Roll With The Changes

Roll with the changes 

There aren't too many things in life which are more annoying than a flat tire when you least expect it, but then again who really expects a flat. Maybe the bloke driving around on four bald tires is expecting one, but he probably doesn't want one either. Although I will admit that one day on my way to get new tires I tried, and successfully I might add, to "burn off" a tire. Luckily for me though I was within one block of the tire shop, and even more serendipitously the police never caught me on the way there since I would stop for every red light and stop sign only to "light up" the rear wheels upon take off, sometimes reaching 75mph on the speedometer before the tires started to catch and I would end up at a simple slow 30mph.

Most people though aren't out there trying to lose a tire on purpose. If you're like most people you want to drive on your tires as long as conceivable. But should the unexpected happen some long lonely night and the world seems to want you to simply stare out at the stars on the dark moonless night in the middle of nowhere, it would behoove you to have a slight understanding of the workings of your spare tire, wherever it may be stowed, since cell phones don't always work everywhere. At this point fate might be telling you to slow down. Alas, this isn't usually the case, so give heed, and have some advice.

First and foremost in the changing of a spare is to check your spare on a somewhat regular basis. One easy time to do this is when you have your oil changed. Simply ask the shop to give the spare a once over, this shouldn't cost anything, and can save you a major headache in the long run. If you prefer to check the soundness of your own spare then of course be sure to first look in the basic manual that comes with most cars. This will give you a great overview as to the location of the spare and the tools for changing it. The manual and even possibly the jack will also tell you where to place it under the car for raising that offending tire off the ground for removal. When you do check your spare, ensure that it has adequate air. Look for signs of severe cracking which can be caused by age and excessive dryness-likely on cars more than about 15 years of age. If you suspect that your spare might not be safe due to age, be sure to take it to a local tire shop and ask them. If it's bad, get a new one or simply buy another one from a junkyard. The second option is the more cost effective route, provided you find one. Once you've determined that your spare is a good working spare you'll have half the battle won.

Second thing to be prepared for is to keep a small box of essential items somewhere in your vehicle, usually the trunk, but can be wherever, even your glove box, provided you don't use it for anything else. Here in what we'll call the "Tool Box" you'll need to keep a pair of cheap gloves, an air tire gauge, an emergency flare, and a flashlight with the batteries in a baggy. Now, the gloves don't need to be cheap, but you aren't likely to ever see them unless you need them. Gardening style gloves provide enough protection from the tire tools and still allow you decent tactile sense. An air tire gauge is just a good thing to keep on hand; after all, it is for the tires. An emergency flare could be the old fashioned style, or even the newer, battery operated e-flares that can be reused. Either one would be sufficient to alert other drivers to your broken down rig. The flashlight is simply to light up enough of the area you're working in to get the job done. Once again, cheap is just fine, it will probably never get used until you actually need it. The batteries need to be in a zipper style baggy so that they last longer. Batteries left inside the light, even if it is off, still seem to degrade and leak all over the internal mechanisms and render the light useless. Up until now you haven't even heard about the "how" of changing that tire, well, follow the first two things and the changing is easy. The hardest part about changing the tire is being ready for it. So if you have gotten your tool box ready and the spare is in good shape, you are ready for the nuts and bolts part of changing a flat tire.

When you do go change that tire, first things first, if it is dark out, take the flashlight and put the batteries in it and keep it handy. Now put on your