When a Tire Leaves you Flat by Butch Jones

When a Tire Just Leaves You Flat
By Butch Jones

Photo #1 Car w/Flat Tire

Recently I received a call from a friend who was returning from summer traveling. He needed a floor jack. It seems that he had stopped at the local Home Depot on his way home. His wife wanted to continue home so he unhooked the car and she left. He received a call a short time later saying the she had stopped to get the car washed at the local drive-thru carwash and upon leaving the tire pressure monitoring system alerted her that one tire was flat. She stopped at a nearby restaurant and when he got there he noticed that the sensors for the coach/towed tire pressure monitoring system transmitter which is attached to the external valve stem was gone as was most of the valve stem.
He called his roadside assistance and was told that they could come out and remove the flat tire and install a spare. He has run flat tires, no spare and needed a new valve stem. This was beyond his roadside assistance scope so he did not use them. He called Butch’s Mobile Repair.
I took a floor jack and needed a 24” ½” drive breaker bar to loosen the lug nuts. Well we got the valve stem replaced and the tire back on the car and home. The sensor for his coach/towed tire pressure monitoring system mounted to the end of the valve stem in place of the valve cap. It stuck out further than the normal valve stem and got caught on the side rails of the car wash. I guess he is fortunate that all four valve stems and sensors were not ripped off.
This incident got me to thinking about flat tires and roadside assistance so in this article we will talk about how these issues affect safety. Obviously a flat tire is a safety issue and no one wants one at any time, but what do we do once the vehicle is safely off the road and we are staring at the remains of what was a several hundred dollar donut of rubber?








Photo #2 Flat Tire

 

Photo #3 RV with Flat Tire

For some of us it is break out the jack and tools and remove the old tire and replace it with the spare. Well that may have been the case “back in the day” but things have changed.  As RVs have grown in size and heft so have tire sizes and many manufacturers have elected not to add the substantial amount of space and weight to install them on newer rigs. While most trailer tires are still in the 16”+_ range and most come with a spare, coach tires are now 19.5” and 22.5” and some gasoline powered and most diesel powered units do not have a spare tire/wheel. I would suggest that if you do not know or have not looked at your spare in your towed vehicle that you do so. Some come with full size spares, some have what are known as “compact spares” or “donuts”, some have a full size but smaller spare (my truck has 20” tires/wheels and a 17” spare from the factory), some have a can of sealant and an air compressor and some have no spare at all. So it would be a good idea to know what if anything is lying under the mat in the rear of your towed vehicle.

Photo #4 Tire Under Coach

Photo #5 Compact Spare

 I know of some diesel pusher owners that have mounted a tire or tire/wheel in between the frame rails under the coach in front of the
rear axle as seen in the photo above. This is often a void space and unused. However it presents the issue of how to get the spare tire or tire/wheel out and the damaged tire/wheel back in position. Even if your coach has a spare tire mounted on a wheel, manhandling the hundred+ pound combination has a trip to the emergency room written all over it for most of us. Then there is the issue of safely jacking the vehicle up to get the flat tire off. While your towed vehicle may not present much of a problem, safely jacking an RV weighing anywhere from 17,000 pounds to over 50,000 pounds may present a different situation. Add to that, the lug nuts on a Freightliner chassis with 22.5” wheels are tightened to 450 pound feet of torque. To put that into perspective, I had to use a ½” drive 24’ long breaker bar to loosen the lug nuts on my friends Cadillac small SUV. Each year as we reach the date of our birth we are reminded that we are not getting any younger. I found out a long time ago that as I got older the healing process took longer and longer. I don’t know about you but as I mature I begin to think of many things I would rather do than wrestle a hydraulic jack under my coach on the side of the road.

Photo #6 Shredded Tire

After getting the tire and wheel off the vehicle now what do you do with the mangled mess of a tire and wheel? If you are extremely fortunate the tire is intact and not too filthy or the tire will be completely gone from the wheel, but most likely it will at least be partially shredded and smoking. Not something you want on the inside of any vehicle. That is why some people have luggage racks on the towed vehicles. This may or may not be a great idea but it gets the assembly home or to a tire store while keeping it outside. Susie’s new SUV comes with a cable so you can tie the flat tire inside the cargo area to the top hinges of the liftgate. This allows the use of the third row seats.
Even if you are up for the exercise, there is a better way, Roadside Assistance. Now some of you are probably saying, “I’m not paying for roadside assistance, why I might not ever need it”. Well you might already be paying for it or it may be included in something that you are paying for now.
Here are some things to consider when evaluating roadside assistances plans:
Do you currently have some type of roadside assistance plan? You most likely have one or more plans. I checked and I had 6 different plans.  Some of the ways you might get or have a plan are listed below.

New Vehicle Warranties
Used Vehicle Warranties
Aftermarket Warranties
Insurance Companies
Auto Clubs (AAA)
Travel or Camping Clubs or Groups (FMCA, Good Sams)
Tire Stores (Pep Boys)
OnStar
Credit Cards (Visa, Premium Chase)
Wireless Service Providers (Verizon, T-Mobil, AT&T
Automotive Services (BG Products has offer one with certain oil changes or other services)

Some of these may come with a bundle of services or extra cost.
If you have multiple plans try to evaluate what each offers and what you need.
Determine if you can opt out of any that may be a duplicate. If some have any type of deductible, determine if another can be used to pay the deductible.
Determine which gives you the most for your money.
Read the fine print so you know before you need assistance what is available and what you will pay extra to have. We will discuss this later.

In the case of my friend, he was not able to use his roadside assistance but he did use Butch’s Roadside Assistance. While on the subject of what is covered, I have what is called a Tire and Wheel Contract for our coach and Susie’s SUV. It will pay for having tires repaired or replaced if they cannot be repaired as well as repairing, refinishing or replacing any wheel damaged as a result of a road hazard, (they also have roadside assistance included). If you have priced a 22.5” aluminum wheels you will appreciate the cost of this coverage.  Check with the plan administrators to see if they have mobile apps, this may speed your access for service.
Make sure both the coach and towed vehicle or tow vehicle and trailer are covered by the plan. At least one plan requires a separate plan for Class 6, 7 or 8 tow vehicles. These are vehicles over 26,000 pounds of gross vehicle weight.
If the plan has towing how many miles does it cover?
There are several online sources that allow you to compare plans. Be aware that some are sponsored by one specific plan so they may be slanted toward that plan.  If there comes a time that you need to use the roadside assistance plan there are some things that may help expedite getting help to you. I have listed some things below:

Have the make, model, length, width, weight and height (from the ground to the top of the tallest item on the roof) available. Some of this information may not be needed for and automobile or SUV but will for anything else. If you have a large diesel pusher and you think it may need something special, such as special tire changing equipment or if towing might be needed, reiterate to the call taker and the service provider that it is a large bus. Sometimes when you a motorhome it does not compute how large some of our rigs actually are and most Class A and C motorhomes should not be towed from the rear as the front suspensions are not designed to carry the added weight generated by that configuration.  Have the make and model of the transmission (in the event a tow is necessary).
The type of braking system. (hydraulic or air)  Give as much detail as possible as to your situation. Speak clearly and concisely.  Get the name of the call taker and if they do not ask, give them your cell phone number just in case you get disconnected.  Ask the call taker to read your information back to you to make sure it is correct.  Ask for a reference or call number. This will allow you to more quickly gain access if you need to call back.  Ask the call taker to have the service provider call you before they respond. This allows you to make sure the proper information was transmitted. It is better to wait a few minutes for the response provider’s call than to have them respond only to find out they are not prepared to provide what is needed for your vehicle.  If your vehicle needs to be towed, especially if it is the motorhome, do not take for granted that the wrecker driver will know exactly how to hook up to your vehicle. It is not a bad idea to check with your motorhome manufacturer or a forum of owner of the same vehicle as yours to determine attachment points on the vehicle.  If the motorhome must be towed, make sure that the driveshaft is disconnected. This may sound silly, but insure that the driver disconnects the driveshaft from the correct end. On a diesel pusher it should be disconnect from the rear axle which is in front of the engine not behind as on most every other vehicle. Some drivers have, in their hast to get under way, slid under the vehicle and disconnected the driveshaft from the rearmost point (which is usually the rear axle, except on a diesel pusher where it is the engine) then safely wiring it to the frame and gone on their way. They usually do not get far before the driveshaft comes loose and begins to beat itself into oblivion as well as anything else it contacts as it spins under the vehicle. I know of at least two occasions in which this has happened. Better safe than sorry.

A roadside assistance plan may not be for everyone but it can help get you safely back on the road, if you have the right plan. I have copies of the checklist mentioned in this article. If you would like one just email me (butch_jones2001@yahoo.com) and I will them to you). So remember Better Safe than Sorry.