Tire Failure-Update IV

Francesca Knowles wrote:
......Or are you just trying to say the same thing he said???? .....

Yes, I am trying to say the same thing - and not to denigrate the OP, but he is hardly an expert in failed tires.

gitane59 wrote:

ol Bombero-JC wrote:


Bottom line:
Hmmmmm - maybe there's a good reason for Michelin to *not* advertise the fact BFG is owned by Michelin!..:R

No BFGs in my future..:( - YMMV..:W


~

I stand educated as I did not remember the Michelin owns BFG. It's not like they advertise that fact as noted above.
I believe I know why the don't advertise it.

I think it was obvious when the BFG recalled tires were replaced with Michelin's.

ol Bombero-JC wrote:


Bottom line:
Hmmmmm - maybe there's a good reason for Michelin to *not* advertise the fact BFG is owned by Michelin!..:R

No BFGs in my future..:( - YMMV..:W


~

I stand educated as I did not remember the Michelin owns BFG. It's not like they advertise that fact as noted above.
I believe I know why the don't advertise it.

Lyle-I like your thinking. I left the tire at the Firestone dealer but will go by tomorrow and pick it up.

Charlie D. wrote:
Trailer has been parked under it's cover since the return from the trip where the original tire failed. I noticed on the other side of the 5er that a tire appeared low. Pressure was down to 65 #'s from the normal 80. Took it off and saw a nail. Aired it back up and the tire appeared to have a crown running from side to side. Today I got around to taking it in to the Firestone dealer for repair and told the guy about the crown. Upon close inspection they told me that the tire had a manufacturing defect!!!!The tire showed a bulge and crack where the cap joined the side wall and ran at a diagonal across the tread where the rubber should have joined. I had the blown tire in the back of the truck and showed it to them. They said this tire would have eventually failed in the same way. What are the odds? Date is 4310. See the attached picture. Firestone said the defect was as the photo. I will move on but now I feel it is necessary to replace all 4 tires on the ground. The new BFG I purchased on my trip.will serve as a spare.

I will search the DOT web site and post my findings there.

Bombero-Thanks for the link. No Big O tire dealers around here but we do have Discount tires. Concerning warranty. The Firestone dealer said there is an additional $25. per tire for road hazard. Good for 5 years-Goodrich was 6-but a tire failure from manufacturing defects would fall back to the manufacturer and prorated and road hazard that destroyed the tire would cost $40.00 in fees for a new tire. Kind of a catch 22.

I would definitely forward the pictures of the failed tire as well as the one that's showing signs of failure, to BFG, "for their information in the interests of consumer safety". Mention that a tire professional at a national tire store confirmed what he was seeing on the unfailed tire exactly matches your tire failure. Don't ask for anything, but do mention that the new set of non-BFG tires as well as the repairs to the trailer cost $X.XX, again, for their information. Keep the old tires and let them know that you will keep them available for inspection "to improve consumer safety" at =your= convenience for a certain amount of time, after which you will dispose of them. Also send them the link to this thread. I do like your attitude and do appreciate you taking the time to be pretty informative without going off. Personally, I think I'd've simply filed an insurance claim and let =them= fight it out with the tire company while I went camping. :-)

Lyle

Trailer has been parked under it's cover since the return from the trip where the original tire failed. I noticed on the other side of the 5er that a tire appeared low. Pressure was down to 65 #'s from the normal 80. Took it off and saw a nail. Aired it back up and the tire appeared to have a crown running from side to side. Today I got around to taking it in to the Firestone dealer for repair and told the guy about the crown. Upon close inspection they told me that the tire had a manufacturing defect!!!!The tire showed a bulge and crack where the cap joined the side wall and ran at a diagonal across the tread where the rubber should have joined. I had the blown tire in the back of the truck and showed it to them. They said this tire would have eventually failed in the same way. What are the odds? Date is 4310. See the attached picture. Firestone said the defect was as the photo. I will move on but now I feel it is necessary to replace all 4 tires on the ground. The new BFG I purchased on my trip.will serve as a spare.

I will search the DOT web site and post my findings there.

Bombero-Thanks for the link. No Big O tire dealers around here but we do have Discount tires. Concerning warranty. The Firestone dealer said there is an additional $25. per tire for road hazard. Good for 5 years-Goodrich was 6-but a tire failure from manufacturing defects would fall back to the manufacturer and prorated and road hazard that destroyed the tire would cost $40.00 in fees for a new tire. Kind of a catch 22.

Charlie D. wrote:
Capri and gmw-Thanks for the comments. Bad99ram not so much-I believe you are the only one to be negative to me.

To be honest-I was not aware of the warranty being honored for the original vehicle only until pointed out by BFG and confirmed when I read the warranty. Seems like I am not the only one unaware of it.

I hope some are now informed of BFG's and possibly other manufacturer's position as to their tires. I will move on now and go to the Firestone store and get some TransForce tires.:)

As I have been typing my messages and thinking about responses I wonder how many people have had BFG tires replaced on the trailers as a result of failures. I suspect more than a few under the right circumstances. As an example: What if I went to a dealer with that tire and he said that it was defective and adjusted the tire without calling BFG and the word "camper" never came up? I went to a dealer who didn't want to get involved with an adjustment but knew I was traveling and needed a spare.

Luke Porter responded to my post that Michelin paid for new tires and damage. Me Again commented that Discount Tire in Phoenix replaced a friends tire. I would be interested in further details although I will not pursue this issue any further. I was checking several national tire dealers on line and happened to click on a few comment posts. There was a few that stated this same tire had thrown treads on their vehicles and that there was a known issue with these tires doing that. First I had heard of that and maybe the comments were incorrect or just by an upset consumer. Doesn't matter now.

The email response from BFG had a link for a survey. Haven't opened it yet but will fill it out.

Observations:

Honesty is *not* the best policy for damaged BFG tires!

Google "Consumer Affairs BFG Tires" - it's a "join to post" site,
but 76 BFG reviews (all tire lines) are viewable.
Majority are negative. (The site has nothing to do with BFG).

If you continue on your Google search, you find sites for various uses of BFG, a mixed bag - and on one forum posters indicate the (obvious) benefit of road hazard warranty (Available at Big O Tires).

Bottom line:
Hmmmmm - maybe there's a good reason for Michelin to *not* advertise the fact BFG is owned by Michelin!..:R

No BFGs in my future..:( - YMMV..:W

FWIW - BFG "contact us" site

~

CapriRacer wrote:

Francesca Knowles wrote:
I'm surprised to see what looks like rust on the between-the-layers surface of the tire...is that normal?

Yes, wires rust pretty quickly when exposed to the outside air. And, No! They are not a symptom of the failure. The rust is an artifact of the failure process.

Thanks, but the O.P. responded to my question days ago. (see below quote). As I understand his explanation the rust wasn't part of the failure process at all, it having only appeared after the bits had been lying around exposed long enough to pick up moisture. (Which condition I already understand is a cause of metal rusting.)

Or are you just trying to say the same thing he said????

Charlie D. wrote:

Francesca Knowles wrote:
I'm surprised to see what looks like rust on the between-the-layers surface of the tire...is that normal?

Rained hard several times on the remains after putting in the truck bed. Pictures are this morning. Failure was yesterday morning. No rust after failure.

Charlie,
I think you will do well with the Firestone transforce. We have them on one of the horse trailers ( 33' gooseneck, 14.5K pounds ) and they have served well. And I fairly regularly have to twist that thing around in ways that are truly ugly. They are hanging in there fine.

Capri and gmw-Thanks for the comments. Bad99ram not so much-I believe you are the only one to be negative to me.

To be honest-I was not aware of the warranty being honored for the original vehicle only until pointed out by BFG and confirmed when I read the warranty. Seems like I am not the only one unaware of it.

I hope some are now informed of BFG's and possibly other manufacturer's position as to their tires. I will move on now and go to the Firestone store and get some TransForce tires.:)

As I have been typing my messages and thinking about responses I wonder how many people have had BFG tires replaced on the trailers as a result of failures. I suspect more than a few under the right circumstances. As an example: What if I went to a dealer with that tire and he said that it was defective and adjusted the tire without calling BFG and the word "camper" never came up? I went to a dealer who didn't want to get involved with an adjustment but knew I was traveling and needed a spare.

Luke Porter responded to my post that Michelin paid for new tires and damage. Me Again commented that Discount Tire in Phoenix replaced a friends tire. I would be interested in further details although I will not pursue this issue any further. I was checking several national tire dealers on line and happened to click on a few comment posts. There was a few that stated this same tire had thrown treads on their vehicles and that there was a known issue with these tires doing that. First I had heard of that and maybe the comments were incorrect or just by an upset consumer. Doesn't matter now.

The email response from BFG had a link for a survey. Haven't opened it yet but will fill it out.