Your Last Flat Tire?

Discussion in 'Other Reminiscences' started by Tom Young, Dec 10, 2019.

  1. Tom Young

    Tom Young Very Well-Known Member
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    As I was cleaning out the trunk of my 1996 Cadillac SLS, I realized that there was a jack and a tire tool, along with the spare tire. Thinking back, I bought the car from the lady across the street when she stopprd driving, back in 2004. Pristine condition and with 34,000 miles. Now, 15 years later, still only 88,000 miles, and in perfect condition.

    Hmmm... when was the last time I changed a tire? In fact, when was the last time I had a flat? Couldn't quite remember, but it was a long, long time ago. The last time, I commuted to work, was in 1984, and before that, maybe the last time, was when I was a travelling District Manager driving about 35,000 miles a year. That was bakck in 1978. So, no flat tires in 41 years.

    A tribute to the tire manufcturers, and probably the cars. When was your last flat tire?... and did you fix it yourself?
     
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  2. Holly Saunders

    Holly Saunders Supreme Member
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    Last flat tyre was at the end of June this year..in Southern Spain.

    It was a brand new hire car we'd had just for half a day , and we used a can of tyre weld to get us to the nearest garage to get the tyre changed as there was no spare in the boot of the car.. if there had been we'd have changed the tyre ourselves

    In Spain unlike the UK tho', the garage has by law to change both tyres even though only one is damaged , so we had to stump up for the cost of 2 tyres, which wasn't refunded by the Hire car company until we returned the car 2 weeks later..o_O
     
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  3. Ken Anderson

    Ken Anderson Senior Staff
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    I had a flat about five years ago, after running over a nail. I called AAA, though. If I were on a road that had a paved shoulder, I'd have changed it myself, probably. When I was in high school, I used bald tires that the service station couldn't sell to anyone, which meant that I sometimes changed a couple of tires in a day. I'd drive 90-100 miles per hour on those things, too.
     
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  4. Teresa Levitt

    Teresa Levitt Veteran Member
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    oh yes...traveling I75 south in Georgia. ..motorhome with a tow...bam!..front tire blew out. ..traveled to the back tire and blew one of those!...99 degrees out...whatta memory i don't want to repeat.
     
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  5. Lois Winters

    Lois Winters Veteran Member
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    In all my years driving, I never had a flat.
     
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  6. Bess Barber

    Bess Barber Veteran Member
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    I had my last blow out on I 95 in Georgia as well. The worst part is on the sides of their highway are these gravely bumps and they shredded the tire as I pulled off. The tires wobbled so violently, until it actually dented around the wheel hub. Luckily, my youngest son and friend was with me, both in their 20's, so I didn't have to change it.

    I would think for a tire to blow while towing anything would be hard, much less a motorhome!!
     
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  7. Bess Barber

    Bess Barber Veteran Member
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    You must have a No Flat Fairy! :D
     
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  8. Shirley Martin

    Shirley Martin Supreme Member
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    The only time I remember having a flat tire was once when some friends and I were at a theater in the mall watching a movie. When we came out, someone had punctured one of my back tires. There were despicable vandals doing that at the time. They had punctured tires on most of the tires near my car, too. My friend changed the tire for me. It was so badly damaged that I had to buy another one.

    My DH always kept good tires on my car. He thought it was one of the most important safety precautions. So do I.
     
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  9. Lois Winters

    Lois Winters Veteran Member
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    :D:D:D
     
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  10. Teresa Levitt

    Teresa Levitt Veteran Member
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    was quite the wallop!

    $$ too!
     
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  11. Bill Boggs

    Bill Boggs Supreme Member
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    I can't remember when I had my last flat. Year ago I had lots of them and
    I have patched and booted my share of flats. The last blowout I had was in the
    ninties. I was driving in from San Angelo, a town about twwo hundred miles
    soutbh of home. When i got to Lamesa. I knew a short cut on farm roads and I
    could drive a little faster.I was trying to get home so I could go to my daughter's
    recital. I was doing almost ninety when I topped a little rise and there blocking
    the two lane road was a large combine with a man and a child standing behind
    it, a man on the combine. To the immediate left was a house with a lady standing
    on the porch, a steep bar-ditch on the right. I sized all this up in the situation in the
    blink of an eye, you might say. It flashed through my mind I was about to ruin many
    lives. I turned enough to the right, about forty-five degrees, hoping to jump the bar
    ditch and miss the people and the combine, and hopefully not roll the car. I did jump
    the bar ditch, hit in a sandy, unplowed field, bounced several times, pretty high, and
    mashed my excellerator. I came back on the high way sdeveral hundred yards north
    and drove on a short distance, where I stopped, got out of the car my legs shaking
    so badly I could not stand up. I drove on a ways where I could park on the side of
    the road. A car came by and stopped and I hitched a ride on in to my town. I sent a
    wrecker for my car the next morning and my wife dropped me off at work. It was a
    company car and my boss told me who to call.

    Both back tires were blown out, one back spring broken, all the shocks had to be
    replaced. All my boss said was he had had a similar accident one time on that same
    road. And he said I'd assked you how fas you were going but you'd probably lie. I said
    he was probably right. Then he said, You might as well put a new set of tires on the car.

    He asked my schedule for the following day. Work around town I replied. He said take
    tomorrow off; I've got a golf game and we're a man short. Be out trhe golf course at ten
    sharp. That was my last blowout, the last time to take that shortcut, and the last time I
    drove nearly so fast.

    For years I relived that in my dreams.
     
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  12. Nancy Hart

    Nancy Hart Supreme Member
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    My only flat while driving was also a twofer about 10 years ago. Tires were pretty worn, driving through the woods with the pickup, two flats on the passenger side at the same time. Must have run over a small sharp stump. Only one spare and one jack.

    Had to replace them one at a time. Took me two days to get the truck out of the woods. Next time it happens maybe I'll figure out a better way. :p
     
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    Last edited: Dec 10, 2019
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  13. Sheldon Scott

    Sheldon Scott Supreme Member
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    It's been years since I had a flat on an automobile but I have a recurring flat on my lawnmower. It's leaking around the rim. calls for 20 lbs pressure so I put in 60 lbs to try to seal it. It didn't stop it completely but it slowed it down a lot.
     
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  14. Beth Gallagher

    Beth Gallagher Supreme Member
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    My husband has been aggravated by a flat tire on his pressure washer. I couldn't believe they put a tire with a tube on that thing. He first bought a new tube but it still kept losing air, so then made a trip to Harbor Freight where they had a complete new wheel/tire for about $9. He was so happy he bought another as a spare.
     
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  15. Von Jones

    Von Jones Supreme Member
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    Funny story.

    I needed air in one of my front tires so I stopped at the air pump while at Kroger. The first thing I noticed was the changes to the air pump machine, it accepted debit/credit cards and the gadget at the end of the hose was different as well as a new display that I suppose tells how much the pressure level is and you can change it to more or less. Jeez. I just wanted to put air in my tire not learn a new way to do it.

    So I removed the cap and attached the hose end and proceeded. Usually I could hear the hissing sound of the air but I didn't. I checked the gauge and it hadn't moved. I'd say I tried this about 4 maybe 5 times at the most until I went over to the attendant expressing my concern and maybe something was wrong. She asked me a few questions and then said she would call someone.

    I returned back to my vehicle with hopes that this time there would be no problems. I proceeded and this time I heard the air. I was so relieved then I looked down and saw my tire was completely flat.
     
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