Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2018/11/13/my-life-on-the-road-stranded.html
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Yikes at that tire inflation explosion!
I hope there is a new plan topping off tires, once the blowout is replaced.
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We live on the road too. 40 foot bus rebuilt by hand, 4 kids, and beholden to the pacific time zone where my employer is based.
Sometimes, when we’re floating down the highway at 70 mph, I marvel at the technology that keeps things rolling, how commodity it is. When something goes wrong, it feels so personal - like I must be the only one experiencing this, and what choices in life have I made that has caused it to go so wrong?!
Fortunately, those are far and few between. Good luck, fellow traveler - may your tires stay safely inflated.
Oh, one more piece of advice I saw recently:
Take very good care of everything that is a barrier between you and the ground.
For example:
- Shoes
- Tires
- Foundation of your house
- Your toilet
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WOW! You and your sweetie are lucky at being unlucky.
I drove an old RV to California from Virginia and back and lived in it while I was in grad school. Two bad things happened - one each way. I backed my Mini Cooper off the trailer after I forgot to put the ramps down. That happened at an RV park in Denver. On the way home, I had a cracked radiator cap. That happened in Bakersfield on a weekend. I had to find a motel that would allow cats while I waited to get going again.
I wouldn’t trade it for anything!
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Roger That!
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Here’s a happy motor home ditty to cheer you up:
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Holy crap. I was driving up I5 near Seattle the other day and one of the tires blew out on the 18-wheeler right next to me. I’ve always seen the tire scraps and knew that it happened but I was not prepared. It was like a stick of dynamite going off right next to my window. I saw the pieces fly off and then everybody slammed on their brakes and/or went different directions for just a second.
Luckily, nothing bad happened. I slammed my brakes so the driver could pull off immediately and kept going once it was clear he was in control. Man, it had me shook up all day.
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Old video, but still 100% accurate now.
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Shit, the one I saw literally “blew.” It just disintegrated in front of me, with tiny pieces flying in every direction.
BOOM! 
7 or 8 years ago, lost two tires on the back of our TV mobile - we JUST got through the twisty rock-cut 1-lane drop of death stretch along the Kenora bypass (losing control there, oh boy…)
I was quite shaken up, OPP hit us with all sorts of commercial vehicle violations, nail-biter getting on the deck, the explosion of gravel from the crushed tail pipe … glad I was shooting off to the side.
Got 2 new tires, arrived late but did our 4 days of production without further incident (hired a commercial driver for trip back).
Happy Ending
On that production I met a woman who became a very important part of my life, we’re inseparable. I couldn’t love anyone more than I love her. The day ended much better than it started.
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She tells me that the side wall of the tire blew out on her as she made one final attempt to fill it up.
This sort of failure is a huge fear of mine. You seen the video where the gentleman stabs a truck tire with a knife and finds himself half-naked a moment later? Yikes.
You are likely correct. It happened to one of my rural uncles, and it broke his spine in three places. He did recover… eventually.
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