memorable weekend

floater212

took out boat for the first time, drove up to lake paw paw in Michigan, nice ride except for all the road work in Indiana and some in Michigan.  we got to the lake, never been there before, where's the launch? nobody around the lake knew for sure but it's over there....somewhere. found it after taking a nice ride around the lake. boat ran great, water was nice, not too choppy from wind. came home different way, went south to Indiana Toll Road, maybe faster than other way, didn't get off the on ramp and BOOM! blew a tire.... fixed it after about 1 1/2 hrs., tire wrapped itself around brake soo tight it stuck. got back moving but only on shoulder and at 5mph spare was very low, 3 miles to next exit got air but only 48lbs and tire need 60 - 75lbs. better than nothing, back on highway... 20 minutes and BOOM! other tire blew... on a Sunday/Holiday weekend after 6pm... we're screwed. then we met a very helpful state trooper, he gave us a few towing guys and a tire repair guys number that he recommended. towing no go, trailer too long for their beds so call tire repair guy, he came out in about 1 1/2hrs with 2 new tires and popped off both flats and put on the new tires and back on the road. pulled into an oasis for a snack and there was the state trooper that help us out, he made sure everything was fine. you don't meet to many people like that. thanks to a great Indiana State Trooper we were not stranded until Tuesday ....

Dream_Inn

Wow, certainly was eventful.  Glad to hear you had some great help!  At least you had an uneventful time on the lake!  I'm sure you have a few lessons learned from the experience as well.

LaRea

Interesting. Why do you think the tires failed?  Puncture, or just old age?

floater212

got them in 2011 so not that old, probably from sitting in one spot all winter, outside.  

NRath

Is it coincidence...  A buddy hauled a runabout about 8 hrs a couple weeks ago.  Blew a tire.  Stopped for about 30-45 mins to swap it.  Drove another 30-60 mins and the other one blew.  He towed this thing almost weekly last summer.  He also felt like the tires weren't "that" old, no major dry rotting, and good tread.  Things that make you go hmmm.

Glad your story ended with as little pain as it did!

NavyCTRC

Wonder if it was the same Indiana trooper that gave me a big fat ticket Tuesday after Memorial Day?  He was very nice and polite about it, but that is gonna hurt....

Dream_Inn

I see a good movie coming together here.  Anyone know of any murders in Indiana during that same time?

rasbury

I'm finding tires on trailers a very tricky thing- was there uneven wear or anything like that? I am in the process of getting my trailer to a shop so they can align the axles and make sure the tires are parallel- I have all new tires, the front two are chunking on the outer tread on both sides so something is not aligned- I can imagine that if I were on a long trip, these tires would be over heating and might fail as a result and the tire might look perfectly fine.... 

floater212

update.. came home today from Michigan and guess what... blew another tire, this time at launch... REALLY? but when I got home and unloaded everything there seems to be a dent across the 2 week old tire like it was hit with a sharp flat bar...am I getting nothing but junk tires? any one want to buy a 2005 212 rx-1 with trailer? the only 2 days of happiness with a boat are the day you bought it and the day you sell it. is it ok to cry on boats?

rasbury

how do you blow a tire at launch? Maybe your just buying some really old tires? Just because your buying them new does not mean they have not been sitting in a warehouse for YEARS. There is a code on the tires for when they are made-google I'm sure will tell you pretty quickly where to find it.....just a thought. My neighbor across the street is having the same mystery....