Having been told by various sources that “if you own an RV you can expect some sort of problem at some point,” I had (wisely it appears in hindsight) shelled out a few bucks for Good Sam Club’s Emergency Road Service. Fortunately there was an active cell and it wouldn’t be necessary to hike to either: a.) where there was one or, b.) the nearest town some 9 miles away. The person on the other end (Elaine?) was quite understanding and reassuring; when we were finished all that was left was the waiting (which turned out to be a little less than 3 hours).

While I was waiting I decided I might save a little money on the repairs if I make an attempt to locate the tire and wheel in the knee high prairie grasses. I glanced around by couldn’t see a thing and decided the best strategy would be to walk back and, hopefully, be able to see the path the tire had taken having made the (correct) assumption that it would mash the grass down as it rolled along. I finally picked up the trail, the bad news being that I lost that same trail once the tire continued on into the crops growing immediately adjacent to the highway easement. As I got within about 50 feet I could see it again but didn’t think it would be a good idea to trespass so went back to the truck to see how Roxie was doing. As I sat there I kept thinking that this was probably going to be expensive and it may not be such a bad idea to go get that tire and wheel. So off I went again this time continuing on into the field about 100 feet before seeing where the tire had suddenly turned right and then fell and left a circular impression where it had come to rest in the green field. While the wheel itself was in good shape I knew immediately that the tire had not fared so well- there was a 3 inch gash where it had struck the trailers rear stabilizer jack.

The rig that came to pick me up was a big tractor with a 35 foot trailer. It took a little while to get everything loaded – that’s right, both truck and trailer loaded on (I drove it up there) for the ride back to Bismarck. Roxie and I got to ride in the sleeper portion of the truck – first time in a “Big Rig” for both of us. Adam, the driver from Ace Towing, couldn’t have been nicer, explaining every thing we had to do to get loaded on his trailer. He also told me that I was the fourth one he’d picked up this month.

We didn’t get back to town until nearly 4pm and the tire store told me they wouldn’t be able to get me back on the road until late the following morning because they couldn’t get the part they needed to make the necessary repairs. They were nice enough to let me plug in to there outside receptacle so at least we wouldn’t have to go find a motel for the night. The interesting thing they discovered was that three of the studs that hold the wheel and tire in place (6 total) were already cracked (instead of nice shiny metal like you would find in a new break, these three showed signs of long term corrosion). With that little bit of info I decided to have them replace the studs on the other brake hubs while they were at it - if for no other reason than a little peace of mind.

With our new hub and tire - and a stop at a local RV dealer for an estimate to repair the damage caused by the careening tire - we were off to Minot (rhymes with “why not”) again.

Or so we thought.

Within 100 feet of the point at which the tire and wheel went off into the prairie my phone rings. It is the manager from the tire store in Bismarck calling to tell me that they installed the wrong grease seals and I would have to come back so they can install the correct ones. Not happy about that, of course, but the option would have been to keep going like I was until the grease leaked out and I have the pleasure of dealing with a frozen axle. So back to Bismarck we go – at least this time we were under our own power.

Arriving at the tire store I had to drive around the building to get to the spot where they had done the work earlier and they must have seen me coming. I saw the manager making his way toward the side door and, as I rounded the corner, he was there with the two guys who had done the job in the morning with tools in hand ready to get started.

While this second part of the episode was certainly inconvenient, the fact is they didn’t have to call me knowing I’d be far, far away before a problem arose. Plus, they didn’t have my phone number on the work order and had to call around to get it (the RV dealer had it but they couldn’t find the guy I spoke with; he finally did get it from the tow company). With that in mind I just want to publicly thank Pat and the staff at NW Tire in Bismarck (north store) – if you’re ever there and need tires or brakes stop in and see them. (If you own an RV you might want to contact Good Sam about their ERS package, too. Best guess is the tow would have been well over $500.)

We did finally make it to Minot, fingers (and paws) crossed as we passed a certain point on the map somewhere near The Twilight Zone . . .

(The story of the Internet connection at this campground, amusing in itself, will have to wait for the next edition . . .)