Thursday, December 24, 2015

Weird Old Tire News

These pictures were supposed to be with yesterday's posts but the campground wifi saw differently. It conked out and well somehow the thing got published pictureless.

This is my untreaded tire. It made a horrific noise and slapped my RV upside the wheel well busting out a chunk. However, I did not notice this until going to buy new tires, but I knew something was wrong with the cabinetry beneath the refrigerator next to the wheel well. Duh...
 The untreaded tire never blew, just lost it's tread!

 My rig looks naked without rubber, but the recently painted gas fill looks awesome. Actually the lower part of the rig was painted. The shower door that is white needs some paint. Oops! I love having an outdoor shower faucet. I used a pop-up shower stall last summer and a jumbo towel. I would wrap up in my towel, run outside to the inside of the shower stall, shower in about twice the room as my indoor shower, then wrap back up in the towel and race for the front door again.

At the time I was parked in a secluded area, so my neighbors couldn't really see what I was up to. Mostly I use the outside faucet for washing my hands when doing grody projects. It has hot and cold water plus there is enough room on the shelf for a small bottle of dish soap, which pretty much cleans hands and anything else dirty that gets in the way.

When we arrived for new tires, they were loading up a truck with old tires to be sent off to old tire land. No idea where that is but here is pic of some of the tires.

A few years ago, an illegal 50 acre tire dump was discovered in Calhoun County in South Carolina from satellite pictures taken for Google earth. A news report said George Fontella Brown was fined $475 for  littering with the 250,000 tire dump. (Seems like they could have multiplied that fine for multiple littering.) Eventually he was sentenced to 7 months in prison. He claims he was selling the tires to China but the deal fell through at some point and he continued to haul tires away from businesses and hide them on the property.

Amazingly, it's not the largest tire dump found in South Carolina. In the 90's another pile was found of a half million tires over 15 feet tall. Tires and the water they trap make for an excellent breeding ground for mosquitoes and cozy homes for rats and mice. Different reports show different figures for the number of tires piled up anywhere from a quarter million to a full million for both lots.


This year...
Buying tires and getting an oil change the day before Christmas eve made sense. We called ahead and were told no appointment was necessary, just pull right on in. I chose a shady spot under a very tall cover. The supervisor was anxious to have more work for his men, so they jumped into service right away. At one point 4 men were actively working on changing tires and oil, I only caught this picture with 2 busy working.


I tire out easily, so I just curled up for a nap while they started work. Later I got up to find out about the date codes on the tires. What a shock that was to find out I have been riding around on very old tires.

I guess my sedate driving has been to my safety. Super fast speeds tend to heat up tires. I typically drive around 55-60 on Interstates and much slower on scenic routes. Also, I often stop every hour or more so my joints don't lock up making it hard to walk.

Anyhow, I guess Secret Super Santa came early with new tires and fresh lube!

HAPPY HOLIDAZE!

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2 comments:

  1. WOW !!! How spiffy your rig looks. I know mine sure rides better with the new tires I got. Drives better.... kinda like when we get new red shoes!!! I even got a hair better on MPG. wooo hooo ... Merry Christmas and wishes for a great New Year.

    Lynn in GA

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  2. Just stopping by to wish you a very Merry Christmas. Do stay safe, Martha

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