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Borrego Springs, CA

Sunday, April 17, 2011

An expensive weekend

After putting out about $270 for Emma’s meds, food, and other supplies yesterday, I was dreading the trip to the tire place this morning.

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After putting the Focus up on the lift, it was obvious that I really needed a new full set of tires.  If you remember, I stopped into this facility yesterday to make an appointment so I wouldn’t have to wait three hours for someone to look at my car.  While they pulled the car right in, it still took them 2 and 1/2 hours before they showed me the condition of the tires.  What’s up with that?  So much for the advantage of having an appointment.  Sad smile  At any rate, I plunked down almost twice as much as yesterday’s bill, and was out of there in about another 45 minutes.  The lesson I learned was to make sure to have my tires rotated regularly.  I did not need an alignment.  Tire Kingdom has more than 1200 facilities across the country, and my purchase guarantees me that they will do any rotating and balancing at no charge for the life of the tires.  The back left tire had so many “cups” in it that it almost looked like a stop sign! Surprised smile

 

As I headed for home, I noticed an amazing difference in the ride.  There was no more of that lub, lub, lub… loud sound from the back.  I guess that sound just slowly crept up on me, and I never really noticed it until it was gone.  You learn something every day.  Guess I’ll pay more attention to rotating tires in the future. 

 

When I leave here a week from next Thursday, I’ll be heading back to Thibodeaux's Premiere RV in Scott, LA, to have some sun shades installed.  (They’re the folks that did the excellent recall service and refrigerator replacement that I had done in January)  I’ve already informed them that I want the tires on the rig rotated while I’m there.

 

Thanks for stopping by…. talk to you later,  Judy

17 comments:

  1. That is a bummer, Emma. I, too, have had to learn about tire rotation the hard way.

    I love saying Thibodeaux.....

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  2. glad you have some rubber on the road!..too bad it cost so much!..geesh!!

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  3. There are too darn many things for one person to have to remember to do. Tire rotation is one of them.

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  4. Ouch! You titled this post well. An expensive lesson to learn, but as a retired educator, you know now, and it won't be an issue for you again.
    There are a lot of us there that learned that lesson the same way. I bet your ride is MUCH smoother now...enjoy that comfortable ride.

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  5. Good tires are a must on any vehicle. I'm sure you are happy to have that over with. Hopefully no more big bills will crop up soon.

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  6. We have the tires rotated at the same time we have the oil changed. Makes it easier on the memory:) What kind of sun shades are you having installed?

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  7. That reminds me,
    I've had that on my list since December. Rotate van tires and get oil changed!

    This week! I promise myself!

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  8. Nothing better for driving than a brand new set of tires!

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  9. That kinda hurts, but you'll be glad you did it. Nothing worse (or more dangerous) than worn tires.

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  10. You will feel safer with the new tires. It always seems like all the expenses come at once.

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  11. My Dad used to say the cheapest form of good insurance was new tires. Had to put 4 new rear tires on the Motorhome last month in Kingman Arizona. That made 14 new tires on 3 vehicles since last summer to the tune of nearly $4,000!! Hope my motorcycle doesn't need any new tires this summer....or else!! Yes, that rotation is important but I think most of us forget to get it done half the time.

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  12. We just had new tires put on our truck last year..it sure rides better!..However, the Hiker's tires are just about in need...We don't have any of those tire covers, and I think the sun works on them pretty bad...Seems to me that we need to get some of the tire covers for when we stay in Arizona for a few months....Peace of mind is worth everything, eh??

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  13. I LOVE getting new tires on a rig. Like new shoes on a person, changes everything! It's hard to spend the money, but oh so well spent.

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  14. I do believe that the cupping of the tires is caused by the tire out of balance more than alignment. Have that checked when you rotate the tires.

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  15. I don't even want to know what tires cost for an RV.

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  16. I see Al already broke it to you about the cost of new tires on the MH someday..... I wondered if you had any idea about that! It's always somethin' isn't it!

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