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Old 04-14-2022, 08:29 AM   #21
Ddaddyo
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The "Containment" area of this is made of 14ga. Sheet Metal. Do we think that would contain a Blowout? My friend had a Blowout on his Toy Hauler, it did $12,000+ Damage.
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Old 04-14-2022, 09:28 AM   #22
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The "Containment" area of this is made of 14ga. Sheet Metal. Do we think that would contain a Blowout? My friend had a Blowout on his Toy Hauler, it did $12,000+ Damage.

I doubt it seriously. One of my smokers uses 14ga. stainless for a drip tray and I don't see how that thin material (it warps at 225 degrees and can be bent fairly easily) could control a steel belted carcass pounding it spinning at 65-70mph.
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Old 04-14-2022, 09:55 AM   #23
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Also seems like a tire exploding outward would cause the most damage and I don't see where that would be contained at all.
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Old 04-14-2022, 09:56 AM   #24
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It is possible that the defender might prevent some damage but I wonder how much. Here is what we use in our tire test laboratories. (The yellow steel grating).
If you really wanted to contain all damage I would think you need a major structure around the tire PLUS a significant structure to hold the weight of the "containment" structure. Maybe 500# per side or more.
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Old 04-21-2022, 12:41 PM   #25
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Considering the fact that the damage caused when a tire blows up I would be concerned that the flimsy cage would become pieces of shrapnel and possible cause damage or injury to passengers of any vehicle behind. It is bad enough when rubber is fired out from a blowing up tire. Liability comes to mind.
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Old 04-21-2022, 01:09 PM   #26
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Hi Chuckster.
My name is Zack. I am the CEO of RV-De-Fender. You are correct, we do use the factory flange that the brakes mount to for the mounting location or our product. There are 5 3/8” bolts we provide which are significantly stronger the the 5 factory bolts. With all of our tests we’ve done we have yet to have a single issue with those bolts failing. We will also have versions for 3500lb axles that use 4 7/16” bolts and will have a smaller arch to accommodate the smaller tire.
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Old 04-21-2022, 01:13 PM   #27
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Hi Rick. I appreciate your concern. I can say with confidence the RV-De-Dender is not flimsy. It is 3/8” thick steel plate in key locations for strength. The arch itself is 14 ga material (not the standard 18ga fenders you get at tractor supply) and the shape of them adds significant strength. We have blown out 14 ply tires on these and it contained the damage for several miles. We just bought a 16 ply and will be testing with that tire very soon.
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Old 04-21-2022, 01:25 PM   #28
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Hello. Yes the arch is made from 14ga plate steel. The material itself is second to the shape of it which creates a lot of strength. The brackets that hold the arch up are 3 layers of 1/8” steel plate. That is what takes the majority of the impact. Think of it like a baseball bat. If you connect with the ball close to your hands it won’t be nearly as hard of a hit as if you connect with the tip of the bat. Because RV-De-Fender mounts to the axle it is closer to the tire it will contain the whipping before it becomes violent. So it’s more the design and the proximity to the tire which contains the damage.

Your son and I have a similar story. I had a tire blowout on me (I even had TPMS) and it caused over $10k in damages and I couldn’t use the trailer for that season. That’s why we developed this product.
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Old 04-21-2022, 06:18 PM   #29
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Hello. Yes the arch is made from 14ga plate steel. The material itself is second to the shape of it which creates a lot of strength. The brackets that hold the arch up are 3 layers of 1/8” steel plate. That is what takes the majority of the impact. Think of it like a baseball bat. If you connect with the ball close to your hands it won’t be nearly as hard of a hit as if you connect with the tip of the bat. Because RV-De-Fender mounts to the axle it is closer to the tire it will contain the whipping before it becomes violent. So it’s more the design and the proximity to the tire which contains the damage.

Your son and I have a similar story. I had a tire blowout on me (I even had TPMS) and it caused over $10k in damages and I couldn’t use the trailer for that season. That’s why we developed this product.

If by "blowout" you mean a belt separation then you need to re-think what a TPMS is designed to do. Tire Pressure Monitor System. If you review THIS post you can see that TPMS are not capable or intended to warn of belt separations.
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Old 04-21-2022, 07:49 PM   #30
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Hello. I don’t mean to argue with you. I’m my case I don’t know if I hit some road debris or what exactly happened but the tpms went off, I looked in the rear view mirror and saw smoke. And started pulling over but by the time I had stopped the damage was done. Which lead to the creation of RV-De-Fender.

People have reached out to me and told me stories of how there belt/tread separated and it tore up the floor of there trailer but the tpms never went off. I have a guy that gave me a picture of the damage and you see clear as day the tire still held air but the tread came off and tore a hole in the floor of his trailer.

I get it tpms systems work great, I have one on my trailer and I would recommend to anyone to get one. In no way am I trying to encourage people to not use a quality tire or not use tpms, I’m just adding another layer of protection for if/when a tire goes. Changing a tire on the side of road can be a dangerous situation and the best way to not be in that situation is to avoid the scenario entirely, thus using a quality tire and a tpms is highly encouraged. I fully understand your critical opinion. Honestly when we first started building these we had concerns as to whether they would work or not because a blowout is a violent event. Frankly we have learned a lot on what works and what doesn’t work and what we have built works.
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Old 08-01-2022, 11:05 AM   #31
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ouch

nearly $1k per axle
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Old 08-01-2022, 01:52 PM   #32
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Hello. I don’t mean to argue with you. I’m my case I don’t know if I hit some road debris or what exactly happened but the tpms went off, I looked in the rear view mirror and saw smoke. And started pulling over but by the time I had stopped the damage was done. Which lead to the creation of RV-De-Fender.

People have reached out to me and told me stories of how there belt/tread separated and it tore up the floor of there trailer but the tpms never went off. I have a guy that gave me a picture of the damage and you see clear as day the tire still held air but the tread came off and tore a hole in the floor of his trailer.

I get it tpms systems work great, I have one on my trailer and I would recommend to anyone to get one. In no way am I trying to encourage people to not use a quality tire or not use tpms, I’m just adding another layer of protection for if/when a tire goes. Changing a tire on the side of road can be a dangerous situation and the best way to not be in that situation is to avoid the scenario entirely, thus using a quality tire and a tpms is highly encouraged. I fully understand your critical opinion. Honestly when we first started building these we had concerns as to whether they would work or not because a blowout is a violent event. Frankly we have learned a lot on what works and what doesn’t work and what we have built works.

TPMS are designed to MONITOR tire pressure. It is completely possible to have a complete belt separation / detachment of the tread and belts and yet the tire can still hold all its air pressure as this tire shows.


I do not know of any consumer level product that can monitor and warn of a belt separation. Such failures start very small (0.01") and they will continue to grow until a close inspection finds signs that indicate a separation has grown large enough to exhibit external signs such as localized irregular wear or a bulge in the tread or upper sidewall.


I advocate for people with RV trailers to do "Free Spin" inspection as covered in my RV Tire Safety Blog, as many times a "wobble" or "shimmy" will be noticed, which is many times an indication that there is a separation which has grown. I think that if a Free Spin inspection is done once a year or every 2k miles which ever comes first, there is a good chance that corrective action can be taken before the separation becomes big enough to allow portions of the tread to detach from the body.
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Old 08-01-2022, 08:30 PM   #33
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If you want to get in on the ground floor I have the perfect vehicle for you :-). Production starting in ... well... who knows.

https://www.usatoday.com/in-depth/mo...ar/5930672001/
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Old 08-01-2022, 08:57 PM   #34
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If you want to get in on the ground floor I have the perfect vehicle for you :-). Production starting in ... well... who knows.

https://www.usatoday.com/in-depth/mo...ar/5930672001/
We didn't place an order, but did sign up for "quarterly updates on production schedules" back in 2011... I wanted one from the first time I saw the concept drawings. Elio Motors reportedly bought (or negotiated for) the old GM production facility in Shreveport. They were supposed to start production in early 2014, theb in 2015, and that "saga" continues up through today.

Now, apparently the gas engine Elio has been "replaced by an electric version"... My guess would be so the "SHYSTERS" that are milking the concept can cash in on federal grant money.....

As great as it would be to see production start, I'd suspect that anyone foolish enough to place an order is more apt to be contributing to a black hole where everything goes in and nothing comes out.....
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Old 08-01-2022, 09:05 PM   #35
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... I wanted one from the first time I saw the concept drawings.
I also followed this because I liked the concept and it looked pretty cool. Followed for several years with new production starting dates and then the updates quit showing up on Facebook and by then I knew that it was vaporware. Bitcoin anyone?
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Old 08-02-2022, 07:38 AM   #36
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The guy didn't do too bad though; he told everyone who deposited it was non refundable..money down on a dream I suppose. Then it never materialized and apparently not a lot of expenditures on anything other than what Elio took for himself. I'm sure he had all kinds of incentives to start the business and now with the push to EVs he's found another way to run a scam and get millions more. Not bad averaging over 3M a year to just send out delay updates...
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Old 08-02-2022, 07:57 AM   #37
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I also followed this because I liked the concept and it looked pretty cool. Followed for several years with new production starting dates and then the updates quit showing up on Facebook and by then I knew that it was vaporware. Bitcoin anyone?
Yep, I gave up on the "dream of owning one" in 2017 and found a Polaris Slingshot (similar 3 wheel autocar) that really was available. When I located ours at a dealership and could put my hands on the actual vehicle, I bought it. It's sitting in the garage and we use it almost daily during the "riding season"...

While it's not an Elio, it's real and not made of "Emperor's cloth"....
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