[Joe-n-Doe]

I stopped to help out another Montana owner today. When I first saw him he was stopped on the shoulder of the road, but was able to limp to a nearby gas station/small truck stop. He was in the process of loosening the lugs to a rear tire on his Monty. There wasn’t much left of the tire…not being a tire person, the only thing left is what I think is called the liner and it was shredded. The tires were not Mission and were too dirty to read the brand name. The Monty was 2002 32 footer.

The driver told me the tires were at least 4 years old and that a couple of days ago he noticed age cracks on them. He had planned on replacing them once he got home (15 miles from the station). He told me he was surprised at the amount of damage the disintegrating tire had done to both the under carriage, wheel skirt, and leading edge of the bottom of the trailer. I looked and saw a lot of damaged insulation, the trim around the wheel skirt was hanging loose, and what I have called the leading edge had been bent upward about 2 inches.

I asked the driver if he heard the tire blow. He said he didn’t think it blew, rather it was a result of a rapid loss of pressure. Anyway he didn’t hear anything. He learned of the problem from a passing motorist and police officer.

Figuring I would learn something, I helped him finish changing the tire. After loosening the lugs, he used an EZ Jack from CW to elevate the trailer. First time for me to see one of those gadgets used. Gotta get one! Also need to buy a TPMS.

Told him about MOC and how to find it on the Internet.