f442485 Report post Posted September 28, 2019 Just read an article about a tire enhancement product called Rettroband. Looks like a very good idea. Is there anyone out there that has had them installed on their coach and God forbid has anyone had a blowout while using them. There is a video on there web site, where they rigged a divice on the left front tire to cause a blowout. It looked like it worked rather well. Just looking for some more info. The web page is www.rettroband.com and the ad is on page 75 in the September issue of Family RVing. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kaypsmith Report post Posted September 28, 2019 Very interesting concept, I would love to know how much they cost. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
f442485 Report post Posted September 28, 2019 katpsmiyh, they were closed, so i could not call. I'll call tomorrow and ask more questions, post more info. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
manholt Report post Posted September 28, 2019 I had the Tyron installed on my AC 45, they came loose and destroyed my steer tires from the inside...$2,400 for set of 2, made in UK for military vehicles! This looks like the same thing, just from Australia & not UK. They are both made from an Armor company...I made a call to UK, spoke to the Warranty Dept., nope sorry, it's made for the military not camping wagon (their name for motorhomes). Buyer beware & get all the fine print, before you buy! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
huffypuff Report post Posted September 28, 2019 3 hours ago, manholt said: I had the Tyron installed on my AC 45, they came loose and destroyed my steer tires from the inside...$2,400 for set of 2, made in UK for military vehicles! This looks like the same thing, just from Australia & not UK. They are both made from an Armor company...I made a call to UK, spoke to the Warranty Dept., nope sorry, it's made for the military not camping wagon (their name for motorhomes). Buyer beware & get all the fine print, before you buy! I noticed in their videos to use loctite and be sure to tighten fully. I bet it's to cover their butts if it came loose. Yep, it will be your fault, not theirs. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
manholt Report post Posted September 28, 2019 The weakest point is where it's connected...I forgot the color of the loctite, but you have to be able to undo it in the event you damage a wheel. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rayin Report post Posted September 29, 2019 11 hours ago, manholt said: The weakest point is where it's connected...I forgot the color of the loctite, but you have to be able to undo it in the event you damage a wheel. The 4 colors are explained here: https://henkeladhesivesna.com/blog/the-difference-between-red-blue-green-and-purple-threadlockers/ I use blue, because I do make mistakes, as difficult as that may be to believe. If threads are oily Loctite does not perform well. OP, the cost is $4,500 for front tires. Within that thread, a man explained about having a front tire failure on his Essex that resulted in $20K damage. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
manholt Report post Posted September 29, 2019 $4,500...that's stiff. It was blue! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tireman9 Report post Posted October 6, 2019 On 9/28/2019 at 8:56 AM, manholt said: I had the Tyron installed on my AC 45, they came loose and destroyed my steer tires from the inside...$2,400 for set of 2, made in UK for military vehicles! This looks like the same thing, just from Australia & not UK. They are both made from an Armor company...I made a call to UK, spoke to the Warranty Dept., nope sorry, it's made for the military not camping wagon (their name for motorhomes). Buyer beware & get all the fine print, before you buy! I saw the Rettroband at Minot. Not the same as Tyron. Tyron "fills" the well of the wheel to try and prevent the tire from coming off the wheel. Appears to be smaller in OD than the wheel. Rettroband is larger OD than the wheel and decreases the amount the tire "drops" and appears to allow better control after the tire loses air. Back in the '70's I worked a bit on something like Rettro in concept but slightly different design and mounting. I have not personally tested the Tyron or Rettroband so above is based on observations only. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jleamont Report post Posted October 7, 2019 1 hour ago, tireman9 said: I have not personally tested the Tyron or Rettroband so above is based on observations only. From an engineering perspective do you see where filling that large cavity inside the tire could cause issues with tire longevity? Any idea how close to a fully inflated tire it resides, how far away would be considered “safe”? Also do you think mounting the tire could be a concern, cause potential tire damage during the mounting process? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tireman9 Report post Posted October 13, 2019 On 10/6/2019 at 8:18 PM, jleamont said: From an engineering perspective do you see where filling that large cavity inside the tire could cause issues with tire longevity? Any idea how close to a fully inflated tire it resides, how far away would be considered “safe”? Also do you think mounting the tire could be a concern, cause potential tire damage during the mounting process? Based on the work I did on placing devices inside tires I am not aware of any problems as long as the normal operation deflection does not result in the interior of the tire contacting the device. While I do not have the data it appears that the clearance is in the- 3" range. Normal tire deflection when a tire is properly inflated for the load is in the 1" - 2" range. I did watch a video on a tire being mounted and while there are some steps that need to be followed I don't see why damage would occur if the instructions were followed. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
manholt Report post Posted October 13, 2019 It's my understanding that Tyron is now a standard in new Prevosts and Newell...I wonder why not Rettroband? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
desertdeals69 Report post Posted October 13, 2019 3 hours ago, manholt said: It's my understanding that Tyron is now a standard in new Prevosts and Newell...I wonder why not Rettroband? They might be for two different purposes. I would think if you reduce the volume of air by what looks to be half, it would produce a harder ride because of less volume of air that compresses. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
manholt Report post Posted October 14, 2019 DD69. My Tyron on DS failed because I hit a crack on I-10 in Houston, Tx. My tire's air was not affected, but by the time (Sunday) I drove to Cummings, about 15 miles and parked. Tire was removed the next day (we did not know it was the Tyron that came apart, I thought it was bearing problem), the inside of tire was being shredded. Tyron is metal and very heavy! I will never trust anything like that again!!! There are tires made, that will never have a blow out...unfortunately the Military took control, we can not get them! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tireman9 Report post Posted October 16, 2019 On 10/13/2019 at 1:49 PM, manholt said: It's my understanding that Tyron is now a standard in new Prevosts and Newell...I wonder why not Rettroband? Probably the extra cost which is how the RV industry works IMO. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tireman9 Report post Posted October 16, 2019 Need to jump in here. Starting in 1972 I worked on a number of different "Advance Tire" projects Some were looking at an "aftermarket" device that could be placed inside a tire to offer some "Run-Flat" capability. Foam Aluminum and foam Urithane were used. These worked but were too heavy and expensive for general use by the trucking industry and they were not willing to pay the penalty of the original cost and the loss of load capacity for the truck. Visually they would resemble the Rettroband. Here is a picture of a similar device. Having watched the Rettroband video it appears they have a unique method of "attaching" the ring which was one of the areas we did not finalize. I was also the project leader on the original "Run-flat" tires applied to the people mover train at the then-new DFW airport. This approach involved filling the air chamber with a rubber foam material (not urethane but flexible rubber) I believe that this is the approach used on some military vehicles today. This is not some secret "magic" stuff that is being kept from public use by the military as some have suggested and it is not some "Area 51" SiFi material. Just rubber with a blowing agent. If you were willing to spend maybe $500 - $1,000 a tire, limit speed to an average speed of 25 - 30 mph and do a complete redesign of your front suspension to handle the 150 to 200-pound increase in tire assy weight, I believe you can have this on your vehicle. Oh, you also would need to be willing to scrap the wheels when your tire wears out and you can not dismount a foam-filled tire. Other "run-flat" military systems use a flat base multi-piece wheel with an internal ring along the lines seen here. Note how the flat base multipiece wheels are assembled. Other approaches involved going from 22.5 wheels to 26.5 diameter wheel while retaining the same OD, width and load capacity as the original 11-22.5. We even had about 600 special wheels manufactured and we applied these wheels and tires to hundreds of HD trucks. I posted info on my tire blog about these tires. The problem with these tires is they needed new wheels. While these tires provided significant improvements in vehicle control with a sudden loss of air on the front. the trucking industry did not feel the improved safety outweighed the increased cost of new wheels. The Tyron system does not appear to offer any support of the tire tread or feature to limit the "drop" which IMO is an important feature of limiting the degradation or loss of vehicle control due to "blowout" but is intended as I understand it to prevent the flat tire from being dislodged from the wheel. Regarding the questions of lost air volume. No observable change in vehicle ride was noted with the change from 22.5 to 26.5 wheel diameter due to the lower air volume. If you are wondering about the effect of load on air volume you can do a simple test yourself. Inflate a large tire to a specific level and with the tire off the ground with floor jacks record the inflation with your TPMS. Then lower the floor jack and record the inflation when loaded. You can then post the results of your test on this thread for us all to see, Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rayin Report post Posted October 17, 2019 Hah, Roger your last paragraph reminded me of the old woman who would have me check the air in the tires on her black Cadillac, but only after jacking the tires off the ground first. That was in the late 1950's when I worked at my uncle's filling station. P.S. I know the answer, at least for her Caddy. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tireman9 Report post Posted November 6, 2019 On 10/13/2019 at 5:49 PM, desertdeals69 said: They might be for two different purposes. I would think if you reduce the volume of air by what looks to be half, it would produce a harder ride because of less volume of air that compresses. Sorry but the tire changes shape when loaded and the air pressure basically doesn't change, while measurable with sufficiently sensitive gauges (laboratory 0.01 psi reading) I would not consider anything less than a 1 psi change meaningful even if you could measure it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jchaney12 Report post Posted November 25, 2019 I'm still curious if anyone has tried the RettroBands on their front tires. Anyone have experience yet? I'm wondering if the added weight has any effect on wheel bearings. How much do they cost to put on? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
manholt Report post Posted November 25, 2019 jchaney12. Welcome to the Forum! If you scroll back to the beginning of this Post, you'll not that it's about $2,400 for a set of 2 + labor and Tax! It would help us, if we knew, what make, model, year, length of your coach. If it's a pull behind or 5'er, what size truck. Look at our signature below. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wufpaq#1 Report post Posted December 22, 2019 I just read an article from another RV association and it indicated the cost of the Rettrobands were $3,500 - $4,500 for the two front wheels, depending on size. I have a call into a firm that installs them and will update the forum on questions related to warranty, liability, history of coaches with the Rettrobands; i.e., wear and tear on bearings, etc. The Rettroband video indicated there were two type bands that can be installed - polyurethane weighing about 28 lbs and another, heavier composite weighing around 43 lbs I believe. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wildebill308 Report post Posted December 23, 2019 Wufpaq#1 welcome to the forum. I am seeing minimum benefit for the cost. It also looks like it will reduce ride quality. Bill Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
manholt Report post Posted December 23, 2019 Welcome! The new Prevost 2020 comes standard with them installed...those are a lot bigger tires, than my 315/80's! At one time I had TYCO's, from England, one failed & destroyed my DF tire from the inside! I called the manufacturer and was told, "sorry, but they where designed for Military Vehicles, not Canpingwagons!" Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jleamont Report post Posted December 23, 2019 IMHO, it would be more cost effective to pay for routine tire inspections and replace the steer tires every 5 years regardless of miles. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wolfe10 Report post Posted December 23, 2019 And, throw in a TPMS to that. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
