Blow front tire, what do you do?

[whporwil]

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?

[Blaster_Man]

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]

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]

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]

I would keep the Blue Ox TruCenter centered, steer normally, and come to a stop when safe.

[msmith1199]

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]

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.

[rgatijnet1]

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

[427435]

Horsedoc wrote:
One has to ask this - All those giving advice, how many have had a blow out?

I had a LF tire blow last fall. I was way too busy steering to worry about hitting the accelerator (I had been on CC). What I mean about steering is being very, very, very, careful to not over steer. If I had jerked the steering wheel to the right (the MH had jumped to the left several ft.), it would have likely led to loss of control, a ride into the ditch, or a roll-over.

[7ofus]

I have had a front right blowout on a 33', 20500 GVWR, Ford F53 with 245/70/19.5 tires. While going about 45 mph around a slight curve, I heard a deep sounding gun shot. I honestly thought that the motor had blown. There was no swerve, no jerking of the steering, no odd actions of the MH. As I slowed down to figure out what happened, I noticed that the front steering was "mushy" for lack of a better word. I pulled off of the road and found the blown tire.

My bone stock F53 handled the blowout perfectly. Controlling the blowout was no different than any other time I have pulled over to stop.

I am sure every MH would handle this situation differently, but I believe the main benefit on mine was the 70 series tires being a fairly short sidewall that don't change the rolling radius that much if they go flat.

[Rwake901]

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?

I watched that video many times, very scary! Which is why I ordered a Roadmaster Steering Stabalizier today. Maybe they help maybe they don't, Roadmaster claims they do. I figure it can't hurt!

[IBroadin]

Just took a class on this very subject. DO NOT USE BRAKES. Maintain speed using accelerator until you have your MH under control, then slowly move off the road. By hitting the brakes you cause force to pull MH towards direction of blown tire. This could cause the "worse case scenario" of you flipping the MH.

[Horsedoc]

One has to ask this - All those giving advice, how many have had a blow out?

[JumboJet]

jolooote wrote:
1st Rule...NEVER drive a Class'A' over 65 mph!

You just negated the 500HP DP capabilities.

[rphdiesel]

Jesus take the wheel.

[jolooote]

4th Rule, Don't pay ANY attention to what a CAR does on COPS. LOL