TIRE - D!

   I was up early yesterday.
   Regular readers will remember the
Pop Up Camper my daughter and her
husband decided to sell. You know, the
one that's parked in my backyard.
    Well the buyer will be coming round
to pick it up in a couple days. But before
he can pull it away the tires had to be
replaced.
     My wife told me my son-in-law would
be there around 7:30 so I figured I'd get
a head start and loosen the Lug Nuts on
both tires. That head start was already in
progress when my wife discovered that
my son-in-law's planned arrival was
7:30PM!!!!!
     A neighbor lent me a floor jack and
between the two of us we hoisted one side
of the camper high enough to get a 4-way
wrench onto 3 of the 4 lugs.
    Hand turning was impossible! Those
wheels seemed to feel they had a
permanent home!
    Finally the old "foot on the wrench"
trick worked. At least for those first 3.
     I used a sharp shovel to dig some dirt
underneath the tire which finally allowed
me to get the 4 way on that last lug.
     One sore foot and three nearly pulled
muscles later the wheel and it's aged
tire were in my arms!
     Most of the rest of the morning was
devoted to tire shopping. It's funny. You
can't get rid of rubber!  But it cost an arm
and a leg for a fresh batch of the stuff in
the form of a new tire!
      I left the wheel and tire at a shop while
I returned to take on the camper's other
wheel.
     Fortunately my son showed up about
that time and made much shorter work of
both removing the second wheel and, later,
remounting both, with their new rubber,
on the camper.
    We teamed up to handle a couple other
chores including lugging my wife's bench
and a bird bath that weights as much as a
small car into their traditional summer spots
in our yard.
     I'm proud to have survived the day with
just a few bruises and just one Band Aid!
     Changing tires is such a fun way to
spend your day!
      Hope your have Triple A...and that all
your NEWS is good.