I never dreamed I would wish for cold weather when heading south, but we had this conundrum traveling between Canada and Florida in February. It is suicide to not have snow tires in Canada, and it IS suicide to drive on snow tires in Florida with a load in the heat. I've never learned so much about tires in my life.
It turned out a very reputable tire company had sold me four-ply snow tires, despite the fact I had explained my usage very clearly. Apparently I really should've had a minimum of six-ply. Then I learn that snow tires like to blow apart above 15 degrees Celsius, especially with a load. Every year I've been to Florida they've had record lows, and I've had all-season tires so this was a non-issue. Naturally, this year it looks like its going to be really warm and I've got thin snow tires. Great.
A student of Mary Lou's who is extremely knowledgable about tires recommended we regularly check the tire pressure, check for unusual wear in the tread and feel how hot the tires are. So Linda, Mary Lou and I look like a race car pit crew every time we stop...we even calibrated our multiple pressure gauges when we discovered one gauge was faulty...
I think we are all watching the tires in the mirror more than we are watching the road. So really, the shopping was for safety reasons, to give the tires time to cool.
So, finally this evening, we arrived at our first destination (Georgia) having travelled through busy towns...
...some uncertain shopping experiences...
...and finally found water to de-winterize the trailers and have showers! You learn to appreciate the small things when you are on the road...
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Wow, you two would be fun to travel with - shopping, tires.... Safe travels and have fun!
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