Question Rettroband - are they worth it?

[sheridany]

What I was told is yes. Same pressures based on tire and four corner weights.

 

[Neal]

Newmar Owners Group on Facebook shows a video posted today where the retroband failed in the tire causing the tire to fail. There was no blowout, this was a 100% retroband failure within the tire.

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[sheridany]

@Neal I am not on FB is it possible to copy the excerpt of the incident from FB?

 

[Neal]

Here is the video: click here

Here is the pic posted of the retroband failure:

 

[TJ&LadyDi]

As ugly as it was, at least it wasn't catastrophic. Looks like the driver easily maintained control while bringing the coach to a safe stop. That said, I am not a particular fan of Retrobands.

TJ

 

[MapNerd]

Hope they make the driver whole and give him something for the trouble.

 

[VTPete]

I bought Tyron with my new rig and I now consider it a dumb move. I was an easy mark for the guy in Finance. It will not happen next time. I guess they are peace of mind but the odds seem minuscule. Seems these blow outs occur but rarely.

 

[redbaron]

I won't buy these for my rv.

I also do not dive with a spare air, which is good for emergency. The reason is the same. The devices are there for worst case scenario. Proper training, inspection, and equipment maintenance will negate the need for either of the devices.

My steer tires are checked prior to every drive and at every fuel stop. I keep them pressured properly, and replace at 5 years.

My tag and drive tires will see 6-7 years of service.

When diving, I always have a buddy. Thats my emergency plan.

 

[Neal]

Again, wasn’t a blowout. He also said comfort drive was amazing in this event. Essentially he had a giant lump in the tire and pulled over.

 

[Neal]

Follow-up for those not on Facebook to read the dialog:

• Cause seems to be 3rd party installers and not following instructions such as using an impact driver and causing hairline cracks. As these look they are plastic and subject to this which makes me wonder how they will hold up to the heat cycles
• Brett from NIRVC as expected is on it and handling it as expected replacing the affected's front tires and reaching out to all those had 3rd party installs done

To me, these things are supposed to give you peace of mind, now you have to worry about your tire and the safety device within. Proper tire care, inflation, inspections cannot be understated and replacing your critical tires at the proper intervals or better. Being cheap will cost you more in the end.

Does anyone know if the trucker industry goes through this offering things like this for tires? Or is the continued theme of preying on the retired and marketing out of fear?

 

[Neal]

Just read on Facebook this guy had another failure and he’s having NIRVC remove them.

 

[sheridany]

@Neal would you mind posting the contents of the FB post. I am not on FB.

 

[Neal]

@Neal would you mind posting the contents of the FB post. I am not on FB.

I'm not a fan of copying content from a private group but the gist is:

1. It failed again (not sure which side)
2. Possibly an issue with the larger 365 tire
3. Speak of a newer version of Retrobands coming out

My opinion:

1. Michelin didn't make tires to have crap stuffed inside them
2. They can get very hot, we know of external temps, what are internal temps? What if the retrobands are spinning internally and building up even more heat?
3. Retrobands are plastic, can they handle the stresses and temps? Doesn't seem so
4. NIRVC bought into a very risky situation potentially a fraud of a product. Very unfortunate, could have high liability consequences

Concept sounded great, execution is a major problem.

 

[MapNerd]

I’d be more interested in knowing the failure rate before I wrote them off completely.

The first incident iirc was from a third party improperly installing them. Hard to blame NIRVC for that. ReadTheDocs!

Don’t really know the details of this one yet. Could be a similar issue. Could be a design flaw. Reserve judgement.

I basically see it as this is a new product on the market that not many people are familiar with it. Of course there are going to be problems. What matters is how they handle the problems that arise and whether or not the hits keep coming or things settle down after a few inconveniences.

I would love to see the first roadsidetire change with one of these things on when the mechanic opens up the tire to find a giant LEGO block. That’s going to be a priceless expression I’m sure.

 

[Neal]

Word from Facebook post is NIRVC is suspending all sales and installations of Retrobands until further notice. The bolts are separating internally.