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Old 02-12-2008, 11:51 AM   #1
David and Jo-Anna
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Mission Tire Failure Damages Rig

After all the negative things we had heard about the Mission tires, we had decided to replace them sometime this spring before we head to Alaska this summer. BIG MISTAKE - we waited too long.

On our way from Organ Pipe Cactus National Park (which, by the way, we thought was lovely), one of the mission tires self distructed. The good news is that it "only" lost the tread and I was able to stop our Big Sky before the tire blew. The bad news is that the tread rubber managed to bang the heck out of all the sheet metal in the vacinity as well as wacking the gel goat above it.

We are still within our OEM warranty and my question is whether we can get Keystone to repair the damage under the warranty or whether I have to contact TireCo and try to have them fix the Big Sky as well as pay for the tire, under the tire warranty. I sure hope the answer is that I can work with Keystone after all the stories I've heard about how difficult it is to get satisfaction from TireCo.

At least we now have the answer to what we're going to be doing with our "spare time" over the next several weeks. One thing that is going to happen almost immediately is that the mission tires are coming off the rig as soon as I can figure out what replacement tire I can find here in Tucson.

We are now back on the road again after waiting 4 1/2 hours for Good
Sam to get road service to us even though we were only 10 miles from Tucson when disaster hit. But I'll address that in a subsequent thread.

We join the legions on the forum who are running away from the missions as fast as possible.
 
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Old 02-12-2008, 12:46 PM   #2
bsmeaton
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I am sorry to hear that David. Bad enough getting a blow out, but damage on your new rig .

I'm still working towards the Goodyear "made in USA" G-rated. I haven't found out if the wheels will take it, but they can be replaced as well.

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Old 02-12-2008, 12:51 PM   #3
bigmurf
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Another good reason for a tire pressure monitoring system.
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Old 02-12-2008, 01:46 PM   #4
HamRad
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Tire pressure monitoring is a good idea but not sure it would have helped with just the tread coming off. Since I don't have a system I have no practical experience. Maybe if the system had a temperature sensor it would alert you to the tread problem. Perhaps someone who actually has the system can tell us.

I suspect that sometimes there is simply no system that would alert you to a problem. Sometime "stuff" just happens.

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Old 02-12-2008, 01:49 PM   #5
stiles watson
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Since I have experienced tire failure (4), you have my deepest empathy. Two of mine also resulted in damage to the coach, one on each side. I was in the process of getting the 2003 Big Sky repaired when we traded for the 2008 model.

As far as a warranty issue, I am not sure about that. Since you were in transit, I believe you insurance carrier is the coverage that is related to the damage to your coach. I think it is covered as a collision.

The tire itself should be covered under your tire warranty. If you pursue recourse from the tire supplier, be sure to keep the old tire. More than likely they will want you to mail it to them for examination. Without it, you have no proof of your claim about its failure.

Hope you can get things settled to your satisfaction and get you beautiful Big Sky restored to its former luster.
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Old 02-12-2008, 02:05 PM   #6
8.1al
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David,
Try Discount Tire in Tucson. We have had very good luck with them all over the country
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Old 02-12-2008, 02:08 PM   #7
Steve and Brenda
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We feel your pain, same thing happened to us. Tireco sent us 5 new tires - Firestars - but did not pay for the coach repairs. Our insurance paid for the repair and is taking Tireco on for restitution. Our tire blew with 3000 miles of wear, half the wear was from delivery from Goshen to Texas. We're just weekenders but before we make a long trip we're certainly going to have a TMP in the truck!!!
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Old 02-12-2008, 02:09 PM   #8
Fire5er
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Dave,
Interested if you had checked the tire pressure prior to departure and how far you had traveled before the failure. The reason I ask is that we are debating on getting the tire pressure monitoring system with the temperature sensor or not. If you had checked the pressure and they were ok prior to departure and didn’t travel very far then I am not so sure the pressure monitoring system is the way to go because it would not have been of any use in your situation.
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Old 02-12-2008, 03:23 PM   #9
exav8tr
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David and Joanna, Sorry about your problems with you tires and coach. I have the Pressure Pro Tire Monitoring system. THEY DO NOT WORK OFF OF HEAT. If the tire still had 80 lbs in it the system would not sound. I had problems with two of my tires and Tireco authorized 4 new tires for my Trailer. I bought Les Schwab Towmax X 4. Tireco picked up five tires from Les Schwab and paid me for 4 of them. Fortunately they did not shred, just blew out. It did take awhile but they did pay. I had no damage to my coach so I can't, and won't, speak to repairing the coach. Hope you get a quick resolution and see you in Tucson next week, Ifn you're still there.......
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Old 02-12-2008, 06:43 PM   #10
David and Jo-Anna
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Sorry if my earlier post was incomplete--I was both drained and upset when we put out that post as we went down the highway.

The tire lost it's tread, but I got the rig stopped before the steel belts went, so that I did not lose any air pressure. So it sounds like the tire pressure monitor system would not have alerted me. I was/am using the Accu-pressure caps on the tires, and the cap was showing green (80 psi) both in the morning when we started off and after the tire shreaded--indeed, I had Jo take a good picture of the shreaded tire with the pressure cap still showing green just in case anyone was going to claim that the tire went because the pressure was low. I had probably driven about 100 miles when the tire went. I was traveling in the 55-65 mph range most of the time as I was following several RVs in front of me.

Interestingly, the tire that shreaded was on the front axle and had been showing good tread prior to the accident, unlike the tires on the rear axle that were showing some uneven tread wear. So of the four Mission tires I have been driving on, two show uneven wear, and the third just shreaded. So only one out of four is still holding up--for now.

Don't hear anyone saying that Keystone is likely to step up and deal with the damage to my rig. Ouch. Can't imagine Tireco stepping up and paying for anything other than the tires, at most. Also wonder if I'm going to have to get replacement parts (sheet metal siding and supports) from Keystone or whether someone can readily fabricate replacements. If it has to come from Keystone, I might be waiting a long time to see those parts.
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Old 02-13-2008, 12:01 AM   #11
SlickWillie
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You guys are scaring me. We're still sitting on the Missions. Wish y'all would all file a report with the NHTSA. Perhaps they would recall the Missions, and the Chinese kids could have more tire swings. Just glad it wasn't worse than it was though. Good luck!
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Old 02-13-2008, 01:17 AM   #12
stiles watson
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David, are you saying that you are self insured on the Montana? If not, then your insurance carrier should cover the body damage on the rig. They will then help you try to get the tire supplier to cover your/their loss.

The lower panels for the rig come in 14' lengths from Keystone and the shipping is a bear. The tab on my 2003 for repair and painting was around $2500 for each side. My deductible was $200 for each incident. I didn't deliver the rig for repairs until the panels arrived. A large Montana dealer just may have those panels in stock.
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Old 02-13-2008, 02:19 AM   #13
Waynem
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I'm with Will! I'm still on Mission also. I have a 4 year tire warranty, but what good does that do if their is damage to my beautiful Hanna.

Scary!!
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Old 02-13-2008, 02:31 AM   #14
8.1al
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Low pressure isn't the only cause of tread seperation. Your typical tire is four ply. 2 plies go from one edge across to the other. The next 2 plies are laid in the tread area. When this type of tire is used on a tandem axle trailer the tight turns literally rip the top plies loose. Goodyears fix for this was to add a 5th ply over the other 4 that also goes edge to edge and helps keep everything in place.
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Old 02-13-2008, 03:49 AM   #15
Ozz
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Stop and stay at the Montana dealer in Tucson, great food, super dealer. Baudry. They will help you in all matters.
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Old 02-13-2008, 03:54 AM   #16
mgdg
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Well I`m just glad you both are OK, that is the main thing. It could have been worse. When you get the new tires get them balanced and the axles aligned. I truly think that this is the main reason we have had premature tire wear with our rigs. I check them all before I leave the driveway for inflation and all the suspension componants with a thourough visual inspection. Your mishap is one of my biggest fears, but since I put on the new Dunlops and did the align and balance I have virtually no wear on them since April 05.
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Old 02-13-2008, 04:35 AM   #17
bsmeaton
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At least to me, this seems to be too common of an occurance to relate back to preventative maintenance (alignment, pressure, balance). I have really abused tires on my truck and car, even my boat trailer, and I have never had a tread separation or blowout for no reason. In fact, I just replaced the Goodyear Marathons on the boat trailer last year after 12 years of service. There was nothing wrong with them, I just figured I was pushing my luck.

I realize these montys are heavy dudes, so once something starts to fail, it rapidly deteriorates, but I still think root cause is focused on substandard manufacturer process and materials.
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Old 02-13-2008, 06:51 AM   #18
mgdg
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Brad I agree with that assessment also, that RV Manufacturerers are using inferior tire products. In every major industry the cheapest bidder gets the contract and we`ll deal with warranty and law suits as they happen. Even all Car manufacturerers from around the world are using the cheapest parts from around the world. Alot of the parts from these small factories are used by GM, Ford, Chrysler, Asian, and European Car makers. We use to get dunnage from part manufacturerers with Property of GM or Toyota stamped on it. They may make the same starter for all Carmakers. Although they do use quaility tire makers, I just wish the RV industry would too.
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Old 02-13-2008, 09:53 AM   #19
exav8tr
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i think the RV manufacturers are very similar to Vegas odds makers. Some time ago, someone, richfaa maybe, posted statistics in regards to how often these rigs get used. I may be wrong (Who me?), but I recall the figures being very low. It appears the manuf know these figures and are simply "playing the odds". Of course it is the long time or full time user that gets caught with their tires down, so to speak. As Rich has said many times before, these rigs are made to recreate and not be a full time dwelling. For those of us who choose to RECREATE on a full time basis, we had better be ready to pour mmore money into them to make them a full time dwelling. This should not be the case, but, unfortunately, it is.

As always, this post is my opinion only.

David and Joanna, I now wish that I had been more adamant about changing the Missions out that night we sat in your Big Sky at the big Q. PERHAPS OTHERS SHOULD TAKE HEED!!!!!!!
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Old 02-13-2008, 11:53 AM   #20
Annem
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We also had two tire failures this year on our way to Alaska, which I have mentioned before on the forum, One blew and torn up everything in it's path, took out the fender, tore up the underside, busted a shock, bent the axle, called Keystone and they gave us Tireco and spoke to Albert, very nice guy, we had to get two estimates and shipped the tires back to him, took only about six weeks and got a check for the full amount. They paid for all the damage the tires did to the trailer
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