Driving on a flat tire

Last Sunday morning at 2:00 I left Casper, Wyoming headed south. 25 miles later boom goes an inside trailer tire. 35,000 on the back with spreads. I went a mile to the nearest exit and did a quick Google search for that area and decided to just go to bed. In the morning I called for 2 hrs and finally got a hold of one guy but he said his rig was broke down. Nobody else wanted to come out on a Sunday. The tire had blown a piece of cap off but otherwise was fine so I limped it 30 mph 25 miles down the road on the shoulder to a truckstop. (The tire lost one small piece during that time) The next morning the shop opened at 7:15 and by 7:45 and $47 later I was rolling with the spare tire on. Only 30 hrs behind schedule!

 

Get the thing off the road and get it fixed by road service.

I know one owner who has an $1100 bill because he refused to get on the side of the road and his gator ripped apart and caused damage to a car. The car owner followed him and got his company name and they ended up in small claims court for the damages where the court sided with the car owner.

 

Yes, get off the road as quickly as you can in a safe and secure way. However you and I both know that there are some places in the US where it is simply too dangerous to (just) pull over (there). Get the truck off the road. Dang skippy. Big difference though between a breakdown that disables you and one where it is a flat or destroyed tire.

 

Our car has been hit before with a Covenant Leased O/O and a phone call later Covenant had all of the necessary information nailing down the truck that shed the gator in place, time and so on. They were ready to understand what the damages turned out to be and write us a check for it.

After a careful inspection of our vehicle we told Covenant that everything is essentially functioning to our satisfaction and that we would not be seeking a payment in cash. HOWEVER the truck that shed the gator was speeding and so on, Covenant had enough information on hand to deal with that one.

It's one of the few times we had a problem with gators coming off trucks in our cars. It wont be the first or last time.

 

Be thankful you don't have a super single. Try to get to a safe spot, then you are going to need a rim also..most times.

 

Oh man, just thinking about gators in the road reminds me of a stupid night in south Florida. I think it was sometime around 1985 maybe 86. I had just left Naples headed east to Miami. I was maybe 15 minutes out. It was around midnight. A guy made a call on the CB that there was a big gator in the road. Just a few seconds went by and another driver screamed good god man that was a real gator! By the time I got there it was gone. To this day every time I hear a lost cap called a gator i remember that night. I also remember it for another reason too. I lost a turbo and had to walk a bit to get help. I never did make it to Miami to make that pickup.

 

Have to say..except the junk tires "they" still run on containers or seacans. And get away with it. All the safety talk now days and maypop crap tires. Especially, motorcycle riders beware. Otherwise tires are much better.

 

In this case your truck is disabled. Totally different situation. I have been disabled in some tight places. I don't remember the year now. I think it might have been 2006 range when Texas had I 20 under construction between Tyler and Dallas. About 20 miles of single lane. Yep, your's truly had a breakdown. No idea how long the backup was.

 

Of all the places Ive gone into near the Gulf waters you would think I have seen Gators. Not a one. We stopped at a farm that caters to tourists to see the darn things to see what the big deal is about. Oh that's a big gator.

There has been some memorable encounters with a variety of truck parts and tires/wheel assemblies over the years. Some of it a really near thing. I remember one particular angle iron that was about 4 feet long, 90 degrees with a blade like side sticking up ready to slice my oil pan and a few tires among other things. I had to nudge the truck closer to a car full of people which scared them really bad to get around it. I don't expect them to ever understand. But those are not welcome.

 

Agree on the disabled.