Tire blowout protection

Tom said:

Don,

Try the PP vendor on this page and let him know you're a forum member.

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Thanks, I just E-mailed Bernie and will order the PP.

Congratulations Don. You'll be happy with the product and with Bernie's support.

I got the Pressure Pro from Bernie a couple years ago. The new ones have a lot of added features also. Like over pressure alert, signal strength etc.
I also learned when you set it up to hook uo the monitor first as it remembers the first pressure reading it receives. Also if you remove a sensor during the day and reinstall it that's the pressure it now uses for the alarm. Be sure to set the pressure in the morning before use to the pressure you want it to remember.
I had a blowout on a trailer tire and if my wife hadn't heard it I would never have known it. I believe it was caused buy too much pressure & rough roads. I had set the pressure at home just before leaving for Fla. (10 deg). while in Fla.at about 75 deg I had the blowout. I've since found the pressure increases a lot with that much temp. change. I know from 10 to 45 deg it'll go up about 5 lbs. During a days drive it'll vary 11 or 12 lbs.

Don,
Michelin has an excellent video on handling a blow-out. There are links to the video here:

http://www.olblueusa.org/video/streaming/tire_blowout.html

We have two blow outs on our motor home over the last 16 years. The first was the inside right rear dual and except for the noise of the blow out and the slapping of the tread as it came loose, I would never have known it happened. No difference in handling that I can recall.

This past December on I-44 I had the left front tire explode suddenly--absolutely no warning. I was travelling at my usual 55-57 mph. This blow out immediately put us about half way into the left lane of the of the highway. Except for the sudden lane change, which thankfully was empty, I had no problem slowing and moving to the right shoulder. Fortunately, the traffic was light at that moment but had been heavy minutes earlier. I had no trouble controlling the motor home after the initial shift to the left. The tire was 5 years and 2 months old and had a blown out section on the inside side wall about 9-10 inches long. I replace both front tires and will replace the four rear tires when we get back to Rochester this summer--which was my plan anyway.

I have the Pressure Pro tire monitoring system and it didn't do a thing to help me avoid this blow out. It did sound when the tire pressure went to zero. 

Richard

Glad you were able to control it.  The blow out must have been caused by something other than low pressure causing the tire to fail.

"This blow out immediately put us about half way into the left lane of the of the highway. "

That's one case where the Tyron blowout protection would probably be better. Of course, having both would be the best.  I hear blowouts are rare these days if tires are at the correct PSI, but anything can happen.

Do you know about the four digit date code on tires?  How old was it?

BTW, date codes should even be checked on NEW tires.  Tires have a shelf life and there's no law regarding selling old tires as "new".

DonTom said:

Do you know about the four digit date code on tires?  How old was it?

BTW, date codes should even be checked on NEW tires.  Tires have a shelf life and there's no law regarding selling old tires as "new".

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Don,

As I stated in my OP, the tire was 5 years and 2 months old.

When I purchased two new tires, I specified that I would not accept tires that were older than six months and preferred that they not be older than three months. The shop had to order the tires from St. Louis, presumably from the largest tire wholesaler in the city. When the guy ordered them he was told that they definitely would not be older than six months but they could not promise that they would three months or less. When they arrived late that afternoon they were 12 months and 2 weeks old. I told the guy I wouldn't accept them. He agreed that they were a little old and that I didn't have to accept them. He got on the phone and tried several other tire wholesalers in St. Louis and even one in Springfield; I was right there in his office. He said they all told him the same thing "tires that size are made in batches and not continuously." He offered to try tire wholesalers in Kansas City but probably could not receive them until Wednesday (this was Friday). I reluctantly agreed to take them and he mounted and balanced them for free. I saw the invoice from the St. Louis wholesaler on his desk and the guy made $14+ on each tire. I was there for a good hour and half while he tried to find newer tires and he and the guy who mounted the tires worked about an hour past closing time to get us on the road. With removing my tires and mounting and balancing the new tires, I felt he earned his $28+ on the deal. I did lose a years worth of use but being on the road, you are at the mercy of the tire dealers.

When we return to Rochester early this summer, I will order tires immediately and you can bet if they are older than six months, I will not accept them--unless it is getting close to the end of November when we take off again and no dealer can locate "new" tires. I will have new tires on the rear before our next trip to Tucson.

Richard
Rochester, NY

RV Roamer said:

Don,
Michelin has an excellent video on handling a blow-out. There are links to the video here:

http://www.olblueusa.org/video/streaming/tire_blowout.html

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Thanks, but I've seen that one before in the automotive forum.  I have now seen a few of them.  Some of them  say to keep the same speed, others say to increase it a little. To increase it a little makes more sense, IMO, but you have to slow down eventually anyway. I guess the idea is to not let the tire decide when to pull you, get control and then decide when it's okay to slow down even if it starts to pull to one side when slowing.

"This blow out immediately put us about half way into the left lane of the of the highway."

When you got your blowout, did you then know to step on the gas a little? 

"As I stated in my OP, the tire was 5 years and 2 months old."

Yes, but I was wondering if you meant from the time you purchased them or if you went by the date code. From what you said about them being made in batches, it seems to mean there's some months that are better for buying tires than others.

I know some in this forum say to change RV tires every three years, regardless of mileage.
               

DonTom said:

When you got your blowout, did you then know to step on the gas a little?

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Yes, I did give it little gas and at the same time touched the brake with my left foot to disengage the cruise. After the initial shift to the left, I had no trouble at all controlling the motor home and was able to slow down and smoothly move back into the right lane and then to the right shoulder with my right turn signal on. We were extremely lucky that there was no vehicle in the left lane next to us. Had there been another vehicle in that lane, and I would most likely been aware of that fact, I would probably have tried to keep the leftward move to a minimum and that could have resulted in over steering to the right at speed. Who knows where that would have lead us!

Richard
Rochester, NY

DonTom said:

Yes, but I was wondering if you meant from the time you purchased them or if you went by the date code.

I know some in this forum say to change RV tires every three years, regardless of mileage.

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Age was determined from the date codes. If I remember correctly they were five months old when I had them installed.

I do not remember anyone recommending changing RV tires every three years, regardless of mileage. The generally accepted time is 5+ to 7 years with 7 years as the maximum for replacing RV tires. A couple of years ago I posted a link to a newspaper article by Ford or some tire company recommending that automobile tires should also be replaced after seven years. I can't find the message now.

Richard
Rochester, NY

"I do not remember anyone recommending changing RV tires every three years, regardless of mileage. The generally accepted time is 5+ to 7 years with 7 years as the maximum for replacing RV tires."

I hope you're correct and it's just my poor memory!  But let's hear from some others on this.

I found the message mentioned in my post above. It is Automobile Tire Replacement . The article actually says, "It is recommended that tires generally be replaced after six years of normal service."

Richard
Rochester, NY

I know some in this forum say to change RV tires every three years, regardless of mileage.

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Tom, you must be thinking of another forum. Here's what we say in our library article on Tire replacement. This is consistent with what we say in our Glossary of RV Terms under Tire manufacturing dates codes.  *

Tom said:

Tom, you must be thinking of another forum. Here's what we say in our library article on Tire replacement. This is consistent with what we say in our Glossary of RV Terms under Tire manufacturing dates codes.

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You're Tom.    I am Don.  At least this half of me is Don.  You must be confused with my better half.  ;D

But I am so glad to see that I was wrong about the tire replacement!  7 years seems more than reasonable.

However, I better check my motorcycle tires!  I think a couple of them are older than seven years because I don't do nearly as much riding as I used to. Going from motorcycles to motorhomes says something about my age. So does my memory ;D

Sorry Don, I was half asleep.

I hope you're correct and it's just my poor memory!  But let's hear from some others on this.

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The rule I have touted on this forum is replace all tires every 7 years or on the first major failure over 5 years.  Major is anything not repairable. 

Tho not a biker, if I were, I sure as hell would follow that.  The idea of a blowout on a two wheeler is deeply scary.

"The rule I have touted on this forum is replace all tires every 7 years or on the first major failure over 5 years.  Major is anything not repairable.  "

I like that rule. That's what I will go by too.

"Tho not a biker, if I were, I sure as hell would follow that.  The idea of a blowout on a two wheeler is deeply scary."

I wonder if that will still be a good rule on tires old enough to have an intertube and no belts. I still have my 1971 BMW R75/5 motorcycle that I purchased new in 1971, and I cannot remember how many years it has been since I changed the tires on that!