blowouts

Interesting thread. I have had one blowout. My rig was only two years old, the tires had about 12,900 miles on them. Right front blew a 1 inch diameter hole in the sidewall. All other tires still in use and showing no adverse signs @ 25,000 miles. I have weighed the rig and I follow the tire mfg's pressure recommendations. I have quite a number of vehicles in service and blow outs, flats for that matter are a rarity. Pay just a little attention to your tires and they'll reward you.

bidhounds wrote:
Thanks for the info! The tires were goodyear 245 70r/19.5 the blowouts were both on the inside wall

When were they made?

Here's a how-to on reading the date code:

Thanks for the info! The tires were goodyear 245 70r/19.5 the blowouts were both on the inside wall

Having retired from the tire industry after 40 years, experiencing virtually every tire situation imaginable, I will give you my simple, clear view on tire blowout problems.

More tires blow out due to poor workmanship than age. That poor workmanship may not show up for a year or so after tire is in service.
'Passin' Thru''s message above says it best: 4.4 million miles without a blowout.

In fact I am very opposed to scrapping tires systematically at 6 or 7 years; certainly after they are 10 years old, but conditions vary over the USA and one age rule does not apply to all conditions and maintenance situations.

Begin with the best tire you can afford, maintain air pressure as per THE TIRE MANUFACTURER'S guide (not necessarily the RV manufacturer).
Tire manufacturer wants you to get the best service from the tires, the RV manufacturer leans toward giving you the best ride.

Carefully check tread and sidewalls at least before every RV season, and after you have hit an object in the road. Cuts or bulges is what you are mainly looking for. Of course severe weather checking should also be considered a potential problem.

My opinions based on much, much practical experience.

Best practise is to learn how to read the date codes stamped in the side of the tier. Your risk increases greatly after 7 years.
Bill

bidhounds wrote:
Tread seems good still and when I bought the rig it only had 20000 miles so figured tires were fine...Maybe not...

The tread is not an indicator of tire condition. The dates are the first thing to look at. If you don't know how the tires were treated, get new tires ASAP, especially, if they are close to 7 yrs. old. You just never know how the previous owner treated the tires, maybe the previous owner ran over several curbs and didn't keep the correct pressure in the tire.

So far, we have never had a blowout. I've known the tires since new and check the pressure BEFORE every departure. I know a nail could change that but so far, my procedure has kept us safe and no blowouts.

MM.

There is also the possibility you have a 2006 chassis on a 2007 coach. The tires could be as old as 9 years old. Tread and mileage mean nothing on an RV. Very few of us actually wear out a tire. They just get old from sitting, sun, and ozone n the air. Now that you know don't let the same th9ng happen again.

bidhounds wrote:
Tread seems good still and when I bought the rig it only had 20000 miles so figured tires were fine...Maybe not...

RV tires typically age out rather than wear out. Sitting still is one of the worst things for tire life, since the oils that keep the rubber supple need motion to bring them to the surface.

Tread seems good still and when I bought the rig it only had 20000 miles so figured tires were fine...Maybe not...

We had our first blowout ever on our trip north from Florida at the end of March. Our tires were 6 and 7 years old and we were planning to replace them this year anyway. The blowout occurred on I-95 at 65 mph near Brunswick, GA, but weight, inflation, or even age, had nothing to do with it. A truck hauling a utility trailer filled with assorted scrap metal lost part of its load when a side board failed, and we caught some of the shrapnel. One tire blew immediately, and when I pulled off the road, I found another tire was badly cut, but still holding air. We were fortunate, since it was a Sunday afternoon, that a friendly tow truck driver stopped while I was putting on the spare, rather than wait for an ERS contractor, to see if we needed any help. I asked him if he knew of any tire shops that were open. After giving him the tire size, he made a couple of calls and found a Tire Kingdom shop in Brunswick that was not only open, but had the tires we needed in stock. About an hour later, we were back on the road with two new tires installed. I do have some relatively minor body damage to deal with yet, but all in all, it was not the horrible experience it could have been. This past week we had the remaining four tires replaced with matching tires, although we did have to drive 150 miles from our upstate NY cottage to the nearest dealer in Vermont to get them put on. Spending a few days at a nearby campground made a fun trip out of it though.