Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Have you ever stopped to change out someone else's tire?

Once, long ago and far away…..

I've stopped to help "ladies in distress" a couple of times.

I was working night shift when I came upon a car stopped in the right lane of a 4 lane street. A young gal was standing outside looking at her flat left front tire. It was easy to see she had just hit a center divider a couple of blocks back. It was also easy to see she was drunk. I held the flashlight while she drug out her jack, tire iron and spare tire. I made her do all the work. It took her a while but she got it done. I figured it was my job to give her some encouragement and guidance all the time while I held the flashlight. By the time she was finished she had sobered up enough she could finish her drive home.

I'm made sure she knew what made that tire go flat and she knew I knew she was drunk. Hitting that divider, it totally destroyed the tire and the rim. So not only did she have to change the tire by herself she needed a new tire and rim to replace what she had destroyed. I certainly hope it was a lesson learned. I got credit for a public assist and she got by with replacing her tire and wheel. The best part was, no paperwork was involved by either party.

kwg

Not a flat tire, but I spent the first half of Memorial Day in 1985 helping a Mennonite family with a busted transmission line. I'd been out with a bottle of scotch all night and didn't really feel like helping them, but I couldn't leave them stranded in the summer heat that morning. Naturally no dealerships were open, nor were any wrecking yards open on the US side so I took the old man across the Rio into Juarez to find a wrecking yard. The old guy spoke only German and Spanish, but I speak a bit of Spanish too so we got along and he knew where to go over there. Got em fixed up by about noon. The old lady spoke English and wrote me a letter from Nova Scotia, where they were headed a few weeks later. They only got a few miles down the road after replacing the transmission line and something else let go. I have no idea how they dealt with it that day, but they eventually got to their destination.

I've stopped to help people one several occasions and will do it still, but I am very cautious about it.

Yes, several times, a couple times on I-76 in drifting snow, and a couple of times when I had to move a good rear wheel to the front on a frontwheel drive and put the donut spare on the rear.

I was on rt 89 in Vermont and they exits are 30 some miles apart, anyways there a car on the side of the road with two collage girls in it and they had run out of gas. They had went to a concert in Boston and spent all there money and did not have enough for gas to get back, well I started cussing them out about how stupid and dangerous that was and one started crying so I stopped, "I have a daughter that age" I put the gallon of gas I had in and said that I would follow them until they ran out and go get another gallon they ran out two miles from they exit. Once there they called there father and the one that cried told her father that I yelled at her she handed me the phone and I told him why, he was livid "at her not me" He asked me to fill up there tank and he would arrange to pay me back, A couple of days later they other father called me and I told him the story I told him I was sorry for yelling at his daughter but was really upset at what could have happened and that I had one that age. He said don't worry about it that's nothing compared to what awaits her, They both bought me dinner and one let me hunt on his farm so that worked out well.

You're not the only one to comment this way but what I want to know is how old you are and what do you consider old?

I have. And I will again. Although it takes me a hell of a lot longer now

Yes

Yes

A home health nurse’s suv thing out in the middle of nowhere cornfields KY.

her spare was flat too.

But since I’m so awesome, I had one of those pos cig lighter air compressors. I got her 30 psi in that spare and she rolled on out to Big White Daddy’s plantation to wipe his ass.

yeah, she was bleck womern.

that's a good story. Those girls are old enough now to look back and realize what could have happened had some other guy showed up and not you. They probably have daughters now too

Sure. But it's been a while.

I have lived in rural areas around small towns all my life and grew up with men who would always stop to help strangers. Plus, I have driven cars that were always breaking down and have frequently relied upon the kindness of strangers to get going again or for a ride to town or home. Therefore, I always stop if someone needs help. I have pulled folks from ditches, pushed or towed cars to the nearest station, jump dead batteries and changes many flats. Two memorable incidents. I saw two young dudes standing beside a Chevy Trax with an obvious flat and they were goofing with a cell phone in an area with no known cell service. They were 16 or 17 years old. I pulled over thinking maybe, like my dumb young assed self once upon a time, they didn't have a spare. I ask and they said they were trying to call one of their mothers. I ask if they had a spare. They said they didn't know, but that they didn't know how to change a flat anyway. I showed them where the spare and jack were located and told them how to remove them. I gave instruction on how to change the tire like instructing a 3 years old. After a very long time and a great deal of patience I was able to get these two young dudes back on the road with a bit of a life lesson...I hope. The other was stopping on to help what appeared to be a most beautiful redhead. She said she had called a friend, but wanted help anyway. So I jumped out and in a few minutes had the spare tire on and was removing the jack when the friend arrived. An equally beautiful blonde gal. They were very grateful and ask if I wanted to go out for dinner and a drink to repay the favor. I told them I would love to but I was married. They said they were also married, but still wanted to go out. It was tempting.

All this kindness to strangers came back to me a few years ago in Western Kansas. I was pheasant hunting and headed to a roosting area for the last push of the day. My wife was hunting with me. This particular area was down an old abandoned section line road no one ever drove on. I drove through a mud hole and ripped a 2 inch hole in both sidewalls of the tires on the right side. Someone had used a T-post to help them get unstuck and left it in the hole. The spade was up and ripped my sidewalls. I was getting dark and we were miles from town on sandy old two track roads. I had a spare and decided to put it on the front for steering and drive on the back flat and/or rim for as long as I could back to town. The tiny town we were staying in did not have a tire shop, but I thought I could take care of the problem the next day at the nearest bigger town. I had just gotten the front tire off when 3 young dudes in a truck pulled up behind us. They ask if we needed help and looked over the situation. After conferring with each other on which local might have a tire that would fit my Dodge Dakota they decided it was best to haul me 40 miles to the nearest big town to get a tires from WalMart. One of the guys stayed with my wife and the other two took me to town. The local Walmart had only two tires that would fit and were closing the garage in one hour. I got the tires mounted on my rims and those fellows hauled me back to my truck. They replace the front tire while I replaced the back to put me back in service. They said they had never been on that road before and were just driving around looking for coyotes. I gave them $100.00 and told them drinks were on me for the evening. So yea-I stop when folks look like they need help.

Yes,
Numerous times to help elderly folks,women and a few guys too.

Higgenz: For 29 years I was NOT allowed to change flat tires on my work vehicle (by city policy!) but I quite often assisted "citizens" who had flat tires - especially when it was raining (always!).
As I always carried good rain gear with me when on duty.
When we got a flat tire on our police vehicles the city contracted tow company would respond, lift up our vehicle and slap a new tire and wheel on it.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

I
I am 50. No real age limit, probably would have been more accurate to say people who look like they may not physically be up to doing it on their own.

Hundreds.

Yep, more than once. I've done a lot more than that for people that were stranded over the years..

One upon a time, many years ago (1976) I stopped to change a tire on a car that had two girls standing by it. But what first got my attention was that it was a 1965 baby blue Mustang convertible. I was wearing bib overalls and an old felt hat, driving my 1957 turquoise chevy pickup with a 283 dropped in it. I was always a sucker for old vehicles. The 2 girls didnt want anything to do with me and said, we know what were doing you dont need to help, I insisted. Anyway to make a long story short, still married to the driver of the car.
It worked out for me but just as easy could have been a disaster. The car was her fathers and I was in line to inherit it, but many years ago someone stole it and torched it out in the desert.

Few years ago I took pity on what looked like a kid around 19-20 or so that was struggling on a stretch of 54.

Had the jack and spare laying out (credit for getting that far) and was stomping on the iron trying to break the lug nuts loose.

Pulled up and rolled down the window asking if he needed a hand. Little fugger looked up and said "I'm not fuggin' retarded!". LOL

"Well, I'm not so sure. Good luck" and I left him there. Stomping down on a tire iron trying to break lug nuts loose by turning them clockwise.



I no longer avail my services to the able bodied.