Warning this is a long winded rambling semi rant from an old fart.

What I learned on summer vacation by Crashton:


I learned that I love doing road trips in my MINI. Well I already knew this, but reaffirmed it.

I learned to be laid back & enjoy the journey.

I learned just because one is lost doesn't mean you won't find a wonderful road to drive & sights to see. Even gravel roads can be fun.

I learned my MINI will run happily on rotgut plus gas.

I learned how the tire nanny light works, what it means & how to reset it.

I learned they roll the sidewalks up at 5pm Saturday in Pella Iowa.

I learned if I put 65 PSI in the right rear tire in Pella Iowa I could almost get 40 miles to Grinnel Iowa before the tire nanny light comes back on. Doh!

I learned how to use that awful little MINI jack in the Comfort Inn parking lot the following morning.

I learned it was very smart to carry a good lug wrench.

I learned how stupid a MINI looks with a donut spare mounted.

I learned a MINI drives just fine on a donut spare.

I learned it was smart to carry a donut spare.

I learned it would have been much smarter to carry one of my full sized snow tires as a spare on such a long trip.

I learned there was no way I was going to drive 650 miles home on a donut spare. Doh!

I learned that if I carried an air pump & slime it would have fixed my slowly leaking flat. Doh!

I learned that in deepest darkest Iowa on a Sunday you are up the creek without paddle if you have an airless tire. Doh!

I learned that in Oskaloosa Iowa they have a Super WallyWorld that is open on Sunday & sells tires. Super!

I learned that my tire was unrepairable. Doh!

I learned that Iowa nails eat tires. Doh!

I learned performance tires wear like pencil erasers.

I learned most all of those tires WallyWorld has are all terrain, tractor or turf tires.

I learned that a MINI is as strange to the Oskaloosa locals as a Lunar Rover.

I learned they had one tire that would fit the MINI & a few hunderd for a combine or a tractor. Phew...

I learned that the evilness of WallyWorld has nice kind folks working in Oskaloosa Iowa.

I learned that one needs to check their tires very closely before going on a long trip.

I learned that all in all it was a fun adventure.

I learned my Babs has a great sense of humor & lots of patients.

My take on this whole adventure is:

Carry a donut if you are not going too far from home.
Carry a bag to put a dirty tire in.
Carry a good lug wrench.
Carry a full sized spare if traveling far away from home where you will not have access to a good tire shop.
Carry a tire inflator & slime. Available from the fine folks at evil Wally World.
Above all carry a full sized sense of humor.



Epilogue:

Tuesday I decided I didn't want just one new Wally World impliment tire on my MINI so I went over to evil WallyWorld in Lweis center. Bought me 3 more impliment tires so I'd have a matched set.

Much to my suprise & dismay the 3 Stooges are now working as tire busters for WallyWorld. I have never seen such incompitence. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Glad I have a full sized sense of humor. A grumpy guy might have killed them. After 2 1/2 hours the 3 tires are mounted & I'm shaking my head as I'm driving home. The tires ride nice, are quiet & wonder of wonders balanced well.

Truth be told they are Goodyear Eagle Authourity's & yep they are a car tire.

 

Sounds like quite the adventure!!





This is false:

 

Wonderful lessons to live by, too bad they came with all the agravation!

I will definitely put them in my life book of lessons learned from other's bad experiences.

 

Adam-

Gravel roads are fun....



I have a long history of driving on gravel. Try it you may like it. My MINI is at stock ride height & equipped with a skid plate so I don't fear the gravel.

 

Hey Mat they say what doesn't kill you makes you stronger.

Guess I'm a little stronger than I was this time last week.

 

Nice to see old dogs learning new tricks!
(Even I have a compressor and fix-a-flat in the boot.) However I don't always have a donut!
BUT you'd have NO good story to tell if you had all your bases covered all the time. And now we all know we can usually get a tire at WickedWalMrt.

Thanks for all the life lessons you share!

 

Chuck, now I am afraid to drive to breakfast this saturday unless I equip SLVRBCK with the CHESTRAK (Chucks Handy Emergency Tire Repair Action Kit).

 

Don't forget the emergency donut. Might get hungry while rebuilding that tire on the side of the road.

It's been a long time since I've had a flat tar. This one I will remember for a long time I think.

 

"What I learned on summer vacation......"

What a wonderful title!

....Les

 

I had a bit better luck on my trip to MA. I didn't have room for a spare, I didn't bother to take slime/pump, and I didn't even carry my jack and lug wrench. Maybe I'll think about it on my next trip!

 

Figures you'd have an emergency donut Chuck!

 

Yep have to have an emergency donut. A bagel will not do.

 

Oh that I may learn these lessons BEFORE I leave for my fall x-country trip. Thanks for the wisdom, Chuck! Now where's the pictures of all those corn fields??

 

"I learned how to use that awful little MINI jack in the Comfort Inn parking lot the following morning."

after using the stock jack a few times I found a honda jack is a perfect replacement. Fits well and is much more stable.

 

Walmart eh? Could of been worse..

 

The Iowa Wally World was fine. The one here in Lewis Center could have been bad if I had not stayed & supervised the 3 Stooges. My rule is to never leave my car unattended in a tire shop. I just don't trust them.

 

You might find a corn field or two here....

http://crashton.smugmug.com/Cars/Iow...82631896_JaDQu