Goin' North

I left on Saturday afternoon ... it was about 2:45 p.m. after fueling. I put in just about 2 hours of driving when I heard/felt a "Bang!" ... maybe a tire. I was just above the 212mm on I-65 in Alabama ... so I pulled into the rest stop there in Clanton. I went around and checked all the tires ... (the location of tires may get a bit confusing ... starting at the front, there are the steer tires ... then the 2 drive axles, with 2 tires on each axles per side ... 4 tires per axle ... and finally the 2 trailer axles ... with the same amount of tires as the drive axles ... 18 wheels in all that can go flat). As I walked around the truck, heading back from the driver door, the inside tire on the front drive axle on the driverside was flat ... the outside tire on the rear trailer axle on the driverside was flat ... the inside tire on the front drive axle on the passenger side was low on air ... when I pumped it up, it started hissing out along the edge of the retread seam. Can you believe I needed to replace 3 tires!?
So, I called Daniel ... he had some spares laying around the shop ... and said he'd be on his way ... 8:00 a.m. the next morning he shows up ... then his air wrench wouldn't connect to the truck air hose ... so he had to go out and buy an adapter ... 120 psi just wasn't enough to get the air wrench to take the lug nuts off (not enough reserve pressure). At 10:00 a.m. he finally gave in and called a professional tire guy ... who showed up at 11:00 ... changed out the 3 tires ... and I was on my way again at 12:15 p.m. on Sunday.
Other than running late, and not being able to attend church, things seemed to be going okay ... until Sunday evening about the 70-72mm in Kentucky when I heard another "Bang!" ... looked back and saw a little rubber fly ... and then saw an entire retread sitting in the lane behind me. I pulled over and went back to check ... the inside tire on the front trailer axle on the passenger side had thrown off the entire retread and was flat as can be. Flying down the road with a flat tire having steel bands in it is not good ... they have been known to destroy suspension air bags and the tire next to them. I limped the truck slowly down the road to exit 81 in Sonora, KY ... there's a Pilot truckstop there ... which just happens to have a repair shop (unususal for a Pilot truckstop). I pulled in, fueled, and had my 4th flat of this trip replaced. No repeats ... all different tires. The foto above-left is the 4th tire ... notice no tread section, which is why it is so flat.
Guess what? I wasn't in the Chicago area Sunday afternoon when the tornadoes went through ...

I called up my friend, Grampa Dan, whom I haven't seen in awhile ... we visited for an hour ... then I headed on to Elgin, IL. It was 4:30 a.m. when I pulled into there ... more asleep than awake. Had to get up at 5:45 a.m. to deliver.
After delivering, I headed west to Rochelle, IL ... parked the truck at the Petro truckstop ... and slept for 5 hours ... before heading to Omaha, NE.