Tire Blowout Stories?

[WeatherTodd]

Originally Posted by WeBRVing

...
The general consensus is to replace RV / trailer tires when they reach 6-7 years old. Cracks and / or tread depth doesn't matter.
I"ll be replacing ours about 2020, as they were manufactured in 2013 and coach is stored indoors. Also will be adding a TPMS.
Replace your tires before you take another trip!
Happy motoring.

General consensus from who? People who dont have a roadside assistance policy?

Heres a clue for you... you know those intermodal trains that have 53' long trailers on them? Take a look at the date codes on those tires sometime. you know... the ones that share the road with you.

And if you want some irony... a fellow hobbyist bought a 2015 Fifth wheel trailer and had 3 of the 6 tires fail on his first trip with the new camper. Why? Because the builder of the trailer used cheap foreign made tires on axles installed crooked. The selling dealer & OEM was confronted with this information... and my friends expenses were reimbursed.

Moral of the story? Age means bupkiss.

So alignment, pressures, weight rating are more important than age.

[WeatherTodd]

Originally Posted by Cooperhawk

Think again. Tires usually overheat from flex prior to blowing and the TPMS monitors tire temps as well as pressure.

There's a hint for you.

Interesting... how does your narrow occurance apply to TPMS that dont show an increase in temp or pressure but the tire still blows out?

[flynnwalter]

Broadrun
I am with Joe (MSHappyCampers) about not caring what Michelin says. Michelin had real problems with zipper rip sidewall blowouts back more than a decade ago and I had one and won't let that mule kick me again--one of the few good things about being old--I remember Michelin stonewalling. Blowout @ 65mph on cruise on I-10 near Jax on passenger front. That coach had a Steer Safe installed and I had zero problems pulling off to the right shoulder. What really piqued me was when the Coach-Net man was approaching on foot, perhaps 20 feet away (so far I couldn't believe he could tell it was a Michelin) he shouted over the traffic noise..."Another Michelin zipper rip blowout, huh?" It sealed my decision to never let Michelin do that to me again. Perhaps Michelin has cleaned up its act, I don't know and don't care--as long as there are plenty of other choices just as good or better. I like Bridgestone. My buddy used to own a tire store in Ga. and he agreed that Michelin stonewalled to hide their bad sidewalls and stiffed everyone, dealers included. IMHO, and it is opinion only, Motorhome blowouts happen due to under inflated and/or too old tires, and seldom from too many miles. Michelin claims their tires are good for a decade--BUT--you must get the tires inspected annually, which includes removing the tires from the wheels to check the inside, also. How many actually do this? Dynabeads, hassle, expense, and RV tires look SO good on the outside since most of us clean and dress them so they are pretty. Way too many owners never even weigh their coaches loaded as for a long trip, and if they do weigh them, its not a four corner weighing and so they have no idea about any side to side weight difference. While most coaches might need a single four corner weighing just to determine if it has poor weight distribution, I can tell you from experience the Monaco RR4R chassis (Cayman, Neptune, etc) will be heavier on one rear side. Without a four corner weighing and if, like our Cayman, it is a large difference (2700 lbs) then simply weighing the rear axle and dividing by four to determine psi from tire manufacturer's chart would leave the heavy side under inflated, which can lead to blowouts.
On our current coach we do not have a Steer Safe since it tracks true due to an alignment from Josams in Orlando shortly after we bought it new. And of course I have no idea what part if any that Steer Safe played in our previous coach's (HR Endeavor LE) controlled stop during my blowout. Be safe!

[Mr_D]

Originally Posted by dpinvidic

Great thread.
Please mention if you had a TPMS when you had a blowout...helps to confirm their importance.

Also indicate if you have a steering stabilizer (like True center).

No tire failures for me yet.
TST TMPS with repeater - TOAD sensors also.

Regards,

Dan

NO TPMS will warn you of an impending blowout UNLESS it's due to low pressure/high heat. They will only warn after the pressure goes down to the set point.

[Mr_D]

Originally Posted by broadrun

If you look at the following two pictures, you will understand why I started this thread. This tire is my drivers side rear outside and the 4 digit stamp on the all 4 rear tires is 4005.

Guess I'm gonna be spending some money this week .

By the way, thanks for the great participation so far. This is clearly a very important topic.

I wonder if the tires are weaker where the raised lettering is because you will notice in the picture that some of the cracks almost "frame" the words.

That's what our OEM michelins (made in Spain) looked like after 8 years on the '02 Dutch Star. I replaced them with more Michelins.

[Mr_D]

Originally Posted by WeatherTodd

I dont understand this post? Why are you posting such irrelevant subject matter on a tire blowout thread if you have not experienced one?
Is your affinity for Michelin tires supposed to the equivalent of some kinda blowout proof cocoon?

Nothing irrelevant about it. I've kept good tires on my vehicles for over 50 years and haven't had a blowout yet.

[Mr_D]

Originally Posted by WeBRVing

The general consensus is to replace RV / trailer tires when they reach 6-7 years old. Cracks and / or tread depth doesn't matter.

No such thing and cracks do matter.

[WeBRVing]

Originally Posted by WeatherTodd

General consensus from who? People who dont have a roadside assistance policy?

Heres a clue for you... you know those intermodal trains that have 53' long trailers on them? Take a look at the date codes on those tires sometime. you know... the ones that share the road with you.

And if you want some irony... a fellow hobbyist bought a 2015 Fifth wheel trailer and had 3 of the 6 tires fail on his first trip with the new camper. Why? Because the builder of the trailer used cheap foreign made tires on axles installed crooked. The selling dealer & OEM was confronted with this information... and my friends expenses were reimbursed.

Moral of the story? Age means bupkiss.


So alignment, pressures, weight rating are more important than age.

I disagree, age makes a big difference. The general consensus I was referring to are people on iRV2. Do a search and you'll see. In fact, I believe someone posted that very thing on this thread (Cooperhawk).

I believe the moral of this particular story (above) is cheap imported tires and crooked axles.
Don't know about semis, but I suspect the tires would wear out before 6-7 years of age, due to the number of miles put on them.
Also, roadside assistance isn't going to prevent a tire failure.

To the OP, replace your tires and keep an eye on the inflation pressure. I check before a trip and at each gas stop. A TPMS will be added in the near future.
Too low a pressure will kill even the best of tires.
I'm pretty close to our GVWR, so I run the max inflation stated on the coach tire sticker. Tire manufacturers also generally have a tire inflation chart based on the load the tire is carrying.
As for your question regarding tire brands, that is subjective. I run Michelin, others run Goodyear, etc. It's really just a matter of personal preference.
Good luck and happy travels.

[WeBRVing]

Originally Posted by Mr_D

No such thing and cracks do matter.

Guess I should have stated it a bit differently. My meaning was that most RV tires will reach 6-7 years of age before showing major cracks or worn out tread, because RVs don't get driven that much (except maybe fulltimers).
To each his own. I'm still changing them at 6-7 years of age. I'd rather pay for new tires than have a tire failure which results in $1,000s of dollars in damage and possibly causing an accident. I've seen motorhomes that have crashed due to a tire failure, not a pretty site.
Our lives are worth far more than the price of a set of tires.

[WeatherTodd]

Originally Posted by WeBRVing

Guess I should have stated it a bit differently. My meaning was that most RV tires will reach 6-7 years of age before showing major cracks or worn out tread, because RVs don't get driven that much (except maybe fulltimers).
To each his own. I'm still changing them at 6-7 years of age. I'd rather pay for new tires than have a tire failure which results in $1,000s of dollars in damage and possibly causing an accident. I've seen motorhomes that have crashed due to a tire failure, not a pretty site.
Our lives are worth far more than the price of a set of tires.

Last year I drove 17,000 miles. The year previous was 14,000. This year I have about 6,000 miles on my rig so far this year.

I have to giggle about these types of threads. It shows who has the experience and who doesn't. Who worries about unavoidable situations and who doesnt.
Myself... I keep my full coverage insurance, road policy in force, a spare tire in my trailer,and plenty of chilled beverages in the fridge for the wait of the tire guy.
The best part is... I dont have to waste time buying tires from local shumps that try to charge $100 per tire more than a roadside company.

[WeatherTodd]

Originally Posted by Mr_D

Nothing irrelevant about it. I've kept good tires on my vehicles for over 50 years and haven't had a blowout yet.

so im clear... what is a "good" tire? Aren't they all DOT certified?

[WeBRVing]

Originally Posted by WeatherTodd

Last year I drove 17,000 miles. The year previous was 14,000. This year I have about 6,000 miles on my rig so far this year.

I have to giggle about these types of threads. It shows who has the experience and who doesn't. Who worries about unavoidable situations and who doesnt.
Myself... I keep my full coverage insurance, road policy in force, a spare tire in my trailer,and plenty of chilled beverages in the fridge for the wait of the tire guy.
The best part is... I dont have to waste time buying tires from local shumps that try to charge $100 per tire more than a roadside company.

Plenty of experience and no worries here about "unavoidable" situations. I try to prevent aviodable situations. A tire failure is avoidable.
A tire failure on a travel trailer will do far less damage than one on a motorhome, plus it won't steer the rig of the highway like a motorhome tire failure. I'd rather be traveling than sitting on the side of the road waiting for the tire guy.

[WeBRVing]

Originally Posted by WeatherTodd

Interesting... how does your narrow occurance apply to TPMS that dont show an increase in temp or pressure but the tire still blows out?

A properly inflated tire will only increase a few PSI as it's run on the pavement (check your tires before a trip, then at the first gas stop). Temperature will also increase only slightly on a properly inflated tire. Neither is enough to rupture a tire carcass.
Tire failure comes from overloading the tire, running the tire underinflated , age or any combination of these. I recall reading someplace that heat, due to underinflation, is the leading cause of tire failure. A TPMS would certainly help alleviate that.
I don't believe that a tire will let go without some sort of prior warning that a TPMS wouldn't detect.
I had to postpone a trip because when I did my pre-departure check, I discovered one inside dual that only had 20 psi. Took it off and found a large screw in it. Had I not checked the tire pressure before leaving, I surely would have been one of the people on this thread posting their experience with a tire failure while going down the road. TPMS is on the way.

[Scarab0088]

THREAD WARNING TO AVOID PERSONAL EXCHANGES AND STAY ON-TOPIC - which is tire failure (blowout) stories.

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