Cost of a Blowout....

[RIDER FAN]

Sometimes you get dealt a bad card such as Doug's blow out. Unless you are in very good physical condition and know what your doing , leave the tire changes to those with the right tools and knowledge. The tires and rims are VERY heavy. Wheels are generally tourqed to 475 ft lbs +. Just trying to loosen / lift and move around these tries could cause a bad back injury.Improper jacking could also cause serious injuries and damage. Also working on the side of road without proper hazard lights could be fatal. JMHO , To each his own....blow outs are rare. I'm 6'2 - 275 lbs and i'm not messing with them.

[Steve Ownby]

Originally Posted by dbywaters

Saturday of Labor day weekend 2015 my wife and I were headed south from Northern VA on RT29 just south of Charlottesville VA. My 03 Dutchstar with 2008 tires with NO visible cracking, un-even wear and pressurized to 110 psi cold and monitored with a new TirePressure pro TPMS experienced a blowout on the right front BF Goodrich tire. I had just checked temperatures and pressures (119psi hot) less than 30 minutes prior to the bang. I was traveling about 45-50mph up a slight grade and easily able to move the coach to the wide although steep shoulder.There was some minor damage to the fender liner as the tire partially dismounted it's self. I did not have a spare. I called Coach Net, they found a service truck that could bring new tires (advising that I would need to replace both front tires), an hour later they called back to advise the first service provider was not available so the searched for another. I then started calling around and found what I thought was a local provider in Charlottesville, This ordeal started at 1:30 pm. A state Trooper shows up and advised that I was a hazard and request that I be towed. I called Coach Net again and request a tow and I provided a local tow company that could handle my 40’ long 30k pound rig. They agreed and within an hour I had a Large tow truck…it’s about 6:00pm now. The tow truck operator looks at my rig and ask that I lift it using the jacks..I agreed since there was NO way to jack the coach from the front since it was almost flush with the ground. He took a good look at it and shared that he had towed many class A coaches and due to the tilt and ground clearance advised me it would likely he might damage some fiberglass…BUT, if I had a good tire on the front I could drive it off the shoulder (I had already thought of that…but I had no spare) He asked if it be ok for him to call the shop and have the service truck bring me a used “spare” from a wrecked trailer. I though it to be a heck of an idea. The service truck shows up about 20 minutes later with a dirty but serviceable aluminum wheel and drive tire (one with tread) He put that one on my coach and had me follow the service truck to a parking lot about 4 miles up the road. I called the tire service guy and advised him of my new location. When we arrived at the parking lot I asked the tow truck driver if he would sell me the tire he bought me… $150.00 and it was mine! He left and about 20 minutes later my two new Bridgestones showed up in another service truck. I asked this guy to install the two new tires on my shiny aluminum wheels and to move my left front BF Goodrich to my newly acquired “spare”.. About 8:30 pm all the tires were swapped and my new spare stowed inside of my toad. After fueling up nearby we were on the road at 9:30pm and at our destination by 11:30. The cost for the road service was $1800.00 ($585 per tire and rest labor and travel) , I will submit some of this to CoachNet. Let me assure you, I was not in the boondocks… it was a holiday weekend and not a good time to need service. This was an expensive endeavor. I have a credit card and insurance… but if I had that spare I would have been on the road much faster and saved myself almost $2000.00. I have room for the spare in the basement, that is where it is now. And the BF Goodrich tire that blew had absolutely no signs of dry rot or damage inside or out, and the pressure was spot on perfect. It just blew. The tire service guy shared that he sees it all the time, he also said the Bridgestone has a thicker sidewall. My new tires on the front are bigger, 290/75 R22.5 and they ride quieter and drive better than the prior tires. No balancing involved either. So, learn from my experience, carry a spare if possible…. Unless you have time and money to throw away..
BTW, I am aware that we were Blessed to safe through this whole ordeal, many folks have not been as fortunate.

Doug

photos below

Congratulations on coming through a potentially dangerous situation with mostly monetary damage. In that situation your outcome was the best of all possible.

Would you mind sharing what your OEM tire size from Newmar was. Also what is your wheel width? I assume the size was a typo and the size you have now is 295/75R22.5. I'm a fan of Bridgestone tires. You should be good to go on your steer axle. Do you have plans to replace the drive axle tires soon?


Steve Ownby
Full time since '07

[dbywaters]

First, thanks for the kind words and replies,

Re: NHRA225, I purchased this coach this year, it is obvious by its condition that it spent most of its life inside out of the sun. The tires just reached 7 years old and I planned to change them next spring (we do not full time). I also keep the coach inside of a building. There is absolutely no visible sign inside or out of the blow tire or any of the others of cracking…even within the deep groves of the tires. The coach only has 44k miles on it and it is the 2nd set of tires.. so they are far from being worn out although "old" by conservative standards.

Re: Civdiv99 The new tires are Bridgestone R268, 295/75R22.5

Re: wa8yxm and Mr Hipster, I never thought about the refrigerator, it worked fine and continues to. I did use the refrigerator located in the front basement bay for water and sodas we had on hand. I did not drop the jacks ahead of time as I did not want to pitch the top of the coach closer to the highway.. I was off the road about 12” outside of the white line as you can see in the tilted coach photo.

Re: Statgeek, the prior tires were wearing very evenly and drove nicely, the new Bridgestones drive even better. I will monitor the wear and decide if I need an alignment, although I can check toe-in myself pretty easily. (my steering wheel remains in the same position… straight ahead)

Re: RIDER FAN, I carry a torque multiplier with me as I had it for my prior coach. The only reason I would use it would be if I could not obtain service via coach net quickly and at that my next stop would be to a tire service place for replacement or repair. . The tires are heavy… but doable. BTW, I was impressed by the pneumatic torque tool the service technician used… he guaranteed 500 foot pounds as he had to have it calibrated every month.

Re: Steve Ownby, This was a good catch, I Just checked the data sheet and the OEM size should be 275/70 22.5 load range H tire, I bought the coach used and the prior owner installed the BF Goodrich 275/80 22.5 load range G. My new tires are 295/75 and I believe load range G (6175 lbs @ 110psi single). Now you have me wondering… I had to take what was delivered (no assortment on the truck) and I referenced the size of my blown tire when I made the call for service. I know that my speedometer is almost exactly 6% slow, so I presume these are taller and wider tires than the OEM. I just looked up the wheel spec and I see they should be on 8.25” wheels (this is something I need to check when I get home tonight) I guess my plan going forward may be to move these tires to my rear axle and purchase new ones to match for that axle, and install new load range H tires on my front axle considering the wheel width. I noticed the wider (9" wheel width) H rated is about $100 more expensive per tire (a bargain) I know my actual steer axle weight is within 700 pounds of the 12k rating and presume more capacity is better…
I don’t have any trips planned in the near future so I have a while to figure this one out..


In review of close up photos I took of the blown tire and from memory, it seemed the metal belts in the sidewall were rusty… absolutely not shiny.. It probably was just vulcanized rubber attached to the metal.

Thanks for the interest, and I am only advocating the advantage carrying a spare tire of proper size to save money and time on the side of the road and to share my recent experience.



Doug

[F4Gary]

It looks like that rim was destroyed in the pictures. Didn't you have to replace it too?

[1ciderdog]

The angle of your RV along the highway is scary. I read in an RV magazine several years ago where an RV pulled onto the shoulder (don't remember why) but it was softer then expected and the RV rolled onto its side. I'm happy the ground was firm enough to support your RV. Also happy to hear you are safely through with that experience.

[Iwillbeit]

Being an old tire guy, I leaned through the years that few things take the amount of abuse that tires have to endure. When you think about what we expect these tires to do, it's amazing they hold up as well as they do. Tire failure and blowouts can be caused by many things, and most of the time it's not because of a defect or poor quality. The amount of potholes, curbs, large rocks, road debris and just plain bad roads take a toll on the tire's inner cord construction over the years. When your rig weighs 30k plus and you hit a large pothole at 50 mph, it doesn't mean you escaped the incident without damage because the tire didn't go flat right then. Hitting a pothole (or any other object or road deformity) often pinches the sidewall between the rim and road causing damage to the internal cords that gives the tire its strength and integrity. Over a period of time those cords can only take so much before letting go and causing an unforeseen blowout. Being under pressure and weight also causes the cords to weaken and break down over time. The seven year old tire replacement rule is more than a recommendation. It's the gospel, if you want to minimize your tire problems. Visually inspecting your tires and keeping the right air pressure helps (is also a must), but it doesn't extend the 7 year replacement rule. I have heard many stories of people with 10-12 year old tires and still going strong. All I can say to those people is go buy a lotto ticket, because you are on a good run of luck. I'm never that lucky!


Randy W

[dbywaters]

Originally Posted by F4Gary

It looks like that rim was destroyed in the pictures. Didn't you have to replace it too?

Rim was fine, only small scratches on lip of rim. Tire must have flopped off at the last minute as it only left a small amount of tire residue on the leading edge of fiberglass fender...cleaned up with some liquid wax.
Thanks

[FreedomDream]

Originally Posted by R1Kirby

I have a simple rule, being a fulltimer. If it over 5 years old I replace it. The tires are carring my home, and it is a safety thing.

+1
Totally have to agree! Tires on a 2008 model mean that the tires can easily be over 7 years old as the chassis was built before the house part of the motorhome and the chassis manufacturer may have stocked the tires and then the motorhome manufacturer may have stocked the chassis before beginning work on the house part.

The tire experts I have talked to say that 7 years on motorhome tires are about the limit. Any time over 7 is gravy and pushing luck.

Almost microscopic cracks in the rubber of the side wall allow water to get to the steel belts which rust, break and cause sudden catastrophic failure of the side wall. This is the most common tire failure on motorhomes. TPMS is of no value on this type of tire failure.

I have a 2010 model and will be putting new tires on in January.

[Civdiv99]

Thanks Doug, I was just curious. I put 6 new R268s on my coach in June. Thus far, no complaints.

[dbywaters]

Originally Posted by FreedomDream

+1
Totally have to agree! Tires on a 2008 model mean that the tires can easily be over 7 years old as the chassis was built before the house part of the motorhome and the chassis manufacturer may have stocked the tires and then the motorhome manufacturer may have stocked the chassis before beginning work on the house part.

The tire experts I have talked to say that 7 years on motorhome tires are about the limit. Any time over 7 is gravy and pushing luck.

Almost microscopic cracks in the rubber of the side wall allow water to get to the steel belts which rust, break and cause sudden catastrophic failure of the side wall. This is the most common tire failure on motorhomes. TPMS is of no value on this type of tire failure.

I have a 2010 model and will be putting new tires on in January.

Bob, My coach is a 2003, the date stamp on all of my tires are no older than the 20th week, 2008... they just turned 7 years old...
It's a heck of a thing to live in that kind of fear... but I guess we must.

Doug

[FreedomDream]

Originally Posted by dbywaters

Bob, My coach is a 2003, the date stamp on all of my tires are no older than the 20th week, 2008... they just turned 7 years old...
It's a heck of a thing to live in that kind of fear... but I guess we must.

Doug

The issue is one of safety. I have seen Class A motorhomes on truckers' dash cams blow a steer tire and hit the shoulder and roll over completely destroying the rig. Yes, speed is an issue also which is why I never take my motorhome north of 65. The higher the speed, the more unstable these things become and blow a steer tire and suddenly you are riding an out of control 15 tons of steel. My objective is to be more rather than less safe.

[rjsupersonic]

I think when I replace my Michelins next time I will keep one of the old ones for a emergency spare, even without a rim a service truck could mount it on site rather then get robbed by emergency tire swap prices!

[Iwillbeit]

Originally Posted by rjsupersonic

I think when I replace my Michelins next time I will keep one of the old ones for a emergency spare, even without a rim a service truck could mount it on site rather then get robbed by emergency tire swap prices!

I see your point. However, by the time you pay the service guy to change it and then go somewhere to get the old tire off and pay them to install the new one, I'm not sure you are saving much if any.. When you factor in the issue of storing an extra tire, I don't think it would be worth it. Just my humble opinion.


Randy W

[Civdiv99]

Originally Posted by Iwillbeit

I see your point. However, by the time you pay the service guy to change it and then go somewhere to get the old tire off and pay them to install the new one, I'm not sure you are saving much if any.. When you factor in the issue of storing an extra tire, I don't think it would be worth it. Just my humble opinion.


Randy W

I'm carrying one of my old ones not out of any concern about cost; I want to be able to have something to mount right then, that day, and get thy hiney to a more opportune location whereby I can then ponder the rest of the logistics. I don't want to hassle about size availability and stuff alongside the road.

Like a space saver for a car, it just has to roll to the next logical exit.