We crossed the Texas state line today:



and saw miles and miles and miles of ...



....

nothing.

It really is amazing how much empty space there is in the west in general. But Texas outdoes itself!

We got almost to Fort Stockton - about 100 miles - when *BAM!*. It sounded like an axle broke - but Jim had no problem controlling the rig and bringing it to a stop - it was just a blowout. Another tire bites the pavement. That's our third in 6 months. This was the first one that really blew though. This picture was taken while the tire was still on ... it's the right, rear, outer dual.



Good Sam Emergency Road Service was here within 15 minutes and we were on the road with our spare. They led us to a tire shop, where we bought a replacement and we can get on the road.

They didn't have the tires we really wanted (Load rated E), so we just bought one used one and we will buy two more when we get to Austin. But it's more than tires. When those alligator sized treads whip off of the tire, they take a lot of the underside of the motorhome with them. We hope we'll be able to find a good RV service and body shop that will know what is missing and how to put it back together.

So, why did this happen? I don't think it was because our rig is overweight (although it is), I don't think it was due to improper inflation because Jim is diligent about that, I don't think it was because the tires were too hot - it may be Texas, but it's October. I think it was simply a cheap tire. This was one that was put on by the seller at the time we bought the motorhome a year and a half ago. In hindsight, since we knew the rig had been in storage for more than a year when we purchased it, we should have just bit the bullet then and bought 6 new GOOD tires.

Ah well, y'know what they say about hindsight.