Tire Repair and Change on the road.

I blew a tire crossing a point of entry going into Oregon. Was shut down right there and at the mercy of the only road call service in the area. I backed up on a block so my lug nuts were not even fondled but I'm sure I will be paying for the service. He would not even tell me what the cost was for the new tire and total service, his shop has to negotiate that with the carrier I drive for then they will bill me from my maintenance account. I'm hoping for $600 or less. Otherwise this 'free' load starts going into negative territory.

 

You know, it sucks. But mechanics are a necessary evil until the driver starts to carry a spare, an impact, some bars, and changes their own tires. When I used to do road calls for a company I worked for, I could hook the impact to the gladhand on the truck and use that air supply to remove the lugs. If its an outside tire all you need is a block of wood and some bars. You can peel the tire off and put the new one on. Some ether and a lighter will seat the bead.

If you cant do that, you need to bow down to the people making the prices. It isnt right, but it costs us a lot for tools and the shop has to pay for us and the supplies/building.

 

It is good to thing to know how to change your own tire and have a spare handy just in case with block of wood and some bars. People have gotten to lazy now a days for their own good and have no idea what hard work is any more.

 

Any decent size company ought to have National Accounts set up with one or more tire manufacturers. That way you pay a specified amount for tires or service, and it is usually a much better deal than what a truckstop will charge you.

 

And it would not to hard for a decent size company to send their own truck and pick up the tires either if you had a full truck load or split the cost with another company who wanted tires too.

 

I always keep at least one spare tire on my trucks. It has saved me a lot of money on several occasions. I have had to pay over $200 for a worn out used tire before, not including mounting. When I have had to call road service I think the minimum that I have had to pay was $200-300. Most charge a minimum plus mileage. If you have to buy a tire from road service then you can expect to pay a premium. I can buy a new tire locally for less than $300 for my step deck and a little over $300 for my trucks and flat bed. On the road, tires can now run up to around $700. You may get one from Love's for less than $400 as long as you go with the imported tires. Of course, that doesn't include the cost of road service.

Some road service people are honest and others are not. I had an air leak once, just as I was about to go off the top of a mountain near Salt Lake City. I pulled to the side very quickly before losing all my air. The guy charged me $200. It is the least expensive road service call that I remember paying. Most you can expect to pay at least $300 plus a tire or whatever parts they need.

I have a jack in one truck. I haven't changed a tire in many years. I would need a lug wrench or impact and a couple of tire tools, but could do it. I usually just call road service if I can't get to a shop. One thing that I also do is keep a card from someone who was fair with me. I have cards from several shops that I have collected over the years from around the country. If I can make it to one of these shops then I will. There are also some that I would avoid at ALL costs.

 

I got a decent used Michelin tire put on my trailer for $254 and change at the Love's in Zanesville, OH.

last summer I had a road service call to replace 2 tires North of Junction, TX, using our spare and a used Kumho with 95% tread they sold us for under $400 for the whole service call. I guess its in who you call.

 

Tumelinos near the GWB took good care of me last week after blowing 2 tires and ruining both wheels jacking over a curb in lovely NEWARK NJ. Put 2 used tires and wheels on for $607 and got me rolling

 

Try to find someone local first and then second find a loves. I also carry a spare just for this occasion so then Im only paying for a service call/tire change as they will rip you off on the tires. Loves is very worth looking into as I just put some yokohama steer tires on with some new centramatics and with tax the bill was 1081.00. I got price quotes from other dealers and they started off at 1500 and not yokohama tires or even another brand I would consider equal.