Front Tire Blowout!

[Duner]

What a surprise I got while on my way to get the brake recall done. The conditions were nearly ideal.....temp around 68 deg, smooth concrete, level ground and doing around 62 mph in the #3 lane of 4 lanes on I-10 . The Doran Tire Monitor was indicating good pressure on all tires (>90 lbs on mh and 27 lbs on toad). No warning or signs of trouble, then suddenly POW, BANG, SLAP, SLAP, SLAP! I could see the carcass of the driver's side tire in the mirror flying out the back. I'm pretty sure I didn't hit a road hazard so I guess this tire just gave out from old age. Trying to get another year of use out of the 8 yr old Michelin tires isn't worth the risk, even tho I take very good care of the rubber and make sure I don't drive under inflated.

The Safe-T-Plus worked perfectly as the rig just dropped down and there was no pulling to left or right and control was completely normal. I was in a construction zone with no shoulder and a k-rail at the edge of the outside lane. So with the flashers on, I had to proceed about 1/2 mile to an off-ramp. To my surprise, there was no damage to the rim or the wheel well, even with the smell of burning rubber.

I called Keith at Redlands Truck & RV to let him know I'd be late and to find out if they sold tires. Keith suggested moving one rear to the front, just to get off the freeway and to find a place to park and sleep for the night. I had CoachNet send out a mechanic to move the tire and about 1.5 hrs later (midnight) were safely parked for the night.

Keith and everybody at Redlands treated me like a head of state. In the morning he sent out a truck and mounted one of his spare wheels that allowed me to drive the last 14 miles to the shop. He worked a good deal on 6 Michelins, got them mounted, finished a complete brake job (the $1500 WH special), and got me on my way by 5:30 pm the same day. From what I can tell, I think news of Keith's excellent service must be getting out there as he had 56 coaches there at the shop....8 of them were WH brake recalls.

Many thanks to RTS .... and welcome to the "new" guy Mike Bronzini !!!

[Davel]

Bill,

Glad you're OK....and the coach too. Sounds like everything worked as intended. Redlands comes through again.

Dave

[DriVer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Duner The Safe-T-Plus worked perfectly as the rig just dropped down and there was no pulling to left or right and control was completely normal. I was in a construction zone with no shoulder and a k-rail at the edge of the outside lane. So with the flashers on, I had to proceed about 1/2 mile to an off-ramp. To my surprise, there was no damage to the rim or the wheel well, even with the smell of burning rubber

Duner, An amazing success story. I have been running an +STP+ for the past 8 years and so far I have not had the pleasure of verifying the performance of the "Safety" part of the component description. It does remain a BIG PLUS through and I'm glad to have it. Congratulations on handling this event in the manner you did and I'm glad for you that you did not sustain any collateral damage.

In that instant that you heard the explosion, can you please relate to us how you handled your throttle input. I know that you didn't go for the brake pedal.

[RVJeeper]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Duner Trying to get another year of use out of the 8 yr old Michelin tires isn't worth the risk, even tho I take very good care of the rubber and make sure I don't drive under inflated.

Sorry for your troubles, Duner but thanks for reaffirming my decision to replace my Michelins at 7 years and not waiting the additional year like I was thinking!

Having driven big rigs at one point in my life I know that a blowout is LOUD. Having one go pop just about under your seat must have been a heart-stopper!

[Joe Gilbert]

Glad to hear that your RV was not damaged. I know of RV's which received thousand's of dollars of damage from a blowout.

That is scary. I replaced my Michelin's this spring. My old tires were 5 years old and looked fine, though 2/3 worn out. It is easy enough to get introuble on the highways without blowing a tire.

I'm sort of wondering what you tow that only needs 27# of pressure?

Joe

[RickO]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DriVer Duner, An amazing success story. I have been running an +STP+ for the past 8 years and so far I have not had the pleasure of verifying the performance of the "Safety" part of the component description. It does remain a BIG PLUS through and I'm glad to have it. Congratulations on handling this event in the manner you did and I'm glad for you that you did not sustain any collateral damage.

Ditto. Great job of handling the situation and thanks for validating both the risk involved in stretching tire life and the benefits of the STP!

Rick

[RJay]

Duner,
Glad everything worked out for you. Would you mind sharing what type Michelin tire that blew out and what type blowout occurred.

[DriVer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RJay Duner, Glad everything worked out for you. Would you mind sharing what type Michelin tire that blew out and what type blowout occurred.

I believe that Duner was running XRVs at the time.

[Mike Bronzini]

Thanks for your business Duner!! See you in Glamis!

[RJay]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DriVer I believe that Duner was running XRVs at the time.

Thanks Mike, that's what I thought when he said it was a Michelin. It's probably a zipper type blowout.

[DriVer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RJay Thanks Mike, that's what I thought when he said it was a Michelin. It's probably a zipper type blowout.

I'm on my 2nd set of XRVs and I would probably go for a 3rd if I have to cross that bridge.

[DriVer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mike Bronzini Thanks for your business Duner!! See you in Glamis!

Hi Mike! Nice to see you posting again! Welcome back.

[Duner]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DriVer In that instant that you heard the explosion, can you please relate to us how you handled your throttle input. I know that you didn't go for the brake pedal.

You know, I'm really not sure what the throttle foot did the 1st instant, but I know my 1st conscious reaction was to just let her coast and check the mirrors to get over to the right, then my wife yelled for me to turn on the 4-way flashers.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Joe Gilbert I'm sort of wondering what you tow that only needs 27# of pressure? Joe

I tow a Suzuki Grand Vitara which only weighs 3200# and has wide tires. I maintain 30# in the tires and have the Doran low pressure threshold set at 27#. The pressure on the door specs 26# but I run them higher to get a little better mpg's.

Quote:

Originally Posted by RJay Duner, Glad everything worked out for you. Would you mind sharing what type Michelin tire that blew out and what type blowout occurred.

It was XRV, 235x80r22.5 and all the tread was gone. I always thought a zipper failure would give a bad thumping, out of balance vibration warning as the separation started, before complete failure. What is the failure mechanism that suddenly lets the whole tread to come off in one split second??? I have 6 new XRV's now.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mike Bronzini Thanks for your business Duner!! See you in Glamis!

Your welcome Mike. It was nice to meet your dad too ... and talk about the "good old days" back in your youth. Ya, I want to be there at Glamis for your maiden voyage to the big dunes. I've been going since 1970 and always enjoy the newbies reactions. We've learned to keep the 1st runs nice and easy and safe. I saw some young guys take off out of camp fast on quads and the one newbie had a broken back 3 minutes later. Riding at Glamis is such a thrill and is VERY addictive.

[njs42]

Well that takes the mystery out of it for me. My rig goes from storage to the tire shop next time out XRV's off new XRV's on---that will mean nine years---provided I make it----of flawless trouble free preformance out of my Michelins-----can't ask for more than that------------

Of course I will pick a tire dealer close to my storage area and drive slow------thanks for sharing.