So, my first blog.. I have wanted to write a blog since I first heard about blogging. A way to express myself and maybe even provide a service. The problem was I didn't quite know what I wanted to write about. Then a few days ago, my son, who lives 2200 miles from me in Ca. had a blown out tire on his car. After talking with him on the phone, I realized he was hopelessly ill prepared for this situation, (sorry son). At that point I came up with the idea of "Dadvice". A place where a person could find helpful hints with everyday challenges, from someone who has lived it. Now, don't get me wrong, I am probably wrong more than I'm right, But I have lived an interesting life and had to figure most everything out on my own. So, that being said I hope someone out there can benefit from my experience.
So, back to the tires. My son had a blow out at 70 mph on his SUV in the middle of no where. Fortunately the tire in question was on the rear and the blow out was all the damage sustained. Now the fun begins. After pulling safely off the road, my son, discovered that his "new to him" used car employed a mini-spare. A mini-spare is a small, cheap, and hopelessly inappropriate thing to replace a full size tire with. Most car companies have finally realized this and have started moving back to the full size spare. If you buy a car and there is no way to store a full size spare somewhere on/in it, don't buy that car! These spares are dangerous and are not to be used as a permanent replacement to the standard tire your car uses. The next thing he (my son) discovered was that his mini spare was flat. Now, when I was his age, this would have meant either driving on a flat or walking off the highway to find a payphone. Fortunately he had his cell and had service. He called a friend and after he came and determined that, yes, the spare and the original were indeed flat his friend told him he should drive his suv on the blow out off the highway to a nearby gas station. DON'T do this! If it can be avoided. But sometimes this is safer than changing a tire on the side of a Ca. freeway.
After getting to a safe location, the repair begins! With the help of his friend my son removed the bad tire and took it to a local supercenter to be repaired. In most instances I would say that purchasing only one tire at a time is not ideal, but he didn't have enough cash at this time to buy all four. So he made his purchase. Had the tire mounted, and returned and installed on his car.
All is good, right? Not really. When you have a blow out, you are generally running on borrowed time. The remaining tires are just as old as the first one that blew. Not only that, tires work best when the same tread pattern is used through out. So, purchasing three more to match the first at a later date should fix the problem, right? Not really. Because he will be using the first new tire with older tires, it will wear faster than it would if purchased as a set. This means that when he finally replaces the whole set the first tire will be out of sink with the three new ones. What needs to be done at this point is to replace his mini spare with the first new tire. He will need to acquire a cheap, plain, steel wheel. Have the new (older) tire mounted on this wheel. Since the vehicle in question is an SUV, he has many options as to where this spare could be mounted. Underneath the vehicle is the most common, but there is room in the rear of the vehicle, or he could place a mounting system on the rear hatch. Then he should purchase four new tires as a set and have them mounted and balanced.
Now lets review. This could have been avoided completely by following a simple rule. When purchasing a used vehicle, tires should be one of the first thing inspected. Get on the ground and look at the insides as well as the tread. Of course always check the tire pressure, at least once a month, I do it once a week. Check the valve stems for cracks, this happens often when a vehicle stands unused for long periods, especially in warm environments. Check the spare as well. If your vehicle has a mini spare, well you know what I think of those. Always try to purchase tires in sets. And if you cannot do this when a blow out occurs, Try to replace the remaining tires as soon as possible.
Now in defense of my Son. He did his best and got back on the road. I wasn't there in the first place to provide him with guidance when he purchased his first car. And this dialog is just my opinion.
