Our secretary had to talk one of my male coworkers over the phone how to change a tire on his work pickup. When he got to location, another coworker noticed the tire was on backwards.

I know plenty of females that supposedly don't know how to change a tire, but don't know any males like that. I'm not really buying that most of those females don't really know how. It's pretty pathetic to not know how to change a tire. It's not much more involved than filling up your gas tank.

I suppose i can laugh now but growing up in Chicago i wasn't exposed to a lot of stuff like this, even simple things like changing a tire. Hell my dad was a fighter pilot but was never into this stuff for some reason.

Got to a&m and my roommates educated me in ways that were beyond beneficial. Still grateful to them for all they did. And marrying into a family that ranches for a living opened my eyes even further.

Sadly, yes that is a reality. In a previous career I managed facilities with delivery trucks. You would be surprised how many "drivers" would call me for a flat, running out of fuel.

I recall one time I sent a college grad on a quick delivery in a pickup. He ran it out of fuel then cranked until he ran the battery down. Calls me and since the ops mgr was out that day I run to go get him assuming a battery because he says "it just quit and now when I turn the key it won't make a sound".

Get there and sure enough, battery is dead. Grab my tools and pull the battery, run to parts house to get another. Install new battery and then turn the key to see the fuel tank was empty. Calmly walked to my pickup and grabbed a can of gasoline, poured it in and cranked the pickup. Closed the hood, got back into my pickup without a word to him and drove back to the shop.

Kid didn't have a job by the time he got back. That was the 3rd time in 6 weeks he ran a vehicle out of fuel. I told him to fill it up before he left.

You seem amped up on a beautiful Sunday morning.

Put a spare tire on a car, no problem.

I can also mount a tire on a steel implement wheel with a pair of tire irons, a bucket of soap, and hammer in about 2 minutes.

I don't think things are as bad as they seem. First, this type of thing is now documented and publicized making it seem worse, and the fact that we just rarely need to change tires any more augments that lack of education.

I'm not going to lie, I do ALL of my own car repair, which is includes ALL maintenance and I have never in 30 years changed a tire on my vehicle. I've never had a blowout because I buy premium tires, maintain, inspect, and replace when they are supposed to be replaced.

In 1960 with bias ply junk it was more of a required skill.

It should be taught of course, I just think it's not as much of an epidemic as it seems. Kinda like cancer, gay people, and tide pods. There isnt more cancer, there arent more gay people are kids arent any dumber than you were....it's just that now its publicized, documented and broadcast.

My opinion.

My wife can back a 23' boat down a steep ramp better than most men there. I love seeing the guys faces at the ramp when she gets behind the wheel when I get in the boat go from "Aw hell, a woman" to "Aw, hell, she's better than me."

These days I just about need to call the tire change service to figure out where the manufacturer hid the dang jack.

"What do you mean I have to uninstall the dashboard to find the jack?!"

It's like the last Dodge Durango I owned. Couldn't find the battery. Turns out it wasn't even in the engine compartment, but installed under the passenger seat.

I'm 37. I used to rotate my own tires on my bronco II (ugly ass car) in high school (PITA). I haven't had to change a tire since then until last year; me, wife and three kids landed at dfw, took the shuttle to the car, and found we had a completely flat tire. I had the spare on within 20 minutes. I'm pretty handy but my wife told me it was a real turn on for her watching me change the tire.

Let's see...can I change a tire? Yup. Was a mechanic for several years. Would I if I absolutely had to? Sure. Do I call road side assistance more times than I'm proud of? Probably. That's why I pay for it. People do need to know the basics at the least, but I can tell you that I'm not changing my own tire on 290 in Houston unless I'm ready to be roadkill.

My wife got a flat on her work car last year out in rural ETX, no big deal she was just going to change it herself. Except that a spare tire happens to be AN OPTION on new compact vehicles. She was stuck out in the boonies for 2 hours waiting on roadside service. She raised hell, the work fleet now has spares, and hers has a decent Jack and lug wrench thanks to a trip to harbor freight.

AggieGunslinger said:

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My wife got a flat on her work car last year out in rural ETX, no big deal she was just going to change it herself. Except that a spare tire happens to be AN OPTION on new compact vehicles. She was stuck out in the boonies for 2 hours waiting on roadside service. She raised hell, the work fleet now has spares, and hers has a decent Jack and lug wrench thanks to a trip to harbor freight.

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This annoys me. My wife's car came with some stupid little fix-a-flat kit in place of a spare tire. Has a place for a spare, but not a factory option. Had to purchase a spare tire kit from Ford. Guess they think fix-a-flat repairs sidewall damage or blowouts.

CenterHillA said:

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The vehicle supplied tire change tools suck though, I carry a bottle jack and breakover handle in my truck for that reason.

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I agree. Although I can usually make the supplied jack work, I've learned (thanks to tire boys who can't properly set torque settings on impact wrenches) to carry a 1/2" drive breaker bar, a cheater pipe and a 6-point socket with me. I'm sure my wife would at least try to change a tire herself, but there's no way I could expect her to break loose some of the lug nuts these days.

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Working in farming country since graduating college, it's pitiful to see how many farm kids of the current generation can't perform the smallest of repairs or regular maintenance.

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I hate hearing that, although I shouldn't be surprised. Back in the '90s I enrolled in a 2-year Millwright Mechanics nighttime program at TSTC in Waco to learn the 'proper' way to do things in a manufacturing plant I was running.

While there were a few guys there just killing time and unsure of the right end of the wrench to hold, it was always the farm kids who already knew what the hell was going on -- welding, pipefitting, engine rebuilding, rigging, routine mechanic stuff, you name it.

In most cases, the farm's loss was the petrochemical plants' gain, as they were leaving ag for good. I'm sure most of them made somebody a damn good hand.

With today's cars and trucks, it takes about an hour just to locate the tire tools.

Everyone of my kids can check/change their own oil, change/rotate their own tires, check/change all of the other fluids in their vehicles, drive standard transmission, change a serpentine belt, and all of them have the tools to do it on the side of the road if necessary in their vehicles at all times. The ability to do it was my requirement before they got their learner's permits. The latter was a requirement before they got their own cars/trucks. I have three young men and three young ladies, everyone of them has had to use their skills/tools at one point or another to help themselves or a friend. That is the way it should be done, so sayeth my dad who is the smartest man I know.

Exactly. Changing the tire is easy. Getting the spare, jack and lug wrench is a *****.

I'll also add that my 10 year old knows to check the oil in the lawn mower before he cranks it either push mower or riding mower. He also knows to check the air pressure in the tires and check the fuel too. He learned the fuel on his own the first time he had to walk back to the shop from the other end of the property (300 yards or so).

I think the more kids are around things like that and learn on their own the better.

AggieGunslinger said:

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hers has a decent Jack and lug wrench thanks to a trip to harbor freight.

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Doesn't compute

I don't think it's a young people thing in general. I've run into just as many people in their 40's, 50's, and 60's that can perform basic tasks either. Maybe it's just the result of generations of morons breeding

txag2008 said:

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AggieGunslinger said:

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hers has a decent Jack and lug wrench thanks to a trip to harbor freight.

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Doesn't compute

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Decent is the perfect word to describe most harbor freight tools (not to include consumables or things with a hardened edge)

Exactly, it worked great the day we tested it and it only needs to work one more time to get our money's worth.