Wednesday, December 08, 2010

Good Thing We Have a Tire Pressure Monitor

We checked the tires on the motor home and truck several days ago.  Several of them needed some air due to the cooler temperatures, so Al got them all aired up to around 90 psi.

This morning, I turned on the TST Tire Pressure monitor and noticed that one rear tire was down to 60 pounds. It looked okay visually but we confirmed it was actually only 60 pounds.  If we hadn't had the tire monitoring system, we would have assumed the tires were all fine since we'd just checked them.

Al thinks he may not have gotten the monitor properly tightened the last time. It's in kind of a tricky place and is a little hard to work on.  We needed longer valve stems. Another thing for our list, I guess.  So I guess if we hadn't had the monitor, we wouldn't have had the problem.  We're going to watch it and hopefully we don't have some kind of leak.

I finally got our roadside assistance set up today.  I hope I'm finished spending money for a little while.  I was going to go back to Good Sams because I'd seen an ad for $79.  When I called, I was told that was for new customers only.  I said, okay, I'll think about it and I'm also checking out Coach Net (thinking she would drop the price).  She said fine, so I went online and found Coach Net for $89 with an Escapee Discount.  Good Sams wanted $112.95.    Wouldn't you have thought they would want to keep an existing (but expired) customer?  Last year they called me all the time and I finally renewed at a discounted rate.  Oh well, at least we have the coverage again.

We're running around here trying to get everything loaded, cleaned, stashed, and sorted.  We don't want to leave valuables or personal property laying around since we may have some home showings.  The problem is what do you do with it all?

Al needs to clean out the gutters (meant to do it last week, but too many appointments), load the bikes and kayaks and get all the outside chores done.  We decided to shut off the power to the well, and drain the pipes in the house as best as we can.  I'm leaving the heat turned down to 50 or 60.  Hopefully we won't have any frozen pipes.

I've been busy going through the house looking for stuff I want with me...and I'm finding a LOT of STUFF!  Unfortunately, I'm running out of places to put things in the motor home.

I guess I should really get back to work.  My break is over.

6 comments:

  1. Before you leave, walk thru the house and take pictures of every view. They don't have to be great shots, but will serve as an inventory of what you left behind.

    Take pictures of open closets and drawers.

    I do this at least once a year just before fire season., and send a DVD to my daughter for safe keeping.

    I've never needed to refer to it, but it is good to have a record.

    A set of pictures gave us leverage with the insurance company after the 1989 earthquake. I had taken the pictures to share with my family in Wisconsin of the house we had just bought.

    Now I don't even clean up first!

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  2. Maybe I didn't read this right, but it sounds to me like the Tire Pressure Monitor gave a false reading of 60lbs? So, the tires were o.k? Just wondering.

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  3. I have thought about getting a tire monitor system several times, and every time I blink at the last second. The reason I do that is just what you mentioned in your entry today. That the monitor system will give me problems that I do not have now.

    I have an issue with the tire pressure basically being held by the monitor cap.

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  4. This will be a good dry run for full timing and getting a feel for what will fit and what still has to go. I wish you luck finding places for everything.

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  5. Merikay,
    That's a great idea and we'll do it (if we don't forget). We had pictures before we started selling stuff and needed an update.

    Rick,
    No, the monitor didn't give us a false reading, the tire was actually down to 60 psi. That was our first thought too. The problem is we need a little longer valve stem so that we can remove the monitor to add air. You do have to be careful to get it tightened up properly and not let air out while you're putting it back on. We're hoping that was the problem, and not that we have a leaking tire. We'll check again this morning.

    Chuck,

    You're right in this instance, the system probably caused our problem, but problems can come up suddenly and we like the fact that we can monitor both pressure and temperature while we're driving. I think the regular valve stem cap would be about the same as one of these monitors, wouldn't it?

    Janie and John,
    You're right..this is a good dry run and we're already finding we have way too much stuff. We'll definitely have to pare it down some more. I'm finding I'm probably bringing too many clothes. I keep having to remind myself there are laundromats on the road!

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  6. About keeping customers... Businesses just don't seem to realize what value there is in keeping their present customers. They only think attracting new ones is where their focus is.

    We had our local home heating propane dealer offer lower rates to new customers. I called and said "HEY! What about us good regular customers who pay their bills on time and don't jump from company to company, leaving unpaid balances in their wake? What about us who have been here for 12 years paying on time?" Nope. They wouldn't give us the deal too, so we switched to a new company. Heck with being a faithful good customer anymore, they don't care if they lose us, I guess.

    ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
    Karen and Steve
    (Our Blog) RVing: Small House... BIG Backyard
    http://kareninthewoods-kareninthewoods.blogspot.com/

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