Blowout at 70 mph
We experienced a drivers side front wheel blow out at 70 mph Wednesday going north on US 59 towards Houston after passing a vehicle. The tire blew out about a baseball sized section of sidewall with a report like a gun shot. Some thoughts below.
The tire was a Goodyear 19.5 inch motor home tire that was 5 years old and 35000 miles, rubber looked good. Pressure had been checked the day before by my tire dealer. I had planned to replace all 6 this winter. I had roadside service replace both front tires with there available Michelin.
Most important, I had both hands on the steering wheel and controlling the mh was not that difficult. Normally I pull a toad, and the wheel looked like it rode on the side wall okey for the coast down.
Immediate response was to take foot off accelerator, and check mirrors for other vehicles. I moved to the center of the two north bound lanes slowing down to 35, then exiting right to access lane. Only when I got to 15 or less did wheel wobble start. We traveled about 2000 feet from start to finish and considered ourselves very lucky.
We did the Good Sam call and are pleased with the response. They located a Strouhall tire shop not far away, verified they had the tires and gave us a firm quoted price, did a credit card purchase through Good Sam to release Strouhall to do the work. Most difficult part was coordinating direction, GS person has a different data base than our GPS and street naming/county road numbers came cause uncertainty. Immediately following the work, Good Sam gave us a follow-up call to verify that the work had been done to our satisfaction.
Road side changing of tire rims is a throw back to the days of using tire irons alone. Because of the blown tire, the young man asked that I use the onboard hydraulic jacks to lift the axle enough to get his portable in place. I lifted the front end high enough to change the tires and he simply slid the jack in position. He claimed I saved him an hour of south Texas noon day work with that assistance. Do to roadside installation wheels were not balanced. No vibration or pulling was noticed at highway speeds, but I will have them balanced when the back four are replaced this winter. I tipped the dude 40 bucks for the good experience.
Could have been much worse!! I am out about 300 dollars because I would not shop the cost of replacement on the side of the highway and I was gonna replace them anyway.
peace
The tire was a Goodyear 19.5 inch motor home tire that was 5 years old and 35000 miles, rubber looked good. Pressure had been checked the day before by my tire dealer. I had planned to replace all 6 this winter. I had roadside service replace both front tires with there available Michelin.
Most important, I had both hands on the steering wheel and controlling the mh was not that difficult. Normally I pull a toad, and the wheel looked like it rode on the side wall okey for the coast down.
Immediate response was to take foot off accelerator, and check mirrors for other vehicles. I moved to the center of the two north bound lanes slowing down to 35, then exiting right to access lane. Only when I got to 15 or less did wheel wobble start. We traveled about 2000 feet from start to finish and considered ourselves very lucky.
We did the Good Sam call and are pleased with the response. They located a Strouhall tire shop not far away, verified they had the tires and gave us a firm quoted price, did a credit card purchase through Good Sam to release Strouhall to do the work. Most difficult part was coordinating direction, GS person has a different data base than our GPS and street naming/county road numbers came cause uncertainty. Immediately following the work, Good Sam gave us a follow-up call to verify that the work had been done to our satisfaction.
Road side changing of tire rims is a throw back to the days of using tire irons alone. Because of the blown tire, the young man asked that I use the onboard hydraulic jacks to lift the axle enough to get his portable in place. I lifted the front end high enough to change the tires and he simply slid the jack in position. He claimed I saved him an hour of south Texas noon day work with that assistance. Do to roadside installation wheels were not balanced. No vibration or pulling was noticed at highway speeds, but I will have them balanced when the back four are replaced this winter. I tipped the dude 40 bucks for the good experience.
Could have been much worse!! I am out about 300 dollars because I would not shop the cost of replacement on the side of the highway and I was gonna replace them anyway.
peace
