Check your spare tire.

If you're like me, you probably don't spend a lot of time thinking about the spare tire in your car.  You assume that it's there and that it'll be fine when you need it.  Well, I was listening to a podcast last year when the speaker mentioned that it was a good idea to check the spare tire once in a while.  Most people don't.  So what happens when you actually need it and it's flat?  Shortly after that I checked the spare tires in both of my cars and wouldn't you know it, they were both very low.  Mine required 60 PSI and was around 30.  Since then I've put it on my to-do list.  I have it as a recurring task to do every 3 months.

Why do I mention all of this?  My wife was out the other day and when she got home she came in and said that one of the tires on the car was leaking.  As soon as I got to the door I could hear it.  The air was hissing out like crazy.  Thankfully she was able to get home. 

I took this picture at Firestone.  They said it was bad enough that they couldn't fix it and that it had to be replaced.

I called Firestone to see if they could get me in.  They said that it'd be a several hour wait.  Rather than rushing there with the hope that it wouldn't go flat on the way, I decided to put the spare on and take it in later in the week. 

By that time the tire was really low.  It wouldn't have made it to Firestone.  I had to put a pump on it to get the car high enough to put the jack under.  I removed the flat and installed the spare.  I checked the pressure in the spare (just in case) and it was right where it needed to be.  I got the car into Firestone and they replaced the tire the next day.  All is well again.

This is probably as good a time as any to mention car-related-preparedness-items.  I mentioned that I had to pump up the tire to get the jack under.  I keep a 12v pump in both of my vehicles.  Since it's 12v it can be run from the vehicle's 12v socket or attached directly to the 12v battery with this clip on adapter.  I also keep a LifeHammer (which I hope I never need) in the glove box along with extra glasses, matches, and a fire steel fire starter.  I the back of my car I have a first aid kit, fleece blanket, and some work gloves.  I'm not one of those people who stocks their car for the zombie apocalypse.  I just like keeping a few basic things around for the most likely scenarios (like being stuck on the side of the road for a few hours).