Tire Blowout

Last weekend, Cyndi and I headed out to the Lake Havasu area (on the Colorado River) for the weekend with my brother-in-law and his wife. They were directly behind us in their 1999 Tiffin Allegro Bay motorhome, which they had purchased about two years ago. I helped my BIL do a pre-purchase inspection on the coach, and overall, it was in very good shape. At the time, I recommended that he replace the tries, because they were eight years old, and he did so right away.

While en route to Havasu, climbing a 6% grade at about 50 mph, the left front tire on my BIL's motorhome blew out. He was directly behind us in the far right lane when it occurred, and I just happened to be looking back at him in the mirror when it happened. I saw a cloud of white smoke and dust blow into the air, and parts fly everywhere. The blowout pulled their coach into the number 2 (middle) lane, but fortunately, no one was alongside him. He was able to safely get the coach to the right shoulder a few moments later.

I asked Jeff (my BIL) if he had checked the tire inflation before he left, and he said he did. He's a very mechanically inclined person and very experienced driving motorhomes. He said, when the blowout occurred, it sounded like a gunshot went off next to his ear, and it was all he could do to stop the coach from pulling to the left.

Below are some pictures of the tire and damage. Secondary damage took out the leveler control box, which was mounted on the floor to the left of the driver (ripped it right out of the floor) tore out a hydraulic line, a whole bunch of wires that lead to who-knows-where, and tore out some metal mounts and brackets that hold exterior fiberglass parts in place. There's likely more damage, that's just what we could see at a glance. No doubt it's going to cost thousands to repair. Fortunately, he has full coverage on the coach, and he thinks the secondary damage will be covered. I hope he's right.

I'm not someone who thinks everything that's made in China is junk... I think you get what you pay for. His tires were "Milestar BS623 tires, with a G load rating. They were only two years old when the blowout occurred. I have no idea what caused the blowout, but I do know that it wasn't road debris, because we were directly in front of him in the same lane, and the road was clear.

Kev

Thank God nobody got hurt.
Scary stuff Kev..

Did he have a TPMS?
I wonder if they'll total it. I had a guy rear end my last fifth wheel on the right rear corner. They totaled it. I thought it was repairable.

I had a rear inside dual 19.5 tire blow in our driveway about ten minutes after returning from a trip to Canada. It sounded like a gunshot.  Fortunately it didn't do any damage.

It is advisable to install a steering dampener to prevent sudden lane changes in the event of a front tire blowout.  There are several brands.  I have the Safe-T-Steer.

Safe travels.  JD

Thanks goodness no one was injured, that had potential for big time problems too.

The one picture of the left front taken at the low angle shows some strange tire wear, as I am viewing it.
Maybe a bad alignment?

Corky

Had an inside dual blowout on a trip when I was 70 miles from home where there were four new Michelin's waiting for me at my Workhorse dealer. Got towed to the dealer and $12,000 later got my RV back.

It tore out the wiring harness going to my control panel for heating/cooling/tank levels, etc.

AAA covered every penny after $100 deductible. I had just checked my tires 15 minutes before the blow out.

Arch Hoagland said:

AAA covered every penny after $100 deductible. I had just checked my tires 15 minutes before the blow out.

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Big relief I'm sure. That was AAA's Plus or Premier RV coverage?

He does not have a TPMS system Rene, and while I think he should have one, I doubt it would have helped in this particular case. TPMS systems are great for detecting things like slow leaks that could lead to a blowout, but he had checked the tire pressure about 20 minutes prior, and all was well. Whatever caused it happened fast.

I agree with the benefits of a steering dampener JD, but if I'm not mistaken, I think there's one in picture 6 (The red device). I have no idea what its condition was, however.

You might be right about the tire wear Corky, but it may also be the tread design - not sure, but Jeff said  the RV wasn't pulling to the side at all. Who knows.

Kev

Have it weighed,  I heard about 25% of all M/Hs weighed at an FMC event were overweight on at least one axle.

This has always been my worst fear even driving a car, blowing a tire in my class A would be a nightmare for me. I'm so glad nobody was hurt and that he could get safely off the road.
What's a steering dampener? I've never heard of that? Are they already on some MHs or are they strictly after market? And what kind of $$ would that likely cost?

That pic looks like a steering dampener. Unfortunately that is one of the down sides. The dampener can mask an alignment problem that might otherwise have been felt by the driver. The wear on the inside of that tire looks like an out of alignment problem that went on too long. That could have caused the heat build up that caused the failure. 

And BTW, a good TPMS will report differences in tire temps. Just something to think about.

jymbee said:

Big relief I'm sure. That was AAA's Plus or Premier RV coverage?

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Highest coverage you can get Premier. It was in Central California and they sent two tow trucks. First guy replaced the Michelin XRV tire and then the monster tow truck towed it to Fresno. Just under $2,000 for towing and tire. CSAA paid me for the tire ($500)that was on the bill. The bill was handwritten and illegible. So I contacted AAA and had them redo the check so they didn't pay for the tire.

Few months ago ran over a tire and wheel that came off a pickup in front of me. Took out my Leveler on the passenger side and tore off the plastic cowling under my toad. About $2,000 and they covered it all. Hit that tire and wheel about 10 miles from where the tire blew out.   

They bought me a new windshield about six months ago...$1,400 

It's been  a fun year but CSAA has helped me out quite a bit.

RVMommaTo6 said:

This has always been my worst fear even driving a car, blowing a tire in my class A would be a nightmare for me. I'm so glad nobody was hurt and that he could get safely off the road.
What's a steering dampener? I've never heard of that? Are they already on some MHs or are they strictly after market? And what kind of $$ would that likely cost?

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I always drive with both hands on the steering wheel. Always. When that complete tire and wheel showed up in front of me I had about one second before my front passenger tire went right up and over it as did the back duals and my toad.

Really jerked the steering wheel and rocked the coach really hard. If I hadn't of had both hands on the wheel I don't know what would have happened.

Just keep your hands on the wheel at all times and you'll do fine.

Make sure your coach has windshield coverage.

RVMommaTo6 said:

This has always been my worst fear even driving a car, blowing a tire in my class A would be a nightmare for me. I'm so glad nobody was hurt and that he could get safely off the road.
What's a steering dampener? I've never heard of that? Are they already on some MHs or are they strictly after market? And what kind of $$ would that likely cost?

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First of all, you really need to take a look at this video from Michelin:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lkwOE1yKY5c

Now, a steering damper is basically a shock absorber attached to the steering system.  Some motor homes come with them, some don't.  There are aftermarket ones that can be added to ones that don't have it.  And like other shock absorbers, they can eventually wear out and need replacement.  Shock absorber companies make and sell them.

For illustration purposes, here's a link to one for the Ford F53 chassis, which is used for a lot of motor homes:  https://www.bilstein.com/us/en/product-search-detail/?ItemId=2088370974866810578&YearId=2646325770821010117&MakeId=4050365326053705778&ModelId=6692558583187244184&SubModelId=78192055976998175

Thank you!

Arch Hoagland said:

It's been  a fun year but CSAA has helped me out quite a bit.

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What is CSAA?

jymbee said:

Big relief I'm sure. That was AAA's Plus or Premier RV coverage?

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The AAA Premier is towing coverage.  My guess is the AAA Auto coverage picked up all the non-tow related stuff.

Had Hankooks on my old Aerbus.  In 3 years and 30,000 miles before selling it discovered the front driver side was cupping badly.  While it still drove pretty well for an old Ford F53 motorhome it obviously was doing something that caused the cupping.  Talked to 3 different guys that I know pretty well and got three different reasons for the cupping.  At the end of the day I had the tire guy, who assured me the tire was still good  switch it with one of the rear duallies.  It never occurred to me that the steering damper could have masked an alignment issue. 

Rene T said:

What is CSAA?

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Never heard of it either.  But Google CSAA and AAA comes up. 

Kev,, did you check your rig over to see what fell off in front of him/// :>>>Dan