Big Tire Blowout turns into new head lights

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Big Tire Blowout turns into new head lights

July 30, 2012, 12:55:13 am

I have driven large equipment over the road since 1968 and finally had my first steer axle blow out last month at Mc pherson, Ka. and it was a bad one. The tire was 6 years old, had never been run low, had run at max pressure and max load for apox. 80K miles , at an ave speed of 70+ mph. It had a perfect side wall (no cracking) and I had checked the pressures that morning.

There was no warning of any kind. Just one huge explosion and the rim was on the ground.There was only a few 6"- 8"strips of tire to pick up off the road. The tire appeared to just vaporize. The effects of the concusion blew the fender off. blew the utillity tunnel off where all the plumbing and electrical run over the front axle,blew a hole in the floor behind the co pilot seat, shattered the little desk and broke it's top, destroyed the flooring in the area , and broke the right front windshield. There was no damage to the air bags or air lines in the area. It was A little over 9K damage. I was running 75 at the time.

We spent many days at Xtreme Graphics where they did a fantastic job getting everything right again. While we were there I gave James & Rance permission to design a new headlight conversion . They came up with a totally new look and a new system where James said he plans to offer complete ready made conversion kits off of the molds they made on our coach. They also run 4GA. welding cable to the front end ,which is wired from the isolater bar to two 100 AMP solinoids in the front that are trigered by the original headlight wires, which then gives pure alternater voltage to the head lights. Original factory wireing run 11.1 volts at the lights on high beams with the motor on fast idle and changed to 13 .2volts after the modification. My headlights now resemble aircraft landing lights. The LED marker light conversion was my idea.

Listen to to the manufactures. My steer tires WILL be changed at 4 years or sooner from now on .
Tonight we are are at Show Low ,AZ. and will soon head for Lodi, Ca. to help with the grape harvest .
Gary O

Re: Big blowout turns into new head lights

Reply #1 – July 30, 2012, 01:08:03 am

Gary, sure sorry for the experience, wow! Also you know your at the correct place for the repair/upgrades. Thanks for the pix.
Am certain you will be as happy with the work as I am with all my mods Rance has done for me.
Dave M

Re: Big blowout turns into new head lights

Reply #2 – July 30, 2012, 03:52:40 am

Wow. Good job. the speed rating is 75mph. Have to remember your example as my steers are 7 years old and I sometimes drive faster than most. Maybe the hours close to the speed rating was contributory? How did you end up with a 42 with wood paneling?

Re: Big blowout turns into new head lights

Reply #3 – July 30, 2012, 08:46:54 am

Gary,
I am curious; are those new driving lights, or did you salvage them from the old front-end? If new, can you tell what model and where you got them?
Thanks, Mike

Re: Big blowout turns into new head lights

Reply #4 – July 30, 2012, 08:56:31 am

Pretty ugly incident, Gary. My path to new headlights was an adult male Antelope near Grand Junction, CO. Also not a real practical way to get the upgrade, but not nearly as much drama or related damage as you experienced. Great driving job!

Re: Big blowout turns into new head lights

Reply #5 – July 30, 2012, 09:47:29 am

Gary, guess that cloud had a silver lining, those are some sharp looking headlights. I don't envy you the experience or the inconvenience though. I'm curious, was the lower front cap damaged in the blowout or removed for headlight mod?

Seeing as you're a pro driver, could you give us some insights into what you did to control the vehicle after the blowout, how it behaved running on one bare rim?

Re: Big blowout turns into new head lights

Reply #6 – July 30, 2012, 10:15:12 am

SO glad you are OK and that you did such a great job driving. Ditto on the process that you (apparently) used to instantaneously control the vehicle while holding on to your hat. Also ... who was in the co-pilot seat??? I would still be non-verbal, if it were me.

Re: Big blowout turns into new head lights

Reply #7 – July 30, 2012, 11:02:42 am

I saw Gary's tires this year and thought they were new. When he's at one of his home bases his coach is under cover...

Re: Big blowout turns into new head lights

Reply #8 – July 30, 2012, 11:06:11 am

Gary, I had that experience last August. It is now at the top my never do twice list. I was not so lucky on the amount of damage but I had no damage to the interior or the floor. Of course I went off road for quite a bit. I can assure you I will never have 6 yr old tires on the front again!

Re: Big blowout turns into new head lights

Reply #9 – July 30, 2012, 11:18:23 am

Great bit of driving, not to wreck at that speed. Just wondering, did you step on the accelerator and not the brake as recommended in the blowout video? How much control did you have and did it pull left or right? Were you able to stay in your lane? Anyone sitting in the passenger seat? What was the brand of tire? Did you find any rubber inside the coach?

Is the moral of this story: More tire pressure equals a bigger bang! We should armour plate the wheel wells!

I'm thinking that what happened to you was just an odd occurrence. Maybe drove over something on the road, just before or weeks before. Seems as though the initial breach was straight up in order to blow a hole in the floor. I had a rear tire blowout on my SOB that shattered the wall of a compartment. Happened while backing up, I had run over something about 5 miles earlier and the tires were old, with sidewall cracks. Still learning about RV's at the time. What's above the wheel is a thin sheet of plastic, 1 1/2" foam, 1/2" plywood, and carpet or tile. guess it's not that strong after all.

Re: Big blowout turns into new head lights

Reply #10 – July 30, 2012, 11:29:54 am

That is a great look! Were you tempted to do the fog lights at the same time? I am shocked at the extent of the collateral damage. Must have been a wild ride and a rude awakening,
Don

Re: Big blowout turns into new head lights

Reply #11 – July 30, 2012, 11:31:30 am

One wonders if a rebar 'cage' or some plate steel (honeycomb steel?) would be a worthwhile upgrade.

Reactive armor! That's the ticket!

Re: Big blowout turns into new head lights

Reply #12 – July 30, 2012, 05:20:32 pm

Quote from: Dave Head – July 30, 2012, 11:31:30 am

Reactive armor! That's the ticket!

Shields up!

Re: Big blowout turns into new head lights

Reply #13 – July 31, 2012, 12:00:25 am

We are in a national park in AZ. with very limited service but will try to answer some of the questions. First of all, my copilot was my father and at the time ,he was 94 11/12th's old. When we travel together , he sometimes drives the coach and handles it very well. On this trip we were towing a 1979 Chevy 4WD pickup from Tenn. to Nebr. After the dust settled, I asked if he was OK . His reply was something like "Yes, I guess so, but I don't want to do THAT again".
There was some of the tire inside but most of it was very small and none was over 1" sq.
All the years and many miles I drove, I would constantly try to prepare myself for the blow out that never happened. Then, when it happens, it was 7-10 sec. of pure panic with a very hard pull to the right. I somehow knew the rim was on the ground and slowly started braking. I always had control but for the most part, I let the coach pull itself to the shoulder.If there had been a tight curve to the left at that time, it probably would have been much worse. By the way, now that we have new rubber all around, dad still wants to drive (a little) if we go traveling again. He ain't scared .
To my knowledge, that tire never hit any thing that morning or ever . I just think that it had been run maxed out for too long. (weight & speed).
There was no damage to the front of the coach (headlight area). I had some very small damage on the lower corner, and decieded to do many up grades while I was at the place that they do up grades. I hope this answered some of your questions.
Gary O

Re: Big blowout turns into new head lights

Reply #14 – July 31, 2012, 09:46:27 am

Quote from: Gary Omel – July 31, 2012, 12:00:25 am

I hope this answered some of your questions.
Gary O

Yes, very good explanation. Thanks.

Re: Big blowout turns into new head lights

Reply #15 – July 31, 2012, 10:52:35 am

Thanks Gary, nice explanation, hope to never personally try to duplicate.

And your dad is one tough cookie. 94+ and still driving. Wow!

Chuck

Re: Big blowout turns into new head lights

Reply #16 – July 31, 2012, 11:00:23 am

94 11/12th's old - amazing! I think I'll be happy to make it out of a rocking chair without assistance at that age!

Re: Big blowout turns into new head lights

Reply #17 – July 31, 2012, 11:30:17 am

Quote from: Gary Omel – July 31, 2012, 12:00:25 am

All the years and many miles I drove, I would constantly try to prepare myself for the blow out that never happened. Then, when it happens, it was 7-10 sec. of pure panic with a very hard pull to the right. I somehow knew the rim was on the ground and slowly started braking. I always had control but for the most part, I let the coach pull itself to the shoulder.If there had been a tight curve to the left at that time, it probably would have been much worse.

Gary,
I've always wondered about that with the motorhome. The only steer axle blowout I have ever experienced was with a Freightliner COE pulling grossing right at 80,000 and almost maxed out on the steer. Was on southbound on I-95 in Georgia just south of the scales. Speed was 65 to 70 mph. Like you said it was instant and several seconds of "pure panic". In my case, it was the tire under the drivers seat and the tractor only had air assist steering which one would not dare using while going down the road. The tractor wanted to go to the medium and I knew what would happen if it got there. I was hanging on to the right side of the steering wheel and pulling back with all my weight, in a attempt to keep it from going to the left, while trying to pull the trailer brake spike. Ended up in the left lane before I lowered my speed enough to regain control. Ended up ruining the aluminum wheel and some minor body and headlight damage. Load ended up delayed about 3 days while the tractor was getting fixed. It happened way back in 1982, but I remember it like it was yesterday.

Glad you stayed safe and did not do any more damage! And good deal with the very nice forward lighting!!!

Re: Big blowout turns into new head lights

Reply #18 – July 31, 2012, 12:12:41 pm

Mark, He even plays golf twice a week in the summer and bowls on two leagues in the winter.

Gary O

Re: Big blowout turns into new head lights

Reply #19 – July 31, 2012, 12:27:03 pm

For your sake I hope he passed a few of those longevity genes along!

Re: Big blowout turns into new head lights

Reply #20 – July 31, 2012, 05:41:31 pm

Gary,
If it was mentioned, I missed it, but what brand name tire was it that blew ?
Dave M

Re: Big blowout turns into new head lights

Reply #21 – July 31, 2012, 06:26:47 pm

Adding to Dave's question, I would like to add; what was the load range and size of the tire? Any sense of your weights at the time? Having 6 year old tires on the front that look practically new, has me wondering... I plan to change them shortly after I finish the bulkhead stuff, but so many priorities compete for my time, money and attention!
Dave, I hope I am not being rude, piggy backing on your question...
Don

Re: Big blowout turns into new head lights

Reply #22 – July 31, 2012, 07:08:18 pm

Quote from: Dave M – July 31, 2012, 05:41:31 pm

Gary,
If it was mentioned, I missed it, but what brand name tire was it that blew ?
Dave M

The little round tire man.

Re: Big blowout turns into new head lights

Reply #23 – July 31, 2012, 07:46:40 pm

Don & Dave . I replaced all the original tires early 2006 with Michlin XZA3, load range H. I have always kept the steer tires at 118-120 because my front end weight is always slightly above 14K. The front bay is loaded with spare parts. Several Inverters, complete air dryers, air dryer kits, spare alternator, HWH parts, etc.and the big bay carries a full set of shop tools, power tools, and sometimes a Miller 150.

I would put a very high priority on replacing 6 year old steer tires.

Re: Big blowout turns into new head lights

Reply #24 – August 01, 2012, 09:37:53 am

Gary,
What an incident. I hope it never happens again...to anyone. Apparently you did all things right before and during the incident. BTW...nice headlight conversion. While at Xtreme this past May/June I mentioned to Rance that it was about time they updated their headlight conversion molds to be more "snazy". Apparently, the result looks great! Like the LED's too.
Peter

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