One of the biggest expenses of RV ownership is replacing the tires.It had to be done sooner or later, and today was our day.

The general rule of thumb for RVs is to replace the tires when they are 7 years old. Ours were approaching that age. While we may have had a little mileage left on our old tires we just did not want to take the risk of having a blowout while we are driving which could rip up a good portion of the body as well as flooring and cabinetry and walls possibly causing thousands of dollars of damage. Not to mention the risk of losing control of our 34′ vehicle, which could be worse.

Bernie did the research and found an appropriate company in Pensacola, Florida, to do the job. Since we knew we would be in the Pensacola area for a while we called ahead and ordered six new tires for our rig. They arrived on Friday but not wanting to go in on the busy Saturday we went today (Monday).

Dave Howell Tires

Off with the Old, On with the New

Appointments are not made, rather customers are taken first come first served. We were told to park in space #1 in front of their big blue warehouse.The RV was not put up on a lift, but rather the technician used the RV’s jacks and replaced the tires outside where the rig was parked. It took about 90 minutes.

And then the bill came. Ouch. The tires were ‘only’ $493 each. By the time they add on all the extras for parts and supplies and balancing and scrap fees and a few other things it added up. Such is the price of RVing.

The Total for Six New Tires

• Gasoline:  $85 @ $1.79
• Tires:  $3,656.19