Community Forums

broadrun · 07-16-2015, 06:03 PM

They say you can learn a lot from other people's experiences/mistakes and I was hoping to hear some of your tire blowout stories while moving. It has never happened to me thankfully but I am a relatively new RV owner (3 years).

Obviously it must be more dangerous to lose a steer tire as opposed to a drive tire. My cousin lost a steer tire at 70 + mph in Montana in his 45 foot newmar and his wife was at the wheel. They managed to pull over safely but now don't go over 62 MPH.

Wondering if you can actually try to move to the shoulder of the road too quickly and have it be more dangerous.

I hope this topic is ok for this forum but I am sure the moderators will move it if it is not.

Thanks for sharing.

-Rob

the_vfox · 07-16-2015, 06:08 PM

First you get control of the vehicle, then move to the shoulder. The shock factor is the first thing you must overcome.

t55watson · 07-16-2015, 06:18 PM

It has been said here, on another thread, that a rear blowout on a MH is harder to handle as the back drops and pulls to one side and then the tail wags the dog. Right off the road. I think they were talking about single axle rigs not tag axle rigs. Over 20 years in MH's and and no on road tire trouble yet. Maintenance and proper tire pressures are the keys.

jacwjames · 07-16-2015, 06:33 PM

I had a Class C and had hard lessons on blowout, the RV came with the infamous Firestone tires during their tread separation fiasco. The RV was <3 years old and we had 3 tire failures in one trip, 2 were blow out, 1 a complete tread separation. Went and had new tires put on and tried to salvage as much of our vacation as we could.

BTW, Ford would not recognize this as being associated with passenger tire failures so no recall or monetary compensation.

broadrun · 07-17-2015, 03:06 AM

Do these tires typically blowout because they pick up a nail or something on the road or is it more likely going to be a sidewall blowout due to cracking or dry rot or maybe just over loaded?

RCLImperial · 07-17-2015, 08:55 AM

I typically keep my speed down to 55, because I get about 9.4 mpg in my 40 ft '04 HR Imperial. Even though my Goodyear 295 80 22.5 tires were original and over 12 years old, I decided to chance one more cross country trip from California to Connecticut where we have spent the summers for the last 35 years. The tires looked good, and had no sidewall cracking. They did not lose any pressure over the last 6 months. Just as we entered Kansas City, KS the passengers side front tire let go with a terrific bang. The coach dived for the shoulder, but I managed to keep it under control (just barely) and get it stopped. The tire was shredded, and the front fender was cracked. The tire tread was gone and back several hundred feet back. The carcass looked like it partially melted where the tread layer was torn off. The sidewall was shattered like an eggshell. From the looks of things, I think that I picked up a nail or somehow caused the tire to go soft,overheat and explode.

We were towed to a truck repair shop and had 2 Michelin XZA 2 tires put on the front, along with a front end alignment. Two were all they could find, so we opted to go on with the one good front tire in a storage compartment. About 200 miles further we found a shop that could get tires the next morning and had the rears replaced with new michelins. I wanted to save the best one of the rear tires, but it had so much tread that they couldn't get it into the same compartment. The total miles were about 73K.

I will be looking into a TPMS this fall, as I might have been able to catch the tire going soft before it went critical.

Dick L

Mike Canter · 07-17-2015, 09:17 AM

Dick a TPMS will not no anything to warn you of a zipper flat which is the most sudden and dangerous type of flat. Normally the only warning you will see is a bulge in the sidewall. I always check the outside of the tires when I stop and check the inside white a flashlight when I get a chance.

Some that will help all is this
How To Handle An Rv Tire Blowout | Michelin RV Tires

Dtwallace · 07-17-2015, 09:23 AM

I've never had a tire go out without a little help from (FOD) foreign object damage.

My tire failures were also not in the MH, but OTR trucking. DW at the wheel and she handled the situation superbly. Like mentioned above, get over the initial shock first, and maintain control.

znt1186 · 07-17-2015, 09:24 AM

Had a class A with a GVWR of 17,000 and 16" LT tires that were barely rated 250# total above GVRW. Put on 6 new Kelly tires when we got it. 2 years later sitting in a campground for 3 days, the sidewall on one blew out. Replaced with same type tire by dealer. One year later, blew a inside dual with no damage to rv, but steel belts through the tread. 2 years later, tires are 5 years old and blew 3 of them in one day. First one was a tread separation due to sidewall ply failing. The tread unfolded to the outside doubling the width of the tire, but it held air. Also had to remove the first one that was replaced due to goose egg in sidewall. 20 miles later had an explosive failure of outside dual that took out the black tank drain. That dumped about 40 gallons of sewage on the interstate. 150 miles later, same day, or night now, right front blew out with steel belts coming through the tread. Took 24 hours to go 300 miles. All in all, 5 of 7 tires blew or had tread separation and one was headed there. Only one of the 7 was still viable as a spare before all were replaced, many on the side of the road. I am really paranoid about tires now and check them religiously before a trip, every day on the road and check temps at every rest stop with an IR thermometer. Don't have much faith in a TPMS yet, but may go that way in the near future.

billsmax · 07-17-2015, 09:41 AM

Several years ago, we had a right front tire blowout at 62mph in our 45' Monaco Signature while my wife was driving. Scared her half to death BUT thanks to what she had learned a month earlier from Michelin's Tire Blowout video, she maintained control and didn't even swerve out of her lane.
Every motorhome driver should watch this video and heed the experts' advice.
Here's the link to the video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lkwOE1yKY5c

Stay safe out there,
Bill

Txice · 07-17-2015, 09:45 AM

"Plunk your magic twanger foggy". Google that and it will tell you how old I am. How does this relate? When I was driving a truck for a living I tried very hard to comply with the 100 mile rule. I would take my magic twanger and circle my rig and "plunk" my tires. That old Saturday morning radio show popped into my head every 100 miles or so. I honestly can't say it kept any "alligators" off the interstate, but it developed a good habit. When I find our new used MH, i'll get out my magic twanger

greystroke · 07-17-2015, 11:49 AM

I had both a left front and right rear inside blowout.

The most important thing is not to slam on your brake. Maintain your foot on the accelerator until your have confirmed absolute control. Gradually slow and safely change lanes to the right and then go into a safe area off the road. Both times I maintained control. Always remember the max speed of the tires is most probably 75 so don't press your luck.

Mr_D · 07-17-2015, 11:53 AM

Can't really help as I've never had one in the 50+ years I've been driving. I keep Michelins on all my vehicles.

Stretch · 07-17-2015, 12:45 PM

Only had one blowout in ten motorhomes. That was with our current mh. Tires were 7 years old. Wife has coach loaded to the gills. Luckily no loss of control. Just pulled over and inspected damage. Blown tire (original Goodyear) destroyed alum wheel. Air brake hose and abs wire destroyed. But no body damage.

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