Tire Blowout
WARNING...WARNING..WARNING Will Robinson........ Old Tires can and WILL blowout and cause lots of problems and cost lots of money.
I know this topic has been discussed at length, but for anybody new to RV'ing like me, I figured it won't hurt and may help someone else make a decision that could save a lot of heartache down the road.
First and foremost, nobody got hurt. That's whats important to me in this situation. BUT... my wife and I were on the way home from a fantastic first REAL trip/vacation on our coach. 4 days in Myrtle Beach, SC, camping and enjoying meeting new friends, and riding motorcycles at the Fall Harley Rally. Just a great vacation and can't wait to go again.
Then...on the way home, about 4 hours away from home, running about 65mph towing my motorcycle trailer on I-40 westbound......out of nowhere....BAM! The inside rear dual blows and absolutely shreds, slinging rubber all on the road and finally punctured the outside rear dual. I was able to get to the side of the road and then sit while I called Good Sam, only to find out that the membership I had bought two days earlier at Camping World in Myrtle Beach did not include Road Side Assistance., even though we were under the impression that that's what we were buying. Thankfully, the people we talked with at Good Sam were willing to help us anyway and located a mobile tire service to come out and help. The tire technician from Black's Tires in Castle Hayne, NC was top of the line! They were really busy, especially for a Sunday, but made it out OT help us within 2 hours of our initial call to Good Sam. He brought 2 new tires, replaced them and had us on our way within an hour of arriving. I will be dealing with Black's Tires again because of my experience with them on the side of the road.
Now the bad part.....all total, we are into the blowout for about $1,500. INCLUDING the $195 charge for Good Sam to locate and contact the tire service, since we didn't have roadside assistance. Plus, without roadside assistance, we were on the hook for the service charge for Sunday afternoon service. Not sure on tire pricing, since I hadn't priced tires before so I don't know if I got screwed or not, but 2 Goodyear G670 tires were billed at $450 each plus $250 roadside labor and the $195 non-member Good Sam charge, and some $10 and $15 valve stem and disposal charges.......well you get the picture.
Today, I'll be shopping for 4 more tires from a Black's Tire Service nearer to home. The date codes on the existing tires show that they were made in 2004. The people we bought the coach from had just replaced the tires 2 year ago, so apparently the tire place screwed them and put on old tires. Overall, I'm just very thankful it wasn't a front tire that blew, and that we were able to make it home with only a story to tell and our bank account much lighter. We could have been laying in a hospital or worse, in a box......
Moral of the story...CHECK YOUR TIRE DATE CODES!!! REPLACE OLD TIRES!!! Don't think that you can go another trip on old tires, even though they still LOOK good. Too dangerous to risk playing Russian Roulette with old tires.
I know this topic has been discussed at length, but for anybody new to RV'ing like me, I figured it won't hurt and may help someone else make a decision that could save a lot of heartache down the road.
First and foremost, nobody got hurt. That's whats important to me in this situation. BUT... my wife and I were on the way home from a fantastic first REAL trip/vacation on our coach. 4 days in Myrtle Beach, SC, camping and enjoying meeting new friends, and riding motorcycles at the Fall Harley Rally. Just a great vacation and can't wait to go again.
Then...on the way home, about 4 hours away from home, running about 65mph towing my motorcycle trailer on I-40 westbound......out of nowhere....BAM! The inside rear dual blows and absolutely shreds, slinging rubber all on the road and finally punctured the outside rear dual. I was able to get to the side of the road and then sit while I called Good Sam, only to find out that the membership I had bought two days earlier at Camping World in Myrtle Beach did not include Road Side Assistance., even though we were under the impression that that's what we were buying. Thankfully, the people we talked with at Good Sam were willing to help us anyway and located a mobile tire service to come out and help. The tire technician from Black's Tires in Castle Hayne, NC was top of the line! They were really busy, especially for a Sunday, but made it out OT help us within 2 hours of our initial call to Good Sam. He brought 2 new tires, replaced them and had us on our way within an hour of arriving. I will be dealing with Black's Tires again because of my experience with them on the side of the road.
Now the bad part.....all total, we are into the blowout for about $1,500. INCLUDING the $195 charge for Good Sam to locate and contact the tire service, since we didn't have roadside assistance. Plus, without roadside assistance, we were on the hook for the service charge for Sunday afternoon service. Not sure on tire pricing, since I hadn't priced tires before so I don't know if I got screwed or not, but 2 Goodyear G670 tires were billed at $450 each plus $250 roadside labor and the $195 non-member Good Sam charge, and some $10 and $15 valve stem and disposal charges.......well you get the picture.
Today, I'll be shopping for 4 more tires from a Black's Tire Service nearer to home. The date codes on the existing tires show that they were made in 2004. The people we bought the coach from had just replaced the tires 2 year ago, so apparently the tire place screwed them and put on old tires. Overall, I'm just very thankful it wasn't a front tire that blew, and that we were able to make it home with only a story to tell and our bank account much lighter. We could have been laying in a hospital or worse, in a box......
Moral of the story...CHECK YOUR TIRE DATE CODES!!! REPLACE OLD TIRES!!! Don't think that you can go another trip on old tires, even though they still LOOK good. Too dangerous to risk playing Russian Roulette with old tires.
