Yet another tire blowout

[Rich W.]

Sorry, I missed your question, for some reason the top did not sustain any damage in either blowout. On the rear the top pealed back the rubber membrane, but did no damage to the wood/steel underneath that.

Ok thanks. I’ll do the tops of the wheel wells in 16ga - lighter, cheaper, easier to work with and since that surface is farther away it should be fine. There’s also very good support there so it will be a simple task.

I’m going to continue with the project until they are all done, but none of it will be as heavy duty as the protection for the electrical bay. That was probably excessive but at least I know its safe. Also my local welding supply shop will make all the cuts I want at no charge on their power sheer, so I’ll design the next phase in advance and get the material cut to fit when I pick it up. With all the steel in the “Star Foundation” it should all be fairly straight forward. The elec. bay project was complicated by the HWH stuff— the others don’t have any obstructions.

 

[Scotttkd2]

Update - Freightliner repairs are underway, was surprised how inexpensive the electrical components were. Two PDM devices and one wire harness so far identified as needing replacement, under $600 in parts for that. Replacing the front wheel and all 6 tires will be replaced on the chassis side, (my choice, out of an abundance of caution and the fact that we are now down 3 of the six original tires), then off to body shop for another round of estimates. ETC for chassis/electrical is 9/6 so not bad considering, but no idea yet on the bodywork as no estimates have been completed.

At this point still no idea what happened to the steer tire, there is no tread anywhere on the remains just torn out and frayed belts. Both sidewalls are intact and remained on the rim, I suppose due to the Tyron device holding them in place. I have found no blowout pics or videos that duplicate the look of the tire online anywhere as of this time. Am leaning on replacing the Tyron with the Retrobands but not decided yet. Will be hardening/armoring the electrical bay like I did with the rear tire wheel wells later this fall after we get back to Florida. 20/20 hindsight but all I can do now.

 

[Bigblockyeti]

Scott, I read what you wrote on the other thread about gouges in the wheel from the Tyron install. I'm surprised Tyron won't answer whatever you've contacted them specifically about, well not really, this is after all 2023 and they've already gotten your money. The dealership owners almost certainly self absolved anything resembling accountability from the employees they inherited, kinda makes me wonder how many folks are riding around on improperly installed Tyrons that are under the false impression they'll actually help when they're most needed? I really hate this happened to you and I can imagine there's still plenty of repair work left to complete. I hope your able to get some recourse from Tyron, it sounds like they're very in the wrong through this whole ordeal.

 

[Scotttkd2]

Update - sorry, thought I had added these pics to original post and I have referred to them a few times. First one shows the Tyron slippage on the blown out tire I have mentioned a few times in this and other threads regarding Retroband and Tyron. Second one was taken by tire shop, is the right side (non blowout steer wheel) after removing the Tyron to change tires. Tire shop that FL has replacing my tires says it is damaged by the Tyron install and requires replacement. Not knowing anything about damaged wheels, or having anything to compare to but this and the slippage to me point to a bad Tyron install so far in my book as to what actually happened. Why my tire shredded so badly is still not clear, could be due to the bad install, or not. Mine looks nothing like any example of blown tires with Tyron on their website. Factory tires were 0118 date codes so they were 2 years old before leaving the factory in April of 2020 to head to dealer so there is that. So far no reply from Tyron_USA to any of my attempts to reach them. Was notified an hour ago that RV is ready to move from FL to a body shop still being determined. Total for the electrical repairs was roughly 5K, with another 1k ish for both front wheels, and approx 4500 for new tires all the way around before any body work gets done. I also need to armor up the electronic bay after the fact to hopefully avoid any damage like this in the future. Still not clear what actually happened, but not ready to throw in the towel, and am hoping the body shop can get me back on the road before Thanksgiving. I do plan to get into NIRVC for Retrobands as I dont want to attempt a blowout on a rim again at any speed. No confidence in the Tyrons after this event.

 

[Scotttkd2]

Just heard back from Tyron-USA, they responded with a request for a phone number to reach out to me...I will update once I have spoken to a live person.

 

[Scotttkd2]

5 month update - still waiting on parts from Newmar for the body shop repairs, with no ETA as of today. Body shop in Albuquerque has winterized my coach so I am assuming they are not expecting any progress any time soon. After a lot of consideration and research my wife and I made the decision for a myriad of reasons to move on, and have purchased a new to us 2009 Newmar King Aire 4561, as we expect to be on the road for another 3-5 years from coast to coast at least once a year. Currently back in our winter home base in FL, and getting the "new" coach moved into, fine tuned and "up to speed". It was in very good condition, and a dream to drive cross country with the ISX 650hp Cummins in the rear. No sweating the hills and on ramps with that motor! We both really miss the layout of the 4037 Kountry Star, and have some interior mods we will be making to get it closer to that layout, but we have plenty of time to work on it now while sitting still in Fort Myers.

When the Kountry Star is finally finished in the shop I will retrieve it and consign it somewhere, not entirely sure which market to put it in at this point though. It's painful as it will have 2 brand new front wheels, all 6 brand new tires, and 6 brand new AGM house batteries, on top of all the upgrades I made on it over the last 2 years of ownership.

It is a good coach as far as it goes, I am just not comfortable with the chassis full time and going cross country repeatedly like we need to use it. For someone who will be using it seasonally like most "normal" people do, it will be a great comfortable coach.

Still thankful no one was killed, injured or damaged in the tire failure episode, it could and probably should have been so much worse than it was. All the rest can be worked out with enough time and patience.

 

[Neemer]

Congrats, @Scotttkd2 ! That’s a pretty bold move IMO.

 

[Neal]

After a lot of consideration and research my wife and I made the decision for a myriad of reasons to move on, and have purchased a new to us 2009 Newmar King Aire 4561, as we expect to be on the road for another 3-5 years from coast to coast at least once a year.

Congrats and glad to hear you're continuing to move forward and enjoy your life while that saga unfolds. Almost wonder if it could be trucked to Newmar and let them fix it on site and if that's the only way it will ever get fixed?

 

[CaptainGizmo]

Not good at all, Scott. Glad you kept control!

Can you please also clarify what rig you have. Your profile shows you have a 2009 King Aire, but you've made a couple reference about the tires being "factory...build".

And, do I see a Tyron Band around that rim?

 

[Rich W.]

5 month update - still waiting on parts from Newmar for the body shop repairs, with no ETA as of today. Body shop in Albuquerque has winterized my coach so I am assuming they are not expecting any progress any time soon. After a lot of consideration and research my wife and I made the decision for a myriad of reasons to move on, and have purchased a new to us 2009 Newmar King Aire 4561, as we expect to be on the road for another 3-5 years from coast to coast at least once a year. Currently back in our winter home base in FL, and getting the "new" coach moved into, fine tuned and "up to speed". It was in very good condition, and a dream to drive cross country with the ISX 650hp Cummins in the rear. No sweating the hills and on ramps with that motor! We both really miss the layout of the 4037 Kountry Star, and have some interior mods we will be making to get it closer to that layout, but we have plenty of time to work on it now while sitting still in Fort Myers.

When the Kountry Star is finally finished in the shop I will retrieve it and consign it somewhere, not entirely sure which market to put it in at this point though. It's painful as it will have 2 brand new front wheels, all 6 brand new tires, and 6 brand new AGM house batteries, on top of all the upgrades I made on it over the last 2 years of ownership.

It is a good coach as far as it goes, I am just not comfortable with the chassis full time and going cross country repeatedly like we need to use it. For someone who will be using it seasonally like most "normal" people do, it will be a great comfortable coach.

Still thankful no one was killed, injured or damaged in the tire failure episode, it could and probably should have been so much worse than it was. All the rest can be worked out with enough time and patience.

I’m really impressed at how well you’ve handled this whole thing. Looking forward to some KA pics.