TIRE BLOW OUT

[SoCalGalcas]

I just read about the Lady RVer who was reunited with her lost dog. That accident was caused by a tire blowing! There have been several pictures of RV's that have had horrible crashes from this.

Does everyone know that when a tire blows, one is supposed to press on the accelerator to keep the speed of the vehicle up.

This helps one keep control of the vehicle. Then when control is reestablished, one may begin to slow down.

One wants to immediately push the brake, but no, push the accelerator!!!

lyn

[mitch5252]

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Seriously? I never knew that.
I hope it never happens, but if it does, I hope I remember this!

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[Rufflesgurl]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lkwOE1yKY5c

[Pamela]

Michelin has a video on one of their sites about how to handle your RV (or any other vehicle I guess) during a blow out. That is what they said as well. I was looking for TV tires and found their video plus I think they have it posted on You Tube. I'm with you Mitch. Hope it never happens and if it does that I remember to accelerate before slowing down.

[Pamela]

Well duh! The link was the same video but I failed to look at it first.......

[mitch5252]

Well duh! The link was the same video but I failed to look at it first.......

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LOL - I wasn't going to say anything!!!
But we're all on the look-out for each other.

I sent an email to my online friend (George. Weird, huh?) about this (he's real smart and has helped me more than I can ever say with fixing/making things - lots of education from him...anywhere, here is his reply (he wrote this, thinking of my new truck.)

So, some of what is said, literally says to "floor the gas pedal". In something that is modern, and powerful, like your truck, this is going to cause you gain quite a bit of speed pretty quickly, which is not really the desired result. Gaining, or at least maintaining a "little bit of speed, while you gather up control of the situation", is the desired outcome. The correct procedure, would in fact be to give it "some" gas, but just a moderate amount will do the trick ( don't floor it ).....firm two handed grip on the steering, ease off the gas and coast down in speed. You could also expect at some point in the process of getting stopped, you may get some ugly vibrations and tugs in the direction of the side where the tire went flat.....but just maintain your cool, and it won't take it away from you.

This is all mostly related to a flat tire on the tow vehicle. If you have a flat on the trailer, it will generally just feel like it's "pulling slightly back" on you. Just lifting off the gas and getting to the side is about all you have to do. The chances of a catastrophic blowout of the tires on the truck is very, very slim. Passenger tire and LT truck tires usually don't let go like that. Car and truck tires have a very tough "inner liner" and when it get's a puncture, it usually loses air very slowly. that is why it's good to look at and check the inflation of your tires regularly, because if you do get a nail or other small puncture, you will notice the tire going down in pressure, and you catch the problem before it causes the tire to fail completely.

The chances of a catastrophic failure of ST trailer tires is much, much greater. If you ever have one go on the trailer, I can almost guarantee you that by the time you get it stopped at the side of the road, it will be so totally shredded, it will be hard to see that it was ever even a tire.

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[Acadianmom]

The time I had a blowout on the front drivers side tire on my motorhome, I had felt a slight vibration so had taken my foot off the gas. I almost always drive with both hands on the wheel so was able to control it when it blew. The rim hit the road so hard I had to get a new rim.

Martha

[JoanE]

Check your tires for dry rot.

[mitch5252]

Check your tires for dry rot.

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I wouldn't know dry rot if it jumped up and slapped me in the face.
I will now be off to Google Image Search...
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[mitch5252]

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[JoanE]

Mitch, I just had a tire place check my tires. Mine have the barest beginnings of dry rot so are not even close to the image you posted. They said it is not red alert time but for me to keep checking.

[SoCalGalcas]

Hey Mitch, thanks for checking with "George". I too have a 2013 truck so would want to keep the speed up, but not floor it.
I have never had a flat, but want to continue learning everything out in the universe. My kids say that will keep me from getting Alzheimers!!!
Gads, the kids are becoming my parents!!! lyn

[MelissaD]

Most car tires wear out before they age out. RV's tires on the other hand tend to age out before the tread wears out. Many people use an 8 year rule of thumb. They also tend to rot from the inside out.

This might help http://www.discounttire.com/dtcs/infoTireLife.dos

How to read age http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=11

[MelissaD]

In truck driving school we were taught if you blew a steer tire to accelerate to lift the nose of the truck up to aid in steering. Once you had control you could slowly back off the throttle and slow down. Especially on large vehicles when you blow a steer tire the nose will dip and drag you off the road in that direction. Applying "the gas" helps lift the front end back up and helps you control the vehicle.

[Bethers]

Having had a blow out (in this motorhome) I guess I did the right thing instinctively. Me and my dogs came through it unscathed. The worst part was sitting on the side of the interstate near Knoxville, TN in rush hour traffic waiting for the service guy. Oh, worse than that was the terrible service place in Huntsville, AL that did the work caused by the damage. Me, the dogs, Good Sam Roadside Assistance, and my insurance company came through like champs.

Oh, the service guy had a good laugh, cuz I was sitting WAY off the side of the road on the embankment with both dogs - one on each side of me - and told him I could not come near my mh that was rocking and rolling by the trucks whizzing by until he was finished. He did admit he was glad the tire was on the passenger side.