What?! Another Flat?!

April 26, 2022

On Friday, April 22, we planned to go to Bucks Pocket State Park. We decided to take Nox with us for the hike.

Nox was super excited about going. She wanted to get to the truck so she could go with us. We were all set, we had Nox’s walking harnesses and leash, her backpack in case she needed to be carried, and water for all of us.

Bruce started up the truck and ran the TPIS to check tire pressure. He does this every time he starts the truck as it is a truck setting.

The passenger side rear inner tire was showing zero pressure, so Bruce got out and pushed on the tire. It was flat!

Before the flat we had on the freeway less than a month ago, it had been years since either of us had had a flat. In less than a month, we’ve had two flats!

Bruce looked at me and said, “We won’t be going to Bucks Pocket today. We be taking care of this tire instead.”

We were both worried that removing the tire would be really hard. The manual is not very helpful for dually tires. After Bruce dropped the spare tire down from underneath the truck, he started looking at the manual, while I got some pieces of wood out bed of the truck. I used two pieces for chocks on the front driver’s wheel. A long piece of wood, I placed under the truck for the jack.

I then rolled up the tire support so it was fully rolled up under the bed of the truck.

Bruce removed the hubcap. I suggested we might be able to find a YouTube video that would walk us through changing the inner dually tire.

Sure enough, we found a video and it took less than 30 minutes to watch. We now knew what we needed to do and how to do it. It was a lot easier than expected. If we had just tried to follow the manual, it would’ve been more difficult and we would have been concerned about correctly changing the tire.

Bruce was able to use his power tools to speed up the tire change. One of our RV neighbors stopped by to see if we needed any help and to recommend a local tire shop. Bruce thank him for the recommendation and the offer of help. Our RV neighbor is a local.

Bruce finished changing the tire. He then got the air compressor out and added air to the flat. We could hear the air hissing out. We found the hole; it looked like a crack in the tire.

Bruce then checked reviews for the tire shop recommended by our RV neighbor. They had very good ratings.

Since was still early, we decided we could still go to Bucks Pocket after driving to the tire shop.

Once again, we made sure we were ready for a hike and Nox was harnessed into the truck.

We drove into Guntersville, AL and Bruce talked to the tire guy. He showed Bruce how the flat happened and what caused the crack. He told Bruce that when a tear happened it usually damages the belts in the tire. Bruce said if the belts are damaged, then he agreed, the tire needs replaced.

Nox and I sat in the truck and waited for Bruce. It took a little longer than expected. Bruce came out and said they wouldn’t have a tire until Thursday.

We still decided to head to Bucks Pocket State Park, which I will talk about in another post.

I have to say, I am nervous about driving without a spare since we’ve had these two flats.