Expensive Summer

Remember a few months ago I was talking about replacing the tires on the coach? Well, we didn’t do it then because even though the tires were several years old, they were still in great shape.

In May, while we were in Yuba City, Ken noticed the front left tire was slowly losing pressure. After we got home, Ken took it to a local tire shop and they rebuilt the valve stem. It seemed to help for a while, but while camping, Ken again noticed the tire was losing pressure. The tires now have over 30,000 miles on them, and even though they still look good, the leak and the fact that they are seven years old, caused Ken to look for eight new tires ($$$$).

Last week, Ken checked on the availability of the size tire we need (295/80R-22.5) and discovered the “oil prices” have really affected the cost of tires. One dealer quoted Ken $600 a tire, plus more for balancing and installation. However, after checking around, he found the same tires at Les Schwab for around $500 a tire (balanced & installed)….still expensive, but better. He was going to wait until the Monaco Rally in September to see if he could get them at a discount, but he was told the oil prices will just cause them to get more expensive. So, he decided to “bite the bullet” so to speak, and went ahead had the new tires installed on July 22….however, the air leak hasn’t stopped. It is still losing about 10 pounds of pressure a day. Last Thursday, Ken discussed it with the guys at Les Schwab and they said it could possibly be a cracked wheel. They advised Ken to watch the tire/wheel over the weekend, and if it continued losing pressure (it has), bring the coach back in on Monday (tomorrow), and they will put a “test” wheel on to see if that takes care of the problem……. If it does, they will order a new wheel ($350) to replace the old one.

OH BOY, with the new batteries in May, now the new tires, and possibly a new wheel, this is proving to be one very expensive summer. Wonder what will be next???