Tyre issue with a twist

[Bulletman]

Gday All
Debated whether to post this and then where to to post it I’m sure the mods will more to appropriate section

So I’m on my way home from my 2000km weekly run servicing roadhouses, stations, and mine sites south of Darwin and I can see up ahead in the middle of the road , rubber scattered everywhere, common sight on our highways but off the side of the road I can see a car that is towing something, (which turns out to be a big arse boat when I get closer) I slow down to see what’s going on , but I’m in a 3 trailer road train and nowhere for me to pull over , so slowly cruise past and see a 79? Series cruiser Ute with what looks like a 7 mtr boat on a trailer and an elderly couple who look like they are in a world of pain , plus it’s minimum 45 degrees outside. There’s a truck park bay on my side of the road about 5ks up , so I pull in , unhook the trailers and go back.

Old mate has 2 jacks under the Toyota , the drivers rear is just a smashed alloy rim with some rubber lying around it but can’t jack as the ground is soft, no worries I got wood and jacks , so long story short , get him sorted, and I must say he did most of the work so he didn’t stand back and watch... anyway he says this is the 2nd tyre to blow in less than 250ks... I’m looking at the tyres on his Toyota and they are BFG All Terrain and look almost new... I ask him how old etc , only got them less than 6 months ago he says... anyway we finish up and he tells me that’s his last spare , we are about 250ks south of Katherine and god knows where he would get another tyre to the south , maybe Tennent creek which is about 450ks south...

Then old mate hooks up his compressor to the tyre we just fitted , and I said, doesn’t look flat what pressure you running .. then he says 60psi.. out of shock I said hot or cold .. cold he says... then says do you think that’s too high?

It’s minimum 45degress , guessing road temp is double that , then add tyre heat and I’m guessing those tyres must have had close to 70psi at operating temp..

We dropped them back to 40 and went our seperate ways after many thank you’s.... later that day I asked a couple of our trucks that were behind me if they seen him stranded further down the highway and they said NO..

I wonder if he made it to Queensland without any more tyre drama’s...

Cheers Bulletman

[incisor]

Your a good man Mr Bullet!

[Bulletman]

Your a good man Mr Bullet!

Thanks Inc , but I would like to think it’s what we would all do, I was taught by my parents you always stop and ask if people are ok , even if you don’t have the skills or tools to fix them , you at the least drive away knowing you asked. Don’t worry I have been stuck on the side of the road more than once, and was told by those that stopped , they only stopped because they seen young kids.

I didn’t post to get praise or thanks or to single out a Toyota driver, as his rig and the spares etc he had were more than most would carry, but throw in the wet ground from the wet season rains and the high temps and humidity it could go south very fast. I posted more because I have not come across people who feel they need to inflate tyres to those pressures. If you seen how that tyre exploded it would really be an eye opener.

Cheers Bulletman

[V8Ian]

Good on you Bulletman, a true knight of the road; you just need to hone your timing. Watch and learn.

I was northbound on The Lynd (now Gregory Development Road), between Bluewater and Greenvale, on a midsummer day. It was 40ish⁰ outside, but comfortable in the truck.
I came across a Y62 Nissan Patrol and large pop-up caravan, pulled up on the southbound side of the road. There was a lady, well into her 70s standing to the left of her car. Being unlike yourself, unfit and lazy. I decided with three trailers of fuel, I could park wherever I damn well liked. I pulled up just short of the stricken vehicle, half blocking the road. I crossed the road, scanning the car and caravan, not seeing any obvious problems. The elderly lady was standing at the passenger door, talking to her enen more elderly, wheelchair bound husband.
I asked what the problem was, to which she replied "Got a flat tyre."
I hadn't seen a flat on the right side and a quick glance at the left revealed no catastrophic deflation, so I enquired as to which one.
"That one." she replied, pointing to the left rear 265 on the back of the Nissan.
I was a bit confused and said "I'll change it for you, but it looks alright."
She came back with "Of course it looks alright, I just changed it."
Crikey, it's 100⁰ in the waterbag and this little old lady has not just changed a large wheel, on a lifted four wheel drive, but removed and replaced the wheel from the roof rack!

See what I mean about timing, Bulletman? Quarter of an hour earlier and that could have been me busting a gut. [bigwhistle]

[Bulletman]

Good on you Bulletman, a true knight of the road; you just need to hone your timing. Watch and learn.

I was northbound on The Lynd (now Gregory Development Road), between Bluewater and Greenvale, on a midsummer day. It was 40ish⁰ outside, but comfortable in the truck.
I came across a Y62 Nissan Patrol and large pop-up caravan, pulled up on the southbound side of the road. There was a lady, well into her 70s standing to the left of her car. Being unlike yourself, unfit and lazy. I decided with three trailers of fuel, I could park wherever I damn well liked. I pulled up just short of the stricken vehicle, half blocking the road. I crossed the road, scanning the car and caravan, not seeing any obvious problems. The elderly lady was standing at the passenger door, talking to her enen more elderly, wheelchair bound husband.
I asked what the problem was, to which she replied "Got a flat tyre."
I hadn't seen a flat on the right side and a quick glance at the left revealed no catastrophic deflation, so I enquired as to which one.
"That one." she replied, pointing to the left rear 265 on the back of the Nissan.
I was a bit confused and said "I'll change it for you, but it looks alright."
She came back with "Of course it looks alright, I just changed it."
Crikey, it's 100⁰ in the waterbag and this little old lady has not just changed a large wheel, on a lifted four wheel drive, but removed and replaced the wheel from the roof rack!

See what I mean about timing, Bulletman? Quarter of an hour earlier and that could have been me busting a gut. [bigwhistle]

I just hope when I have as many hours and kms in the saddle as you obi wan I am as wise . :)

I have no doubt if I was an hour later I would have been greeted with the same situation as you , as he was well prepared.

Cheers Bulletman

[V8Ian]

Mate, like you I would never pass any vehicle, potentially in distress, without checking with the occupants.
I've been rescued and performed some strange rescues.

[spudfan]

I remember some years ago I stopped to lend a hand to a woman whose car had a flat tyre. It was obvious from the state of the tyre and indeed the rim that she had driven on it instead of pulling over immediately. The rim and wheelnuts were warm from been driven on the shredded tyre. It was a warm day and while unscrewing the now loosened and hot wheel nuts, I casually remarked how "these warm days make your nuts very hot" as an allusion to her having driven on the flat tyre. The way she backed away I don't think she took it that way...

[windsock]

I remember some years ago I stopped to lend a hand to a woman whose car had a flat tyre. It was obvious from the state of the tyre and indeed the rim that she had driven on it instead of pulling over immediately. The rim and wheelnuts were warm from been driven on the shredded tyre. It was a warm day and while unscrewing the now loosened and hot wheel nuts, I casually remarked how "these warm days make your nuts very hot" as an allusion to her having driven on the flat tyre. The way she backed away I don't think she took it that way...

This post here ^ and this post here Some blokes have all of the luck.... (https://www.aulro.com/afvb/general-chat/289510-some-blokes-have-all-luck.html) perhaps has a common denominator... :whistling:

[jonesfam]

It's not always appreciated when you stop to help.
I was travelling the Normanton to Burketown road & came a cross a small soft roader on the side of the road at a funny angle, drivers door open & engine running. I walked around the car, could see no one, gave a Coee, no response.
Walked into the bush a bit to find a young lady had been court short!
For some reason I got a mouth full!
Quickly went on my way.
Jonesfam

[Hogarthde]

“Got a mouthful “

Serves you right !!........tormenting us with long legged blondes in short shorts, humph.

[JDNSW]

About ten years ago I was driving back here from Perth with my brother in the County in January. Between Esperance and Norseman, about twenty kilometres north of Salmon Gums, we found a Corolla pulled up by the roadside. There was a young couple there, and they had a problem. LH back tyre was flat. There was a spare, but no tools. They had driven from Kalgoorlie to Esperance, and were on their way back. And she announced she was going to kill her brother, who, we gathered, had borrowed the tools out of her car, and presumably not returned them.

We managed to get her changed with some difficulty, mainly because the wheel nuts and the winch for the spare needed a socket size that was not in the limited set I had on board. We managed somehow, I can't remember exactly. The biggest issue was that everything metal was too hot to touch without gloves. Must have been around 45C in the shade - and there wasn't any (shade that is).

[ATH]

I managed to get the attention of a woman driver one day after much headlight flashing and told her a rear tyre was flat and she was driving on the rim. "Well I don't know how to change it" she said" My husband will have to do it" and drove off sending more sparks everywhere. :)
I would have offered to change it but her attitude was not the best.
Sometimes though I won't help people especially when they're sleazy types like the bloke at the local servo recently.... there I am checking and pumping a tyre and this bloke just ups and asks 'Do my tyres for me please, I don't know how to".
"Well now's the time to learn" I said and gave him the hose.
Grown bloke doesn't know how to do something as simple as that! I suspect he just liked getting others to do stuff so he wouldn't get his hands dirty. I won't mention where he was from as there'd be accusations of racism. :)
AlanH.

[V8Ian]

I managed to get the attention of a woman driver one day after much headlight flashing and told her a rear tyre was flat and she was driving on the rim. "Well I don't know how to change it" she said" My husband will have to do it" and drove off sending more sparks everywhere. :)
I would have offered to change it but her attitude was not the best.
Sometimes though I won't help people especially when they're sleazy types like the bloke at the local servo recently.... there I am checking and pumping a tyre and this bloke just ups and asks 'Do my tyres for me please, I don't know how to".
"Well now's the time to learn" I said and gave him the hose.
Grown bloke doesn't know how to do something as simple as that! I suspect he just liked getting others to do stuff so he wouldn't get his hands dirty. I won't mention where he was from as there'd be accusations of racism. :)
AlanH.
Rockingham? [bigwhistle][wink11]

[PhilipA]

Er I think you gave him the wrong info and that it was just bad luck that he had blowouts as the maximum pressure for a BFG AT is 65PSI (depending on size) and it has the greatest load rating at maximum pressure.
The chart shows it.
IT of course depends on the size of the tyres on the car.176183



By reducing pressure a lot the load rating of the tyre is reduced by a lot , which would increase the danger of blowout.
Regards PhilipA

[Bulletman]

Er I think you gave him the wrong info and that it was just bad luck that he had blowouts as the maximum pressure for a BFG AT is 65PSI (depending on size) and it has the greatest load rating at maximum pressure.
The chart shows it.
IT of course depends on the size of the tyres on the car.176183



By reducing pressure a lot the load rating of the tyre is reduced by a lot , which would increase the danger of blowout.
Regards PhilipA

I only went on someone blowing 2 tyres within 250km in 45+ degree heat . I never told him to continue to his destination with no spare either , I stopped because I could see the predicament he was in on soft ground with not being able to jack the car to get the tyre off.. plus working in the sun in that heat and humidity brings you undone very quickly , especially if you are not a local who is used to it

If his brand new spare was pumped up by the tyre shop who supplied them I would assume they would have a pressure in them they found acceptable. In the end all my advice was that I thought 60psi was to high in these conditions. We always drop our tyre pressure on our trucks and trailers this time of year due to the temperatures experienced up here this time of year , very often around 50 degrees

I can see by the chart that possibly it wasn’t, if out of the 6 sizes listed on that chart he had either of the 2 that allowed for the 60+psi pressure.

Cheers Bulletman

[Saitch]

If it was a 7 metre boat, then it would come in around 2.5 tonne to 2.75 tonne. No need for 60 psi, if that's the case, in my opinion.

[scarry]

No need for 60 psi, if that's the case, in my opinion.

I would hate to think what the ride would be like at those pressures....

Nice looking Mustang in the middle of the Logan Motorway today,pointing the wrong way, with all tyres blown,and 3 unmarked police cars beside it.

i dont think they needed any help so didnt stop[bighmmm]

i think the Tyre shredder did its job[biggrin]

[RANDLOVER]

It's not always appreciated when you stop to help.
I was travelling the Normanton to Burketown road & came a cross a small soft roader on the side of the road at a funny angle, drivers door open & engine running. I walked around the car, could see no one, gave a Coee, no response.
Walked into the bush a bit to find a young lady had been court short!
For some reason I got a mouth full!
Quickly went on my way.
Jonesfam

Had something similar happen, years ago a client who became more of a friend invited me to an Oktoberfest as he was German, we spent a lovely afternoon and evening there and decided to leave, I drove out first and noticed when I turned at a set of traffic lights he continued straight on, thinking he was getting lost now that it was dark, I did a u-turn, raced after him and just saw him turn into a side street, he finally slowed and stopped so I jumped out and went to the passenger door to tell him to follow me, only to have it open and his wife throw up narrowly missing my shoes! Turns out Anne was a coeliac and the different foods had upset her stomach, and he was just looking for a quiet place to stop.