If you saw the video last week of the Class A blowing a tire and going off the road. I'd like to hear what is the right way to react. I've heard don't use your breaks, what's the answer?

I had that happen to me. Left front. It really was no big deal, unlike the video. Don't step on the brake, coast to the shoulder. No sudden turns. Most of all...pray.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lkwOE1yKY5cVideo by Michelin on how to handle a blowout.

whporwil wrote:If you saw the video last week of the Class A blowing a tire and going off the road. I'd like to hear what is the right way to react. I've heard don't use your breaks, what's the answer?Accelerate! Watch this.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lkwOE1yKY5c

In addition to learning how to properly handle a blow-out, get a product such as a Safe-T-Plus steering stabilizer onto your RV ASAP. The videos on this product show front tires being deliberately blown with small explosives to simulate a blow-out. One particular video showed a cement truck, if I remember correctly, having a front tire deliberately blown-out. The driver was sweating bullets, but ended up being simply amazed at how well he was able to control the truck by having the Safe-T-Plus on the truck. I think it's money well spent, myself. Again, you just don't know how much of the videos, etc, are sales hype and how much is true, but it looked to me like having the Safe-T-Plus was certainly going to be an asset in the event of a blow-out. We had one installed on our RV several years ago.

That is right, you do not touch your brakes. Hit the accelerator and then as soon as you have directional control, slowly back off of the gas to come to a safe stop. Do not pull off of the paved surface until your speed is below 10 mph as the drop off of the pavement could cause you to lose control. Don't panic, don't make any excessive quick moves, and don't worry about any damage to your coach. If you watch TV very often there have been several police chases where they were chasing a Class A, Class C, bus, etc. All of the vehicles being chased are able to continue fleeing from police even after the spike strips have blown one or both front tires.I grew up where a new tire only had a 12,000 mile warranty but I could only afford recaps. After awhile a blown tire is only a minor inconvenience to be dealt with and not something to fear. They rarely happen with today's tires but it is always good to be prepared.There will be some people that have survived a blowout by jamming on the brakes and doing various other maneuvers but it is best to watch the video and go by the experts rather than someone who happened to get lucky, once.

Blow front tire, what do you do? | Good Sam Community

msmith1199
Explorer II
May 27, 2015
koda55 wrote:
The reason you push the accelerator to the floor is not to pick up speed. You only push it momentarily to lift the weight off the front so you can get control. If your rv did not instantly pull to the side that the tire blew on you were fortunate. Every vehicle I have driven always pulled to the bad tire side.

To lift weight off the front? I understand the theory behind that, but DP's aren't known for their swift acceleration. I really can't see a lot of weight being lifted off the front by flooring it.
MPond
Explorer
May 27, 2015
koda55 wrote:
The reason you push the accelerator to the floor is not to pick up speed. You only push it momentarily to lift the weight off the front so you can get control. If your rv did not instantly pull to the side that the tire blew on you were fortunate. Every vehicle I have driven always pulled to the bad tire side.

I doubt that accelerating at highway speeds in most class A motorhomes will lift any weight off the front tires.

The reason you step on the accelerator is because the centripetal force of a tire accelerating or maintaining speed (not decelerating from the drag of the blown tire) is a stabilizing force that helps the vehicle continue straight ahead.

It's the same force that keeps bicycles and motorcycles upright and balanced on 2 wheels.
gemert
Explorer
May 27, 2015
Blaster Man wrote:
I had a blow out last week on I 55, south of Joliet, IL. Going 60 with the cruise on...35k diesel pusher, with 295/80R22.5 tires...right front blew. The last thing I wanted was more speed, so I tapped the cruise off and slowed to a safe speed before getting off the road. The most dangerous part of the whole experience was awaiting Good Sam with the street side of the coach 18" from bumper to bumper 18 wheelers. The curb side of the coach was as far off the road as I could get it...next to a 45 degree embankment. There was no control issue, therefore, increasing speed would have done more harm than good.

Not an expert but your cruise control probably added some power initially to compensate for the drag on the blown tire. That power probably helped you not lose control. Just a thought!
koda55
Explorer
May 27, 2015
The reason you push the accelerator to the floor is not to pick up speed. You only push it momentarily to lift the weight off the front so you can get control. If your rv did not instantly pull to the side that the tire blew on you were fortunate. Every vehicle I have driven always pulled to the bad tire side.
Blaster_Man
Explorer
May 26, 2015
I had a blow out last week on I 55, south of Joliet, IL. Going 60 with the cruise on...35k diesel pusher, with 295/80R22.5 tires...right front blew. The last thing I wanted was more speed, so I tapped the cruise off and slowed to a safe speed before getting off the road. The most dangerous part of the whole experience was awaiting Good Sam with the street side of the coach 18" from bumper to bumper 18 wheelers. The curb side of the coach was as far off the road as I could get it...next to a 45 degree embankment. There was no control issue, therefore, increasing speed would have done more harm than good.
dcbrewer
Explorer
May 22, 2015
whporwil wrote:
If you saw the video last week of the Class A blowing a tire and going off the road. I'd like to hear what is the right way to react. I've heard don't use your breaks, what's the answer?

You floor the fuel to get it under control, than slow it to the side of the road.
427435
Explorer
May 22, 2015
I don't understand why the true-center gizzmo's would help. My steering wheel did not turn when my LF tire blew. It stayed centered----------which is all a these gizzmo's do. I had to put a light amount of right steer into the steering wheel to take care of the extra drag of the blown tire on the left side. These devices wouldn't have helped with that either.
Beacher
Explorer
May 21, 2015
I would keep the Blue Ox TruCenter centered, steer normally, and come to a stop when safe.
msmith1199
Explorer II
May 21, 2015
rgatijnet1 wrote:
Here is a video of a motor home being chased by police on the interstate. It has a blown left front tire and managed to stay in the lane during a high speed chase. A few sparks but the driver had control. :B Police chase in Oklahoma

That video shows a motorhome being driven on a flat tire. I don't see an indication that it was a sudden blow out. I think the vast majority of us on here could completely control our motorhome if we knew the exact second the tire was going to blow and were ready for it. The issue is when you're driving down the road on cruise control with one hand on the wheel and your ice tea in the other hand and all the sudden BANG! one of the front tires blows! It's the immediate reaction by the driver that causes the problems as we all know if you react correctly odds are you'll maintain control, but if you panic or don't react correctly, you could find yourself in a lot of hurt.
msmith1199
Explorer II
May 21, 2015
hershey wrote:
If you have ever watched COPS on TV, there is always a high speed chase where stop strips are used to disable the bad guys car. Ever notice that when the tires are blown, the car just keeps on going at a high rate of speed? Just because you lose a tire, doesn't mean that you have to panic, just accelerate a bit and regain the control and slowly come to a stop.

Spike strips used by the police do not "blow" the tires specifically because they don't want the driver to lose control. The spikes are like straws and let the air out slowly so it's not a quick blow out.