COOPER DISCOVERER. I wasted $10 000.00 because I listened to my wife.

OverlandingMan

New member
I wasted $10 000.00 because I listened to my wife.
She said “no, we do not need new tyres, we will buy a new set in Bolivia, they are cheap as chips in Bolivia”. This was back when we were still on African soil. I insisted that we should change the tires and the rims before leaving home to circumnavigate South America and drive up to Alaska. She put her foot down hard, the lips pursed and the arms folded. “Yes dear”, I said. We shipped the Landy to Uruguay, still wearing her 70% used mud tires and then proceeded to drive to and fall in love with Brazil so hard that instead of heading south to Ushuaia we drove up to the far northern deserts and dunes. Brazil is a massive beast of a country, as big as the USA, it took almost 10 days to drive her terrible single lane roads from the far north to the far south. We had a blow out in Uruguay, the tire imploded completely scaring the wits out of the biker we were overtaking. A kind man took us to a tire dealer in Frontiera and Riveira, the shared Uruguayan and Brazilian city where we found tires in the size we needed at a decent price. “Let's change all four”, I said “if the one tire blew the other are just waiting to blow”. “No!”, she said “we will buy a new set in Bolivia”. “But, sweetheart, We still have to drive aaaaaaaallllll the way down to the end of the world then drive aaaaaaalllllll the way back up to Bolivia, these tyres will never make it”. Sweetheart put her foot down hard, pursed her lips and folded her arms. I persisted, “seriously, trust me, we need to change them all now”. Sweetheart then engaged low range diff lock full blown tantrum. She worked through her entire unpleasant arsenal of female persuasion, but not once was reason entertained. She won, but with a warning that the victory was hollow. I am a patient man. The second tire blew out on the infamous Ruta 40 in Patagonia. An icy cold wind ripped at my flesh and numbed my fingers as I removed the imploded tire. What followed next was a two week charade in Punta Arenas, nowhere were the size tires we needed to be found. We were about to make one of the greatest rookie mistakes of our overlanding “career”. We decided to buy a set of old Series Land Rover rims and install the skinny 750 16 tires all the old timer, long term overlanders rave about. All was well until ten miles outside Ushuaia, the end of the world, where we were to have the first of very many punctures, the tube tires were installed on tubeless rims you see. I hated those horrible, skinny tires and they hated me, they even tried to kill us and the kids on a few occasions. From Ushuaia we drove all the way up the spine of the Andes until eventually, on the Caribbean coast of Colombia, I could take no more. Listening to the wife's advice I bought a second hand set of rims on the internet and a beautiful set of 33, 12.5 R15 muds in anticipation of a drive through the Amazon in the rainy season. The nightmare was not yet over, the second hand rims, which had been transported up to Cartagena from southern Colombia, were widened by a chimp with a welding machine, air leaked from every rim and the Landy slumped on flat rubber within a few hours. I could not return the tyres to the dealer because the rims were faulty and eventually we had a set of brand new rims flown in from the UK at great expense. How did this whole charade cost so much? Well, if you total the costs of not only the rubber and the rims but also courier fees, accommodation expenses, food for a family of four, costs of puncture repairs and the resulting delays and hidden expenses we lost about $10 000.00 of our travel budget, that equates to about 3 months on the road given our monthly budget of $3000.00 a month.
The moral of the story? Never, ever listen to your wife, especially when it comes to the rubber for your rig. Fit the best rubber you can afford, get out there and explore!
PS. We eventually learned that the tires were not cheaper in Bolivia.
PPS. The wife no longer has the veto.
 

Attachments

  • Ruta 40, Patagonia, Argentina. Driving over contruction barriers to reach the new paved surface.jpg
    Ruta 40, Patagonia, Argentina. Driving over contruction barriers to reach the new paved surface.jpg
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whiskeytacos

Observer
Wow. If there is one thing my wife doesn't let me scrimp on with regards to our overland adventures, it's tires and suspension. Best of luck for the rest of your journey.
 

lumpskie

Independent Thinker
Great story. Also, good to hear about your impressions of skinny tires in a muddy environment. Sorry to hear about your wasted money but it's nice that the money wasn't spent on something more serious... like a medevac!
 

OverlandingMan

New member
Great story. Also, good to hear about your impressions of skinny tires in a muddy environment. Sorry to hear about your wasted money but it's nice that the money wasn't spent on something more serious... like a medevac!

I will probably need that medevac after the wife reads this post!
 

OverlandingMan

New member
So I am guessing that you are single fellow by now?
Mikey

Still married. After that whole debacle the wife has learned that hubby knows best and that being penny wise and pound foolish really is foolish. She is still SWAMBO, but just not when it comes to the Landy.
 

OlScratch

New member
Graeme, just finished the book. Inspirational, makes me want to get out on the road immediately! Will you guys be making to the east coast u.s.?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

OverlandingMan

New member
Graeme, just finished the book. Inspirational, makes me want to get out on the road immediately! Will you guys be making to the east coast u.s.?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Hi Olscratch. I am really happy that you enjoyed the book. You would have read about this whole disaster with the tyres already then. We are planning to head up the east coast towards the end of the year, the plan is to go through the south to Florida then up to Canada. Right now we are launching a second book, an overland guide, then the sequel to We Will Be Free will come out later in the year. Hopefully we can meet along the road sometime...
 

calicamper

Expedition Leader
Ouch. On the flip side I bet there are just as many or more wifes out there with stories of them making big costly mistakes based on their husbands suggestions ;-)

But when it comes to basic gear, shoes, tires, clothes it almost always pays to start the trip on quality treads :)
 

OverlandingMan

New member
Ouch. On the flip side I bet there are just as many or more wifes out there with stories of them making big costly mistakes based on their husbands suggestions ;-)

But when it comes to basic gear, shoes, tires, clothes it almost always pays to start the trip on quality treads :)

Absolutely, we won't be making that mistake again, that's for sure!
 

mccustomize

Explorer
My wife told me if I broke anything on the Overland Challenge I better just light a match and throw it under the truck because I wasn't bringing it home!
 

kootenay

Intergalacticsuperintendent
Trying to save money when it comes to safety of yourself, family and others is never tolerated. Glad the universe decided to help you correct your course.
 

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