22.5" Michelin tire blow out

[amy5708]

Very disappointed last Friday. Had the MH packed (spent 4 hours getting ready!), headed out for a weekend of skiing with the kids.

We were only 20 minutes from home when we heard the bang that shook the kitchen. So we pulled over. My hubby walked out but didn't see anything. I walked back out and it looked like the outside rear tire was a little flat.

We slowly drove another 10 minutes to a tire dealer, had to rent a car to get home, as we didn't have a toad. Unload the clothes and food. What a drill!!! Thank goodness this didn't happen during our Key West Trip a couple weeks ago!

So anyway, the side wall separated, only 8,000 miles on the tire. The tire guy said these tires blow all the time, these tires are over loaded. The tires are also hard to come by.

Any other experiences?

I am going to pay for the new tire, try to get a replacement with the blown out tire for a spare.

[George Schweikle]

Any blowout is disappointing, however I question the tire guy stating "these tires blow out all the time and... they... are overloaded". Michelin is a respectable brand, and we have used these for 350,000 miles on 3 different motorhomes. The 3 failures during this time were all on one set that was driven way past the expected life span. And they were sidewall or "Zipper" failures. I recently put new OEM Michelins on the new to us motorhome number #4, and have confidence they will perform satisfactorily.

Some questions are:
Do you regularly check inflation pressure?
Had the tire ever been run with low pressure?
Did you verify the tire was at the correct pressure before you left home?.
And, have you ever had your rig weighed at each corner?

Quote:

Originally Posted by amy5708 Very disappointed last Friday. Had the MH packed (spent 4 hours getting ready!), headed out for a weekend of skiing with the kids. We were only 20 minutes from home when we heard the bang that shook the kitchen. So we pulled over. My hubby walked out but didn't see anything. I walked back out and it looked like the outside rear tire was a little flat. We slowly drove another 10 minutes to a tire dealer, had to rent a car to get home, as we didn't have a toad. Unload the clothes and food. What a drill!!! Thank goodness this didn't happen during our Key West Trip a couple weeks ago! So anyway, the side wall separated, only 8,000 miles on the tire. The tire guy said these tires blow all the time, these tires are over loaded. The tires are also hard to come by. Any other experiences? I am going to pay for the new tire, try to get a replacement with the blown out tire for a spare.

[Clifftall]

Amy.

Sorry for your problem. I have a 35e 2008 Bounder with the same tires. I've heard of this problem before but I thought it was on older ones.

Please keep us updated on the Warranty claim and any further issues.

I have 12,000 on mine and this concerns me for sure.

Cliff

[Bob (WA0MQE)]

Proper loading and Inflation is the key. As already mentioned, Have you/do you check your inflation based on your load?

Michelin has a strict recommendation to inflate their tires based on the load for a given tire. This is why it's important to weigh your coach at all four corners individually. Then you inflate according to the weight chart put out by Michelin. Also keep in mind that under inflation is just as bad as over inflation.

You also should contact Michelin and talk to them about it. I had some cracks showing up on my original set of tires with only 11,000 miles on them. I assumed they were weather cracks, even though I've always been vigilant about keeping the tires covered when not in use and very particular about inflation and loading. Michelin had me take them to one of their dealers. The problem was a defect. Michelin replaced all six tires under warranty. My cost was only the difference based on wear and tear. A total of $385.00 for all six tires.

[Gary RVRoamer]

Without any information on the tire model & size, inflation pressure, and the weight of the coach, the tire guys remark is meaningless. Of course, he sees tire problems all the time - it's his job. They aren't all overloaded and they certainly aren't hard to come by at any shop that handles big tires on a regular basis. Id ignore him and take the failed tire to a Michelin dealer to request an adjustment.

Be aware, though, that they are going to want to know about tire inflation pressure that YOU maintained in the tire and will likely check to see if that was adequate for the weight of the coach. Low tire pressure (under inflation) s the #1 cause of blowouts.

[Vegasdan]

If the proper inflation pressure wasn't known or the tires not inflated properly prior to the trip, you took the chance.

[Gary RVRoamer]

I'm curious why you did not call a roadside service, get another tire put on, and continue on your weekend. Should not have been more than a few hours delay. It's a bit harder to arrange if you don't have a roadside assist contract (e.g. Coach Net), but you can call around and get 'er done. Better than disapointing the family.

[Chuck 1935]

If the tire was on your 2008 Bounder it might have been low tire pressure as has been stated. I just timed out a set of 2003, 22.5 Michlins with 55,000 miles on them. They we showing sidewall cracks and I didn't want to take a chance. I alway use the max cold tire pressure as a guide and have never had a problem. It might not ride like a baby buggy but it won't blow out because of heat related problems. MOST tire problems are related to underinflated tires.

[Batman_777]

Someone parked his MH next to me and told me he has experienced 3 tire blowouts. Both front tires and one inner dually. In each case, he swore the pressures were correct and the age under 5. Each blowout was due to sidewall or "Zipper" rip. The Zipper tears are close to where the tread meets the sidewall. Another man I talked too had two blowouts and another pulled in the RV park still shaken up from a Left front blowout. A tire carcass coming apart can do severe damage to the underside. In some cases, the front endcap must be replaced ($25,000.00).

There is something seriously wrong in the RV tire industry. Way too many blowouts... All being blamed on the user as failure to maintain proper air pressure, or too old, or etc etc... How many 16 wheelers tractor/trailer trucks are experiencing high number of blowouts?

It's too easy to blame the owner. Firestone was good at that. How can the owner prove it was a design fault, once the tires has been destroyed? Who would take the time? Who would spend the money? Incidents are occurring with Michelin and Goodyear. There are many threads just about tires. Tire issues may be in the top 10 threads.

In this case, you could replace the tire, check existing air pressure, check date code on the remaining tires and go have the vehicle weighed. Proof... One way or another...You'll know for sure if it was due to operator error.

Many have gone to a Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS). I installed Pressure Pro. It's not the best, but it sure does help. You'll get a continous read-out of all tire pressures and you can cycle through a menu for tire temp. In an instant, you can check all tire pressures from inside. Just knowing everything is OK is worth it. The Pressure Pro system cost about $500.00 for the monitor and 6 sensors. Each additional sensor cost $50.00. There are several other makes. TST is one.. There is a high end system that can run $1,200.00.

Side Note: Goodyear G670 RV tires were designed to resist UV, weather cracking, etc..

Anti-oxidant and anti-ozonant compounds throughout the tire help protect against weather cracking. You should not need to use tire covers or waxes. The best weather cracking protection is using it. Rolling flexes the tires while lubricating the sidewalls.

http://www.goodyear.com/rv/products/g670.html

[AFChap]

Quote:

Without any information on the tire model & size, inflation pressure, and the weight of the coach, the tire guys remark is meaningless

Absolutely correct!! What type and load range Michelin, normal psi, and coach axle weight was involved??

[chasfm11]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Batman_777 There is something seriously wrong in the RV tire industry. Way too many blowouts... All being blamed on the user as failure to maintain proper air pressure, or too old, or etc etc... How many 16 wheelers tractor/trailer trucks are experiencing high number of blowouts? ml[/URL]

I don't believe that comparing 18 wheelers and RV is helpful. I firmly believe that one of the most harmful things what we can do to tire is to leave them sit for long periods of time. The failure to drive the moisture out of them is very different than on an 18 wheeler where the tires are driven 3K miles a week.

There are other problems, too. A good friend of mine had a Class C that was always blowing tires. It turns out that the manufacturer has used too small of a load range for my friend's RV weight. That is not a tire maker problem.

While there are some of us who closely monitor tire pressure, I believe that the major of MH owners do not. By closely, I mean even while the vehicle is parked.

I certainly don't give the RV tire makers a pass. There are obviously some poor quality tires put on RVs. The problem is that there are enough other possible causes that the makers can escape much of their responsibility for tire failure.

For me, the way to minimize the chance of tire failure is:
- weight the RV fully loaded and on all 4 corners
- verify that the weight that the tires carry is within their rating range
- use the manufacturer's recommendation for tire pressure for the load and maintain that pressure at all times.
- avoid running the tires over curbs, especially at any speed. The damage done may not show up immediately but I believe that it does show up.

[Samflhomes]

My Michlins were made in december 2003 and a couple on my class A show minor cracking in a 6-8 inch section. Are fine cracks an issue? I have 28000 miles on them and hoping to get a few more months on them.

[Luv2go]

Samflhomes:

GaryKD posted a chart on sidewall cracking with some good pictures here:

Michelin Sidewall Cracking Chart - iRV2.com RV Photo Gallery

Also, see p7 of this guide from Michelin (this will download a pdf file from Michelin):

http://www.michelinrvtires.com/asset...e_June2009.pdf

[mythplaced]

I suppose those pictures validate how "A-R" I am ...

I would replace any tire that even looked like the acceptable pictures!