Today, Will and I were repairing a broken radiator hose on his Jeep Cherokee. We decided to take the red Jeep to town for the parts run.
Less than a mile from the house, I heard a whirring noise form the left front tire. I also felt a sudden pull to the left. I looked out the window and the left front tire was completely flat!
I stopped in the road and backed in to a convenient field entrance since this road has no shoulder. I flipped up the seat and discovered that the jack I expected to find there was missing!. I had a spare but no jack.
Just as Will and I decided to just walk to the house, it started to rain. And rain very hard. We were just beginning a conversation with the folks sitting on their porch at the next house up the road when we had to dive for cover in the Jeep.
After the rain calmed down a bit, we decided to ask the folks there for a ride to the house. The fellow was nice and drove us the mile or so down the road.
At the house, I picked up the floor jack and the trailer spare. I also got a long breaker bar and a set of deep well sockets.
Back at the Red Jeep, I noticed that the tire was not just flat but the tread had separated and the sidewalls had split. I am glad I was doing only 30 mph or so when I heard it. The rim was not damaged.
I was really glad I had brought the breaker bar and sockets as the lugs were very hard to get loose. But after some struggling they all come loose and I was able to swap on the spare. About that time, the rain quit.
Will tossed the torn tire into the back of my Jeep and drove it home while I drove the Red Jeep. I guess Scott will be shopping for a set of tires before he can sell it now.