Last 4th of July weekend I planned a big all-day fishing trip with my son and father in law. The plan was to get up early (6 a.m.) and head to the in-laws house to pick everyone up. Keep in mind this is the day after the 4th so 6 a.m. was awful early. The in-laws live about an hour away. On the way up I-29 I kept thinking how I never got around to getting a spare tire for my newly finished project boat. Got to the in-laws around 8 and headed out to the lake. The lake we went to was about another 20 miles away. My father in law took us way back in no-mans land. The expansion joints on this road were enough to rattle your teeth lose. After we got past the paved road it went to about 2 miles of gravel road. Finally we arrive at the boat ramp and after all the dust settles I look back in the mirror and comment that the right rear looks low. I hop out and guess what,,, complete blow-out. Calmly I open the back of the SUV and pull out the tire iron. Wouldnt you know it,,,, Wrong Size. So I unhook the boat and drive to the nearest town to get a tire iron so i can get the wheel off. The nearest town being 25 miles away. In the mean time, my son and FIL stay at the lake to do some fishing. So,,, at top speed,, I haul to the next town to pick up my desperately needed tools. I get back to the lake (50 miles round trip) and decide that I am going to take off both wheels and have new tires put on both. Great idea,,, however,, small towns obviously believe that the day after the 4th is a holiday. The town i went to get the tire iron had not a single tire/service station open. My next bet was to drive back to the in-laws town and find a place open. I was just about to give up when I saw a service station opened up. I walked inside and told the guy I needed a 14 inch tire and I didnt really care what size. Not a problem,,, $20 and I was on my way. Finally get back to lake around 12 or so, put the tires on and ask if everyone still wants to fish. I guess they were being polite being the amount of miles I had driven all morning. In the water we go. Park the SUV and head down to dock. Prime the bulb, engine starts, dies 5 seconds later. Try it again,,, Same thing. Pull top off of outboard,,, fuel sediment bowl leaking like a sive. Time to pull boat back out. Moral of story<br /><br />1. Always have spare and proper tire iron<br />2. Watch out for expansion joints,, they tear tires up bad. Not to mention breaking the power pack rubber mounts off of engine.<br /><br />My words to my son<br /><br />$10.00 in worms<br />$40.00 in tire, tire iron, jackstands<br />.96 cent sediment bowl gasket----PRICELESS
