Community Forums

b_s_cate · 05-28-2012, 07:26 AM

I have a 2005 Damon Ultrasport 38 ft. with 38,000 miles on it. The tires are Michilin XRV 255/80R 22.5 tires. During the summer, I keep it on a gravel pad in the back yard and yesterday morning my wife and i heard a large pow ssssssss. The right front tire blew out with the thing just parked there. The blowout is on the inside sidewall halfway between the rim and the tread of the tire and looks about 1-1.5 inches long. The tires are original and have been rotated several times. They are protected from the sun about half the time and don't have any noticeable cracks. Anyone have an idea as to how a tire could blow out like that? Normally I would have been on the road this weekend.

Mageksl · 05-28-2012, 07:45 AM

Man, did you dodge that bullet!

I had a blow out two years ago that sounds exactly like yours but it was on the rear and we were travelling. Side wall, halfway between the rim and tread, no weather checking, or cracks. I later found out that the tires were original to the MH.

These are the failures, I think they are a ply separation, that you can't watch for. They seem to be age related or are hidden damage from a rock or curb.

Looks like time to re-shoe is upon you.

Mike Canter · 05-28-2012, 08:02 AM

First question would be on how old these tires are? You stated it is a 2005 MH so are these original tires? Without seeing the tire it sounds like you had a bubble on the tire from damage sometime or another. Could be a month ago or could be 12 months ago and this damage resulted it what sounds like a zipper flat. A zipper flat sometimes first appears as a bulge or bubble on the sidewall of the tire and goes from ther. Read what I have attached below and see if it falls into that category. These zipper flats have nothing to do with the sun, ozone or weather cracking. Before every trip I check the inside and outside of my sidewalls as per the attached article.

Vegasdan · 05-28-2012, 08:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mike Canter

First question would be on how old these tires are? You stated it is a 2005 MH so are these original tires? Without seeing the tire it sounds like you had a bubble on the tire from damage sometime or another. Could be a month ago or could be 12 months ago and this damage resulted it what sounds like a zipper flat. A zipper flat sometimes first appears as a bulge or bubble on the sidewall of the tire and goes from ther. Read what I have attached below and see if it falls into that category. These zipper flats have nothing to do with the sun, ozone or weather cracking. Before every trip I check the inside and outside of my sidewalls as per the attached article.

Read what he wrote and you'll see he said they were original which could mean they were manufactured even before 2005.

336muffin · 05-28-2012, 08:22 AM

We appreciate the files on that!

RSchleder · 05-29-2012, 06:11 AM

I had the exact same blowout going 60 mph just north of St. Louis. You were lucky it was simply sitting in your back yard. Our coach was also a 2005 so the tires were 7-8 years old. Really gives credibility to the 7 year max life of large RV tire doesn't it!

Patrol 65 · 05-30-2012, 08:13 AM

I had a cargo trailer tire experience zipper tire separation while being parked on dirt. The tire pressure had been extremely low for awhile. I suspect that the fact that the motorhome was parked on gravel could have affected the tire along with a possible under inflated condition causing overloading on that tire.

JimM68 · 05-30-2012, 01:04 PM

Dont ask questions.
Replace em all, right niw.

You do not want that experience while moving ay highway speeds.

Signed been there done that.

Also signed "just yesterday spent several thousand do?lars replacing 4 apparently prefectly good moho tires"

greystroke · 05-30-2012, 01:53 PM

Sounds to me someone can thank their lucky stars that it occurred while it was parked. I wasn't so lucky. I had a zipper blowout on the back and a blowout on the front. Not a lot of fun.

Gary RVRoamer · 05-30-2012, 07:44 PM

As somebody already said, the damage was from sometime previous and the tire sidewall finally got "tired" enough to blow.If you had dismounted the tire previously you would surely have seen a damaged area on the inside of the tire, but since few of us every do that, we get a rude awakening.

Given that they are 7-8 years old, it is not real surprising. Somewhere in the 7-10 year range, odds are near 100% that tire is going to fail.

ralphie · 05-31-2012, 11:59 AM

Probably due to road damage in the past, but it could also be age-related. Doesn't matter if it's Michelins, no cracks or other apparent damage, etc. I became a believer after my Michelins started blowing at 6-7 years.

Mike Canter · 05-31-2012, 12:12 PM

The damage reported by the
OP matches the description of a zipper flat as described
In the attachment. Zipper flats are caused by road damage and not by tire age. I know that maybe confusing to some but those are the facts according to all the major tire companies.