A very old stray {The Old Fella Story}

[Dixie_Flyer]

Went camping this weekend at a campground on the lake, had not been there for a few years. Once there I began to walk around looking at the different sites when I noticed a very old dog. He just lay there until I got too close then he got up on three legs and hobbled away. Just judging I would say he is at least 11 years old. Well back to my story. The next afternoon he wanders into camp and just sits there looking. He looked so sad, so the wife got a bowl of our dog's food and put it down for him and he came over and ate. He then walked over to our dog and the two of them sniffed each other over and then they lay down together for the rest of the afternoon. That night he disappeared.
The next morning he was back and was a little more receptive of me. I looked at his injured leg and found that half of his rear foot was gone. It had healed and was not causing any problem except that he was walking on the stub that was left with no foot pad which causes him to limp. His front teeth were gone except for one canine tooth and it looked decayed. His eyes were tired looking and showing his age. He spent the rest of the day just laying around looking for a handout and by afternoon the campground host came around and saw him. I enquired about the dog and was told he had been there for three years and that most of the campers were tolerant of him and gave him food.
So what to do? Do you pick him up and bring him home or do you let nature take it course. He can't harm anyone, he has no teeth and he isn't a nuisance unless you don't like dogs, and no one seems to mind him being there. He is gentle and likes other animals as seen by his interaction with our dog. He still would not let me touch him but he would eat from my hand. Enough said, what would you do???

On June 28th 2008 Old Fella passed away of complications caused by bone cancer. Fella spent almost three years with his new family and became the icon of rescued old stray dogs. He will be greatly missed but his foot prints have been left in our hearts forever.

Now Charlie, the ten year old rescued Golden Lab has come to be a part of the continuing Old Fella story. (*Note, Charlie took his journey to Rainbow Bridge unexpectedly September 30, 2008)Suzie continues to charm her way into our hearts with her antics as she has grown from a puppy into a young lady. Togther they will carry on the Old Fella legacy. Come join us in their daily lives and be a part of the best feel good thread in RV.NET history. The legacy lives on.


HIghways Article Puppy Love

Old Fella Burke County Animal Rescue

[Toolguy5]

Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

Enjoy and be safe.

[Dixie_Flyer]

Good morning everyone. Sue went through her oral surgery yesterday and is doing okay. I don't think she would do it again, but now for the recovery. Scott had hip surgery Monday and is in a lot of pain right now, but is expected to recover.

The house is quiet without Buddy around. His toys are still all over the floor as if waiting for him to return. I am sure he is having a great time with Bentley as they are a perfect match.

Sue is busy this morning getting ready for tomorrow. I am not looking forward to another trip to Knoxville Monday. We will have to leave the motorhome and go back to get it when it is finished. They hind sight is 20/20. I don't think I will ever buy something that expensive away from home ever again. The folks have been good about taking care of things, its just the running back and forth from Piedmont to Knoxville that is wearing me down.

The fur gang is well this morning. They are waiting on me for a walk and then Sue and I have some business we have to take care of.

All the talk about tires lets me know there is still room for improvement from the tire manufactures that supply tires for the RV industries. The cure seems to be a higher quality control and a better DOT regulations and inspections.

If you have packages being delivered by UPS, Fed-X or any other carries please be aware they are being followed by people who will come behind them and steal what they just left.

Okay I need to get moving so I will close for now wishing everyone a blessed day. Be sure to give the fur babies a hug for me and be sure to tell someone you love them.

[Dashonthedash]

I guess I have been lucky. The only tire problems I have ever had on either motorhome involved a leaky valve. I have usually used either Michelin or Continental. I still have the original Continentals on my Georgetown, one of the few things that have never given me trouble. Correct me if I'm wrong, but it does appear that motorhomes have fewer tire problems than trailers, but then both the tires and suspension are usually built to handle heavy loads and use. Of course, a bad tire is a bad tire.

[MetalGator]

Now I don't feel so bad about a bad tire! Richard, you sure have had the bad luck with all your tire issues. At least I caught the issue while the TT was in storage and did not get stranded on the side of the road somewhere. I have reached out to Maxxis tire company to see what they can do about replacing the blistered tire.

It has cooled down here in west central Florida and the high yesterday was only 67 degrees. It's supposed to get to 80 degrees on Thanksgiving day but be down in the low 60s at night. My Papillions love the cool weather since they have the long hair which keeps them hot during the summer.

I have not been "camping" in some time. We have been using the TT more as a mobile hotel the last few trips and stayed in RV parks. We are looking forward to camping in the nice state park at lake Manatee. I already have a bunch of firewood in the truck ready for a nice campfire. I am hoping to get off work early tomorrow afternoon so I can get to the park and get setup before it gets dark. We are taking my mom and her beagle with us so it should be quite an interesting trip with 5 dogs with us!

Burch

[Dixie_Flyer]

Good morning everyone. When I think of the tire situations we have been in with our campers and truck I have become very leery of all tires. Even the mainstay of tires for me, Michelin let me down this summer on the F350. What a run of bad tires. In all I went through five tires of the F350 from June through July. Then there are the trailer tires, I will never forget sitting on the side of the Interstate in Texas with about twenty-five feet of wire hanging out of the camper when a tire lost its tread and knocked a hole the floor, reached up in the camper walls and grabbed the wiring harness and snatched it out onto the roadway. Dan and Lori Branson were with us so we had help changing the tire and wrapping the wires into a bundle, stuffing it back up into the wall, putting tape over the hole to keep it there until we got home. Good Year paid for the damage which was over $4,000.00. Meanwhile Forest River, the manufacture of the 5th wheel made an interesting discovery when I talked with them about all the tires I hade been through in three years. They concluded my Wildcat 5th wheel needed an upgrade on the suspension system. So free of charge they sent me a complete new system including tires and wheels and paid to have them installed.

The Montana 5th wheel when it was a year old left us in Virginia with four bad tires. We were stranded in a campground with four blistered tires and the sidewalls where coming apart. That is when I bought the Good Year G614 tires and new wheels to accommodate the 110 PSI that was needed for the new tires I ended the tire problem on the camper.

Tires made in China just don't hold up. The G614 tires by Good Year are made in the USA under government guidelines set forth by the DOT. Who knows what goes on in China when tires are made there?

Buddy has gone to Allison's house to wait for his new owners to come back Stateside from Germany. What a sweet dog and such a beautiful animal. Given a different time in our lives I would have gladly kept him. He is going to a wonderful home with young energetic people who will take him on trail hikes, camping and trips to the lake. To me it is a perfect match.

Okay I need to get moving so I will close for now wishing everyone a blessed day. Be sure to give the fur babies a hug for me and bes ure to tell someone you love them.

[Grillmeister]

Dixie Flyer wrote:
The Old Fella Story as told on the Good Sam Blog

Richard, That is a great write up, the legacy of Old Fella lives on!

[Dandy_Dan]

Burch, I have 16" tires on my 5er. I had less room to start with before I changed out tires than your picture. I went from the BFG Commercials to Michelin XPS which were a little bigger. It appears you have over 2" between tires and by going to 15's you should only lose 1/2" per wheel. Do some close measuring and you might find it is doable. I had no problems with the BFG brand, they just had a recall. FYI BFG is owned by Michelin. Good Luck

[Dixie_Flyer]

The Old Fella Story as told on the Good Sam Blog

[colliehauler]

MetalGator wrote:

SGTJOE wrote:
Hi Burch, With the two axles on your trailer have you thought about rolling one tire up on some boards and usually this will bring the bad tire off the ground enough to change it out. I think CW might have a ramp for that.

I'm not sure if that will work with the independent torsion axles. I guess I need to get a floor jack and keep it in the back of my truck but I hate taking up that much room. I do have a small bottle jack (2 ton) but I don't think it's enough jack for the trailer.

You might try one of those plastic ramps to drive one wheel on to change the other. I have a floor jack and it's heavy and awkward to carry. The plastic ramp is light and easy to use. If height is a problem you could attach it to a 2 x 12 to add additional height.

[MetalGator]

SGTJOE wrote:
Hi Burch, With the two axles on your trailer have you thought about rolling one tire up on some boards and usually this will bring the bad tire off the ground enough to change it out. I think CW might have a ramp for that.

I'm not sure if that will work with the independent torsion axles. I guess I need to get a floor jack and keep it in the back of my truck but I hate taking up that much room. I do have a small bottle jack (2 ton) but I don't think it's enough jack for the trailer.

[SGTJOE]

Hi Burch, With the two axles on your trailer have you thought about rolling one tire up on some boards and usually this will bring the bad tire off the ground enough to change it out. I think CW might have a ramp for that.

[MetalGator]

Well, it's not pretty but the spare is on and the trip can go on! I guess I will take the blistered tire with me as a spare (better than no spare I guess).

As you can see, I don't have much room to be able to go with a bigger tire.

[MetalGator]

colliehauler wrote:

MetalGator wrote:

Dixie Flyer wrote:
Burch I endured the tire problem until I went with the Good Year G 614. They were expensive but worth the money.

My problem is my rims are only 14" so 99% of the tires are load range C. I have called Good Sams and I am hoping that can put on my spare. I have already contacted the vendor who installed the tires in March. The tires only have 1900 miles on them. I checked Maxxis website and the warranty is 1 year or 12,000 miles for a defective tire. Hopefully I can get it replaced but it won't be until after our trip. I hate to drive the TT without a spare (spare tire will be on the TT) but the state park I am staying at is local (only about 20 miles). I guess if I can get the spare tire installed I will take my chances.

Do you have enough room to upgrade to 15" tires?

Unfortunately, no. My trailer is a bit of a low rider. It has torsion axles and I only have about 2" of space between the tires. I can barely get x-chocks between the tires.

The good news is I called Good Sams and they had someone come out and put on my spare. I was able to take an early lunch this morning to meet them at my storage area. I feel like I should turn in my man card as I should have been able to change this tire myself but I don't really have the right kind of jack. These guys came out with a big floor jack and had the trailer up, tire off, new tire on in less than 5 minutes. I have a small bottle jack that keep in the truck but I figured since I pay for the GS service I might as well use it.

Now I need to get my new (bad) tire replaced. Hopefully Maxxis will honor their warranty.

Burch

[2_many_2]

colliehauler wrote:
Do you have enough room to upgrade to 15" tires?

If you can upgrade to 15" tires you will be able to get a "D" or "E" load rated tire. BUT, there are no longer any tires made in the USA in the 15" size, yes, sad 😞

I am currently in the middle of switching from a 225/75/15 to 225/75/16, to get away from the Chinese tires.

I searched all over and the best place I could find for new wheels was THIS place. Very helpful customer service.

Hope you get to go on your planned trip with no problems.

[colliehauler]

MetalGator wrote:

Dixie Flyer wrote:
Burch I endured the tire problem until I went with the Good Year G 614. They were expensive but worth the money.

My problem is my rims are only 14" so 99% of the tires are load range C. I have called Good Sams and I am hoping that can put on my spare. I have already contacted the vendor who installed the tires in March. The tires only have 1900 miles on them. I checked Maxxis website and the warranty is 1 year or 12,000 miles for a defective tire. Hopefully I can get it replaced but it won't be until after our trip. I hate to drive the TT without a spare (spare tire will be on the TT) but the state park I am staying at is local (only about 20 miles). I guess if I can get the spare tire installed I will take my chances.

Here is a picture of the blister on the tire. The TT is kept out of the sun in a big car port and the tires are also covered.

Do you have enough room to upgrade to 15" tires?