with a bigger tow truck that can haul this thing with no problem. He takes off and we are again left waiting on the highway for his friend to show up. Finally 1.5 hours later here comes the really big tow truck.. He lifted that Winny like it was nothing, got the tires off the ground and everything, I was feeling so relieved..... But fate was against me  !!!!! If he was to tow the Winny the front tires wouldnt hold up under all the weight and the front of my baby would be destroyed. Now I did start crying, here it is 4:30 pm, my 18month old baby is home with a baby sitter and I havent even made half the trip yet.. All is not lost tho, after brainstorming we finally came up with an idea.. The tow truck would hold the winny in the air while I take the tire off, run the tire to Sam's club 40 miles away, have a new tire mounted and bring it back. So I get that done, ($200 for that tire) and put the tire back on the Winny all while this guy sits on his fanny. UH oh.. here comes the bill for 2 hours of the winny being held in the air.. $550 OMG.. it just cost me $750 for a blown tire. But we are finally able to get back on the road at 6:pm. After all this we did finally make it to Sherman at 9:pm drop the winny and rush back home, arriving in the driveway at midnight. ... Moral of the story.. I will ALWAYS replace all 6 tires when they start looking worn.

[moonlitcoyote]

 

[LJ-TJ]

All is not dark for the next time you take her out you won't have to worry about a blow out. Shoot I'd take it to the corner store for a Coke just on principal. Show off my new tires. D:oH!

[Oz]

I really need a blog section for first trip stories.  Boy, mine was a doozie and it lasted through the whole camping trip.

[ClydesdaleKevin]

Sorry to hear about that hon!  That sucks!  Could have been worse though...we had a flat on one of our first trips in our first RV...bias ply tube tires.  Not only did it take us 2 days to find a shop that sold the tires, we got lucky that that shop had a "cage" to inflate the tires in, since split rims can be dangerous.  Then the idiots stripped 3 out of 5 front lug studs, and didn't tell me they did it, so I spent a good amount of time tracking down the new ones!

Dave Denison taught me how to change them myself after that, and I not only kept a spare with me at all times, I had extra inner tubes as well...lol! 

With the P30 chassis like yours (and the RV we have now), at least the tires are radial, still readily available 19.5's, and not too expensive, except the towing part.

Once all your tires are new, make sure you also have a good spare, and a 20 ton bottle jack, lots of wood blocks so you can get it in the air high enough, a good tire iron that fits your lug nuts, and maybe even AAA RV for towing in a pinch.  Flats can happen even with brand new good tires, so its a good idea to have a spare and the tools with you at all times.  Road flares and triangles are a must too!

Sorry your trip was so traumatic!  Enjoy Maine!  My brother lived there for years in Brownsville, near Dexter and Dover/Foxcroft, and we spent many a summer on Schoodik lake as kids (my parents also had a summer cottage there).  Except for the black flies and politicians, Maine is an awesome and beautiful state! 

Kev

[moonlitcoyote]

Thanks guys, the worst part about the whole thing is that I had a spare and a bottle jack. Both came with the Winny. The spare was just as bad as the tire that blew but probably would have got me to the next town and the bottle jack was too short to reach. My husband normally loads all the jacks tools and whatever we may or may not need. And under normal circumstances we wouldnt have paid a $1 for any help. We would have found a way and laughed while doing so. But since my husband is still in Colorado trying to get home to me, I was stuck making this trip on my own and wasnt as prepared as I would have been under normal circumstances. ... The OTHER moral of the story... NEVER leave home without HUBBY !!!.. He is a must to have..lol

[Lefty]

I can certainly relate... Our first trip in our former Winne, involved 3 seperate fires...a total brake failure going down a mountain, and a heater valve stuck on full hot in 100 deg. August heat!! And that's just some of the main things... there was a lot more.

And I had spent almost 2yrs and $5,000 getting ours roadworthy before the trip...

but... at least I didn't launch mine down a boatramp....unlike somebody here! lol

[Oz]

Ah Lefty, such a good memory you have - LOL!

[moonlitcoyote]

So who was it that launched there's down a boatramp? I'd like to hear that story.

[Elandan2]

Although you won't believe it now, you will look back on this trip and laugh at the "fun" you had.  One thing about classic RV trips, something usually happens that will stick with you forever.  Rick

[Wantawinnie]

I am sorry for all the trouble you had. Hopefully, the worst is behind you now.

I am also feeling really lucky that my 500 mile return trip after buying the Cheiftain was rather uneventful. The tranny seal started leaking after I got home, but at least I got home.

[Lefty]

"So who was it that launched there's down a boatramp? I'd like to hear that story. "

That would be our illustrious leader Mark of course...lol
Like the old saying about Volkswagens...He found out that while a Winne won't float indefinitely.. it will definitely float!! W%