Quote:
Originally Posted by spec24
DOH! Boy, that's rough. Glad you're ok.
Has anyone had a front blowout on the freeway at speeds between 50 and 60?? How was it?
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Here is a post from last July. I asked this poster if I could share his post on other forums and he said yes. Here is his terrifying narrative:
PLEASE, for your safety and that of your passengers, read this to
conclusion.
Recently, while on the freeway south of Jacksonville, FL, traveling in
the far right lane, on cruise control at 60 mph, I experienced a blowout
of a Goodyear G 670 tire on the right side steer axle.
Some important background information to help you evaluate and
understand the lead up to this catastrophe and I do mean catastrophe! I
am a former US Navy carrier based jet fighter pilot from the Vietnam War
era, retired 747 international airline pilot, former instructor of the
advanced motorcycle safety driving course and have never had a vehicle
accident of any kind in my life nor have I ever had a driving citation.
I am an extremely defensive driver and uncompromising when it comes to
safety and maintenance of my vehicles. Also spent many years sailing
blue water.
I have closely followed all the information posted on this forum for a
few years now and learned more than I ever knew before this forum, which
is a lot considering I've been full-timing for 24 years in a number of
coaches including 4 Monaco's. I have especially followed the discussions
regarding the G 670 because they came on my Windsor. I had all the
typical problems reported here so no need to go deeply into that now. A
large commercial tire dealer who knows all about, what can only be
described as defective G 670 tires, rotated the rivering and cupping
steer axle tires to the left side drive axle position a few years ago. I
then increased the front tire pressure to 115-120 lbs as recommended
here and from the dealer. The tires on the front wore without those
problems but did develop other abnormal wear patterns but were not cause
for concern, according to the dealer.
I am acutely aware of the tire life limits and know how to read the
manufacture date. I also had the tires inspected at least once per year
by the same dealer. After a recent inspection, he recommended replacing
all the tires this fall with Hankooks or other reputable tires as the
tire ages were 6 years. I used 303 Protectorant on the sidewalls
regularly; they had no cracks. I check pressures before every trip and
have a laser temperature gun that I use at all rest stops. I do not have
a tire pressure monitoring system.
When I've read previous reports of blowouts, I must confess I said to
myself that the drivers probably didn't check pressures as regularly as
I do nor did they take care of their tires as I do. Not a good
assumption on my part since I didn't have first hand knowledge of each
situation but was going on what I know and see most other owners doing
or better yet, not doing, to maintain their tires. Also, I've never had
a blowout on anything in my life so it probably wouldn't happen to me;
WRONG!
I have posted, on this forum, the proper procedure to follow in the
event of a tire blowout in a motor home or car and that is NOT to touch
the brake but step on the accelerator to maintain speed and control and
then gradually slow down. The pilot in me has me repeating to myself a
few times every time I drive, "Blowout, step on the accelerator,
step on the accelerator". I do this because I know the natural
response would be to step on the brake and that would be fatal as can be
seen on YouTube when a front tire was intentionally blown in a class A
coach demonstration.
One beautiful day recently at about 11:00 AM after driving only about an
hour and with my 13 year old grandson in the passenger seat, there was
what I can only describe as a massive explosion that sounded like a
hand-grenade going off. It was a metallic sound followed by a non-stop
VILOENT motion and before I could comprehend what was happening, we were
headed for the treeline. I could barely see because it was as if someone
was behind me with their hands on my shoulders shaking me so hard that I
could not focus. I was on cruise control and did remember to step on the
accelerator, however the shaking was so violent that I could not tell
where my foot was as it was being shaken every which-way.
By the time my mind caught up with what was happening, the coach had
move from the far right lane I was in, across the paved shoulder (about
a lane width) and onto the grass a half a coach width. I managed to stop
the diversion there and maintained this position while I slowly brought
it to a stop. I sat there for a few moments totally stunned by what had
happened!
The inside was a shambles! It broke the locks off the doors of the
refrigerator and most of the contents were on the floor. Many other
items in the coach relocated and/or broke or were damaged
The blowout took out the air lines to both airbags so the coach was way
down in the right front corner due to tire collapse and air bags
collapsing. It had skidded on the retractable step.
The unbelievably violent ride was, in many ways, as rough as a carrier
arrested landing but actually way more violent because of the up and
down motion of the coach as the blown tire went around and around.
Only a few months before I had decided to go with Coach-Net.
Fortunately, I was only about 15 miles south of Jacksonville, FL. They
sent out a truck from a national commercial tire chain with a Michelin
XZA2. The man who changed the tire showed me that it was not a sidewall
blowout; it was a tread separation. After replacing the tire, wheel was
undamaged, it was determined that the coach was not drivable so CN sent
out a wrecker. The driver said he could not do anything to move me
because of the collapsed airbags making the coach too low to get under
with a tow/lift bar. He looked at the broken air line and said he could
reconnect it, which he did. Started the engine and the bags aired up OK
so followed him to a repair facility. The next day I had Michelin's
installed all around through the FMCA program; $638 each as opposed to
$842 each retail.
When the tread separated, it impacted the wall in front of the tire,
which is the left sidewall of the entry steps inside the entry door. It
hit so hard that the entire step well area was shifted to the right, as
viewed from entering. The entire stairwell will have to be removed and
rebuilt.
The damage could have been much worse. I'm presently in Elkhart, IN at
Duncan RV Services waiting for the final estimate to be completed and
submitted to my insurance company, USAA. Preliminary estimate is I'll be
here for 5-6 weeks depending on how quickly Monaco ships parts. The
fiberglass sidewall surrounding the wheel area was destroyed and will
have to come from Monaco or Duncan will have to fabricate one.
Since the blowout, as I have been driving, I note all the many many
obstacles alongside the roadways we would have hit had it happened
elsewhere; concrete bridge supports, poles, embankments, etc. As it was,
if I had not stopped the coach from going further right only a few feet
more, we would have gone down an embankment and rolled over onto the
side and possibly hit the trees. What if I had been in a left lane with
traffic to my right. Would have taken them out for sure; how about
colliding with an 18 wheeler. At 60 mph, my grandson probably would
have been killed had this occurred in almost any other location. It
makes my blood run cold and I still have guilt feelings about what
could, so easily, have happened! It is something akin to PTSD and will
take some time to recover.
Knowing what I knew about the G 670, even though a dealer said they were
OK until the fall, I should NEVER have gone beyond 5 years at the max
and better yet replace them as soon as I was aware of the problem
because of this forum. It was an expensive lesson as it is but could
have been so much worse had my grandson been even slightly injured.
Now, the reason I took time to write all this. PLEASE, PLEASE learn from
my experience and if you have G 670's, no matter what age, replace them
with something else, anything else. Driving on them is gambling your
life and the life of your loved ones. Yes, there will be those who will
say they've never had a problem, etc, but the history of these tires and
my experience should be enough not to risk it. I could have said I never
had a problem either, that is until it happened to me. Remember, I did
all the right things that would have been acceptable with any other tire
brand. It was a failure that should not have occurred.
The tire service company told me they have responded to MANY G 670
failures; more than ALL other brands combined! They rarely had to
replace blown motor home tires other the Goodyear. They did sell other
brands I could have purchased but decided on the Michelin's because of
an unblemished reputation.
Final comment. I offer this as my experience and recommendation only. I
do not want to get into a back and forth with anyone who disagrees with
anything I've stated because I see so many times where information
offered by others here in good faith turns into an ugly exchange. I've
never understood why this happens, that is, the personal attacks. This
is one of the reasons I do not post often. Aren't we all on the
same team; Americans, coach owners, retired, parents, grandparents and
many veterans? Shouldn't we be helping each other and not tearing others
down? There is so much hate everywhere these days, especially on the
Internet where people can hide as opposed to being face-to-face. They
are cowards and would never have the courage to say those things to
someone's face. I just can't understand why any rational, intelligent
person would want to add to the hate.
If your experiences are different, by all means express them as I have
done. But lets stop the personal attacks I see so frequently here so
this forum always remains at is full potential for educating and helping
each other in a civil manner.
Gary K
06 Windsor
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On the trip back home we took a longer way but a MUCH more pleasant drive. We took 81 north up to 84 then to 87. We crossed over Vermont on route 9 - that was the only road that was of any real issue. Not because of the quality, but it was one lane, lots of inclines and steep declines. However the trip was FAR better than the trip down along NE main freeways!
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