What the what? Why, that's a spare tire on our longterm 2009 Dodge Ram 1500!
It's a long story, filled with intrigue and scofflaws. And I'm going to share it with you.
Okay, I'm lying about the intrigue. But not the scofflaws.
Picture it. Thunderhill Raceway, Willows, CA. May 2010. The Ram is my tow vehicle. The TPMS light flicks on during the drive back to the hotel after the first day of a two day race. I hit the driver's front tire with some air the next morning on my way back to the track a few miles away. There's a tire service in the paddock, so I'll have 'em fix whatever's ailing it.
Sure enough, I find a nail. Dead center of the tread. Easy plug job. Tire service plugs it for $20. Done deal.
Not done deal. TPMS lights up again on the way to our Sacramento stopover after the race. Tire service guy is a tool. Can't even get a simple patch job done correctly. I pull off the freeway and hit it with some air. I'll deal with it proper-like in the morning.
Next morning, sure enough, the TPMS light's back on. I decide that towing any distance with a plugged tire that's losing air isn't a smart idea. If the failing plug lets go all at once, I'll cause a wreck that'll take out the tri-state area.
Time to suck it up and just throw the spare on. This thing's a truck. It's got a full size, real-deal spare.
No, it doesn't. It has a temporary use spare. Crap. No way I'm towing 8 hours back to LA on a speed- and distance-restricted donut. Gotta get the plugged tire fixed.
Conveniently, the stock tires are Goodyears, and the local Goodyear tire shop is not far from where I installed the spare. Inconveniently, they don't have the equipment to deal with 20 inch wheels, so they don't sell the associated tires. Guess what the Ram has?
Still, they can at least diagnose the leak. They inflate the leaky tire to 60 psi and slather soapy water over the plug. It's not leaking there. Guess the paddock tire guy wasn't a tool after all. Hmm. Out back the tire goes, to be immersed in a water tub to locate the real leak.
Hardly visible with the naked eye, the source of the leak is revealed -- a tiny pinprick dead smack in the center of the sidewall. It's an unusual place for a puncture, but not unheard of.
At least, that's what I thought until I remembered that my teammate's street car also experienced a flat tire. At the track. Because of a puncture. In the driver's front tire. Due to a tiny pinprick dead smack in the center of the sidewall.
Hmm.
Turns out, the Willows police department received several reports of sidewall punctures from patrons of the hotel at which we stayed during the race. Track-related vehicles -- and that includes trucks serving as support vehicles -- were apparently targeted.
Up the road, America's Tire sold us a replacement tire, a BFGoodrich Long Trail T/A Tour tire since they didn't have the exact stock tire on hand. Beggars can't be choosers. Total bill out the door: $216.85.
As for the Ram, the scissor jack is pretty fiddly -- it won't sit flat on the pavement, so when you try to crank it up with the sixty feet of extension rods, it flops around like a fish on dry land. The spare weighs a thousand tons, too.
Still, no awl-wielding ass clown can deflate my affection for the Ram as a tow vehicle. I'm really going to miss it when it leaves.
Trip distance: 1,125.7 miles
Fuel economy while towing: 12.2 mpg
Peak oil temp observed while towing over the Grapevine again: 235 degrees F
Jason Kavanagh, Engineering Editor @ 28,945 miles.
carguy622 says:
05:16 PM, 05/12/10
Some people are just idiots and need to grow up.
On a different note, I guess that's another concern when riding on 20" wheels, will the tire shop be able to service them?
auto4fun says:
05:17 PM, 05/12/10
Wow, that's really frustrating! Hope they catch whoever did it, however I doubt the hotel had security cameras.
zcalvert says:
05:21 PM, 05/12/10
wow, that's effed up.
i'm sure the little weasel thinks he's hilarious... people like this make Siberian prisons seem like a good idea.
cruiserhead1 says:
05:41 PM, 05/12/10
I had assumed there was a correlation between engine oil temp and coolant temp. What is making the oil temps spike when the trans & coolant are relatively normal?
actualsize says:
06:13 PM, 05/12/10
Plus, and this is the good part, we really should ditch the brand-new BFG tire Jay bought to make it home and buy a new matching Goodyear tire. Don't know if we will, but we should. That's another mark in the "minus" column for the non-standard (and expensive) tires that you get when succumb to "shiny things" and pop for the optional 20" wheels.
We need to stop this big-wheel nonsense. And pickup trucks that have a tow rating and a bed should have full-size non-temporary spare tires. P-E-R-I-O-D.
PS: If you'd read my earlier Dodge Ram Suspension Walkaround, you'd know that the tire Jay was trying to muscle around weighed 76.5 pounds.
tomm250 says:
06:13 PM, 05/12/10
I wouldn't rule out a local tire shop as the culprit. Happens all the time. I knew a place in NYC that used to pay a guy to go out at night and give flat tires in the immediate vicinity to the shop. The worst thing is he had to give each car two flats because if it was only one, the person could use their spare and change it themselves. With two bad tires they HAD to go to the place nearby. F'ed up, I know.
threemopars says:
08:37 PM, 05/12/10
The 20"s are not optional on the Laramie Ram. It's standard. So your pretty much stuck.
And yes I did read the suspension walk-around. And noted the part where it says: 'A rear stabilizer bar is another thing you won't see on a leaf-sprung truck,"
My 02 Dakota, and 06 Dakota would disagree.
http://www.allpar.com/images/dodge/dakota/rear-suspension.gif
"A rear stabilizer bar was included with the optional Tire and Handling package which was available on both 2WD and 4WD models. The bar pivoted on the axle housing and was connected to the frame through low-friction links."
So yes, you can find a stabilizer bar on a truck with leaf springs on the rear axle.
isend2c says:
11:16 PM, 05/12/10
You averaged 12.2 MPG WITH the Hemi AND Towing?!?!??! Lucky Devils. Our 2003 4.7 V8 Magnum gets 11.3 MPG driving on the highway at 68 for 30 miles. Without any extra weight.
rsholland says:
05:36 AM, 05/13/10
Well as I see it, there are two jerks here: The guy who sabotaged your tire, and the Dodge engineer who thought a temp spare on a truck was a good idea.
yellowmiata says:
08:09 AM, 05/13/10
+1 with trucks needing normal tires - the big-rim BS needs to stop.
And while we're at it, lets get rid of "city trucks." If a truck ain't haulin' or muddin', then why buy a truck?
A truck needs dents, scratches, a full sized spare, normal side walls & big controls for gloved hands. It needs the option of a manual tranny and a diesel (if full sized). Maybe that's the Texas in me talkin', but a city truck makes no sense.
Kevin
greenpony says:
11:14 AM, 05/13/10
"awl-wielding ass clown"
Nice.
ptcdawg says:
11:21 AM, 05/13/10
Another vote against HUGE wheels. And I agree, any tow vehicle worth it's salt, has a full sized spare.
myob says:
05:29 PM, 05/17/10
Could have been worse. Just think if they put runflats on trucks like they do on more cars now.
Hate those things. You feel very vulnerable when on out-of-town trips, especially in rural areas.