Blowout on I40

[traveler]

After 3 years and 12000 miles I had my first blowout on my 2005 TK3. Pretty much a non- event, the left rear tire, but there will be some body work needed--no systems were affected. And as things go the body work will probably be expensive. In the grand scheme of things, the damage is not too bad. I would include pictures, but do not know how to do this on this website. I figured it out!

By the way, I have the PressurePro monitoring system and had just paged through the tires. All were at about 120 PSI, warmed up somewhat from running all day from their 110 PSI starting pressure. The tire just blew. The pressure alarm sounded instantly, but that is about the least you would expect--there was no tire back there anymore.This system did help me from having a problem last year when a rim started leaking and I was able to change wheels before pressures dropped below 90 pounds.

The main problem was finding a tire . The LT235 85R16 Load Range G tire is not too common. And there are about a 1000 truck service places on I40 between Amarillo and Albuquerque. I was assured by an open-Sunday tire place that they could get the tire on Monday. We will see about that. My blowout happened at 3pm on Saturday. Good Sam Service took care of it and sent somone out to fix it--after a two hour wait--but by then I had changed the tire myself.

I will buy two new tires tomorrow and will have 6 good tires-one not on a rim. I do not want to get caught again on a weekend or in some remote place without a spare. If you have the tire you can get it mounted almost anyplace. The 6th tire will take up some room in my basement, but I am not a fulltimer and do not need all of the space.

[cptxguys]

Having had a similar incident, I feel for you, buddy!
Glad to hear that no one was injured or no serious damage. For the damage that was cause, be sure to contact Goodyear. They were great about covering the costs of my damage, as well as the cost of a new tire.

[Motor31]

Just a note here about contacting Goodyear. They treated me fine when I had a couple tires fail, one catastrophically. If you are going to contact them you will need to keep the old tire carcass so it can be sent in to the factory by a Goodyear dealer, They will want to determine as much as possible the cause of the failure. Don't throw it away and don't let the dealer toss it if you are at a SOB dealer. Hang on to it and as much of the tread as possible so it can be looked at. The Goodyear dealer will take care of the shipping. They will also obtain the claim form from the Customer Support folks as well as the reference number for the claim.

They do treat you well but you do have to jump through their hoops to go through the process.

[traveler]

Mike, thanks for the advice. I was wondering how to do this. I had another friend that had a blowout and Goodyear picked up all the deductibles on his repairs. Thanks again.

[suitediver]

Hope you have a lot of tire left.
We had blowout on way home from Branson Rally.
Sent the remaining treads to Goodyear, but got "nice" letter saying, Sorry, not enough tire remaining to determine cause of blow out. Am not responsible.

Needless, to say, we will have insurance pay cost after deductible. And will furnish them the remains of the tire if they want to go after Goodyear.

After all is complete, will send letter and bills to Goodyear and also to Trailer Life and RV View.

We are not happy campers. Tire had less than 1000 miles on it.
Bobbie

[bstark]

I had a complete tread separation on one of my 17.5" Goodyears a year ago and the casing was intact and still inflated. I had very little damage to trailer and was not aware of Goodyears policy to reimburse for damages if their product could be proven to be faulty so did not keep carcass. Tire representative later informed me that my casing would have been a "prime candidate" for reimbursement consideration as it was still in one piece. while those tires that are driven on while flat for any distance thereby shredding the remaining casing would not yield a clue as to what had caused the initial failure.

Steel belted tires can be driven on for some distance after throwing their tread and when they finally deflate or blow will shred in a heartbeat so if you throw a tread and are aware of it do not "limp" along with the thought that you can make it to the next rest stop and change it there.

[billr]

Hi Bobbie

Hope you guys and the puppies are well, also hope you get better results from your insurance company, and good luck chasing Goodyear.

Just curious, do you have 16" of 17.5" tires?

Cheers,
Bill

[anijet]

Traveler,

Would you have known the tire blew without the pressure pro? I've often wondered if I would know if there was a tire problem on the trailer.

[cptxguys]

Anijet,
There is NO doubt when the tire blows. In our case, there was an 'explosion' each time the tire blew. You'll hear the 'boom'.

There are other posts regarding Goodyear and the tire reimbursement procedures. You will need to return the tire to Goodyear.

[traveler]

Responding to the question if I would know I had a blowout. Without question--I heard it and look in my mirrors and saw the smoke.

After some effort, I bought for about $600 total two tires--one in Albuquerque and another in Flagstaff. These G rated 16 inch tires are hard to find. I hope I do not need them, but at least I now won't be spending time trying to find them.

As for the claim process, it seems to be simple, but we will see about that too. the Goodyear tire place I went to in Albuquerque had the necessary form, filled it out and faxed it to Goodyear. They kept the tire and will send it to Goodyear. I suppose I will have to wait a few weeks for a response. A friend of mine went through this and they paid quickly his deductible and tire cost. My insurance company is now involved and they say they will probably go after Goodyear for the rest of the costs.

My attitude is to let them figure all of this out and not worry about it. Somehow, I will get reimbursed to some extent. I will get the trailer fixed in a few months when I return to Texas. In the meantime, I think I will play golf and enjoy the Pacific northwest and Montana--where I will be for three months. It is hard to be stoaic, but if you RV you need to work on your attitude, or else you will go bananas.

[Motor31]

When my tire blew almost 3 years ago I had no trouble at all noticing it. Heard a fairly loud explosion and sawe the debris in the mirror. In my case I had just checked the tires for temperature less than 60 miles before and the G159 let go with no warning.

[bstark]

Knowing about a BLOWN tire vs one that has simply deflated and shredded or one that has shed it's entire tread and remained inflated are different things entirely (pun intended)!

Trailers in our weight class are usually running tires (G & H rating) that require higher cold inflation pressures than the usual D or E rated tires. That almost ensures a rather large BANG when they BLOW.

On the other hand if the tire simply deflates from a puncture while you are travelling, you may not notice this for some time and by the time you do that tire casing is history, possibly doing damage to trailer and the rim in process of being driven, even at relatively low speeds. This situation would be mitigated or eliminated by the installation of a tire pressure monitoring system.

Now we come to the third scenario, and coincidentaly, my latest experience (about 18 months ago) of a tire that sheds it's entire tread, ala those recap road 'gators you see on the interstates from the big rigs. I had pulled into a F/J for fuel and upon glancing at the wheels of the trailer was shocked :shock: to see one very shiny tire (steel belts) on my front drivers side axle of trailer. I had probably driven about 5 or 10 miles after tread separated before pulling over for fuel with absolutely no tell-tale that this had happened. The tire was still inflated to it's cold inflated pressure of 120lbs + warm pressure increase. I parked the unit and immediately put a jack under that spring mounting plate and very cautiously removed that valve stem to deflate the tire. You do NOT want to be handling a tire with that explosive force potential! Also please wear leather gloves as those steel belts can cause a lot of blood loss (don't ask :oops: ) when you grab the tire in haste due to the stress of the moment.

This entire post is by way of describing a situation that you would have no warning of it having happened, even with a pressure monitoring system installed, until you have the misfortune of driving on that damaged tire until it finally undergoes it's catastrophic failure - BOOM!

[billr]

In ref to knowing if the tire blew, we had a LH rear blowout two years ago with SOB trailer, and didn't know until a passer by flagged us down. When I took a look it sure was smoking and bits flying. I keep a pretty close eye on my mirrors and missed it and heard nothing. It must have just happened when they were coming up on us. I have spoke to many folks that have had the same thing happen as well as many that knew exactly when it happened.

There was zero effect on the towing or feel of the trailer.

Since then, I have learned to replace the tires by date code/time on rig, watch the pressures very close and monitor the temps when stopped. Add a Pressure Pro to help out. Most of all, slowdown! I used to run 70 plus all the time, now keep it under 60. All things I thankfully learned from this and other forums and our many acquaintances with the MS.

Even with all the care in in the world the blowout can happen, separated tread, or road debris. Just try to cut down the exposure as much as possible.

Cheers,
Bill

[Motor31]

I second the slowing down advice. We cruise at 60 to 65 max even though I have more than enough truck to go as fast as I could want. It's simply easier on the tires and suspension of the trailer. If I feel pushed to go fast we simply figure on adding more days to get there. A 200 to 275 mile day is plenty. That allows us to leave at 10:00 AM after rush hour and to arrive by 3 or 4:00 PM before the afternoon rush hour depending on where we are going. A nice easy day.

Flogging the equipment is hard on it and on us. We just ain't in no hurry any more.

[Partimer]

I had a Rim failure on May 20, 2007. We started our trip in Albuquerque heading east on I40 and 95 miles later traveling at 65 mph, I heard a Boom and looked at the driver side mirror and seen the left front trailer tire wobble out into view then back under the trailer. After stopping and checking for damage I found no damage on the trailer but had only 1/3 of the outer edge of Rim left in tact, I guess the rest of the Rim is in the median on I40. I called MS and was given a phone number for the supplier of Rims and Tires in Texas. I checked my Rims for where they were manufactured, Argentina. The outfit in Texas, Tredit sent out 4 new Rims, a tire, and one hub cover. The new Rims are made in China! I feel all warm and fuzzy now! But I have just put on 5500 miles with no more tire problems and I'm back home in Albq. By the way I stopped off in Howe, IN at MS for warranty work. The Service people are great and I can't say enough good about them!

[Haggis]

Keep an eye on those made in China rims. They are known to split.

Alcoa makes a much better rim. A bit more money but worth the piece of mind.

[bstark]

I think Mike (Motor 31) has put his finger on the best way to mitigate tire/wheel/suspension failures. I still find it tough to discipline myself to keep the speed down, especially when being passed by those nuts (so-called professional drivers) with semi's that are blazing along at 75+ mph.

I used to be concerned about slowing those guys up but over time have learned that they don't give a r--'s a-- about you and your equipment so now I try to peg it at 65 or below as Mike suggests.

[Teksun]

We had two of the G614 tires fail after we left the Branson rally 3 days apart,
I had 26,000 miles on the tires.
I now have the damage repaired and switched to 17.5" rims with the G114 H rated tires.
What tire pressure are those of you with 17.5 tires running? I have mine inflated to 120 psi at present, some are using 125 psi I understand.

[Hobo]

We had two of the G614 tires fail after we left the Branson rally 3 days apart,
I had 26,000 miles on the tires.
I now have the damage repaired and switched to 17.5" rims with the G114 H rated tires.
What tire pressure are those of you with 17.5 tires running? I have mine inflated to 120 psi at present, some are using 125 psi I understand.

I'm running Michelin 235/75R17.5 XT that call for 85 psi for a load of 8820 lb per axle. The ride also gets pretty stiff with anything over 90 psi.

After 2 trailers with Goodyear problems I won't go back to them.
Rick

[billr]

We run 125 cold in the 17.5" G114 H Max pressure per sidewall label. There are a lot of opinions on this one.

The main reason I chose to run max is the amount of stress the sidewall is under during dynamic loads varies so much that any recommended pressure VS wt chart may be safe for a lab test but under real world conditions it just may not be enough. Heat is greatly increased with lower pressures. And, heat is one of the main causes of tire failure, along with overloading. Which go hand in hand. This is backed up by many tire industry experts as was shown to me at a seminar I attended last year.

I'm not sure if I could tell the difference in the trailer ride with a change in trailer tire press. But, I choose to allow the suspension and air pinbox take care of that and keep the tires as close to max as I can.

JMHO

Cheers,
Bill

[rverdlm]

Bill, the reason Rick can safely run at lower pressure is that he is running a larger tire. 235 vs 215. When it's time to change I'll do the same. GY doesn't make a 235 and I think I'd rather have the Michilins anyway.

[billr]

Thanks Dave, I see what you mean. I also am interested in the change to the Micheln's once we reach the time limit on the GY's.

Cheers,
Bill

[bstark]

Dave & Bill: Can we mount those wider guys on our rims? I'd dearly love to go with a wider Michelin. The problem I have is replacing these things ad-hoc means I have different age tires on all wheels and even the spare is an oddball now being a BF Goodrich of same size and rating. I keep thinking each time I replace one because of failure or balance issues that maybe my G/Y problems are behind me (pardon the pun) but then along comes another quality "Goodyear Moment"!

[rverdlm]

Bruce, I'm not sure at this time. Before I make the change I'll check everything. I'm not even sure what the width of my rims is. I just tried to quickly find the 17.5 tires on the Michelin site and I wasn't successful. When the time comes to replace I'll do more research. The last time I found the correct site I found that Michelin also makes the 215/17.5 so if necessary I'll use that and still be away from GY.

[Gillesm]

I received 4 nnew Alcoa wheels.guest what they are made in China the old ones where made in Argentina.

[billr]

Bruce,

I'm in the same boat as Dave. Will need to do more research on them. Barring any problems, we should be ok for another couple years. :shock: :shock:

Cheers,
Bill

[bstark]

Dave: That sounds good to me as well, even a 215 tire of Michelin make would be confidence inspiring over these Goodyears. :)

Billr: The only tire I've got now that doesn't worry me is the darn BF-Goodrich and it's the spare! :P

[Hobo]

Here is the page for the Michelin 235s
http://www.michelintruck.com/michelintruck/tires-retreads/tireInfo.do?tread=XTE2

and for the 215s
http://www.michelintruck.com/michelintruck/tireSelector.do?veh_type=10&position=T&size=215%2F75R17.5

Sorry about the long address. the 215s will fit a 6 to 6.75 rim and the 235s need a 6.75 to 7.5 rim with.

Max speed ratting is 62 MPH on both. When I bought mine it was 65 MPH and that as fast as I like to go when pulling.

[RodeWorthy]

I received 4 nnew Alcoa wheels.guest what they are made in China the old ones where made in Argentina.

I don' think it matters so much where they are made if the Alcoa standards are met incluing the forging of the wheel from a single block of aluminum. Quality Control is not limited to North American production. It is a global world and the reality is we are all taking advantage the reduced cost of offshore production on a daily basis.

Max speed ratting is 62 MPH on both.
That speed rating seems abnormally low for a premium tire and I don't think that is a practical rating for a tire on our highways. I will want to keep my speed down to 60-65 too but don't want to be pushing my tires to their maximum rating while doing it. How are speed ratings determined anyway?

I also wonder if Michelin provides the same level of service that Goodyear does when a blowout is encountered. Good service does not replace the need for a quality tire but GY has a good rep for looking after its customers including incidental damage.

Rodeworthy

[rverdlm]

I wasn't aware that the Michelin tire was speed rated at only 62 mph. Even though I normally only run at 62, I also don't think I want to always be running at the tire max speed. I just looked and the GY is speed rated to 75mph which gives a little cushion. One question is whether the Michelin tires speed rateing would be higher when not near max load as it wouldn't be in our usage.

[RodeWorthy]

Rick, I am curious as to why you chose the XTE2 Michelin tire. These are load range J tires and way over-rated for our Suites -even the heaviest of them. I would think they would generate a very harsh ride.

The XTA tire also has a similar rating and the low speed rating.

These tires do not appear on Michelin's recommended list for RV's.