Front tire blow out = exciting ride

[NorCal Hal]

Carroll & I are at our winter RV resort in Indio, CA. Friends and former Alpine coach owners (Working their way through the alphabet last year they traded the Alpine for a Beaver) Marilyn S. & Dale L. relayed this story to us: . On their way here in Oct Dale was driving on I-10 in AZ doing about 70MPH with cruise control set when the right front tire blew. Dale held on for dear life as Marilyn uttered a few instructional driving tips.

They went off the highway, down the center divider, up and across the oncoming lane, which thankfully was traffic free. The coach was off the road headed through a barbed wire fence before Dale got the cruise control disengaged.

No one was hurt but the tire did major damage to the side of the coach suffered and the front fiberglass was severely damaged.

The moral of this story is: If you drive with C.C on and have an incident you either need to tap the brakes or turn off the C.C.

I told Dale that if they still had the Alpine it probably would have tracked straight and stayed on the road. That Beaver was heading for water!

Harold

[EngineerMike]

Wholly Krap! Hey Basil, were you on Cruise?

[Tom and Patty]

I was thinking about that very thing this afternoon coming home from Eastman Lake....the wild flowers are beautiful.

Oops...I looked at our CC switch and decided I could turn it off fairly quickly...ha...with both front tires inflated I could. Then I mulled over that I needed to tromp the throttle, and when I got the coach under control, I could use the brakes, turning off the CC. Then again I could hit the brakes and throttle at the same time.

I cannot imagine going cross country in a coach.

We hope we never get to experience a CTF-----catastrophic tire failure. (See in the tire business you don't call it a BLOW OUT)

[Basil Shannon]

Originally Posted by EngineerMike

Wholly Krap! Hey Basil, were you on Cruise?

No. We were in traffic at 60 MPH so the cruise control was off. My blowout was relatively benign because the sidewall blew and apparently the entire tire rolled off intact which left me running on the now ruined aluminum rim. Therefore, I did not have the tread and steel belt thrashing around in the wheel well affecting the steering. The most frightening part of the whole experience was greatly reduced braking with no traction on the rim. I had complete control of the coach until we got over to the side of the road some distance down the road.

Personally, I think 70 MPH is too fast for safety besides eating your expensive fuel. We are in no hurry. If we don't get there today, it will be tomorrow or maybe the next day.

[EngineerMike]

I'm guessing traction on a wheel rim or rim w/flopping tire would not be any better in dirt, probably the opposite.

I don't think I've ever reached 90 in the Alpine, but I've seen north of 80, usually accompanied by the very loud copilot alarm. I try to keep it tween 58 & 62 depending on trucks. But I do rely on cruise quite a bit. Good thing for Dale that Marilyn uttered those instructional driving tips, or it coulda been a disaster.
This is where those truly gigantic Off-Road-King shocks would come in handy.

[Jim A]

I'm with Mike. I try to keep mine at 60-62 on CC. Although I frequently hit 70+ depending on conditions in traffic, I would never set the cruise control at 70. That's just asking for trouble in something that size.

I honestly believe I would think to tap the brakes in an emergency to cut off the CC. My concern would be to get off of them afterward!! Like Tom I hope I never have a catastrophic tire failure to find out how I will react. I bought 6 new Michelin's at 4 years of age on the Toyo's to try and avoid the experience.

[EngineerMike]

Maybe those of us w/a co-pilot should invoke random practice drills for a blow-out. Like Inspector Clouseau's Kato, the spousal unit could make like s/he's making a sandwich, fill a bag w/air, then sneak up on the driver & POP it behind his/her head. A successful reaction would consist of quickly thumbing the CC off @ the SmartWheel or lightly tapping the brakes to release CC. The spousal unit could time the response. As we practice, so shall we play.

[Voiceman]

Mike, in your practice scenario, who should be responsible for cleaning the driver's seat?

[EngineerMike]

That'd be a point of negotiation, I'm guessing.

[Shellback1]

Well I already had my drill, or as they said in the Navy "this is not a drill". Last November while driving west on I-40 in AR, the left front tire blew at 65 mph. Needless say my heart rate went into turbo. Luckly for me and others near me I only swayed about a foot to the left then got her under control and to the breakdown lane. After calling Good Sam's and getting a new G670 tire and paying $500, I continued west.

[Jim A]

Originally Posted by EngineerMike

Maybe those of us w/a co-pilot should invoke random practice drills for a blow-out. Like Inspector Clouseau's Kato, the spousal unit could make like s/he's making a sandwich, fill a bag w/air, then sneak up on the driver & POP it behind his/her head. A successful reaction would consist of quickly thumbing the CC off @ the SmartWheel or lightly tapping the brakes to release CC. The spousal unit could time the response. As we practice, so shall we play.

I'm glad that Stephanie does not read this forum!!!

[Dagwood]

Shellback1 or anyone with this experiece would you tell us how you got it under control. I think some experts are telling us to speed up first and I am having a hard time excepting that. So far I have always started with light brake pressure and no problem but that was a 5th wheel and now I have a class a. Any experiences to share?
James Wilson

[Tom and Patty]

Dagwood,

I know it doesn't make sense, but when you watch the Michelin video it will. You only accelerate until you have directional control..

Michelin North America RV Videos and Demos Page

Watch, RV the Critical Factor.

Safe travels,

TD

[Tom and Patty]

We have seen north of 80 also (Patty is usually asleep), but remember, almost all of our tires are only rated for 75 MPH sustained.