Tire exploded - thought it was an AC

[Firstpoet]

We took our 36' 1998 Southwind w/tag axle for a shakedown cruise - not over 50 mph - about 30 miles away - air pressures were good when we left and we have a TPMS. So we get to the campground and are sitting waiting to pull up a bit to go check-in, and BOOM - I looked at the better-half and said 'get out now' and we both bailed. I thought something like the AC or other had blown up. Upon further inspection it was a tire that blew - passenger side, inside-dually (kitchen is on that side - fridge right over dually). It ripped wide-open from about an 1" below the tread and then across the tread to the other side - a huge split and flap opened up...so we limped to the campsite and got her up on jacks - had a local tire place come and fix it the next day - they were great - Andover Tire - AWESOME SERVICE!! We were lucky or we'd be stranded there...AAA-RV was no help - we can tow it - yeah right!??!

My question - why would the tire do that? ...no warning for excess heat or pressure - the tires are just over 8 years old and we store the MH in the garage - maybe 8K on the tires...

I'm now going to begin checking air pressure much more often and such but we were sitting still, no warning, and it doesn't appear to be a side-wall failure which would happen with under-inflation...heat also so maybe and the sensor battery maybe was iffy? I replaced all the batteries in the TPMS sensors just in case and checked the tires both with it and with a gage.

Has me nervous as to what would cause a tire to simply POP? At 8 years old should I replace them? Seems like you should be able to go to 10 which is the normal 'rule'? But it scared us enough - we'll do it if we should...

Any ideas or thoughts are appreciated!!

Thanks - and Happy Trails!!

[Spdracr39]

5-7 is the normal rule. Chances are there was damage from road debris and it finally had all it could take. Luckily it happened when you weren't moving. I would recommend replacing all the 8 year olds for newer rubber.

[richard5933]

Tires can go 10, but the usual recommendation is replace at 7. If you are going to use beyond that point, inspection by a qualified tire specialist would be in order.


You mention that you've been keeping up with pressure. But, how close are the tires to running at their maximum carry capacity? Has that tire EVER been run low on air? The damage could have been done years ago, possibly before you even got the coach. Or, as mentioned already, it could have been damaged from a road hazard of some type.

[egwilly]

You were lucky that it didn't blow at speed and tear stuff up.

Flapping steel belts and rubber are great demo tools.

I would replace all of them except the new one.

[Daveinet]

Sometimes tires get tread separation. There may be a bulge in the sidewall, that could not be easily seen. I had a tire on my old motorhome do that. Because it uses tandem singles, I did happen to notice a deformation in the sidewall, but did understand that it was a sign of an issue. Driving down the freeway, it partially let go. Started vibrating like crazy. 1/3rd of the tread was expanded. I was able to limp along to a rest stop and change it. These tires were about 6 years old, and I was very religious about air pressure. Never once were they below the minimum pressure for the weight.



Incidentally, if you are inspecting tires, dry rot occurs in the deep grooves of the tread. It takes some looking with a flash light to see it. On my current motorhome, the inside duallies were much worse than the outside.

[WyCamper]

I had a ST tire on my 5th wheel blow up a few years ago. It was mounted on the spare rack with a cover and had never been on the road. I had just bought the 10 year old 5th wheel a couple weeks earlier and never thought about the tires since the tread was still good.

I heard a loud bang and couldn't figure out where it came from, then I found the spare cover laying on the ground near the back of the 5er. I tried to put it back on and realized that the tread had split wide open around about 1/3 of the tire.

So I bought 5 new ST tires, and learned a lesson about tire life.

[Mr_D]

There is NO "normal rule" other than tire manufacturers say to have them professionally inspected starting at 5 years and absolutely replace at 10.
I went 9 on my last set and they were great both inside and outside. Should have gone another year.

[grindstone01]

If the tires only had 8k miles on them in 8 years, they must have been sitting around alot. That is not a good situation for tires that need to move and flex to prevent dry rot from setting in.

Also, it has been discussed many times that TPMS does not alert for blowouts. TPMS will only alert for a tire loosing air. Blowouts are caused by broken internal belts that rip open the tire when the air is released like what you experienced with the "boom". A tire with low air pressure will not go "boom", it will just shred itself by excess flexing while rotating down the road.

[followingsea]

Originally Posted by Firstpoet

My question - why would the tire do that? ...no warning for excess heat or pressure - the tires are just over 8 years old and we store the MH in the garage - maybe 8K on the tires...

Have you not been reading this forum?

Let me explain a different way. There are two kinds of boats, boats that have sunk and boat that have not sunk yet.

There are two kinds of tires, tires that have failed and tires that have not failed yet.

As an engineer I was concerned with failure mechanisms that can get people killed. The list is long for things like boat sinking and tire failure.

Aging is a failure mechanism for any rubber product. Keep a tire inflated on a wheel citing in storage and it will eventually fail. Five years is a safe number to use.

Some things like like hydraulic brake calipers will leak before failure giving you a warning before failure.

Just for the record I was not reading this forum when I had a tire blow out in the first 3000 miles of owning our first MH. A second tire had a bulge and was about to blow.

[followingsea]

Originally Posted by Mr_D

There is NO "normal rule" other than tire manufacturers say to have them professionally inspected starting at 5 years and absolutely replace at 10.
I went 9 on my last set and they were great both inside and outside. Should have gone another year.

I was thinking the same thing. Since my wife died in her sleep I would not feel guilty if a tire blew causing an accident that killed her and not me.

Then I think that maybe the family I hit if I lose control still has a lot to live for.

There is no rule simply because most tires rear out before they age out. I would estimate that less than 25 fatalities a year result.

The problem with statistics is that is often the basis for goverment 'rules' but each accidental death is a terrible loss.

When I got my current MH the steer tires were 4 years old and the drive tires approaching ten. I replaced all.

[Rock-N-Roll]

Firstpoet - your description of what happened may indicate problem with your brake overheating at that wheel position.
If the brake is dragging, it generates a tremendous amount of heat while moving. The heat multiplies greatly when you stop because there is no air movement. Since inside dual retains most heat, it almost always blows first.
I recommend you have someone check that brake and replace the outside dual also, if repairman finds a problem with brake drag, (corroded parts, S-cam over travel, adjustment, etc.).
Excessive heat while stopped more than likely caused blown tire...no matter how old/new tire is. Hope this helps.

[Coarsegold]

Your tires are way too old, miles mean nothing. Lot of good information listed here.

I once saw a spare tire on the back of an old Ford Bronco with no tire cover. It was an old tire and literally blew out on a hot day in the sun!

[rv1993]

Originally Posted by Firstpoet

We took our 36' 1998 Southwind w/tag axle for a shakedown cruise - not over 50 mph - about 30 miles away - air pressures were good when we left and we have a TPMS. So we get to the campground and are sitting waiting to pull up a bit to go check-in, and BOOM - I looked at the better-half and said 'get out now' and we both bailed. I thought something like the AC or other had blown up. Upon further inspection it was a tire that blew - passenger side, inside-dually (kitchen is on that side - fridge right over dually). It ripped wide-open from about an 1" below the tread and then across the tread to the other side - a huge split and flap opened up...so we limped to the campsite and got her up on jacks - had a local tire place come and fix it the next day - they were great - Andover Tire - AWESOME SERVICE!! We were lucky or we'd be stranded there...AAA-RV was no help - we can tow it - yeah right!??!

My question - why would the tire do that? ...no warning for excess heat or pressure - the tires are just over 8 years old and we store the MH in the garage - maybe 8K on the tires...

I'm now going to begin checking air pressure much more often and such but we were sitting still, no warning, and it doesn't appear to be a side-wall failure which would happen with under-inflation...heat also so maybe and the sensor battery maybe was iffy? I replaced all the batteries in the TPMS sensors just in case and checked the tires both with it and with a gage.

Has me nervous as to what would cause a tire to simply POP? At 8 years old should I replace them? Seems like you should be able to go to 10 which is the normal 'rule'? But it scared us enough - we'll do it if we should...

Any ideas or thoughts are appreciated!!

Thanks - and Happy Trails!!

Be glad you were not moving, when my tire blew on a 38' Newmar, the steel bands acted like a buzz saw and cut thru body to chassis attachments. Luckily I was 1/2 mile from home, limped home and next day had all tires changed with new. It was an inside tire on my dual rear axle.

[Daveinet]

Originally Posted by Rock-N-Roll

Firstpoet - your description of what happened may indicate problem with your brake overheating at that wheel position.
If the brake is dragging, it generates a tremendous amount of heat while moving. The heat multiplies greatly when you stop because there is no air movement. Since inside dual retains most heat, it almost always blows first.
I recommend you have someone check that brake and replace the outside dual also, if repairman finds a problem with brake drag, (corroded parts, S-cam over travel, adjustment, etc.).
Excessive heat while stopped more than likely caused blown tire...no matter how old/new tire is. Hope this helps.

That is probably one of the better points brought up on this subject. If the motorhome sits, the likelihood of a brake hanging up is quite high.