The Tire Monster got me

[GregN]

After missing the Spring rally, I was able to finish off the last part of that trip. Rolling down the road, a car pulls up along side of way, honking their horn, I roll down the window, they yell "YOUR TIRE". Through your mind, there goes my day, how much damage and getting off the road.
This was at 1:45pm.

I was able to get off the road, into a nice neighborhood, got out and started to check the tires. BAM, there it is, passenger side rear tire. It looked like spaghetti stung across the rim. Damage to the metal skirting and the plastic skirting, black marks from the tire. So it was not too bad.

Well after several calls to find someone to fix it, it was Good Sam Roadside who won. AAA first guy out, his jack could not handle the weight. Would have to call big rig service, no ETA. Call tire shop where I had bought the tires, they could do it but not until after 6pm, as they were busy, it is now 2:30 pm. Call Good Sam, they had a faster ETA. But by the time I got to them, it was going to be a hour and a half ETA. Plus I think from the front tire taking the load, before I call GS, I could see a crack in the side wall. So GS brought out two new tires and replaced them right there.

So GS got me back up and running, I was back on the road at 6pm. Lucky I was in a nice place, I had shade from the RV, not too hot and a breeze. Pull out a camp chair and waited.

In 15 years of pulling TT and the fiver, this was my first tire problem. So I guess, the powers to be, thought I dodged the bullet long enough, made me pay up today. TPM here I come. Got arrangements made to get the other side done. I thought the tires had not been on that long, but the paperwork proved me wrong. So new tires, all around. To the dealer to get the damage fixed after the trip. What a fun day...…..Sorry for the long post. It was a long day.

[mtlakejim]

Glad your ok!!

[DQDick]

Glad you had a safe place to pull off. TST, wouldn't be without it.

[BB_TX]

I am guessing you do not have a TPMS. If the tire was destroyed due to running on a low tire, a TPMS could have saved you a lot of trouble. Maybe driving to a tire store before it went completely flat, not only saving the tire but also damage to the RV.

If the tire actually had an instantaneous blowout, at least you could have pulled over as soon as it happened, possibly avoiding some of the damage.

[jeffba]

With your tires being old, are you going to replace the spare also? Nice you had a cool spot to wait and were safe.

[Carl n Susan]

Greg: that sucks big time! But it could be worse as I found out. Check out the Sailun G637's for replacements. That is what I (and many others) have installed.

[1retired06]

Good to hear Good Sam came thru. Very responsive the one time we needed them. Hope any damage to the rig was minor.

[MARK A]

I would have used the level up jacks. They lift the tires off the ground if need be to level things, I can’t see the difference using it to change a tire. Glad you got back on the road with minimal damage.

Mark

[Dave W]

Sounds like you had a less then fun day.



It amazes me that AAA would say that they don't have a jack. All that any jack will need to do is lift one wheel off of the ground at a time and that would be less then yje weight of a diesel powered pickup front end..



(Mark, I doubt that an '06 Montana has self leveling)

[MARK A]

Ya, probably not. Guess I missed the year.

Mark

[DarMar]

All in, things could have been worse. Hopefully the damage is limited and glad to hear that Good Sam came thru.

You won't be sorry for purchasing a TPMS.

[N2BchMtnMrsh]

Been there, done that, as have most of us on here. Unfortunately, I had both sides go out, on the same trip, with less than 10,000 miles on the Factory Tires, 'china bombs!' My new Goodyears ROCK!!!

[mhs4771]

Thanks to this Forum, I learned about the China Bombs and upgraded the tires on our Monty before we had too many miles or a blow-out.

[Jcroome]

Blew a tire on 2 different occasions, two hundred miles apart, 2 different sides, thousands of $ damage each side. No good Firestone original tires, 3,000 miles total on both tires. I purchased new tires all around and purchased monitors. I feel much better now.

[Tidwood]

We can relate, Greg. I have no idea how, but I missed the "replace tires every 5 to 7years" Memo. Heading home from Nebraska to Los Angeles we stopped for the night in Garden City Kansas. As I put the x-chock between the tires on the passenger side I saw the nail. Next morning, Sunday, we called AAA and after about 1/2 hour they found someone in Oklahoma. Remember it is Sunday in the mid-west. As I walked around to get the tool to lower the spare I saw the left rear of my 2017 Ram is flat and the nail is in the dreaded (no warranty or pro-rating) outer tread band. The AAA man changed the tires and we left on our spares, hoping to get to Tucumcari, New Mexico and overnight at the Pilot/Flying J, then get tires on Monday. 27 miles south of Dalhart, Texas the passenger rear tire exploded on the fiver. Pulled over, call AAA again and explain we did not have a spare. AAA guy said he'd bring one and change it if needed. When he looked at the now spare with a nail in it, it was still holding air at 48lbs. He put in on, pumped it to 80 and said to follow him and if it failed he'd change it. Long story short, replaced the tires in Tucumcari and made it home. Very expensive trip, but no damage around where tire blew, so as good as it could be.

[MaxwellD]

Originally Posted by MARK A

I would have used the level up jacks. They lift the tires off the ground if need be to level things, I can’t see the difference using it to change a tire. Glad you got back on the road with minimal damage.

Mark

We had a very similar experience on our first 5th wheel TT. Guy pulls up along side and honks pointing to the rear of the TT. Got off I20 pretty quick withing seconds and tire was shredded like Greg´s. After untorquing the lug nuts, We pulled forward on some leveling blocks to get the tire off the ground to change it. THat works pretty well too.

Now I have TPMS and new Saliuns on the Montana. We were lucky to have caught the blowout as quick as we did. We placed all four tires on that rig during that trip which made the trip expensive. TRaded that rig on a 2018 MOntana when we reached our destination and the dealer gave us credit for the brand new tires on the old rig. We still lost money , but at least not as bad.

[phillyg]

Sounds good. One thing, how is it that a AAA driver shows up with inadequate equipment? I mean, why bother.

[richfaa]

When you call a road service you need to tell them what you are driving. Example. We are a 5th wheel RV GVW of 16K and 40 feet long. They may well think you are a VW.

[CVNCheng]

My old trailer had AAA roadside assistance. They were pretty worthless. Said they'd tow the trailer someplace but wouldn't help with tires.
Switched to Progressive when I bought my Montana. Had two tires (same axle) go within 20 minutes of each other. Changed the first one when it happened but of course, had no spare when the second one blew. Progressive was useless as well. Sunday afternoon the offered to drag the trailer to a storage facility and leave me on my own from there.

I found a Firestone shop who had a tire to fit the rim but not up to the weight. It did get me off the road to a campground for the night from where I was able to locate a fella with 5 G-rated tires in the morning.

Good Sam brought tires out? May have to look into switching.

[jchw]

You should let them (AAA, GS, etc.) what you have, and that they have to jack on the frame of the fiver, not on the axle. I don't know how many times I've had to have the axles realigned because when I wasn't looking, the "tire shop" did a quick jack on the axle, not on the frame.