Tires: What to do with a blowout, and HOW much damage it can cause!
08-31-2015
Author: in RV Repairs / Maintenance / Upgrades
Well today we are going to talk a little bit about tires and tell you a little bit about our last 4 days. The first thing I want to cover though is what to do and not to do if you have a blowout or catastrophic failure of a tire. The first thing you need to understand is that there are basically 3 different types of “Flat Tires” you can get.
The first one is a basic flat tire, this is where you run over a nail or something and your tire deflates slowly or completely and for all intensive purposes your tire stays intact. The second type of flat tire is a side wall blow out. This can be a dangerous flat and will happen suddenly. If you get stopped quick enough then the tire should not come apart and you should be able to maintain control of the vehicle pretty easily. The third type of flat tire is what we call a Catastrophic Failure, this is when your tire will basically explode or come completely apart. This is one of the most dangerous blowouts because you go from having a tire to not having much of anything and it happens in an instant.
So if you should have a catastrophic failure how do you maintain control especially if it’s on your steer tires, (the ones in the front)?
The biggest mistake that drivers make when they have a blowout is as soon as they hear that loud POP they want to HIT THEIR BRAKES, DON’T DO THIS! If you hit your brakes hard when you have a blowout if it’s a situation where the tire is pulling apart you have very little rubber on the road, and when you hit your brakes hard, the RV is going to pull to that side, it can and will cause you to lose control. You should as soon as hear that loud POP remove your foot from the gas pedal, and gently and easily apply your break. Get off the highway as soon as it’s safe, but do not make any sudden jerks of the wheel or sudden motions. Although you want to get stopped as quickly as possible taking your time is your best bet. Do not panic just be safe and take your time getting stopped.
Our Blowout
On Wednesday morning around 11am we pulled out of the campground in Surf City, NC heading to Naples, Florida. We had plans to drive as far as Yamasee, SC where we would spend the night and then stop in White Springs to visit some dear friends of ours before completing our trip on Sunday morning and getting to Naples. Everything was going along fine as we passed through Walterboro, SC when we heard that sound, a very loud POP.
I could tell right away that it was a catastrophic failure of the tire because I had almost no control instantly. At the time of the blowout I was in the passing lane and it was the front left tire that blew, I had 2 cars on the right side who did not want to get over for me. I was able to maintain control of the RV and after about 1/2 mile finally get over and get the RV stopped. I got out to see what had happened and was I ever surprised when I came around to the driver’s side. The tire was completely shredded, It looked like a pizza cutter had sliced it into sections, no tread at all just thousands of radial wires sticking out in every direction. What was more alarming was the fact that there were actual electrical wires hanging down around the tire. The blowout had shredded all of the wiring harnesses as well as the coax cable for our TV’s and backup camera in the driver’s wheel well.
Upon further examination, I could see that it had destroyed the hydraulic lines for the leveling system, as well as twisted the filler tube for fuel into a pretzel. When I got back into the RV I realized the force of the tire had pulled the Shifter level off and down into the housing. My wife and I were alarmed when we noticed blood on the dash as well as all over the carpet. It turned out the when the tire blew it scared our youngest pug and she had gotten her toenail caught on the cushion on the couch and ripped it off back to the quick. After getting the dog calmed down we called road side assistance and waited for 3 hours for a tow truck to arrive to tow us to Yamasee, SC we were only about 14 miles from the campground and it made sense to get off the highway to further investigate what it was going to take to get us back onto the road.
The Tow
The tow truck company arrived and hooked up to our rig to give us a tow to the campground, it was late, about 10pm and the campground was not well lite. Vicki went in ahead of us to find our site, we had called them and let them know what had happened and they put us in a convenient pull through site close to the front. I got out of the tow truck and walked over to our site to help guide the drive in, for some unknown reason even though I had a flashlight directing him in, he drove by me, still can’t figure that part out. I yelled at him, and he said he was going to back up and swing around to put it into the site.
Unfortunately I was not paying attention to what he was doing and had gone over to talk to Vicki, when we heard a loud CRUNCH! Yes you guessed it, he backed our rig right into a tree, and then when he pulled forward to get off the tree he ripped our bumper completely off the rig. As well as crushed in the left rear stainless steel panel. So in less than 4 hours we not only had damage to the front or our rig but damage to the back. So now we have a banged up and disabled rig and a hurt dog, what next?
The next day, could it get worse?
We contacted our insurance company and put in a claim for the damage done by the blowout and then proceeded to call the tow trucks insurance company to get the claim started for his damage. In the meantime Vicki called a local vet to get Leia in because her nail was still attached and we could not cut it off without hurting her. Our insurance company sent out a claims adjuster within 3 hours, which was awesome, he said that he knew a shop close by that he would get us into in the morning, he was going to have us towed to the shop because at this point we are not sure how safe the RV is to drive. Vicki returned from the Vet to find out that Leia had to have minor surgery on her toe to remove the nail and fix the damage to her toe.
As the day wound down and we felt like things were getting better as we now had a game plan. Our plans were messed up for getting to Naples on time but at least things were starting to look up a little. Vicki and I went out and got a bite to eat and proceeded to watch a little TV and relax. Vicki went to the refrigerator, got out the medicine for our hurt pug and gave it to her and upon returning to the couch, KICKED the OTTAMAN with her LEFT PINKY toe. It was pointing directly WEST instead of NORTH, TIME to head to the emergency room. Turned out as well as dislocating it she broke it as well.
How much damage can a tire cause? Quick recap – Blown tire caused $12,000 dollars in damage to front of RV. Tow truck driver caused $4,500.00 damage to back of RV. A nice bill from the Vet and then the hospital all within 24 hours!
It’s now Monday morning we are sitting in the lot at the RV Repair facility waiting on parts. If we are really lucky we will get to head to Naples by Saturday.
For more info on RV Tires Read this Blog: RV Tires: Selection, Care, Troubleshooting and Use
Till next time, SAFE TRAVELS!
The first one is a basic flat tire, this is where you run over a nail or something and your tire deflates slowly or completely and for all intensive purposes your tire stays intact. The second type of flat tire is a side wall blow out. This can be a dangerous flat and will happen suddenly. If you get stopped quick enough then the tire should not come apart and you should be able to maintain control of the vehicle pretty easily. The third type of flat tire is what we call a Catastrophic Failure, this is when your tire will basically explode or come completely apart. This is one of the most dangerous blowouts because you go from having a tire to not having much of anything and it happens in an instant.
So if you should have a catastrophic failure how do you maintain control especially if it’s on your steer tires, (the ones in the front)?
The biggest mistake that drivers make when they have a blowout is as soon as they hear that loud POP they want to HIT THEIR BRAKES, DON’T DO THIS! If you hit your brakes hard when you have a blowout if it’s a situation where the tire is pulling apart you have very little rubber on the road, and when you hit your brakes hard, the RV is going to pull to that side, it can and will cause you to lose control. You should as soon as hear that loud POP remove your foot from the gas pedal, and gently and easily apply your break. Get off the highway as soon as it’s safe, but do not make any sudden jerks of the wheel or sudden motions. Although you want to get stopped as quickly as possible taking your time is your best bet. Do not panic just be safe and take your time getting stopped.
Our Blowout
On Wednesday morning around 11am we pulled out of the campground in Surf City, NC heading to Naples, Florida. We had plans to drive as far as Yamasee, SC where we would spend the night and then stop in White Springs to visit some dear friends of ours before completing our trip on Sunday morning and getting to Naples. Everything was going along fine as we passed through Walterboro, SC when we heard that sound, a very loud POP.
I could tell right away that it was a catastrophic failure of the tire because I had almost no control instantly. At the time of the blowout I was in the passing lane and it was the front left tire that blew, I had 2 cars on the right side who did not want to get over for me. I was able to maintain control of the RV and after about 1/2 mile finally get over and get the RV stopped. I got out to see what had happened and was I ever surprised when I came around to the driver’s side. The tire was completely shredded, It looked like a pizza cutter had sliced it into sections, no tread at all just thousands of radial wires sticking out in every direction. What was more alarming was the fact that there were actual electrical wires hanging down around the tire. The blowout had shredded all of the wiring harnesses as well as the coax cable for our TV’s and backup camera in the driver’s wheel well.
Upon further examination, I could see that it had destroyed the hydraulic lines for the leveling system, as well as twisted the filler tube for fuel into a pretzel. When I got back into the RV I realized the force of the tire had pulled the Shifter level off and down into the housing. My wife and I were alarmed when we noticed blood on the dash as well as all over the carpet. It turned out the when the tire blew it scared our youngest pug and she had gotten her toenail caught on the cushion on the couch and ripped it off back to the quick. After getting the dog calmed down we called road side assistance and waited for 3 hours for a tow truck to arrive to tow us to Yamasee, SC we were only about 14 miles from the campground and it made sense to get off the highway to further investigate what it was going to take to get us back onto the road.
The Tow
The tow truck company arrived and hooked up to our rig to give us a tow to the campground, it was late, about 10pm and the campground was not well lite. Vicki went in ahead of us to find our site, we had called them and let them know what had happened and they put us in a convenient pull through site close to the front. I got out of the tow truck and walked over to our site to help guide the drive in, for some unknown reason even though I had a flashlight directing him in, he drove by me, still can’t figure that part out. I yelled at him, and he said he was going to back up and swing around to put it into the site.
Unfortunately I was not paying attention to what he was doing and had gone over to talk to Vicki, when we heard a loud CRUNCH! Yes you guessed it, he backed our rig right into a tree, and then when he pulled forward to get off the tree he ripped our bumper completely off the rig. As well as crushed in the left rear stainless steel panel. So in less than 4 hours we not only had damage to the front or our rig but damage to the back. So now we have a banged up and disabled rig and a hurt dog, what next?
The next day, could it get worse?
We contacted our insurance company and put in a claim for the damage done by the blowout and then proceeded to call the tow trucks insurance company to get the claim started for his damage. In the meantime Vicki called a local vet to get Leia in because her nail was still attached and we could not cut it off without hurting her. Our insurance company sent out a claims adjuster within 3 hours, which was awesome, he said that he knew a shop close by that he would get us into in the morning, he was going to have us towed to the shop because at this point we are not sure how safe the RV is to drive. Vicki returned from the Vet to find out that Leia had to have minor surgery on her toe to remove the nail and fix the damage to her toe.
As the day wound down and we felt like things were getting better as we now had a game plan. Our plans were messed up for getting to Naples on time but at least things were starting to look up a little. Vicki and I went out and got a bite to eat and proceeded to watch a little TV and relax. Vicki went to the refrigerator, got out the medicine for our hurt pug and gave it to her and upon returning to the couch, KICKED the OTTAMAN with her LEFT PINKY toe. It was pointing directly WEST instead of NORTH, TIME to head to the emergency room. Turned out as well as dislocating it she broke it as well.
How much damage can a tire cause? Quick recap – Blown tire caused $12,000 dollars in damage to front of RV. Tow truck driver caused $4,500.00 damage to back of RV. A nice bill from the Vet and then the hospital all within 24 hours!
It’s now Monday morning we are sitting in the lot at the RV Repair facility waiting on parts. If we are really lucky we will get to head to Naples by Saturday.
For more info on RV Tires Read this Blog: RV Tires: Selection, Care, Troubleshooting and Use
Till next time, SAFE TRAVELS!
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Author: Matt & Vicki Hulbert
