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 We where on our way to the lake for a day of fun in the sun, when all of a sudden that dreaded sound we all fear, BOOM! a tire blew out on the trailer! Now this could go a bunch of different ways but luckily for me I was able to get the rig off the road safely, change the tire and get back out on the road.

 All of this happened out of pure luck, let me tell you why. First when the tire blew out I was on a country road with no emergency lane and the shoulder was a fairly steep decline into a ditch, not good. I was too far away from anything to try to limp it to and having a single axle trailer it really wasn't an option. So the only option I had was to change it there on the side of the road, So I got the jack out of the Suburban and then I realized the lug wrench that iI had was not the right size for the trailer, which being in the tire buisness for almost 20 years I knew that I just wasn't prepared for it. On a whim I tried it anyway, and it was close enough to the right size to work. So now it was time to jack the trailer up on uneven ground hoping it wouldn't fall on me. After what seemed like forever in 95 degree heat the jack topped out and wouldn't go any higher, it was JUST high enough to get the flat tire off. I unbolted the spare and put it on the trailer, tightend it up, and lowered the jack down only to find out the spare had just enough air to keep the rim off the ground and thats it. So I lucked out once again and found a 7-11 a few miles up the road, I aired up the tire and was on my way again.

 Blow outs are a fact of life so we should be prepaired for them. Check the following things to make life easier in case it happens to you

Make sure you have a spare and that it is properly inflated

Make sure your jack and lug wrench are in working order and will work with your trailer

It would be a good idea to carry a piece or two of wood to put under the jack incase you have to pull over in soft sand

This whole thing would have been avoided if I would have changed out my trailer tires sooner, they had plenty of tread but are eight years old, again I should have known better having 20 years of tire experience. Check your tires out, all of them, trailer, trucks, cars whatever, and if they are over six years old change them no matter how much tread is left. How you can tell the age of a tire is by the last four digits of the DOT number. The first two numbers are the week they were built the last two are the year they were built. For instance a DOT number of 4306 would have been made on the 43rd week of 2006 and a DOT number of 5101 would have been built on the 51st week of 2001. If you check your DOT number and the last set of numbers only has three digits then it's at least 9 years old and needs to be replaced. If you don't feel like checking them yourself please take them to a dealer and have them checked. Or you can have myself or Darius check them at the next outing. I hope this helps and please be safe out there.

150 Rude

That is awful!!!  I am glad everything turned out ok.  I had asked Stan about our spare for our trailer about a month ago, and received the standard, "oh it is fine".  The next day, we went to disappearing island with some friends, who are also in the tire business.  As we were standing around in the parking lot at the ramp, Dfan looks at our spare and commented on the fact that it was dry rotted and no good!!!!!

Well lets just say that I made it known that just the day before I questioned this same tire.  We got a new spare the next week!!!

Again, I am very glad this event had a "happy" ending!!!

It's kind of funny how we spend so much time telling customers( or in my case employees) about checking things, then we are the one on the side of the road. I drive a service truck most of the time, so when we are in Jennifers is usualy when things go wrong.

Glad everything worked out ok!

      We had a blow out last summer on our boat trailer.  We were coming back from East Lake and were on 417.   Randy pulled over on the shoulder and we all got out to examine the damage.  That's when he realized that we did not have a spare for the trailer.  OOPS!!!  Luckily, Ran called Darius and he said he could bring what we needed.

     We weren't sure how long it would take, so Ran called another friend to come get the kids and me.   He said it would be easier if we met him at the nearest exit - Lee Vista.  It wasn't too far, under a mile.   I'm sure we were quite a sight.  There were four kids and myself all walking on 417 towards the exit with our Activeboating.com shirts on.  We probably looked like a daycare group.  We did have several cars stop to ask if they could give us a lift.

     All went well.  Our ride came quickly and Darius brought the spare to Randy in less than half an hour.  We sure our thankful that we have such wonderful friends.

    I am happy to report that Randy now keeps a spare mounted to the boat trailer at all times.  In fact we had to use that spare on our way down to the Keys over the Fourth of July weekend.

TowBoat trailer assistance...

They come out fix it for you, bring a spare or tow you in if needed. Worth the $10.00 a year added to your regular coverage

You are very correct. BoatUS in general is a good thing, and the on and off water towing is something EVERY boater should have. I know there are other companys out there that tow, so pick one before you need them, it will save you a lot of pain in the wallet when you do need them.

Towboats took care of me a while back.  Lost the impeller.  The towed me for a solid hour.  Membership paid for on that one tow.

Same with us, been paying for years and finaly used them the begining of the year. From the glen to Astor was a long ride, but it was better than the alternitive.

Boat US saved my tail,

         Since the comption of the new baot we have been on the water a great deal. In june we were at the glen and met Capt. MATT of baot us. We decided after a short talk that this would be a good investment for us. Since the trailor under the boat was old, and I still was not real comfortable with the power plant in thew boat. Long story short,the following weekend was fathers day. We were on our way home from a good day on the water and the worsed happened. 

          There was a catastophic failure on the trailor. The boat hit the axles and was not going to make it home behind the truck. I paniced and my wife reminded me tha twe had tow asist. I called and it took a litlle while but a low-boy 52ft. tractor trailor arrived. That seems to be the only way to get a 24ft boat on a 28ft. trailor home.  The total bill was $800.00 dollars. On the spot or no boat. Boat US covered the whole bill, after only being a member for 1wk. 

      I will never go with out haveing them as insurance, Or any other company. It was very simplily the best $150.00 we spent on the boat. 

We have been members for years and never used it. One time our searay was overheating and we called but the nearest towboat was a few hours away. We told them we were going to patch the hose and keep moving on one engine. They met up with us as we pulled in our slip. They still billed towboat 400. for the call

The other time was a dead battery on our celebrity bowrider, they towed us from buffalo bluff to crystal cove...$998.00 in the rain!!!

Never boat without towboat