Steer Tire Blowout

[jagpot]

Curious of brand and age of tire….

Michelin tires six years old

 

[Richpatty]

Michelin tires six years old

We were at about 7 when we found the bubble in my tire, so I guess 6-7 years is about the limit regardless of mileage.

I have been a Michelin fan for years, and am still for my car, but am happy with the Toyos I have now. Will see what the next 6-7 years go.
Thanks.

 

[jagpot]

That is quite a story. We also had a blowout yesterday. Drivers side tag. It also took out both radiators and damaged the fender well. Waited 6 hours for tow on a bridge. Dangerous situation. We don’t have coach net. We have AAA RV plus which did the same thing and we’re negotiating price. Ended up being towed to a freightliner in Missoula where we sit. Have already shelled out $2100 and that’s just for the tow. Probably are going to have to have radiators ordered. Good news is we’re OK.hope you recover soon.

 

[jagpot]

Update: let me just start off by saying that I state Freightliner in Missoula is never where you want to be. Their shop was not very busy, but they were in no hurry to fix the situation. I found a radiator shop while they were twiddling their fingers. I had them take out the radiator and we took it to the shop where they determined they could fix it enough for me to get home. After three days, I state put it back on and it sat waiting for an AC condenser to arrive from Spartan. While it sat no one tested the radiator until the condenser came in then they found a small leak in the radiator and didn’t want to put the condenser on until they had put a glass sealer over that which had to dry for 24 hours , they did that twice. That couldn’t have been done while waiting for the part is beyond me. There is no communication in the service department. We had to call each day to see what was going on after 12 days in a hotel. I had had enough and said we are coming over and getting the coach you’ve got till 5 o’clock and it better be ready. The bill was $6000. For what? They took out the radiator. They put the radiator back in and put the AC condenser on sprayed the leaks twice with a glass spray. Other than that the coach sat in their bay for seven days without any work. I was really taken to the cleaners but what can you do?

 

[Rich W.]

Update: let me just start off by saying that I state Freightliner in Missoula is never where you want to be. Their shop was not very busy, but they were in no hurry to fix the situation. I found a radiator shop while they were twiddling their fingers. I had them take out the radiator and we took it to the shop where they determined they could fix it enough for me to get home. After three days, I state put it back on and it sat waiting for an AC condenser to arrive from Spartan. While it sat no one tested the radiator until the condenser came in then they found a small leak in the radiator and didn’t want to put the condenser on until they had put a glass sealer over that which had to dry for 24 hours , they did that twice. That couldn’t have been done while waiting for the part is beyond me. There is no communication in the service department. We had to call each day to see what was going on after 12 days in a hotel. I had had enough and said we are coming over and getting the coach you’ve got till 5 o’clock and it better be ready. The bill was $6000. For what? They took out the radiator. They put the radiator back in and put the AC condenser on sprayed the leaks twice with a glass spray. Other than that the coach sat in their bay for seven days without any work. I was really taken to the cleaners but what can you do?

What I did was contact the owner of the shop in Nebraska where I had a similar dilemma (they own 6 or 7 Freightliner shops in the region). My situation was not quite as bad, but close. Seven days in a hotel and it still wasn't fixed. I told the company owner exactly what happened vs my expectations.

I started at the lowest level - the shop manager where the work was (or wasn’t) done, but got nowhere with him. The owner of the chain took a different view and refunded all the labor cost. If I didn’t get satisfaction there, I was going to leave a detailed description here: Dealer Service Survey | Freightliner Chassis Bus There’s no excuse for that kind of service even if they prefer not to work on motorhomes.

If that link doesnt work, try this https://www.fcccbus.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/FCCC-Dealer-Service-Survey-Form.pdf

I-State has 13 locations so you can definitely go over the Missoula shop manager’s head and talk to upper management as I did with Floyds in Sidney. Certainly worth a try.

 

[CydBla]

I am so glad you all did not have any physical trauma. Does your Super C have steering stabilizers?

 

[Rich W.]

Since this is a steer tire failure thread I’ll post my theory about them here although I just posted it on its own and I believe I’ve mentioned it before. But if my ideas are at all valid, it’s worth considering.

So here it is:
CD allows us to easily steer the tires while the coach is stationary, something that would be much more difficult without CD. This causes a lot more twisting and torsion on the belts, tread, and sidewalls - basically all the components of the tire.

And even if we try to be careful and ensure we are rolling a bit while turning the wheel, the system will automatically re-center if we shut down with the wheel turned, moving or not. It’s almost unavoidable. And unless I’m misinformed (please correct me if you know otherwise) you can’t even “turn down” or turn off CD because at low speeds it automatically has the highest level of assist regardless of the settings.

So that’s my theory - CD allows us to twist the crap out of our steering tires while stationary -
something “normal” power steering would make very difficult, and of course normal PS does not automatically re-center.

Comments? Other conclusions? This theory is totally biased, non-scientific, and based only on multiple (and seemingly excessive) accounts of otherwise unexplained early steer tire failure on Newmar DPs. For my part I’m being diligent about preventing this condition, at least on pavement, but try as I will, it still happens.

 

[MemoriesByTheMile]

I think your theory makes sense that the twisting/scrubbing of tires can weaken them. Though we have a super c, and do not have CD, my Bride watches and reminds me to not turn the wheels while sitting stationary, even if it means more back and forth maneuvering. Once when I did not listen and turned the wheel while stationary, I tore a couple pieces of tire edge off. Not doing that again.

 

[BGMAC]

I wish I had read this post before my trip to Alaska. One of my thoughts was to bring an unmounted tire with me just in case. I didn’t do it, but now I’m going to rethink this. If I have a tire issue at least I can give them a tire that would match the rest.