raythompson
05-16-2005, 05:46 PM
OK. This is really not a Tige 22V issue or even a Tige issue. I just thought I would relay my difficulties this weekend, mostly in frustration.
As many of you know I just recently acquired my Tige 22V and I am still trying to get to 20 hours for the first service. Oh, and by the way, that 20 hours is based on engine RPM and is really RPM hours, not actually running hours. But I digress.
Storm clouds appeared and in the south that means thunder boomers and rain, usually at the rate of an inch per hour. So we head back and put the boat on the trailer.
Oh joy, one tire is flat and I have no spare. In 20+ years of boating I have never had a flat so why would I want a spare that is expensive and eventually dry rots. By now the rain has started (did I mention the rate of downpour?).
I head over to a local hardware store that is close to the ramp and get a can of Fix-A-Flat, got the size for large tires. Well the tire took the entire can and was still not inflated. Bummer. So I slowly drive the 200 yards to a local gassery and use their air pump to inflate the tire. The tire does not inflate. This is not looking good.
Drove to a place to park and watched the Fix-A-Flat drain out from under the trailer. This is looking even worse. So I get the jack from the truck and the lug wrench. The lug wrench is too small as the lug nuts on the trailer are bigger. So I go to the local hardware store and get a socket and a handle. Now we are cooking.
Put the jack under the axle, or rather tried. Seems the truck jack is about 1/4 inch too tall to fit under the axle. Did I mention the rate of rainfall while this is going on?
So I call a friend and tell him to go to my house, use the secret key, and get my floor jack. I wait for 30 minutes and he arrives. The floor jack works and I get the wheel assembly off the trailer. Now it is discovered that all the tire dealers are closed on Saturday afternoon.
So we head to Wally World to get a tire. Of course they do not have a trailer tire. So I get a passenger car tire that will work until I get home. Trailer tires have a stiffer sidewall which is really necessary for a dual axle trailer. We get the tire, put it on the trailer and all is well. Did I mention the downpour?
Now I am soaked, out about $60.00 (tire plus wrench). We make it home without any further incident. Total extra time is about two hours.
Sometime this week I will get the proper replacement tire. What I will do with the purchased tire I do not know as it will not have a rim. I am not about to pay for a new rim that will rarely get used. I may look for a used rim and have the tire mounted.
Will I now carry a spare, wrench, and a jack? No. I don't go far enough from home that it is worth the hassles. I have friends that can come for the very rare time I need assistance. I will only be out time.
So what happened to make the tire go drastically flat? Well, after inspecting the ramp it was discovered that some slope head with three active brain cells, one tooth (and it is decaying), (maybe even owns a Mastercraft) broke a bottle on the ramp under water surface. It could not be seen while backing. The broken glass sliced through the sidewall on the tire effectively completely destroying an almost new tire.
But such is the life of a new boat. Something always has to happen to keep one humble.
As many of you know I just recently acquired my Tige 22V and I am still trying to get to 20 hours for the first service. Oh, and by the way, that 20 hours is based on engine RPM and is really RPM hours, not actually running hours. But I digress.
Storm clouds appeared and in the south that means thunder boomers and rain, usually at the rate of an inch per hour. So we head back and put the boat on the trailer.
Oh joy, one tire is flat and I have no spare. In 20+ years of boating I have never had a flat so why would I want a spare that is expensive and eventually dry rots. By now the rain has started (did I mention the rate of downpour?).
I head over to a local hardware store that is close to the ramp and get a can of Fix-A-Flat, got the size for large tires. Well the tire took the entire can and was still not inflated. Bummer. So I slowly drive the 200 yards to a local gassery and use their air pump to inflate the tire. The tire does not inflate. This is not looking good.
Drove to a place to park and watched the Fix-A-Flat drain out from under the trailer. This is looking even worse. So I get the jack from the truck and the lug wrench. The lug wrench is too small as the lug nuts on the trailer are bigger. So I go to the local hardware store and get a socket and a handle. Now we are cooking.
Put the jack under the axle, or rather tried. Seems the truck jack is about 1/4 inch too tall to fit under the axle. Did I mention the rate of rainfall while this is going on?
So I call a friend and tell him to go to my house, use the secret key, and get my floor jack. I wait for 30 minutes and he arrives. The floor jack works and I get the wheel assembly off the trailer. Now it is discovered that all the tire dealers are closed on Saturday afternoon.
So we head to Wally World to get a tire. Of course they do not have a trailer tire. So I get a passenger car tire that will work until I get home. Trailer tires have a stiffer sidewall which is really necessary for a dual axle trailer. We get the tire, put it on the trailer and all is well. Did I mention the downpour?
Now I am soaked, out about $60.00 (tire plus wrench). We make it home without any further incident. Total extra time is about two hours.
Sometime this week I will get the proper replacement tire. What I will do with the purchased tire I do not know as it will not have a rim. I am not about to pay for a new rim that will rarely get used. I may look for a used rim and have the tire mounted.
Will I now carry a spare, wrench, and a jack? No. I don't go far enough from home that it is worth the hassles. I have friends that can come for the very rare time I need assistance. I will only be out time.
So what happened to make the tire go drastically flat? Well, after inspecting the ramp it was discovered that some slope head with three active brain cells, one tooth (and it is decaying), (maybe even owns a Mastercraft) broke a bottle on the ramp under water surface. It could not be seen while backing. The broken glass sliced through the sidewall on the tire effectively completely destroying an almost new tire.
But such is the life of a new boat. Something always has to happen to keep one humble.