Tire Blowout Experience

[csiemen]

Had my first tire failure today. My 2014 Minnie Winnie 31H came with Michelin LT225-75R16's with DOT date code 2713 (it's on a 2013 E450 chassis). I'd been watching tire aging on them and had decided that they needed replacing. Well today on I-81 just after the I-40 split the inner dual passenger side said "Bye", or more accurately "BANG". Called FMCA and got 2 recommendations on Michelin program. Dealer in Knoxville said "too busy, can't come out today". Dealer in Kingsport said "Don't have that tire and don't know anyone who does". Sigh. So called some wrecker services in Dandridge, TN and found one who said he'd go get the tires and come out to me. Decided to replace both tires on passenger side due to sidewall dry rot setting in. He found some BF Goodrich LT225-75R16 from the Commercial T/A Traction line. Got them mounted up and got my TPMS mounted with them (the old tire BANG also put a heck of a dent in the exhaust pipe which in turn crashed up into the side body panel so a little body work is in the future, but that's a different story). Once back on the road noticed the new tires running much cooler than the older Michelin's. My plan is to go to my local dealer and get 4 more of them, replacing the driver-side duals and both front tires. Ones today have DOT date 0318 so are relatively 'fresh'. Price was full retail plus the wrecker charges, but my insurance is covering a share of that. Of course the wrecker service didn't do anything like register the tires, but called BFG and they said to register online using DOT codes and take a picture of the serial numbers. Good thing cell phones are small. 

From reading all the experts here and at rvtiresafety.net it seems the best approach would be to have same tires on each axle, covers for UV protection when parked, get it aligned with the new fronts and probably re-weigh again to be sure pressure settings are accurate. Couldn't find a BFG Load Rating table, but since it's part of the Uniroyal/Michelin family I'm hoping Michelin's will be close enough.

Am I missing anything? 5 year life seems a bit short but it sat in the sun for a year before we bought it. The rears have much more dry-rot than the fronts do. 

Thanks for all the good info out here.....

Chuck

[tireman9]

Sorry to hear about your tire problem.

Didn't your TPMS give a low-pressure warning?   Any chance you can share a few pictures of the failed tire.  I like to help provide a possible suggestion on the "Why" a tire failed. I also am a bit surprised by only 5-year life, unless the failure was due to some non-tire issue such as leaking valve or valve core.

I am guessing your tires are LR-E and say 80 psi on them.  I suggest you run 80 as your Cold Inflation Pressure till you can confirm your actual tire loading.

 

[kaypsmith]

If I am reading the post correctly, there was not a TPMS in place at the time of the blowout, it was added at the time of the tire replacement.

12 hours ago, csiemen said:

Decided to replace both tires on passenger side due to sidewall dry rot setting in. He found some BF Goodrich LT225-75R16 from the Commercial T/A Traction line. Got them mounted up and got my TPMS mounted with them 

Another example for reason to have a TPMS in place.

[alflorida]

I have had tires go "BANG" and do damage with a TPMS showing normal tire pressure until after the BANG and then the TPMS show "zero" pressure. 

This is not an argument against TPMS.  A TPMS is a critical device I have had on every RV I have owned in the last 12 years and will not have an RV without them.

[wolfe10]

Agree, sudden blowouts can occur.  But, probably a VERY small number, compared with those that loose pressure over time and then fail.

So, agree, a TPMS can not prevent all tire failures, but it can prevent the vast majority of them.

[tireman9]

On 6/5/2018 at 7:01 PM, alflorida said:

I have had tires go "BANG" and do damage with a TPMS showing normal tire pressure until after the BANG and then the TPMS show "zero" pressure. 

This is not an argument against TPMS.  A TPMS is a critical device I have had on every RV I have owned in the last 12 years and will not have an RV without them.

Correct, TPMS is only designed to warn of air leaks and cannot warn of impending belt/tread separations. This is why it is suggested that Motorhomes have their tires fully inspected by a dealer that sells the brand in question annually starting at 5 years. A complete inspection by a competent person should allow any out of round or side to side run-out to be observed. Both of these are signs of potential belt/tread separations.

I show how and the results of such an inspection in my blog.

[mikelangley]

Hello everyone.  Well I have been   Initiated     Had my first blow out today. 4 hours later new tire and home.  Late.   Had a montoriing system. No warning. Just bang.  No leaks. Bought the motorhome in of 17.  Tire shop said the date of the tires were 2012 when I had them balanced  they are 5 years old. And showed no dry rot. The tire that blew.   Blew the side wall. Could put my fist through it.  Outer rear tire blew out on the inside. Should I be concerned about the other tires?  

[hermanmullins]

Yes Mike I would have them all examined. The balance of the tire are 6 years old and by most are aging out. 

It appears that you were fortunate and did no damage. IMHO it looks as if you may have hit or run over something that weaken the sidewall. 

Herman

[mikelangley]

Thanks Herman. Just ordered 2 new front tires.  Those are the ones that scare me the most.  Thanks

[manholt]

Mike.  What size and make tires are you running,  on what make, model and year RV?

[bm02tj]

The picture shows  275 70 22.5

 

[mikelangley]

Yes 275/70R 22.5

[mikelangley]

Samson  They were on the unit when I purchased it in 0ct 17  Tire store said the age were 2012 tires  Replacing the front ones right now.  Those are the ones I am most nervous

about not blowing out. 

[five]

On 6/20/2018 at 0:18 PM, Mikelangley said:

...Tire store said the age were 2012 tires  Replacing the front ones right now...

The store might be a bit loose with the facts....look on the tire.

[wolfe10]

7 minutes ago, FIVE said:

The store might be a bit loose with the facts....look on the tire.

They might, but most of us can read the last  FOUR DIGITS of the full DOT number that indicate the WEEK and YEAR of production.

Would be surprised if the tire store has any "skin in the game".

[five]

On 6/21/2018 at 3:03 PM, wolfe10 said:

They might, but most of us can read the last  FOUR DIGITS of the full DOT number that indicate the WEEK and YEAR of production.

Would be surprised if the tire store has any "skin in the game".

All good points, but that's the first thing I would check.

[fagnaml]

Five --

I had never heard about Samson tires until now so after a quick Google search I find that they are manufactured by a Chinese company --> http://gtcna.com/about.php

I had a similar, unexpected, tire blow-out problem a few years ago on the 30 foot travel trailer I owned despite the tires being only two years old and had no indication of low pressure, excessive temperature, etc. from my Tire Minder TPMS system.   The tire that blew-out was a brand I did not know (and don't remember).  As I researched new tires I learned that at least for travel trailers that many of those tires are imported from Chinese manufacturers and come with significant quality concerns.  They cost ~25% less than tires made by Good Year and Cooper.  After my research I opted for the Good Year tires as I didn't want to experience another unexpected, very scary tire blow-out.

Part of my research included this older NBC News article about tires manufactured in China --> http://www.nbcnews.com/id/32899266/ns/business-autos/t/chinese-tires-its-buyer-beware/#.WzUhIWyouUk

Name brand tires with strict specifications (Michelin, Good Year, Pirelli, etc.) manufactured in China have similar quality to those brands manufactured in the U.S.   "Off Brands" manufactured in China have the quality and safety concerns.  It would be good to know if Samson is considered a "main stream" brand like Good Year or if it is an "off brand".

[tireman9]

On 6/18/2018 at 0:40 AM, Mikelangley said:

Hello everyone.  Well I have been   Initiated     Had my first blow out today. 4 hours later new tire and home.  Late.   Had a montoriing system. No warning. Just bang.  No leaks. Bought the motorhome in of 17.  Tire shop said the date of the tires were 2012 when I had them balanced  they are 5 years old. And showed no dry rot. The tire that blew.   Blew the side wall. Could put my fist through it.  Outer rear tire blew out on the inside. Should I be concerned about the other tires?  

Can you get a close-up, in sharp focus shot of the sidewall area just to the right of the blade of grass as seen in the 2nd picture. I see something but need a better picture.

Full sunlight in highest quality covering an area about 6" to 8" square should do.

 

It is very unusual for steel sidewall to simply fail without some external or prior damage.  In 5 years have you ever needed to add more than 5 or 10 psi to any of the tires for any reason?

[csiemen]

Wow, I’d setup for email notifications on this thread and got none, so I stopped by to see if anyone had commented. My apologies for not checking back sooner. To clear a couple things up, I had stem-mounted TPMS and it beeped about the same time the BIG BANG happened so not much warning. I glance at the display every so often and about 15 mins before everything all looked normal. I’m going to try to attach a picture that I took of the tire once the guy unmounted it.

So now I have a complete set of BFG tires and they seem to run “cooler” than the old Michelin’s did, maybe the wrong words but they don’t rise in temp while rolling as much as the Michelin’s did. The BFGs are of two 2018 DOT dates since I got 2 from wrecker service in TN and the other 4 from my local dealer, but I’m not sure that 6 weeks apart is that much to worry over.  Had all 6 balanced when the last 4 went on, and Monday morning it gets front end aligned. Then I’m going to find a scale that will let me take the time to weigh each tire individually and then work out what the pressure setting should be. Running at the door placard pressure of 75 Front, 80 Rears right now. Hope that sounds like a good plan.

heres the pictures (hope it works). Amazing part was the battery operated ratchet drill from Milwaukee that he used to change the tires. Didn’t think that would handle the truck lugs, but it did.

[tireman9]

OK so now we have two completely different types of failure. The one from Mike L. has a suspect mark I would need to see up close before I can offer my expert opinion. I have requested a couple of better pictures.

The tire from csiemen   is clearly a belt/tread separation and no TPMS is going to provide warning of this type of failure.   es 5 years is shorter than I would expect for tires that had always been inflated to 75/80 psi.  You didn't mention what your scale readings for the coach.