Blowout on rear passenger tire this weekend

[Jorme]

Did my pretrip inspection on the truck and trailer, all was good or so I thought. 1/2 way home from our trip, truck tire blows taking out part of the rear fender and the bed of the truck. Air pressure was good, tire was in good shape. Crappy ending to a great weekend.

http://sphotos.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-snc7/311509_3556651036530_484486648_n.jpg

[happytrails]

Did my pretrip inspection on the truck and trailer, all was good or so I thought. 1/2 way home from our trip, truck tire blows taking out part of the rear fender and the bed of the truck. Air pressure was good, tire was in good shape. Crappy ending to a great weekend.


Man that sux! Is your RV a 5th Wheel or a TT? I can't tell from the picture, sorry. Either way, I'm curious how the flat affected your driving. I am VERY new to towing something large and don't really know what to expect if, sorry when, I have a flat tire on the TT or TV. Only the school of hard knox can really help you deal with these things, but sometimes you can get good insight from others' experiences. If you wouldn't mind sharing I would be a terrific audience.

Thanx

[flybouy]

That's scary, I have the same tires on my TV ! I had one nail puncture but had the tire patched from the inside so that should not cause a problem. How many miles were on the tire?

[rhagfo]

Jrome, that sucks!
Those "E" rated tires do some damage when they blow! Looks like you kept some of tread on the casing. I am hoping that I never have to deal with that with our Copper Canyon 293FWSLS! Hope your nerves are not too frieghed over this. At least it was a 5er, just a bit easer to deal with
My DW pealed the entire tread off a rear tire empty, it shook her pretty good, doing about 60 at the time.

[Jorme]

Man that sux! Is your RV a 5th Wheel or a TT? I can't tell from the picture, sorry. Either way, I'm curious how the flat affected your driving. I am VERY new to towing something large and don't really know what to expect if, sorry when, I have a flat tire on the TT or TV. Only the school of hard knox can really help you deal with these things, but sometimes you can get good insight from others' experiences. If you wouldn't mind sharing I would be a terrific audience.

Thanx

Its a 5vr......Right before it blew I had a bout 2 seconds of violent wheel shake. As soon as it blew it sent me into the next lane and the trailer whipped pretty good. I was pulling at about 66-67mph. I have been towing since I was 15 with a learners permit Im working on about 21 years of towing.

You want some advice? Here ya go.

#1 ALWAYS be aware of your surroundings, whats next to you in both lanes, and where your possible escape routes would be if something happenes.

#2 Don't overload your trailer!!!!

#3 Don't pull more than your TV can handle safely!!! ( I would hate to think of what might have happened had I been trying to tow more trailer than my truck could handle.)

#4 If you get a blowout, make sure you have both hands on the wheel, pull your foot off the gas until you have control of the truck and trailer, then gently apply the brake till you can get it off the road and stopped. DO NOT HIT THE BRAKES UNLESS YOU HAVE CONTROL!

#5 Until you are comfortable towing a trailer, take it extra slow! IMO there is nothing worse that someone towing a trailer that is scared to death and trying to lead the pack!

Im sure I have more, but thats the important things I can think of at the moment.

[Jorme]

That's scary, I have the same tires on my TV ! I had one nail puncture but had the tire patched from the inside so that should not cause a problem. How many miles were on the tire?

I put the tires on new in Aug....So maybe 15000-20000 miles

[hankpage]

I know there was a volintary recall (http://continentaltire.custhelp.com/ci/documents/detail/5/141) on those tires a while back. Is it possible you got some from that batch. Glad no one was injured and damage was minimal, Hank

[Ron]

OUCH, you can expect this to happen on some of these inexpensive trailer tires, but usually not on a tv with good tires, sorry that had to happen, hope your next trip goes ALOT better. Happy Campin...............Ron

[Jorme]

OUCH, you can expect this to happen on some of these inexpensive trailer tires, but usually not on a tv with good tires, sorry that had to happen, hope your next trip goes ALOT better. Happy Campin...............Ron

Me too.....DW, kids and I leave for Tahoe with the truck and trailer on July 5 for 11 days.

[azlee56]

I hate blow outs. Glad you said don't step on the brake, that was the lesson I was taught when I first was driving and it was the one thing that kept me alive. I don't want any more of those things either!

[happytrails]

(tx) for all the great information. I know that sooner or later I will have to go through this so every little bit helps. I look at everything before I pull away, but things just happen. My worst fear, since hearing a story of a friend of mine, is blowing the front axle TT tire and having it rip out the back axle tire. I would HOPE that this doesn't happen very often.

I just recently camped next to a guy with a Cougar and his first question to me was, how many tires have you blown? OMG!!!:eek: I suddenly went into panic mode. Apparently (according to his comments) his Cougar has steel wheels and cheaper tires which, after the fourth SET, he replaced with radial tires. My camper has nice alumdidum wheels and radial tires so hopefully that is a plus. Perhaps his axels are misaligned or bent or whatever. I have read some of those stories too. In 36 years of driving, knock on a big fat tree, I have only had one flat and that was in Alaska on a gravel road in a little Chevy Citation. Believe it or not, I didn't even notice until I turned the radio down to figure out what that faint rumbling noise was. I consider myself quite lucky.

Again, keep the tips coming and thanks for the tips so far and any future tips.