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TST and Hartland Tires Save The Day
Ok, I’ll start by saying I screwed up. For some reason I was thinking my Hartland tires were 5 years old (installed in 2017) and figured I’d get one more trip before replacing them. They’re actually 7 years old (installed in 2015 with 4315 date code), don’t know why I was thinking 2017. Started doing some more thinking and yes, I did install them in the fall of 2015 and they now have about 20k miles on them
Yesterday on the way home at the end of our 3,600 mile round trip, I lost one. TST 507 alarm went off, looked and the pressure showed 9 psi. Instant blow out at 65 mph. Pulled over as fast as I could, looking in the mirror, expecting to see stuff flying, nothing. Went back to check the tire, there as spot along the sidewall about 6” long where the sidewall was separating from the tread, but that’s it. Luckily the blowout happened right at an off ramp, so I limped it down to the bottom and onto a very lightly used side road and changed the tire. 350 miles from home. I also carry two spares so just finished the trip home.
Now, why do I say TST and Hartland tires save the day. The TST is obvious, but I’ll compare the Hartland to other tires I’ve had/seen blow out/go flat. We all know what happens with China bombs and my dad had that experience as well. His blew at 65 and immediately shredded. Had $3k in damage by the time he stopped. Before input on the Hartland tires, I had Carlisle (good tire and many people have had great luck with them). I picked up a screw and had a rapid leak. The TST alarm went off and I was down to 65 psi (was running at 99 psi at the time). Again, I was going 65 mph and immediately pulled over. By the time I stopped, the tire was flat and the tread had ripped all the way across and was just starting to separate and a few chucks had flown off, no damage to the RV. The big difference I note here is that the Carlisle was not a blowout, it was a rapid leak and had just gotten flat (lost all air) by the time I stopped, but was already separating and coming apart. The Hartland was a blowout, immediately flat/lost all air at 65 mph, but was able to stop and then limp off the highway without the tire coming apart.
All I can say is that the TST 507 has paid for itself many times over with 2 flats over the past 7 years and no damage to the RV. Now I guess it’s time to contact Doscount Tire and get 4 new Hartland shoes for the 5er.
One final though for those who don’t know why someone would carry two spares. I was 350 miles from home at 3:30 on a Friday afternoon. If I had not had two spares, I would most likely have been stopping in Santa Fe. (280 miles from home and spending the night so I could get a new tire on Saturday morning. Having two spares allowed me to finish the trip without the worry of getting another flat without a spare.
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