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Driving down the road. I had a blowout on the inside rear passenger side. I’m driving a 2000 Newmar mountain aire. It tore up the protective material and insulation and also some other type of material that’s between the protective and insulation materials. Do you have any idea about repairing this and where I might find the material. Thanks so much.

Over the past few months there have been a couple items in the news and on the Internet about tire failures on RVs and buses. The videos are pretty dramatic. http://tinyurl.com/h4f7ykr http://tinyurl.com/gmvclne Most on this forum are in motorhomes. Many also pull a toad but a few own or have friends with trailers or may even find themselves pulling a trailer ( See our Presidents Message in November FMCA magazine) so I will also include some information for those times. First, for tire failure on toad or trailer or the rear duals or tag of a motorhome it is critical that the driver is notified as soon as possible that there has been a failure or that one is about to occur. The only way I know of gaining this knowledge is with a TPMS that can alert the driver of air loss. Some TPMS can even alert the driver in the first few seconds when the inflation has dropped just a few psi from the hot running pressure. If you do not run a TPMS then you will not learn of the pressure loss before damage has been done, as you will be depending on passing motorists to get the driver's attention. By this time, damage has been done but hopefully the toad or trailer hasn't rolled over or separated from the motorhome which could raise the level of severity of consequences dramatically. For motorhome or bus drivers the failure of a front tire can mean a significantly different outcome, as there is the real potential of a complete loss of control if the wrong response is taken. Here we know that a warning of initial air loss may provide enough time for a thoughtful response from the driver but even having a TPMS is not a 100% guarantee as there are failures that do not involve air loss. So the question then is what actions need to be taken in the first fraction of a second after a front tire comes apart? Thankfully there is a good instructional video of what a driver needs to do. Here is one from Michelin http://tinyurl.com/hjuyu4m and another similar video. Yes, the advice is not intuitive to the average driver but it can work. It has been demonstrated numerous times that there is both proper and improper driver response to a tire failure. Sadly many drivers have ended up turning an inconvenience into a tragedy. A driver needs to stop and think about what to do and to take a moment - frequently - to help implant the correct response so it can become an automatic response. You do have plenty of time to think about this as you drive down the highway. I would suggest that if you spent as little as 10 seconds thinking about the correct response of maintaining control first then slowing down second rather than just stomping on the brakes just once an hour every hour when driving you might find that the action might become automatic. We all know that practice and repetition can make athletes better at their "game" well in this case practice, at least in thought, can make you a safer driver in the "job" of getting yourself and family safely to your destination a reality.

I attended a tire seminar in Redmond. OR this year and I remember it being stressed to get a tire pressure monitor for the coach and toad. I did so before leaving the reunion and was quite disturbed by the operation of them. These have sensors that screws on the end of the valve stems and transmit to a receiver kept in the coach. I didn't have the toad with me at the time so I only installed the sensors on the coach. Tire are Michelin 275/70R22.5 XZA2 Energy with about 7,000 miles on them and less than a year old. The first thing I noticed is that reading from all the senors on the monitor itself is reading 5 lbs too high. I verified it with two known good tire gauges. The second thing I noticed is the temperature started out normal but didn't raise much while driving. When I stopped at a rest stop in Washington then the temperature raised about 10 degrees in about five minutes. I wonder how in the world are these sensors supposed to get internal tire temperature if it is spinning around on the stem on the outside of the rim? Maybe there should be a seminar on tire monitors so it could be explained what a misfit add on are. Nothing like the tire monitors that comes with the vehicles today. Hopefully for me it's not $410.00 wasted. TireMinder monitor, charger, 10 sensors, booster and 10 extra batteries. http://www.minderresearch.com/tireminder/tireminder-tpms-with-6-sensors-and-a-signal-booster-tmg400c-6/

Having just upgraded to a tag-axle rig, I happily ordered a set of extra sensors from Daryl and Cheri at Lawrence Electronics Sales. They sell TireTraker TPMS for RVs. I've had great luck with the product; and, when I called to order a new sensor after a catastrophic dolly tire failure launched one into orbit (it faithfully transmitted the loss back to the receiver as it headed off on its one-way doomed flight), Daryl wouldn't hear of me paying. I protested, saying there was no way he in any way was responsible for an arbitrary tire failure, but he held firm (for the tires' manufacturer, Carlisle, it was a different matter). The icing on the cake: after submitting today's order, I held my breath as shipping and handling was calculated. Such is the fashion nowadays, with vendors gouging the dickens out of customers after they've already committed... Are you ready for this? USPS standard delivery, packed and shipped, for $2.95. Now, some two years after my initial purchase, I like my TireTraker system; but I LOVE Lawrence Electronics Sales. Kudos to Daryl and Cheri! Followup: I got a personal note from Daryl, in addition to my emailed receipt. It is SUNDAY. They have a customer for life.

I'm currently processing claims paperwork for Carlisle tires, having joined the ranks of owners who've suffered blowouts running on Carlisles (they came with my 2011 Roadmaster 2000-1 dolly). We had two blowouts in six months, perfectly-maintained new Carlisle tires that were kept indoors. Along with contacting the dolly and tire manufacturers, I've filed a complaint against Carlisle with the NHTSA. Evidence suggests it is an unsafe tire, my experience affirms that conclusion. A friend is doing research for tire replacement on their trailer, sent me the following excellent link that explains DOT codes and lists American-made tires. http://www.americanmadetires.com/where-tires-are-made.html Our independent searching has come to the same conclusion: Goodyear Marathon. But, there is a fly in the ointment: at present, there are still failure-prone Marathons that were made in China out there, being sold. They are currently being made domestically, reportedly with higher reliability; but, it's hard to find the American ones. In the interim, I had to settle for Karrier Loadstar, which owners report enjoys good operating safety and reliability, even though... you guessed, it's made in China.

TCi in Fort Worth was designated by the FMCA as my Michelin dealer, I'm glad they were. Superb service! The technician who installed my new front tires gave me the option of installing new valve stems, I asked for his input. "The rubber O-ring is the thing, we can't determine its condition without taking the stem apart; and, if we do that, we can't put it back together," he replied. The cost? Ten bucks. Of course, let's yank 'em off and install new ones, I said. It made sense; I mean, why seal old ones away for another five years? Well, the condition of the seven year old stem, once taken out, was not good. The chrome plating was coming off, the O-ring dried and brittle. "You won't believe the number of blowouts that start when that valve core yields," he says. Oh? It gave me chills to think I was on the verge of keeping the thing in place for a third set of tires... So, word to the wise: spend the $10 and have peace of mind.

Attention Owners Using Carlisle Tires on Dollies and Trailers I have just reported the second catastrophic failure in less than 3,000 miles of a Chinese-made Carlisle "Radial Trail" ST215/75R14 to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. This latest incident occurred on a driver-side dolly tire inflated to DOT sidewall pressure operating on Interstate highway pavement at 57 mph. In both cases, the tire has appeared to wear normally, has accumulated less than 3,000 miles of service, maintained an operating temperature of under 130F during its brief life cycle. In both cases, the failure was violent enough to cause damage to the dolly structure. An initial glimpse at entries in various forums shows that dozens of owners have had this same kind of experience with low-mileage Carlisle tires. The record has clearly shown that Carlisle tires currently installed on Roadmaster and other dollies represent a hazard. Check your equipment. Followup information, 22 May 2012 Nancy from Roadmaster asserted that I'm the first to experience such a failure using their dollies. She referred me to Carlisle for warranty coverage. Just a few hours after establishing email contact with Carlisle, a customer svc rep contacted me. The rep has scheduled a UPS pickup of the second tire carcass for tomorrow morning, and is starting the claims process for me. A claims representative is to be in contact with me, next. After reading dozens of owner opinions, I opted for the Karrier Loadmaster tire at Northern Equipment. Their low price is counterbalanced by the fact their stock is 4 years old. Since my dolly is indoor-stored, I put the tires on, despite their age. In the photo: failed tire in background, with surviving Carlisle and new Karrier Loadstar.