Community Forums

Tom n Sandra · 08-09-2017, 09:24 AM

I'm very sorry to hear about your kitty :-(. I wanted to take a minute to just thank you for sharing this with us, it must be very hard to talk about! I hope that it helps many others to take the necessary precautions to maximize odds to escape safely such an event. You are to be congratulated on getting your family through safely. Best wishes to you and a future full of adventure and happiness.

JohnH12 · 08-09-2017, 10:20 AM

Thanks for your post although I wish you would have put it in the general section for all to see.
First - Glad to see that you and your husband are OK but very sorry for the loss of the pet.
I've seen the video that recommends a slight acceleration after a blowout though I'm not sure I could overcome my instincts to start braking.
I believe the most valuable thing you brought out is that control as you slow is much more important that getting to the side of the road. It emphasizes the need to keep the rig straight until almost stopped and only then worry about getting to the shoulder of the road.

univmd · 08-09-2017, 10:23 AM

Thank you for the warning about rumble strips. When the coach rolled to the passenger side, did it actually roll onto its side, before rolling back up, and then down the drivers side?

hdgoldie · 08-09-2017, 03:47 PM

I'll try to answer most of the questions. If I miss one, let me know. Yes, they were original Goodyear tires. 5 years old from manufacturer date with 24,000 miles. The coach was aligned in April and serviced at the beginning of our trip at the end of June. Tires looked good to both service facilities. Rick kept air inflated to recommended pressures and checked them regularly. We were not fully loaded because this was a shorter trip but our corner weights when fully loaded were not even close to maximum. As far as we know there was no external objects that damaged the tire. To the best of our recall the coach did roll all the way to the passenger side before flipping back over. Rick said he could see the dirt and grass going by his window. If you look closely at the pictures you can see that most of the passenger side bay doors were ripped off during the slide. But bear in mind that it would have been laying on an angle just about opposite to when it flipped to the driver's side.

I would guess - pure guess - that we were down to about 30 mph or less when we went into the dirt. We had slowed some before I started over to the side and then slowed further as I fought for control. And I nailed the brakes hard when we started into the ditch to scrub off as much more speed as I could. At that point it wasn't a matter of maintaining control, it was a matter of getting stopped. We really didn't have that much forward motion after we hit dirt. The skid marks on the trouble lane were very clear and we stayed on payment for a lot longer than we were off. We were not going fast enough that either of us were bruised by the seat belts when we stopped. Rick had a few bruises from being left hanging by his belt when the coach rolled and I have a beaut from the arm rest on the left side of the drivers seat. The hardest hit was when the coach rolled from one side to the other. Believe me, I've replayed this one hundreds of time and about the only thing I would change in my reactions is how quickly I tried to move to the side. I would not have done so had I known the rig would react that way to the rumble strips. That wasn't in any of the reports that I've seen. And it's one of the reasons I made this post. The second one was to remind everyone how important seat belts are - I think most of us are guilty of being lax in the coach. If Rick had been driving I would just as likely been up moving around or unbuckled. I hated that passenger seat seat belt and, at a minimum, would slip the shoulder harness under my arm.

And Cruzer, this is what was left - along with five dump trucks full. You are looking from the back. Thank God, Spartan and Entegra for that roll bar. There are five of us walking around today because of that.

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EVsCoach · 08-09-2017, 05:06 PM

As others have said I can only emphasize that it is wonderful that the both of you and no one else was seriously injured. A friend recently had a like blow out in his Monaco with no warning from TPMS, but did accelerate slightly when it happened and then slowly began to decelerate to a safe speed to exit the highway. Seat belts are a must! No walking around in our bus. I hope you all recover quickly from this sad accident.

CampDaven · 08-09-2017, 05:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Unplanned

So sorry about your cat, and the tragedy of having such a horrific crash.

Do you have any ldea of why the tire failed?

Heartily agree!
And when the tire experts release their finding we will all know the cause of the blowout, be it from road debris or degradation from the heat generated by decreasing pressure that may not have been detected.

DSL417 · 08-09-2017, 06:10 PM

Linda, you and Rick were one of the early Entegra owners that we "grew up" with in our 2013 coaches and Beth and I are so very happy that you are safe and well. God bless. When it is all indoor rear view mirror, hopefully you can find your way back into a motor coach and back on the road as we know from your posts over the last 4 years that you've had some great experiences; I hope that the trauma of this experience won't color those great experiences too much regardless of where your life takes you guys next.

dmm588 · 08-09-2017, 07:17 PM

The coach can be replaced as well as your belongings... thankfully you both are ok....

Matt D · 08-09-2017, 10:00 PM

Linda, thank you and Rick for sharing your experience.

I am grateful you both survived the type of accident we must all avoid.

Your accident is a stark reminder that remaining on the pavement is extremely important.

In your case, whatever you did shed enough energy to keep this a survivable accident.

I know you're likely second guessing yourself, but one thing is clear.. somehow you managed to get things slowed down enough to a survivable speed. Job well done!

I'm very sorry to hear of your personal loss due to this accident, and know the anguish this type of trauma causes. When the whirlwind slows, you may find comfort in speaking with your Pastor, or someone versed in the emotional effects of a critical incident. At work, we have CIRP Reps, Criticsl Incident Response Personnel.

Our thoughts and prayers are with you,

-Matt

hogdriver · 08-10-2017, 06:50 AM

Great job Linda. A sobering post. I do everything you guys did. Mind my tire dates, compulsively check my air pressure, run a TPMS (wouldn't have made a difference), validated my axle weights, wear my seat belts.

The thing these pics remind me is the need for myself to moderate my speeds. I have seen myself sometimes running at 70 mph on flat or open terrain. I need to remind myself that 65 mph is fast enough. Extra speed = more impact, more tire stress.

Hygge · 08-10-2017, 08:37 AM

Linda, so glad that you and Rick walked away without serious injury. Thank you so much for going into detail about the blowout, can't have been easy, I know I learned from it.

Randm Musing · 08-10-2017, 06:30 PM

Linda, I do not know you or your husband, but I wanted to chime in and express
my sympathy for all of your loss. And my happiness that you walked away from
that.

In my book, you are my hero. If I ever find myself in a similar situation, I hope
that I can be as collected about it as you were and respond as well as you did.

Best wishes.

Charles.

UncleJamie · 08-10-2017, 10:54 PM

My thoughts and prayers are with you.

Grateful that you walked away, and grateful for the knowledge you have shared that will probably save a life! Thank you!

Butte64 · 08-11-2017, 07:12 AM

I'm sorry for the loss of your pet, coach, and personal belongings. Congratulations on managing the situation and I'm thankful the location was survivable. I've been on many roads where going off the side was not survivable.
Thanks for the information about the rumble strips. That is critical information that needs to be widely shared.
Some other information would be useful for those of us with similar coaches.
- what were 4 corner or axle weights?
- what were pressures in steer tires?
- what was the average speed before the blowout?
- how long had it been driven that day before the blowout?

On a related note that anyone can comment is reports of other blowouts. From what I recall reading all the blowouts not caused by road hazards have been on highways where speed as likely been over 60 MPH. Is my recollection correct?

I am both surprised and concerned, maybe even scared, when a Motorhome blows past me going 75+ MPH.