Blowout on right front

[Boomertx]

So glad to hear that you came through this physically A-OK! I thank you also for sharing this hair raising experience!

[hogdriver]

Doug

Great job. As the saying goes in my line of work...."any landing you can walk away from was a good one". I had a blowout on my front on my old Monaco and it caused similar damage. I don't care if people talk Safe-T-Steer or Comfort Drive or blowout bands....doesn't matter. If you are stuck in one of those concrete barrier funnels for several miles.....you will destroy the rim. You did great.

[Spk64]

Sounds like you handled it like a pro. Glad to hear no one was hurt.
I always fear that when running in those zones with no where to go if you have trouble. Glad to hear you can run these coaches on the rim in an emergency and make it to safety.

[MoHoGo]

Glad it worked out and everyone was OK. I am surprised that Entegra CS (PJ) did not send you to NIRVC in Lewisville.

[Brian W]

Originally Posted by edgray

I believe EC finally "saw the light" and began using Michelin on the 2017 Aspires, but I believe the Insignia still gets the GY crap.
Ed

Unfortunately the 17 Aspires still have GY. EC went to Michelin for all 18's. I had my coach 3 months before GY had to replace the steer tires because of excessive vibration due to being extremely out of round.

[edgray]

Originally Posted by Brian W

Unfortunately the 17 Aspires still have GY. EC went to Michelin for all 18's. I had my coach 3 months before GY had to replace the steer tires because of excessive vibration due to being extremely out of round.

Same done for me for same reason. Not sure which company ultimately paid for the replacement tires, but I hope EC and Spartan where able to pass it back to GY in the end. The tire man that did the work said he has replaced a LOT of the GY tires and especially the 295/80-22.5 size that was standard on the 2016 Aspire ( solid front axle) chassis. I understand that size became standard on the rear positions of the 2017 Aspire IFS chassis that got 315s on the front.

[Brian W]

Originally Posted by edgray

Same done for me for same reason. Not sure which company ultimately paid for the replacement tires, but I hope EC and Spartan where able to pass it back to GY in the end. The tire man that did the work said he has replaced a LOT of the GY tires and especially the 295/80-22.5 size that was standard on the 2016 Aspire ( solid front axle) chassis. I understand that size became standard on the rear positions of the 2017 Aspire IFS chassis that got 315s on the front.

I was actually in the room when a conference call between my dealership, local alignment shop, GY, Spartan, and EC happened. I can tell you for the most part Spartan did all the talking and they weren't shy in letting GY know what they thought about their tires. They also explained why they would no longer be using their tires on their chassis. In the end GY footed the bill.

The alignment shop told me that GY motorhome tires were absolute junk.

[Dutch Star David]

I absolutely hate that stretch of construction. So glad you are OK. Not sure where you are located but Aguirre Body in Buda, TX has a really good reputation. Might give them a call if you live anywhere near Austin or San Antonio.

[Mwoodofd]

Doug, first of all, very good job keeping your family and the coach safe in that stretch of highway - not sure if you were in the "heavy" construction zone, but we drive to and from Austin from Dallas quite a bit to see our kids in school, and that stretch is a mess. It would not surprise me if something was in the road, or was thrown or bounced into your path - I've seen everything from ladders, to trailer ball hitches bouncing down the road there. I don't remember what year your Aspire is, but the miles are too few for the tires to be shot. My 2013 is within a few hundred pounds of gross max on the front axle, and we are not loaded with that much stuff that would impact the front weight. Happy you made it to Tulsa OK.

[gm77979]

Great job keeping it under control. I had the same thing happen to me on my aspire (right front tire blew out) and it tore up my wires and fuel fill line. As you said es should have these items protected better.

[Hygge]

Doug, great job in a tough situation. Really making me consider if I should just bite the bullet and get a decent set of tires for my brand new coach. Maybe at least for the steers.
Had a blowout on the p/u when I was towing a 5ver, certainly gets the heart rate up.

[Gary.Jones]

Although we have all heard accounts such as Aspire Doug's account here, the fact of the matter has to be that Goodyear has a reasonably good safety record on their tires, regardless of where they are mounted, or 1.) coach manufacturers would not be mounting them as their product liability would be sky high if the problem is a known problem, and 2.) Goodyear would be bankrupt and out of business as their product liability would be astronomical (Remember Firestone and the Ford Explorer?) and would long ago have driven them out of business.

There is a real possibility that one of the alternate possibilities that you have considered might have occurred to you 1.) sharp object fall off a previous truck or car in the tight construction zone you were in was on the road and produced the damage, 2.) the construction process left an object on the road, 3.) the truck you were beside could have thrown off something,

As I said before, you were very lucky to keep it under control and run it as long as you had to run it. Those constructions areas drive me nuts because I intentionally drive at 62 mph so that most traffic will pass me and then keep right on going and I am rarely in a situation where I am close to any other vehicle in front of me. In those zones, traffic tends to pile up and vehicles tend to cluster closer together and you just don't have the chance to see objects on the road that you need to avoid. I'm on edge regardless when I am driving in those zones. And if the blow-out was due to road debris, then regardless of cost of tire, you would have had the same problem. But for the price of a couple of the "best" tires on the market, it sure would be worth buying whatever makes you feel safer and have them installed. My fronts are big 315 Michelins, but I feel just as nervous in situations where I cannot see the road far in front of me as if I was running the cheapest junk tire that is made.

Gary

[Scottybdivin]

Cudos for the great driving skills. I just drove through that stretch of I-35 yesterday in the F150. I was thinking to myself that I wouldn't want to drive the MH through there. I was spooky enough in the pickup. Very narrow with concrete barriers on both and irregular lane changes. Glad you made a safe landing.

[Dutch Star David]

Originally Posted by Scottybdivin

Cudos for the great driving skills. I just drove through that stretch of I-35 yesterday in the F150. I was thinking to myself that I wouldn't want to drive the MH through there. I was spooky enough in the pickup. Very narrow with concrete barriers on both and irregular lane changes. Glad you made a safe landing.

I will take 281 instead of I-35 if possible. What other alternative routes have others found?