“The adventure continues…” In books and movies, that can be an encouraging line. In real life, it is always just a teeny bit ominous. Oh yes, it is.
As you may recall, we ran into a little problem with a kitchen slide-out that would not slide out. Since our RV has an island in the kitchen, this means not only that several cabinets are blocked, but also that the refrigerator and stove are blocked. In our case, the pots and pans are stowed in a drawer under the stove, so we have not cooking utensils either. Unfortunately, the RV dealers in the Williamsburg area were backlogged, and unable to help us. So we started calling ahead on our trip path to try to find someone who could squeeze us in at about the time we expected to arrive in their vicinity. First stop: High Point, NC: Stop #5 on the map.
No hope of help from the dealers in this area. We were told they were currently booking appointments into February. No worries, we just keep on traveling. But wait! What is that person passing us in the left lane pointing at? Something on our trailer? What could be wrong?

Yes, one of our trailer tires had blown, and we hadn’t noticed. Thank heavens for dual axles! We had been driving through a lot of highway construction on Monday morning, with all manner of bumps and wiggles, and no doubt some trash strewn about. Apparently this tire ran afoul of some debris, as there were a couple of holes in the outer sidewall, in addition to the completely shredded tread surface.

We were pretty fortunate: There was no real damage to the trailer, aside from the black “slap marks” on the plastice fender.

I’d never seen the inside of a tire before. In addition to empty space, there was a number of “cross pieces” that held the two sidewalls together even after all the tread was gone.

Yes, that finger is poking through one of the two holes we found in the sidewall. Thank heavens for spare tires, and nice drivers who give one a “heads up” on out of sight problems.
Fortunately, no rain, and no issues with the tire change process itself. It made for a late arrival at stop #6, the Bremen, GA Jellystone RV Park. Another night, and on the road again.
We made it to Hattiesburg, MI before the RV dealer had closed on Tuesday, so we stopped by and dropped off our trailer right away. We had called ahead, and although they said “no promises”, they did agree to look at it to see what the repair might entail. Also, they said they could definitely help us with replacing the spare tire, which is clearly needed. So we are spending two nights in a pet friendly hotel. We have to be back on the road on Thursday, though, as there is a football game this weekend, and hotel rooms, pet friendly or otherwise, are hard to find.
November 28, 2018 at 5:00 pm
Hi Nikki,
Love your story. Have RV’d since 2002 and would love to swap stories over coffee sometime.
Currently our trailer is stored at WillowTree RV Resort in Longs SC. I can’t do the road anymore. We leave tomorrow for our 16th season.
Enjoy your trip cut will get better. If you are back toward SC before April let us know.
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November 28, 2018 at 6:43 pm
Yikes. I’m glad you caught the tire before something bad happened.
Good luck with the repairs!
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November 28, 2018 at 9:43 pm
Thanks, Brian! The tire replacement is not difficult – it only requires money, and the empty wheel left with the service center. The kitchen slide-out is more challenging, but we have already proven we can live without that. As life problems go, this one definitely falls into the “first world problems” bucket.
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November 28, 2018 at 10:25 pm
That’s a great perspective.
Voyage on! And keep blogging!
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