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Topic: Inner Dual Blowout (Read 913 times) previous topic - next topic

Inner Dual Blowout

It finally happened to me:  a blowout at speed.  And I thought I had done everything right. I was on the second day of my run from Livingston, Texas to the Indy 500.  I checked my tire pressures before leaving the Flying J in the morning.  All was at spec.  I use the Tire SafeGuard tire monitoring system.

When I stopped for a break at noon, I checked all the temps with my IR gun.  The outside curbside dual was 10 degrees higher than the inside at 105.  Out comes the tire gauge.  The outside tire was at 95psi, the inside was at 0!  Oh, (expletive deleted).  I got out my air hose to see if it would re-inflate.  In the process I thought the sensor wasn't fully tight on the stem(I can inflate through the sensor).  The tire held air.  I couldn't hear an air leak.  I rolled the coach forward looking for something in the tread.  Nothing.

Since I was in western Indiana on I-64, I was 100 miles from the nearest truck stop.  So I proceeded onward watching my monitor.  By the time I got to I-65, the inner dual had lost 10psi.  Temperatures were normal, so I added air and proceeded.  BIG MISTAKE!! :-(

2.5 miles south of Exit 41.  Bang!  I knew instantly what it was.  I pulled off and stopped in the emergency lane and called Good Sam Emergency Road Service.  They started looking for a 275/80R22.5 tire.  Just then a state cop pulled over a speeder right in front of me!  I watched him write up the poor guy while I stayed on hold.  I wondered whether he would offer help or continue his hunt for victims in his unmarked hot red Mustang.  Sure enough, he backed up to me. 

I asked him if there was a place to place to get off the road at the next exit.  He said there was, and proceeded to follow me with lights flashing at 10mph for 15 minutes.

What do you know.  Smith's Tire Service is at Exit 41.  Good Sam had called them but they didn't have the size.  They started calling tire shops.  It was now 4:30 on Friday afternoon.  Time was running out.  They found a shop 10 miles away with four XZA 3+'s.  Grandpa headed off in his pickup to get one while I gave credit card info over the phone.

While I was parked within 100 feet of the shop, the mechanics used their mobile repair truck to jack the coach and pull the tires before Grandpa returned with a Bridgestone  R280 295/75R22.5  Darn.  It was obviously a larger diameter tire.  Smith's said they had 40 tires in that size in stock themselves!  My solution was to pull the tire off my tag, use that for the inner dual, and mount the new tire on the tag where the size difference wouldn't matter so much.  $700 later we left and reached our destination just after dark.

Two key points of information:  When the inner dual was totally flat, my wonderful Tire Safeguard monitor was showing 95psi and 96 degrees on that tire.  Would anyone like to buy my monitoring system cheap?  Also, I have since found that the Bridgestone tire is Load Range H, and is only .1in. larger in loaded radius and .1in. wider.  I suspect every truck tire shop carries the 295/75R22.5 in stock.  Since my drive tires are 4 years and 40,000 miles old, half the tread is gone, so I couldn't have mounted a new XZA3+ in the inner dual position anyway, since it would have been one inch taller!

Regards,
Brett

'99 42' Foretravel Xtreme
'14 Brown Motorsports Stacker
'05 Chevy SSR
'02 BMW R1150R

Re: Inner Dual Blowout

Reply #1 –
 :-( D'oh!

You didn't report any damages or injuries, other than the tire and the wallet. :) That's relatively good news.

Thank you for the report. Did you find any clues regarding why the tire lost air? Puncture, stem, pressure sensor, ... ? Where there any problems controlling the coach immediately after the blowout?

What has been your experience regarding temperature differentials under normal conditions? Do you "thump" the tires as well as check with IR?
J D Stevens
1997 U295 CAI 36' Build #5085
2002 Subaru Outback
Motorcade 16869
Bellville, TX

Re: Inner Dual Blowout

Reply #2 –
Interesting, sorry you  had to deal with that. I carry one unmounted spare in my forward bay. I put the extension cords and extra hoses and a couple other things inside it.


Can you fit those tires on all the positions?
2025 Wanderbox Outpost 32 on F600 Expedition Motorhome
2015 Born Free Royal Splendor on Ford 550 nonslide version  for sale
Former Coaches  covering. 360,000 miles
1999 34 U270
2000 36 U320
2001 42' double slide U320
2018 Jeep Rubicon

Re: Inner Dual Blowout

Reply #3 –
When we flew back to pick our U300 up, it had 6 new Coopers. The owner decided to take it to town one last time and wash it. She ran off the road and ruined a right rear inside tire. That was a $600 (and the road service was free) mistake for her but I still remember the look on her face when she saw the bill. This lesson was not lost on me and after worrying about a flat every 15 minutes across the US, I watched Craigslist until I found a Alcoa with a good tire for $120. Takes up a lot of room in the compartment but when I had a flat in Southern California, AAA changed it in less than 10 minutes while we relaxed.

I should go back to my first bus I bought in Fall River, MA. Headed to California but in Ohio, I noticed a bit of vibration that had not been there before. Sure enough, inside rear dual had a nail in it. The 4107 had a new spare in the nose compartment so it was just a bit of work with the jack to change it. Had another flat with the bus in Arizona but this time it was the outside tire so just had to put a 2x6 in front of the inside tire and drive up on it for a jack free change.

The lessons I learned are if you feel any unusual vibration, stop immediately and look at the rear tires. Two out of my three rear flats vibrated, the third blew out with a bang. Unless the tire has been cut, it can usually be repaired. If it's flat, stay there and call AAA or other road service. I kept loosing pressure on a tire in Mexico but just pulled the nail out and stuck a plug in from a tire kit I carried. Never leaked after that.  Other lesson is I don't go anywhere without a spare and the tools to change it. The last time AAA just had a tiny battery powered impact but it pulled the nuts like a NASCAR pit stop.

Pierce
Pierce and Gaylie Stewart
'93 U300/36 WTBI
Detroit 6V-92TA Jake
1140 watts on the roof
SBFD (ret)

Re: Inner Dual Blowout

Reply #4 –
Quote from: amos.harrison –
I asked him if there was a place to place to get off the road at the next exit.  He said there was, and proceeded to follow me with lights flashing at 10mph for 15 minutes.
Amos, I hate to be the one to tell you this, but this 15 minute ride put way to much weight on the good tire that was mated to the bad one.  I'd be watching it like a hawk!!  In fact it would also be a good candidate for the tag.
1994 U225
build #4514

Re: Inner Dual Blowout

Reply #5 –
You are right about 295/75R22.5 being more common. I replaced all six with that size.
1994 U280, Build 4490
Deming, NM.

Re: Inner Dual Blowout

Reply #6 –
"Did you find any clues regarding why the tire lost air? Puncture, stem, pressure sensor, ... ? Where there any problems controlling the coach immediately after the blowout?

What has been your experience regarding temperature differentials under normal conditions? Do you "thump" the tires as well as check with IR?
I hate to be the one to tell you this, but this 15 minute ride put way to much weight on the good tire that was mated to the bad one.  I'd be watching it like a hawk!!  In fact it would also be a good candidate for the tag."

Since there was no evidence of a puncture on the outside or the inside of the tire, I think the sensor must have slightly loosened.  The mechanic thought the extension had failed, but I've since tested it and found no problem.  So the monitoring system didn't detect the problem, and probably caused it.

There was no problem controlling the coach immediately after the blowout, but then I made sure I didn't do anything abrupt and slowly coasted to the shoulder. 

I've seen temps as high as 140 degrees on the sun side in 10 degree ambient temps.  I've never trusted thumping, though it might have worked in this case.

I called James Triana before moving the coach.  He said if I did not exceed 10mph I would not damage the outside tire.  At 30mph I would definitely ruin it.


Regards,
Brett

'99 42' Foretravel Xtreme
'14 Brown Motorsports Stacker
'05 Chevy SSR
'02 BMW R1150R

Re: Inner Dual Blowout

Reply #7 –
One thing you can do to slightly lessen the change of damaging the tire when driving on one tire on a dual is inflate the remaining tire to the full PSI on the sidewall.

Afterall, that PSI is what the tire manufacturer calls for for carrying the maximum load.

Brett Wolfe
EX: 1993 U240
Moderator, ForeForum 2001-
Moderator Diesel RV Club 2002-
Moderator, FMCA Forum 2009-2020
Chairman FMCA Technical Advisory Committee 2011-2020

Re: Inner Dual Blowout

Reply #8 –
Quote from: amos.harrison –

Since there was no evidence of a puncture on the outside or the inside of the tire, I think the sensor must have slightly loosened.  The mechanic thought the extension had failed, but I've since tested it and found no problem.  So the monitoring system didn't detect the problem, and probably caused it.

Brett (H.), I googled the TPMS you mentioned and saw a couple of versions.  Was this the one with the air-through sensors?  Wondering if the air-through aspect might have allowed leakage.

Michelle
Learn every day, but especially from the experiences of others. It's cheaper!  - John C. Bogle

2000 U320 36' non-slide / WildEBeest Rescue
2003 U320

Re: Inner Dual Blowout

Reply #9 –
Michelle,

Yes, it was an air-through sensor.  I'll check it.

Brett,

I wish I had thought about adding another 20 psi to that remaining dual. 
Regards,
Brett

'99 42' Foretravel Xtreme
'14 Brown Motorsports Stacker
'05 Chevy SSR
'02 BMW R1150R