Speaking of tires and truck campers..........

[BradW]

We had our first truck flat while hauling our camper back in July while driving thru Memphis on our way to Colorado. The tire didn't really go flat, it had a belt separate and it started bouncing/shaking so bad that it was undrivable above about 40.

We made it to the next exit and ended up at a corner convenience store with an empty lot next door. My main concern was whether I had enough room to get the long steel rod into the hole in the rear bumper to crank the spare down. I remember checking that on our first truck, but that was 3 trucks ago. Lucky for us, it did go in......barely. I was glad I didn't have to lift the camper to get the rod in.

We put the spare on and drove on to Amarillo, Tx where we found a new tire the next day.

So, if you haven't actually checked to see if you can crank down your spare with the tc in the bed, you might want to check. If our camper had hung down another 1/2" or the overhang had been 6" longer, we would have had to lift the camper. I definitely would not want to do that on the side of the interstate.

[BradW]

JimK-NY wrote:
If you have a tread separation or other major tire failure, it is essential to identify the cause of the problem. The tires could have insufficient load ratings, low pressure or are just too old. Tire age is a BIG issue that is often overlooked. Regardless of wear, tires need to be replaced at about 7 years or less. Tires need to be used frequently and driven to maintain tire life. Tires that sit for prolonged periods of time will dry rot within a few years.

Yep, that e-rated Michelin tire only had 30k miles, but it was at least 6 years old and did go for weeks sometimes without driving on it. The spare I put on was 12 years old. 🙂

[SidecarFlip]

deserteagle56 wrote:

mkirsch wrote:
How often do you really have flats anymore? It was one thing back in the nylon bias ply tire days when you could run over a Tic-Tac and puncture a tire.

Tires today are much more resilient and reliable. As long as you don't let the tires get too bald or too old, you'll go decades between flats.

You obviously don't drive very many dirt roads!

If I leave my house and drive due south it's 102.5 miles till I get to the first pavement. True, there aren't as many tire carcasses (ruined by being driven while flat) laying alongside the road as there were 20 years ago, but there are still a few!

and I thought I lived in the sticks....lol

I get to do 1.5 miles on dirt (limestone gravel, sand and mud depending on the weather to get to the pavement. Then there is the beer cans and bottles and assorted cat parts that drop off local cars and trucks because they drive at warp speed on the dirt roads around here....

Funny story. The people across the road have been through at least 6 vehicles to my one because they have one speed... balls out. Unpaved roads ruin vehicles. They get sandblasted underneath and the mud grinds into everything. I never go over 15 mph on the dirt. I see 'em coming, I pull over and let 'em pass. Not in that big of a hurry anyway.

[Bedlam]

A TrailerAid will work, but all you really need is 2x4 block of wood.

[TxGearhead]

Anybody with a dually ever use a TrailerAid Plus for a flat on the outside tire?

[jimh406]

There are defective regular and run flats out there, but the run flats ride awful compared to normal tires. Unfortunately, the wife's car has them. Not a bad idea, but not a great one either.

You shouldn't get that many flats with good truck tires on dirt. I'm sure overloaded ones can fail anywhere. Cutting a sidewall with sharp volcanic rocks is a different problem entirely.

[wq93]

To do that sort of damage to a ZP tire it was either severely damaged in the original event causing loss of air (i.e. major hit to a pothole and cut the sidewall) or it was run more than just a few miles at moderate speed.

ZP tires require the car to have a TPMS system and once the warning goes off you do have to reduce speed. I own a 2016 Corvette Z06 with zero pressure capable tires and although I have never had a flat many people have and I have yet to see a report of one shredding like that picture. The only question is whether they have been run hard enough without air pressure that they should be replaced and it is quite possible that failed tire in the photo has been flat more than once and was abused while flat.

When the low pressure warning is tripped car speed should be limited to 50 MPH and not driven over 50 miles. Also once air pressure is lost the tire is far more susceptible to damage from road hazards so avoiding potholes is more important than ever.

The biggest complaint I have seen about runflat tires is they compromise ride quality because of their construction that is needed to support the vehicle when tire pressure is lost. Any tire can disintegrate but that is much more likely to happen with a regular tire once pressure is lost, something people towing trailers experience all too often if they ignore the change in characteristics of their towed load and run the tire to the point of catastrophic failure.

[Kayteg1]

Grit dog wrote:

Kayteg1 wrote:

wq93 wrote:


I used to complain about the runflat tires on my 2014 Cadillac ATS and 2016 Corvette Z06 but now I am happy to have them and when my daughter is old enough to drive her first car will definitely be runflat equipped.

On other forum owner of expensive car reported that runflat tires, after driving very short distance separated the "gator" and cost 6-digits damage to car body.

Lol. Love the Internet! Over $100kmdamage from a tire separation? I guess if you include rolling a GT3 over a cliff at 100mph on a flat tire or something! I'm sure there's a nice story behind that......

Sorry, slap of the keyboard as that was only 5-digits damage.
Can't find the original topic, but here is picture of runflat driven flat for short distance.

[deserteagle56]

mkirsch wrote:
How often do you really have flats anymore? It was one thing back in the nylon bias ply tire days when you could run over a Tic-Tac and puncture a tire.

Tires today are much more resilient and reliable. As long as you don't let the tires get too bald or too old, you'll go decades between flats.

You obviously don't drive very many dirt roads!

If I leave my house and drive due south it's 102.5 miles till I get to the first pavement. True, there aren't as many tire carcasses (ruined by being driven while flat) laying alongside the road as there were 20 years ago, but there are still a few!

[SidecarFlip]

My OEM jack might pick up a fat lady but thats about it. I carry in my tool basket, a 10 ton hydraulic bottle jack, appropriate socket for my lug nuts extension and breaker bar and other assorted tools. Still a biatch to change.

[JimK-NY]

I am a big fan of AAA tow insurance. Changing a tire on a TC can be difficult even under good conditions. Access to the spare is only one issue. I found my OEM jack was all but useless when dealing with the weight of a TC.

If you have a tread separation or other major tire failure, it is essential to identify the cause of the problem. The tires could have insufficient load ratings, low pressure or are just too old. Tire age is a BIG issue that is often overlooked. Regardless of wear, tires need to be replaced at about 7 years or less. Tires need to be used frequently and driven to maintain tire life. Tires that sit for prolonged periods of time will dry rot within a few years. I had a new spare, a premium Michelin tire, that had always been stored out of sunlight under the bed of my PU truck. I was dry rotted beyond use after only 4 years.

[Bedlam]

My boss has run flats on his car - He has had tire damage where he had to be towed since there is no spare.

[SidecarFlip]

I like owning an ancient pickup truck for a couple reasons, one is of course no payment but another is no TPMS in the valve stems so I can change out my tubba stems for metal, no issue. With in stem transponders, you cannot.

I had a Caddy with run flats as well but never got a flat to tun on (that I know of at least). Slime is cheaper anyway.

[Grit_dog]

Kayteg1 wrote:

wq93 wrote:


I used to complain about the runflat tires on my 2014 Cadillac ATS and 2016 Corvette Z06 but now I am happy to have them and when my daughter is old enough to drive her first car will definitely be runflat equipped.

On other forum owner of expensive car reported that runflat tires, after driving very short distance separated the "gator" and cost 6-digits damage to car body.

Lol. Love the Internet! Over $100kmdamage from a tire separation? I guess if you include rolling a GT3 over a cliff at 100mph on a flat tire or something! I'm sure there's a nice story behind that......

[Kayteg1]

wq93 wrote:


I used to complain about the runflat tires on my 2014 Cadillac ATS and 2016 Corvette Z06 but now I am happy to have them and when my daughter is old enough to drive her first car will definitely be runflat equipped.

On other forum owner of expensive car reported that runflat tires, after driving very short distance separated the "gator" and cost 6-digits damage to car body.