Tale of a blow-out

[patodonn]

Cruising up I-95 in N. Carolina. Just had checked the tire pressures and wheel bolt torques a day earlier...all fine. Had the tires balanced a couple of days prior. Temperature was 85, pulling in pretty much level terrain, running at 63 mph. With cruise control engaged, I noticed that the EGT had suddenly increased about 50 degrees for no apparent reason. About that time, a motorist passed us and the passenger gestured at the rig...I had not felt anything unusual, so slowed to about 40, turned on the hazard flashers and found a place to pull over. It happened to also be at an exit located about a half mile from where the motorist had alerted us to the problem. When I pulled over, my wife got out and looked around on her side, I checked the driver's side. Her words were not printable, but were indicative of a significant problem on the passenger side.

The right rear Monty tire had shredded. Amazingly enough, there was no rim damage, even though we had driven a short distance on the shredded tire at high speed, and about a half of a mile at low speed. I did not hear, see or feel anything unusual, except the slight EGT increase.

Very minor sheet metal damage to the horizontal thin metal strip which runs back about 3 feet from just aft of the tire. Lost the verticle wind deflector "plate" just behind the tire, which is attached to that thin sheet metal strip. I filled in that hole with strips of duct tape.

Good news was that there was very minor damage, (except for the tire), and no loss of control. Replaced and shuffled the previously unused spare and two new tires around so as to end up with three "new" tires and the best "old" tires on the axles, and a good spare. Total cost $293 for 2 tires and associated costs, probably $50-$100 to fix the sheet metal/wind deflector damage (to be done later). Not counting waiting time for AAA to show up to change the tire, about 90 minutes total time lost. Could have been a LOT worse!

Hope all this gives some insight as what to expect (or not expect) if a Monty tire goes flat while towing.

Safe travels to all!!

PJ & Nan
3655FL
'99 Dodge Diesel 2500, BD auto trans, pwr chip, Pac brake, Bielsen shocks.

[Bowie]

Glad you are safe and damage minimal. Bet those heart rates were up for a while though. Thanks all for the reminders about our tires. We'll remember to be watchful.

[sreigle]

Glad to hear there was no serious damage, Patodonn. We had a similar situation with our '99 Jayco Eagle. Had to be told there was a problem. Here's what ours looked like:
http://pic3.picturetrail.com/VOL19/1333476/2713010/33020988.jpg

I'm convinced I was running too low pressure in that one and the heat buildup on the hot summer day and long driving distance contributed to the blowout. That was a Goodyear Marathon tire. I now run the max pressure per the sidewall.

--6/17 edited to remove the picture and replace it with a url to the picture. Sorry to those with slow connections, I didn't think the new software would show it inline.

[NJ Hillbilly]

I run all of my tires at max pressure just so there is a little more leeway if they get a little low. Many will say to weigh each axle and adjust the tire pressure to the required amount as per the Manufacturer's loading chart. That will give the best ride but the pressures have to be religously monitored since a drop in pressure will cause problems. The other thing is if You add more stuff or have full holding tanks then trailer weight will vary, that's why I run max pressure all the time.

I didn't really notice much of a difference in the ride of the truck with the tires aired all the way up, I actually like the way it handles since the steering is more positive with a stiff sidewall vs a lower pressure in the front tires.

I feel upgrading my shocks to Rancho 9000 series adjustables made the most improvement in the ride of my truck.

John

[Montana_31]

Properly inflated tires wear better also. Over inflating a tire can cause them to wear out sooner than normal. It depends on the weight carried on that tire. Weighing your rig and tow vehicle each tire individually, hitched and unhitched, will give you that informatiom. RVSEF (Recreation Vehicle Safety Education Foundation) does this for a $40 fee. I had it done while in Florida last winter. I am not affliated with them other than being a customer. Their phone number is (321) 453-7673. It will show if your rig is overloaded, balance side to side, your pin weight, and tow vehicle weight.