Apr 14, 2013
Surprise news / Comedy of errors
We reluctantly left our Quartzite camp and headed into Lake Havasu City at about 9:50AM. First stop was to pick up 9 bags of dog food which should last us until mid October. The girls are on a special Hill’s kibble which is almost 50% cheaper here in the USA. The vet was not available to check on Carmeh so we will wait until we get home in a week to have her lump checked..
The forecast high today in LHC was 98F, I am sure it was even hotter than that. Our noses have been so dry and bleeding since we crossed into the US. The winds here are very high and hot hot hot, almost like a blast furnace. Big stop shop at Walmart, nothing clothing wise but more odds and sods and enough wine to get us into Canada. I found some gluten free bread but way too high in calories for me so I will make do with my frozen corn tortillas.
At 3PM we were ready to head into the BLM lands when Colin decided to drive up to I40 & HWY 95 to the Love’s Truck Tire Shop. He wanted a second opinion. It is a good thing he did. They looked ( actually about 3 guys ) at the front RV tires and declared they were not safe and we likely would have a blowout within a day. 98% for certain he said.
You can see the lump. The front right tire was worn unevenly. The tires were made in 2005 even though we only bought them 5 years ago, so they had been sitting around deteriorating even before we bought them. We were also told that the tires we have wore so badly because we travel heavy and they only have a load rating of 14. The new tires have a load rating of 18 which means we can carry another 1800 LBS per wheel which is a lot. Most have been all that wine I buy for Mexico that wore down the tires!! But actually we have to go by the chassis load ratings so we likely won't be adding an more weight to the RV.
How lucky were we? VERY!! We just happened to be travelling on a slow day in our schedule and had the time to check in at Love's. They just happened to have free time and just happened to have the two much better tires for the RV.
These guys are working in 98F heat and hot wind. I was inside with the generator running doing paperwork and drinking vino blanco. More surprising was that the left front tire had a further problem in that the inner belt was separating. George said we likely would not have been able to drive to Nevada ( not far away at all ) never mind Canada. Better yet they did check the ball joints and everything seems just fine in that area. The back four tires are in good shape and not worn. They are good for another year. All in all this took two hours of our day. Absolutely great service from Love’s.
We then fueled up since we were already there and we would soon be in California. The cost of diesel is still the cheapest in Parker at 3.84 and at Love’s we paid 3.94 cash price. However we only took 50 gallons so it was a mere $5.00 difference. I forgot to mention, the cost of the 2 new tires and labor and all the little extras came to $1299.91. We think that is a very fair value for the wonderful service we received.
Finally on the road at 5:40PM. We decided to head back towards LHC and the Craggy Wash BLM lands. As we turned off the highway Colin said there was a Love's truck following us. We finally stopped. It was George from Love's returning our 50AMP power cord. At one point we were going to plug in but went with the generator instead and somehow with everything going on the cord was left in the bay. Thank you George!! You really went above and beyond.
We think we have been here at Craggy Wash but a long time back and that perhaps since then the camping boundaries have changed. We didn’t remember having to drive so far back. There were many easy areas for us to park in in the no camping section but as we drove further back….well…..
The girls had been so good hangng out in the RV during the shopping part and the tire part. They came alive as we drove into the wash. At this point we decided to not go further back but to unhook and turn the RV around. Much easier as we could see where we were and the sun was setting soon.
We were set up by 6:20 PM and Colin took the girls up the hill. Not so windy here.
Someone had created this path in the middle of nowhere and so I took my glass of vino and the girls for a wee walk.
The view from the top of the path. You can see Carmeh panting.
Self portrait.
The end to an interesting day. Thanks for these photos mi amor.
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Wow, so glad you decided to go for a second opinion. It’s scary, when you stop at a tire shop you assume they know what they are doing. Safe travels!
Jean….now we can travel with peace of mind.
Connie….you have no choice but to go with the flow. Thanks about the photos, Colin is the pro on those parked shots.
George…the service was wonderful and we felt very confident with Love’s assessment of the tires as opposed to the shop in Quarztsite.
Contessa & Colin, love how you go with the flow – great photos – awesome spots overnighting – we’re enjoying it as much as we’re sure you are, too!!!
Good thing you got those tires checked again. I certainly don’t fool with them. Nice to have good service too.
Keep on campin and enjoy the days as you go.
There are liable to be snakes so don’t let the girls wander more than a few feet from you. Glad you got your tires taken care of. Sorry I am so far behind on reading posts but I was out in the RV too.