Took the MH on its first trip this year (600 miles round trip). The tires are Goodyear G670 245-70-19.5 that are now 8 years old. Pressure has always been 5-10 psi over needed (I have weighed it and I check pressures every morning). The MH also sets inside a shed when not in use (little UV exposure) The tires also looked fine inside and out (had a tire booted 2 years ago due to picking up a screw).We were headed home on Sunday at 67 mph (on cruise) on I94. The LH front tire exploded, and the MH jumped a couple of feet into the passing lane. I got it straightened out and then tapped the brakes to kick off the cruise. Then moved back into my lane and let it slow down (lots of steering needed throughout this process). When it was slowed down enough moved onto the shoulder.Called our insurance company (Progressive) and they had a couple of guys there in about 40 minutes, and we were on our way again in an hour (glad I had a spare tire even if it was 14 years old). I had considered changing it myself, but I wanted some more flashing lights. I didn't really want to work on the tire without that and without being able to both work and keep an eye on the traffic. We did end up being an hour late for a party!!!Interesting thing was that the guys only had an impact wrench, some sockets, and some air jacks-------no torque wrench for properly setting the lug torque. I gave them mine (set at the right torque) to use. Their air jack was also too tall to fit under the front axle, so I had to block and use the levelers to get the tire off the ground.The good luck (besides having a spare and the right tools) was that there was nobody beside us (or on a 2-lane highway). It was also tricky getting the MH straightened out without losing control-------------it would have been very easy to over-correct.Yes, I know I was pushing the age thing with these tires, but had decided to wait to next year as no long trips were planned this year.Your experience may be different.

Mark, glad it worked out and that you and your family were safe.I think we ALL have seen the 'tire blow-out' video. Did you mash down on the accelerator to maintain control? Or, did the cruise control keep the coach straight enough for you to take control and slow down safely?Did you have anytime to think?MM.

Progressive Insurance has road service?

jerseyjim wrote:Progressive Insurance has road service?They sure do, as part of your insurance policy. You may need to ask for it to make sure it's included, but they have it.

Getting lucky with a safety item is not what I want to do.

Glad you were OK. My MH came with those same Goodyear tires/size and I WAS NOT impressed with them and will not buy GY. I was very surprised once when a front tire blew out as handling was very easy and smooth. But I didn't have the cruise on. Ours did not come with a spare but after being stranded on a Sunday morning and only one local guy having a replacement tire and asking $979.00 for it. We got a spare to carry. That Sunday I ended up taking our toad, driving 1.5 hours north to get a replacement tire for $160, then driving back south 1.5 hours to get back to the MH. The things we go through to relax and have fun.. :)

Blowout, bad and good luck | Good Sam Community

35 Replies

J-Rooster
Explorer
Sep 11, 2014
Dog Trainer wrote:
PortWentworthSam wrote:
Dog Trainer wrote:
PortWentworthSam wrote:
You are very lucky and blessed to come out the other side of this without damage to your m/h, yourselves or others. You seriously need to think about that.

This blow-out could have ended with a horrific crash that could have taken out an entire family leaving a tragic mess behind for others to clean up and live with. Driving with 8 YEAR OLD TIRES just because they look good is irresponsible at best. Especially in a motorhome that outweighs most vehicles on the highway by TONS.

Instead of thinking about "Gettin another year outa these old tires" think about the people you are endangering on the highway and the children you just might kill in a wreck you cause by having dangerous old tires.

I'm sorry to be harsh here. This is a perfect example of people that put their wallet ahead of common sense and safety on the highways.

And where are your facts and figures for the number of people killed and maimed over these blowouts of 8 year old properly cared for and inflated tires ? many tire sites such as Michelin quote 10 years. Please we have enough of these BS non factual posts without this one.

He didn't have Michelin Tires...The OP said he had Goodyear (enough said about that). I didn't quote figures,, I said IF.

Why take a chance on old tires? It's irresponsible, PERIOD. It's called SAFETY first, Wallet second. The OP also stated he had 48,000 miles on those Goodyear Tires.

8 year old tires on a beast of a motor home going 67 MPH is a disaster in the making. If the OP doesn't understand that then maybe he should hang up his keys before he kills someone.

As of now we have no Idea as to what caused the blow out the tires being old I don't think so 48,000 miles not even close. So people come on an give their opinions about how safe an 8 year old tire is I will stand by my original statement before you belittle the OP state your facts not guesses and who made you the judge as to whether the OP should hand up his keys completely out of line . Just a newbie trying to increase his post count.
I ran my first set of Michelin XRV tires 10 years having all the tires broken down off the rim and inspected every year starting with the 6th year of use. My tire guy inspected them and said I'm good to go! How is that irresponsible? Michelin's website never says that you can run a tire for 10 years! They do say if you have a tire that is 10 years old it should be replaced. I'm not referring to the OP, but I read an article on RV tires that said most blow outs on RV 's comes from inter sidewall damage going up and over curbs and running a RV up onto a wood or plastic planks or blocks and not having the complete underside of the tire on the planks or blocks. I see this practice at least once from a RV in every large RV Park that I visited. Lastly the magazine article said low tire pressure causes a lot of blowouts due to it causes high heat build up inside the tire.
427435
Explorer
Sep 11, 2014
Gotago2 wrote:
Glad to hear you all are safe. Last year my wife was not in favor of my spending around $500 for Safe-T-Plus steering assist at a rally. But back in Aug we had a blowout going through Miami on a three lane road doing about 40 MPH. I was in the right lane with cars to my left and a curb to my right. The RF tire blew (sounded like a cannon going off) the MH just kept tracking straight with very little effort from me and I was able to pull into a turning lane before stopping and calling for assistance. Now the DW said next time she sees the salesmen that sold and installed the Safe-T-Plus, she will give him a hug and a thank you.

I don't know why a steering assist would help. The steering wheel didn't turn to the left because of the power steering-------the MH just moved to the left because of the added drag from the flat tire. There was no problem in turning the steering wheel slightly to the right to correct.

If I had been at 40 mph, I doubt that the MH would have moved very much to the left either.
rgatijnet1
Explorer III
Sep 11, 2014
Rodz wrote:
In my case when I backed off the throttle and it never moved and stayed straight. I don't see how flooring it would have done anything.

Good for you. In the OP's case, his vehicle did not stay straight and he drifted a few feet before he got things back in his lane and under control. He did not crash so that is a good thing.
Giving it gas is an instinctive move that has proven to work best for me. Do what you think will work best for you.
Rodz
Explorer
Sep 11, 2014
In my case when I backed off the throttle and it never moved and stayed straight. I don't see how flooring it would have done anything.
rgatijnet1
Explorer III
Sep 11, 2014
Rodz wrote:
Flooring it can work on a race car and it will stop the death wobble on a motorcycle. A motor home won't have enough acceleration to transfer any weight by flooring it.

Flooring it is not meant to transfer any weight. It is meant to PREVENT the transfer of weight caused by lifting your foot from the throttle when you hear the boom.
Rodz
Explorer
Sep 11, 2014
Flooring it can work on a race car and it will stop the death wobble on a motorcycle. A motor home won't have enough acceleration to transfer any weight by flooring it.
rgatijnet1
Explorer III
Sep 11, 2014
Rodz wrote:
You did it the right way. I had a lf blowout at 70 MH pulling a 32' enclosed trailer. I just slowly backed off the throttle and it stayed straight down my lane and I eased off to the shoulder. I'm not convinced you should floor it. When it happens you don't have much time to react. A natural instinct is to back off the gas and keep it under control. There's no way I'm going to floor it.

You are NOT driving a dragster. It is a large motor home and flooring the throttle will have very little affect on the vehicle speed other than to help maintain your directional control. Letting off of the gas will immediately start shifting the weight, much like putting on the brakes. Since most people can't maintain a steady throttle after a loud boom, as you said, their instinct is to lift their foot off of the throttle and start moving towards the brake. This immediately starts shifting weight, which you then have to get back under control. Giving it some gas as soon as you hear the boom gives you time to adjust to the situation and gradually allows you to decelerate while keeping control.
I'm not trying to change anyone's mind about how they would handle an emergency but I know what has worked for me on the highway and on the racetrack. For many people it is too late to change their instinctive reaction anyway.
Rodz
Explorer
Sep 11, 2014
You did it the right way. I had a lf blowout at 70 MH pulling a 32' enclosed trailer. I just slowly backed off the throttle and it stayed straight down my lane and I eased off to the shoulder. I'm not convinced you should floor it. When it happens you don't have much time to react. A natural instinct is to back off the gas and keep it under control. There's no way I'm going to floor it.
past-MIdirector
Explorer
Sep 11, 2014
Just changed 11 year old Goodyears off the rear with 34,000 still solid tires and they had been inspected every year for the last 4 years. reason was the 7 years old on the front were starting to rivet. This time went with 6 load range H Hercules tires. Handling is improved and like the heavier tire. There is enough bad pavement and junk laying on our interstate to blow out hundreds of tires so it's not always the old age.
7ofus
Explorer
Sep 11, 2014
The reason I guessed earlier that it was a sidewall blowout, and then the OP confirmed it, was that I had 3 blowouts of that exact tire. If I still had them they would now be 8 years old. One blew at 2 years, one at 4, and the last one at 7 year and 25,000 miles while sitting in the campground. I owned them from brand new, they were never a pound low on inflation, they were never run over 65 mph (my toad speed limit), and were never overloaded. None had anything in the tread that would suggest they leaked air before they blew. I blew a front right, an inside right rear, and finally an inside left rear.

I firmly believe that Goodyear had a bad run of tires and will not own up to it. All three of my tires had the EXACT same failure - a sidewall blowout about 2 inches in diameter.

To the OP, I am glad you handled the blowout well.