The impact wrench Mr. Tire Man in Mandan, ND, used to remove and replace my trailer wheel. As you can see from the pic at right, the tire was shredded. I looked back in my rearview mirror just as I was picking up speed to leave Bismark at about 4 a.m. when I looked in the rear-view mirror and saw sparks flying from the tire. I pulled over immediately and found that the tire had lost most all of its rubber but was still holding air. I could see an exit about a mile up the road so I turned on the flashers and headed in at about 20 mph. In about a half mile I heard a “pop” that I assume was the tire blowing b/c when I finally got to the exit and the truck stop there the tire had great big gaping holes in it.

That truck stop didn't sell tires so I had to limp back into Mandan, a suburb of Bismark, about 12 miles back the way I'd come. There I found a tire store that opened at 8 a.m. so I parked and waited. Once its doors opened, I was out of there in less than 10 minutes. Awesome. Thank you Mr. Mandan Tire Man!

Of course, now Budget doesn't want to pay me for the tire. Apparently I was supposed to call a roadside assistance number so Budget could take care of a problem like that, but no one ever told me that so I just fixed it and figured I'd be reimbursed. We're still in negotiations, but it's something to remember in the future—if your rental truck/trailer breaks down, do not fix it yourself!