2 Blown Steer Tires in One Day

[Rick Adams]

That is exactly why I just installed 365 Michelin steer tires on my 07 Country Coach Affinity. I had 315's Toyo's. Michelin give the best ride by far.

[Tireman9]

Originally Posted by RVPioneer

snip


In your experience, how many tire shops have a technician that is qualified to competently perform the inspection you describe and determine whether or not a tire should be taken out of service?

If we are talking about P or LT or ST type tires just about any tire dealer that is part of a national chain or company store for the brand of tires to be inspected could do a reasonable job. For 19.5 and 22.5 size tires you need to find a dealer for that brand tire and ask if they have ASE certified technicians or anyone with any special training in tire inspection. Usually, the manager of Bridgestone, Goodyear or Michelin truck tire stores or dealer for Goodrich, Toyo, Hankook or other tire brands can make a determination as part of their job is handling warranty claims. I would stick with a dealer for the brand tire you have. If the make the wrong decision the store ends up eating the cost of the warranty so they have a strong incentive to be good at the job. This inspection would not be free and I would expect to be charged for at least 10 to 15 minutes per tire plus any time to jack up the RV to allow rotation of the tire and getting down on a creeper to inspect the inner sidewall.

[jherrin99]

Originally Posted by NeilV

And were the tires actually made in 2016 or were they New Old Stock? Some dealers will sell and install a tire even when it one month shy of the 5 year cutoff date. Most reputable tire shops won't install or patch a 5 year old tire since it has been well established as an unsafe practice.

The tires in the pictures look dry rotted and experienced tread separation. Could be a combination of old tires installed in 2016 and exposure to high temps in Texas during storage. What was the date code on them?

I understand that a lot claim otherwise however my father a Chemical Engineer with his Masters Degree from MIT who worked almost 50 years in the rubber and tire industry along with his fellow engineers insisted on the 5 year rule for tire safety especially if you live in the Deep South.

The only time I had a blowout was on Goodyear G670RV tires just past the 5 year mark which on the outside still looked new but inside had started to fail. I did have a set of GoldenCoin who makes tires for a number of name brands go out of round after 3 years with the steel strands from the belts started showing through in the tread grooves and since then I have been running Firestone Commercial Truck Tires with the heavier sidewalls that have the curbing bands built into them.

Living in Florida which is one of the blowout capitals of the world I follow the 5 year rule faithfully and monitor my tire pressures and temps.

Note that miss-adjusted/lightly dragging brakes can run hot and lead to a premature tire failure too.

I am not sure what you see in the pictures, but I can guarantee you it is not dry rot. The tires were only about a month old when they were installed on 4/22/16. I checked the date code. When we are parked at our home base in Texas, the coach is parked inside, out of the sun. We spend most of our time there when we are not on the road.

[cj_calva]

Would you replace the Conti to have the same make (Michelin) on both sides?

[curlyku]

OMG. What a mess. Not to defend Goodyear but I just (October 2018)bought an 2003 Country Coach Allure Tag Axle, I plan on bringing back up to par and it had set of 2009 Goodyears on all wheels and there wasn't a crack anywhere on them (even in the tread). I quickly replaced the steers and recently (2019 and 9000 more miles) replaced the rears after one took a nail up in Canada. I'm not recommending using tire this long. Can't tell you what the difference was but the message about keeping close track of your tires is very important. Goodyear should take note of your tires to see where the problem was. I do note that after 5 coaches I've never kept max air pressure in the tires and usually run them at 105 of the 120 max.

[Diesel-Lover]

Given the extra information of where you park etc. I am convinced that it must be either a batch fault with a lot of tires made or that your rig hit a heaved pavement joint and or bridge junction or perhaps even one of those iron plates that some times cover construction zone areas with enough force to cause damage to the superstructure of the tires (bands and sidewall) thereby causing the sequential blow outs on both front tires.


Tire pressure is a double-edged process too much and you make em so stiff they cannot flex, too little and they flex too much and so there in lies the art and science of tire risk management when in use as to absorption of hits and handling issues including things such as traction, stopping distance, flex while going around curves and not supporting the side wall and causing premature failure, too much air and the side wall become less flexible and so the bands etc will take the hit hard.


Some manufacturers have a tire-pressure vs weight chart for precise air pressure management.


All the best and keep the sunny side up and the rubber side down and remember them cops be there for our safety and that of others, and they have to react quick like so friendly and agreeable is the way to go.

[rickkan]

Originally Posted by jherrin99

Next time you have a bad day RVing, just remember my story- It could have been worse.

I have never been a fan of Goodyear tires. My coach came with them, so I thought I would get some wear out of them and replace them with Michelins sometime before I had problems with them. I had alignment issues with my coach and was at Spartan getting that worked on in the fall of 2016 under warranty. They replaced both front tires at that time because of the uneven wear. My steer tires have been on almost 3 years and had maybe 12,000 miles or so on them.

Yesterday started out like any other travel day. We had left Shipshewana about 9am headed to Washington DC with our teenage grandson. We were on the road about 2 hours. I had the cruise set on 65mph and with no reason or warning, the right steer tire blew out. Did I mention I am not a fan of Goodyear tires? Luckily the highway we were on had a shoulder and I pulled over. After we cleaned out our shorts and I surveyed the damage and I told my wife we were lucky, no one was hurt, it could have been alot worse. I called my Emergency Roadside Assistance but they were not a lot of help. I finally asked if I could just call someone myself, which they had no problem with. I finally found someone about 45 minutes away that had a Michelin tire in my size. The tire ripped all the wiring out of the wheel well and the fuel fill hose. There was a piece of trim bent on the outside and lots of scratches and scuffs on the fender. Now the steps, step cover, keypad and everything else in the entry door area is not working. I have to try to tie up the ball of wires and the steps so we can get moving. I debated on replacing the other steer tire too. The tech that mounted the tire inspected my other steer tire and checked the air. He said the tire looked good to him and I told him I would replace that Goodyear when I got back to Texas because I was not a fan of Goodyear. He agreed. After 3 1/2 hours on the side of the road and a $980 tire bill, we had a new right front tire and we were finally back on the road again. About 2 hours later I am cruising along again at 65mph and the left steer tire blows. Did I mention I am NOT a fan of Goodyear tires? So luckily it happened again on a 4 lane with a shoulder but the shoulder is not wide enough to get the coach off far enough to work on the drivers side safely . After we cleaned out our shorts again and I surveyed the damage, I told my wife we were lucky again and no one was hurt, it could have been alot worse. She did not buy it this time, she was ready to sell the coach. I called my ERS again and reported the incident and said I would get someone. It is after 4:30 and I was calling everyone to find another Michelin tire. Unfortunately most shops are closed and I ended up getting an answering service. They do not know if they have a tire my size or what brand is available. They have to call out the tech on duty and then have them check and call me back. Needless to say this took quite a long time. I could not find anyone that had a Michelin tire in my size. It was getting late, so I finally found someone that had a Continental tire in stock and told them to bring it. When the tech showed up, we had to call the police to block the lane so he could safely work on it. My rim was bent, but the tech got it to hold air and said it was safe. He did not have another rim with him. By this time we had been sitting on the side of the road just over 6 hours. This tire bill was just under $900 and we were back on the road about 10:30. Our campground was a good 2 hours away. We had called them earlier and asked about cancelling but they told us it was non refundable. They did not care how late it was when we showed up though, so we decided to drive it. About an hour down the road we get into some heavy rain storms. There is nothing more fun than driving in real heavy rain in the dark on unfamiliar roads after midnight. We get to the campground before 1am and somehow find our spot in the dark and the heavy rain. Now I get to go outside and hookup. What else could go wrong today? After getting soaked hooking up I go inside to take a shower. I turn on the Aquahot and it will not light. I ended up taking a cold shower. I went to bed before anything else could go wrong.

We did make it to DC today without further incident. I have been trying to figure out what might have caused my issues. I did not see any FOD or hazards on the road when either tire blew. I spoke to both tire techs that came out. There were no obvious clues. I have tire monitors and had been monitoring the pressures regularly. I did not get a low pressure alarm until the moment they blew, so I am fairly confident it was not low pressure either. I did run them at the maximum pressure. I had weighed the coach and according to Goodyear's chart that is what I needed for that weight. The only thing I can think of is the weight we carry on those front tires and the maximum pressure just takes its toll on them. They just can't hold up. I just regret not replacing them sooner. I will have a new rim and new Michelin mounted before I start home. Some people like Goodyear, but I have had some bad experiences with them in heavy duty trucks in the past and then this. It may be poor quality or maybe it is just my bad luck, but either way I am definitely not a fan of Goodyear.

I've had great luck with Goodyear tires- the originals I had on our 2006 Southwind 32v for over ten -10- years. I replaced with the same ones. Now 38178 miles later still not one problem. We do keep the RV inside and check tires before moving. However, I have friends on similar rigs that have expensive Michilens that have had sidewalls cracking on 5 year old tires! they keep their RV's inside as well. You just never know anymore.

[Tireman9]

Originally Posted by Diesel-Lover

Given the extra information of where you park etc. I am convinced that it must be either a batch fault with a lot of tires made or that your rig hit a heaved pavement joint and or bridge junction or perhaps even one of those iron plates that some times cover construction zone areas with enough force to cause damage to the superstructure of the tires (bands and sidewall) thereby causing the sequential blow outs on both front tires.


Tire pressure is a double-edged process too much and you make em so stiff they cannot flex, too little and they flex too much and so there in lies the art and science of tire risk management when in use as to absorption of hits and handling issues including things such as traction, stopping distance, flex while going around curves and not supporting the side wall and causing premature failure, too much air and the side wall become less flexible and so the bands etc will take the hit hard.


Some manufacturers have a tire-pressure vs weight chart for precise air pressure management.


All the best and keep the sunny side up and the rubber side down and remember them cops be there for our safety and that of others, and they have to react quick like so friendly and agreeable is the way to go.

As a tire engineer I can advise that you are much more likely to shorten tire life by being low on air rather than a few psi high.
IMO you are overstating the negatives of increased inflation, especially as it applies to today's modern radials.


If you can't find a Load/Infl chart you can check HERE as there are many brands shown. BUT you will discover that the load & inflation is the same across all brands except for maybe half a dozen Michelin tires which are only different by 5 psi or so.

[PDL]

YOU Sir.... are my hero.

[jakegagliano]

I know people are mad of my dislike of Goodyear RV tires. But i had 4 RV's truck camper, 2 pull trailers, and my 36 ' redwood 5th wheel. all have had Goodyear tires on at one time. Nobody checks tire pressures more then me. and i also use tpm sys. Still i have had no luck with Goodyear tires. even less with their dealers when it comes to warranty. I've towed and been pulling more then 50 yr., so i am not a newbie. If you have good luck with Goodyear i am happy for you. For me the best tires i have had in a long time are the Sailun S637 all steel radial tire on my 5th wheel and on my dodge ram dully 3500 Firestone Transforce.

[Sandy Swede]

Just finished reading the entire thread. To the OP: Yes, you were lucky, but it sounds like you made your own luck by staying calm and bringing your baby in for a safe landing - twice in one day! Kudos.
At this stage of the thread, I thought I would try to summarize what appear to be the facts involving the blowouts of these Goodyear G670 tires.
1. Uneven tire wear after only one year, then 'new' tires replaced.
2. At time of blowouts, tires were 3 years old with 18,000 miles.
3. Tires prior to blowouts inflated to 125 psi (max sidewall) and as per GY inflation chart.
4. More than anecdotal reporting of problems with GYG670 tires.
5. Entegra has known issues with front axle ratings vs tire capacity on 'earlier' model years as per Gary.Jones, et. al.
6. Driving experience immediately prior to this trip and blowouts was in 100+ deg temps.
Are the above facts substantially correct? What do you think is the relevant factor or factors contributing to the blowouts?

[Tireman9]

Originally Posted by Tireman9

As a tire engineer I can advise that you are much more likely to shorten tire life by being low on air rather than a few psi high.
IMO you are overstating the negatives of increased inflation, especially as it applies to today's modern radials.


If you can't find a Load/Infl chart you can check HERE as there are many brands shown. BUT you will discover that the load & inflation is the same across all brands except for maybe half a dozen Michelin tires which are only different by 5 psi or so.

Sorry the post was made without the link to Load Inflation tables.


HERE is the link to all the tables I could find.

[Red Rocker]

Who was your roadside service with?

[RVPioneer]

Originally Posted by Sandy Swede

Just finished reading the entire thread. To the OP: Yes, you were lucky, but it sounds like you made your own luck by staying calm and bringing your baby in for a safe landing - twice in one day! Kudos.
At this stage of the thread, I thought I would try to summarize what appear to be the facts involving the blowouts of these Goodyear G670 tires.
1. Uneven tire wear after only one year, then 'new' tires replaced.
2. At time of blowouts, tires were 3 years old with 18,000 miles.
3. Tires prior to blowouts inflated to 125 psi (max sidewall) and as per GY inflation chart.
4. More than anecdotal reporting of problems with GYG670 tires.
5. Entegra has known issues with front axle ratings vs tire capacity on 'earlier' model years as per Gary.Jones, et. al.
6. Driving experience immediately prior to this trip and blowouts was in 100+ deg temps.
Are the above facts substantially correct? What do you think is the relevant factor or factors contributing to the blowouts?

1. OP stated OEM tires replaced in 2016 on a 2014MY coach. Age not stated. Guess? +/- 3 years.
2. OP stated tires had about 12,000 miles at time of blowouts.
3. Yes. This could indicate that the front tires were supporting a weight, at or near their rated maximum
4. Yes
5. Seems to be accurate However, OP has a 2014 MY coach. Would that be considered earlier?
6. Half correct. On previous trip OP reported 100 degree temps. This is not an unusual occurrence. We do not know the time span between the previous trip and the trip in which the blowouts occurred. Temperature at the time of blowouts was in the 70’s per the OP.

Contributing factors?

Some will fault the tires. Based on forum posts there appears to be a higher failure rate with GYG670 than other tires. Has research been conducted to verify?

Some will fault running maximum pressure. Frequently advice is given that the pressure indicated on the inflation chart is the Minimum pressure required to support the load. A common recommendation is to add a few additional pounds of pressure, +3, +5, even +10. This is not possible if the chart recommends the maximum pressure for which the tire and wheel are rated.

Unknown is what impacts may have been experienced over the previous 12K miles or if an object may have damaged one or both tires just prior to the first failure.

Probably a combination and we’ll probably never know.