First blowout

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DerekB

Active member
Joined
Jul 22, 2014
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41
We are sitting on the side of the highway right now waiting for new tires. Our right rear inner tire blew out and then damaged the outer tire. I heard a loud terrible noise coming from the rear going about 70 mph. It actually took a second to register. Then I managed to safely pull onto the shoulder. When I got out to check the outer tire still had air but rapidly deflated in about 20 more seconds.
I called our fancy ?executive ? plan that we purchased with the RV new. They said ?I?m very sorry your plan was cancelled in 2015. I can see it was purchased and expires in 2021? And then they were no further help. The dealer who sold us the plan and the RV will be hearing from us tomorrow.
So then I called Progressive Insurance, who also provides roadside assistance. After about two hours they found a service to bring us tires. So here we now sit. I believe we only have to pay the cost of the tires and the insurance will cover the rest.
This is a 2014 Itasca (Winnebago) Impulse. So tires are probably manufactured in 2013. It is very very hot in PA. I can only assume the tire got very overheated and blew.
Time for a tpms system.
 
And perhaps a reliable roadside assistance program. Coach-Net!
 
Rene T said:
It could if it all started with a minor leak.  The OP said that they heard a terrible noise at 70 MPH. It could have been a tire low on pressure because of a small leak and it just tore up causing damage to the other tire.
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I'm happy to have a system that can catch some of the issues, even if it can't catch them all (manufacturing defect leading to blowout for example).
 
Neal said:
Would a TPMS system have helped in the case of a blow out?
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It could if it all started with a minor leak.  The OP said that they heard a terrible noise at 70 MPH. It could have been a tire low on pressure because of a small leak and it just tore up causing damage to the other tire
 
Would a TPMS system have helped in the case of a blow out?
Click to expand...
While the moment of actual failure is sudden, tire engineers know that nearly all "blow-outs" start with a period of underinflation. Maybe only a few minutes but more likely a matter or days or weeks.  So yes, it probably would help but there is no guarantee.
 
On my last trip I was exiting a major highway and my TPMS alarmed "Blowout."I managed to pull off the road before the tire shredded. No damage due to the Tire Minder system. Another Goodyear Marathon about a year old. I do not drive without the TPMS.
 
I KNEW reading this thread would cost me money.  Haha.  You'd think for the price of the rig it would come with a TPMS.  I know, if it did it would have a BIGGER price. 
 
DerekB said:
We are sitting on the side of the highway right now waiting for new tires. Our right rear inner tire blew out and then damaged the outer tire. ...............Time for a tpms system.
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I'm glad you are safe!  What if it was a steering tire  ???

Being a "Newbie" and quite concerned with such topics, I have been trying to get informed about all the hazards related to tires.  One of the articles I read indicated you should try to "save" the shredded tire and report it to the NHTSB for evaluation.  I don't remember where I found it but here is the latest article I read.  ""http://www.rvtiresafety.net/""  .

Another is weight, and I would be interested in knowing if you felt your weight and distribution was adequate for the tire ratings.  Yes it's hot here in PA right now, but thousands of big rigs fly by our home daily with only an occasional dead soldier(tire) laying along the road.  (And I think the temp is much worse in TX along with 10 times the traffic).

While there may be a TPMS in my future, I still plan on the two hour tire check routine I have as well as a visit to the scales now and then. 
 
Hey there Punxsutawney Bill. If you?re still out there with Phil next spring I?ll buy you a cool one - going to be about 20 mi away for awhile
 
my one and only blowout experience had my TPMS system beeping...several seconds after the boom.  well it was probably shorter than that, but it seemed like a long time.
I did have warning though, by the way of a thumping vibration from the tire, so I was not overly surprised by it.  In fact had I been on a safer place on the road I would have easily stopped before it blew.  As it was I slowed but just not enough.

My point is that  I think is that TPMS system are likely good for what has been determined to be a major cause of blowouts...low pressure, slow leaks...
but not all blowouts happen for that reason.
 
Sounds like your blowout was due to tread separation (tire delamination). A TPMS won't detect that cause the tire holds air until it doesn't.  I once had a valve stem break and that was another event a TPMS simply cannot detect until its too late.
 
We made our first trip last month with a TPMS on the TT. I can't tell you what a peace of mind there was because of it.  We had one alarm because a sensor lost signal and I almost had a heart attack. I can also tell you I got to the shoulder in record time. Thankfully a false alarm.
 
welmack said:
We made our first trip last month with a TPMS on the TT. I can't tell you what a peace of mind there was because of it.  We had one alarm because a sensor lost signal and I almost had a heart attack. I can also tell you I got to the shoulder in record time. Thankfully a false alarm.
Click to expand...

I will be installing mine this weekend.  I balked at the cost but peace of mind is priceless.
 
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