To reiterate rumbleweed's advice - I'll tell you my experience. BTM (Before TrailManor) I had a Starcraft popup with (unknown to me) 10 year old tires! On our Memorial Day trip in 2007, I had a blowout about 2 hours out on a 6 hour trip. I had to use the TV jack to jack up the trailer but the lug wrench for the TV would not fit. Fortunately we had friends traveling with us who had one. About 2 hours later I had another blowout. And the town I happened to be in did not have the size tire I needed. It turned a 6 hour drive to a full day of changing tires, a 3 ours trip to get a new tire, and setting up at our campsite at about 8:00! Needless to say, our first trip to Walmart at our destination I bought a 4 way lug wrench that I carry in my "TV Box" - stuff I need or might need with the TM folded up.
Fast forward to fall 2009. We had stopped to get gas and lunch in Raton, NM after a trip to the Balloon Fiesta in Albuquerque. As I was pumping gas I realized the street side tire was going flat. Must have just happened. I was able to pull into an large flat open space in the gas station parking lot to change the tire. Fortunately I had added a 2 1/2 ton bottle jack to my TV so the little sidetrip was of no real consequence. I'm not sure the TV jack would have worked near as well. It cost me about an hour of time then. And $300 this spring when I replaced the tires.
4 way lug and bottle jack - two essentials for your "camping box."
Alan
|