How far is it safe to drive on a blown tire?

Moving to a safe place is the best option. Slow down and if necessary turn on your hazard lights to avoid someone rear ending you until you find a safe place to pull over.

travelnutz wrote:
January 7th this year at about 7:45 at night on a limited access very busy with trucks on our way to Florida and only about 200 miles since leaving home, the right rear on our 5th wheel nearly new tire blew. BOOM like a shotgun and I jumped on the binders and pull over on the narrow shoulder. 80 PSI blowout is very loud! I had checked all tire pressures before leaving in the morning so I know what it had and all 4 tires only had less than 5,000 miles on it when it blew.

Looked ahead while wife called 911 and they said they'd send an officer and I saw we were only about 200 yards (not 5 miles) from an exit and having part of our rig still about a foot on the right traveled highway lane and a ditch on the right side of the trailer that I didn't dare get any closer to, I knew I had to get up that exit and off the highway NOW!. Besides, that lose ditch side was the side the blown tire was on so no way could it be changed there and jacking was very risky too.

So as my wife called a road service tire place in the town we were going by, I drove at about walk speed up the exit ramp and turned to the right and she told them where we are stopped as we weren't on the highway anymore and how could they find us. Officer came and set up cones and his vehicle with its flashing overhead lights and about 2 minutes later the service truck showed up. When the blown tire came off. it was in shreds and the rim had all the paint worn off where it rode on the road.

Only a couple hundred yards on the blown tire and that's the results and you are asking about 5 miles on such? AIN"T NO WAY!!!

One more blew going by Tallahassee busted the fender skirt and messed up the some of the trailer side wall but didn't break any wires or render the RV un-usable and the ins co said I could get it fixed when we got back home. Good!

Then on the way back home, the 3rd same brand "E" range tire blew and busted out the other side of our 5th wheel. I now have the checks for fixing the 5th wheel and it's away being repaired. Our 52nd year of RV'ing and never previously had a tire blow. 3 only this one trip all on nearly new tires and all the same brand. Yup, defective tires and now I have to fight with the tire manufacturer and yes, we are not happy about it!

What brand of tire?

Travelnutz what brand of tire you use to have ?I bet you was China tire.

January 7th this year at about 7:45 at night on a limited access very busy with trucks on our way to Florida and only about 200 miles since leaving home, the right rear on our 5th wheel nearly new tire blew. BOOM like a shotgun and I jumped on the binders and pull over on the narrow shoulder. 80 PSI blowout is very loud! I had checked all tire pressures before leaving in the morning so I know what it had and all 4 tires only had less than 5,000 miles on it when it blew.

Looked ahead while wife called 911 and they said they'd send an officer and I saw we were only about 200 yards (not 5 miles) from an exit and having part of our rig still about a foot on the right traveled highway lane and a ditch on the right side of the trailer that I didn't dare get any closer to, I knew I had to get up that exit and off the highway NOW!. Besides, that lose ditch side was the side the blown tire was on so no way could it be changed there and jacking was very risky too.

So as my wife called a road service tire place in the town we were going by, I drove at about walk speed up the exit ramp and turned to the right and she told them where we are stopped as we weren't on the highway anymore and how could they find us. Officer came and set up cones and his vehicle with its flashing overhead lights and about 2 minutes later the service truck showed up. When the blown tire came off. it was in shreds and the rim had all the paint worn off where it rode on the road.

Only a couple hundred yards on the blown tire and that's the results and you are asking about 5 miles on such? AIN"T NO WAY!!!

One more blew going by Tallahassee busted the fender skirt and messed up the some of the trailer side wall but didn't break any wires or render the RV un-usable and the ins co said I could get it fixed when we got back home. Good!

Then on the way back home, the 3rd same brand "E" range tire blew and busted out the other side of our 5th wheel. I now have the checks for fixing the 5th wheel and it's away being repaired. Our 52nd year of RV'ing and never previously had a tire blow. 3 only this one trip all on nearly new tires and all the same brand. Yup, defective tires and now I have to fight with the tire manufacturer and yes, we are not happy about it!

I tried it once with a single-axle trailer. In my situation, the flat tire only lasted about a mile and a quarter at slow speed before flipping off the rim. YMMV

I would never pull that far with a flat.

Your idea of driving to a safe location is really the only safe option. I spent 32 years with the CA Highway Patrol and can vividly remember the cases where somebody did not want to ruin a wheel or something else and the result was injuries and/or fatalities. It probably won't hurt anything to limp to a safe location---pick one that is as far from the traffic lanes as possible. But, even if it did ruin a tire, a wheel, etc., so what! Going 5 miles to the next ramp might not be necessary since likely there will be some extra wide shoulder spot along the way. If not, continuing to limp on may be the best choice (with flashers going, obviously) It is always amazing how some people are willing to roll the dice working on a vehicle right next to vehicles traveling 100ft per second or more. Replacing "things" is a lot easier than the possible alternative.

And,also you MAY WELL damage the Wheel and other components .
FIVE MILES on a Flat tire!!!!!!
Call-911 - or the non emergency number,..Advise them of the situation which is not a safe situation!!!!!

See if they have an officer or a service emergency type truck that can come and stay and park behind you to increase your odds of safety!!!!!


I would not drive 5 miles with a flat tire no way --not even at 1 mile an hour!!!!!

It's likely that you will ruin the other tire, possibly tear up the side of your trailer with slinging rubber, and possibly damage the wheel, even at a slow speed.

Probably not worth the risk !

If you due, plan on also replacing the other tire on the same side, because you will have run that tire way over it's rated max weight carrying capacity.