Rite of passage, first blow out

[timboln]

On the return trip from a successful night of motorcycle Flat Track racing at Tarheel Speedway, near Lumberton, NC, I experienced my first blowout, 70 miles from home. Traveling south bound on I-95 near Summerton, SC, the passenger side, inside tire shredded it's tread. Replaying the event in my mind, I recalled that many miles prior to the blow out, encountering a bad spot in the concrete, not really a pot hole, but a spot broken up enough to make the 2001 Four Winds 31C Funmover shudder a bit. It wasn't too long after that, that I thought I could feel a slightly different vibration through the steering wheel. The tire tread shredding apart confirmed my suspicion that it was a different kind of vibration.

Long story short, with it being an inside rear tire, AAA RV roadside assistance was of no use(their policy). However, the company they initially contacted to assist me was outstanding. The rep that called said that AAA's policy of not changing out inside tires on site was ridiculous as they did that regularly. He then offered that even though AAA was of no help, he'd be able to do it as a regular service call. That appeared to be the most expeditious choice, so I gave him my tire info. Fortunately, he had tires in stock and dispatched the service driver to my location. Much to my surprise, he arrived within 15-20 minutes, he told me he would take the wheel back to the shop and mount the new tire and would be back as soon as possible, probably around 45 minutes. He was close to his word and apologetic as he explained he had an emergency delivery of a tow cable to another driver who's cable had snapped and gone through a lady's windshield as he was hoisting it up on the roll back( and I thought I was having a bad day!!!)

15 minutes later, tire mounted, bill settled up, and on my way to a uneventful remainder of the trip home.

Should any of you have the need of road side assistance, I would not hesitate to recommend Taylor Made Towing and Rec LLC. Really high marks for their customer service!!!

It's an adventure, right?

[ol_Bombero-JC]

jerseyjim wrote:
Suggestion: Coach-net.

......or *any* ERS *other than* AAA...:R

.

[pnichols]

I had the same experience ... right in our own back yard at our home.

Our Class C motorhome had a flat inside tire on the dually set on the passenger side. I had been with USAA at least 35 years at that point and they said that their policy was to not service problems on the inside dual tire.

I dropped AAA like a rock and have never looked back. We have had a Premium Coach-Net plan since then that I believe offers the same uniform coverage all over the U.S..

[Jarlaxle]

What size & brand tire, just out of curiosity?

[tpi]

I have Coach Net. One of the pluses of any of the roadside assistance programs, whether there is a charge or not, is at least there's a convenient contact number to get help. Like the OP said, even if AAA didn't help that much under their policy, they got someone out there who could get him going, and possibly one of the better operators in town. Having to pour through a bunch of listings in a place you're not familiar with during an emergency situation is not fun.

[mgirardo]

AAA Website wrote:
AAA Plus RV covers AAA Members for up to 100 miles of towing, changing of a flat tire with the mounted spare

This could be the real reason AAA didn't come to your rescue, you didn't have a mounted spare. I remember a friend of mine with Coach-net had a blowout. He had a tire, not a wheel. Coach-net covered the bulk of the repair, but he had to pay $100 to have the mobile repair swap tires on the wheel.

-Michael

[SDP]

Hey congratulations on the successful night of motorcycle Flat Track racing, sounds cool.

Sorry to hear about the blowout, glad the service call went well 🙂

[TyroneandGladys]

Sam Spade wrote:

TyroneandGladys wrote:
A tad off subject however INMHO for the area you live in if your tires are over years old they need to be replace in the Phoenix area again INMHO the should be changed at years.

How MANY years ??
Not off the subject at all......but worthless without a number. :W

The number I've seen thrown around the most is 5.

OOPS has been edited.

[scbwr]

message deleted! questions had already been answered!

[Sam_Spade]

TyroneandGladys wrote:
A tad off subject however INMHO for the area you live in if your tires are over years old they need to be replace in the Phoenix area again INMHO the should be changed at years.

How MANY years ??
Not off the subject at all......but worthless without a number. :W

The number I've seen thrown around the most is 5.

[timboln]

tinner12002 wrote:
I can't believe you had a flat with an LT tire...I hear on here that people never have any issues with LT tires. Glad everyone was safe.

Wasn't so much as a flat as it was rapid decompression with complete loss of tread, only the side walls and the first inner layers of rubber under the steel cords remained.

I do plan on checking the serial numbers on the rest of the tires to determine age, but that is just out of curiosity as I plan on getting new rubber for the other wheels before my next outing.

With our aging and worn out infrastructure, this event has put a new perspective of "watching the road" regardless of vehicle driven.

Be safe out there folks.

[timboln]

Question for the OP: Do you have AAA for RV's? The last time I looked, there is a separate plan for RVs which is an upgrade from their regular plan for autos.

Yes, AAA Plus for RVs

[TyroneandGladys]

A tad off subject however INMHO for the area you live in if your tires are over four years old they need to be replaced in the Phoenix area again INMHO the should be changed at three years.

[Sam_Spade]

tinner12002 wrote:
I can't believe you had a flat with an LT tire...I hear on here that people never have any issues with LT tires.

That is sarcasm, right ?
Nails are equal opportunity hazards.

[tinner12002]

I can't believe you had a flat with an LT tire...I hear on here that people never have any issues with LT tires. Glad everyone was safe.