On Saturday, August 4th
I had established my bivouac on Bolivar
Peninsula.
On Wednesday, August 8th I received a
message from Beasley Tire announcing to me
that the ex-military used tires Michelin
14.00R20XZL were not available but that
tires 14.00R20XL had been delivered. I
remained perplexed as for the reality of the
situation, who was the liar? The
supplier of Bealey or the salesman of
Beasley who had rolled me in the flour…
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| Birds in Peninsula | People in Sunset |
Thursday the 9th was
a day of
disappointment. I drove to Beasley Tire,
the salesman apologized too much, but no tires
XZL. I had questioned Michelin
Consumer Care Department before:
Guy:
"... 1---- Beasley Tire Service Houston suggests
me to buy 1400R20XL as used military
tires. My spare wheels are 1400R20XZL. Can
I set up 1400R20XZL with 1400R20XL if a
tire 1400R20XL had a puncture?..."
Michelin:
"... 1} It is not recommended to mix tread
designs across the axle, doing so can
create handling issues..."
Alas I did not
have another choice only to take the
XL by
hoping that they would have no-problems.
It was decided to install them on Friday,
August 10th.
I was not at the end of
my sorrows. Back to the camp-site
at Houston Central RV the spot which I had
booked in the shade had been rented. I
told disagreeable remarks to the care
taker, in the evening even at the fallen
night I recovered it. The step-up & down
transformer DSR 3000 watts, which I had
ordered to transform from the 110v into 220v
in order to use the air-con of my house was not powerful enough. I sent a
message to the salesman in Chicago,
220-electronics, look at Information Page,
who proposed to me to exchange it for
a more powerful. Finally I contacted two
electricians in the vicinity to install
the new fridge thermostat shipped by UNICAT. Both were
challenged: “… it is a non American
part, we do not know it…”. I had
already heard this litany at Lafayette.
I was to go back there so that Mick's
Repair, look at Information Page , who had
made the diagnosis by dismounting it,
installs the new one.
On Friday, August 10th, day of my 72th birthday, was like the precedent, disappointing. I headed at 8 am. to the consulate of France to take my new passport, it had not arrived, perhaps the next week with the diplomatic suitcase on Thursday… Then I arrived around 9:30 at Beasley Tire to install the tires XL of which one was more used than the three others… Two of old tires XZL were in better state than the two spare tires, I decided to make the exchange. It took me more than one hour to extract them from the back garage with the hoist under a temperature of +37°C. I put more than one hour thirty to give the back garage in state in the afternoon with a temperature of the 40°C. Finally I drove about forty kilometers on the highway to test the XL. The report was not fill with enthusiasm. The road-holding required vigilance, comfort was painful and intense noise of rumbling… I returned to the camp-site exhausted to slacken me in the swimming pool whose water was overheated.
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| Michelin 14.00R20XL, used military tire | My truck under the sun, +40°C |
On Saturday 11th after
a night of
rest and reflection I sent a message to
Vrakking-tires in Holland, look at Page
Information, to inform the order of four
tires Michelin 14.00R20XZL to be delivered
in Cartagena, Colombia where I should be
mid 2013 by hoping that XL tires are
enough reliable to hold up to that point.
I remained in Houston Central RV until Friday 17th to
take my new passport,
if it arrived.
The previous trip of this fourth
journey in the USA
starting from Baton-Rouge to go
up the valley of the Mississippi by Hwy
#61 up to Memphis then a detour to
Nashville, Hwy #55 up to St Louis and
Chicago, Hwy #90 up to Rapid City to visit
the Mt Rushmore and finally Hwy #29 from
Fargo tot the border of Canada on the way
towards Winnipeg. Reality will be
different in six days starting from
Houston I will pass to Lafayette at Mick's Repair then by Hwy #55 & 57 in Chicago
at 220-electronics on Monday morning
August 20th and by Hwy #90 and 29 to
the border of Canada before August 22nd
midnight, that is about 3300 km.
Thus the life of a pensioner
journeying round the world goes…
