Why did my inside dual tire blow out the sidewall?

[belfert]

I had an inside dual tire blow out the sidewall on my recent trip.  Any ideas why this would have happened?

The tire is a Roadmaster RM185.  It has always been run at 85 PSI or higher cold.  I have TPMS on all tires and it never showed low pressure on that tire.  The date code on the tire is week 48 of 2012 and was purchased and installed Sept 2013.  The tire after removal still looks like new other than the 2"x2" hole in the sidewall.  Tire pressure of 85 PSI was determined using actual weights of 18,000 lbs on the drive axle.  The load/inflation table says that 85 PSI is good for 5,260 pounds per tire with duals for a total of 21,040 pounds on that axle.

I thought I was doing everything right for my tires by using TPMS, proper pressure, and having tires under seven years old.  Roadmaster tires have a warranty that is 10 years or until tread depth is 2/32" so I am taking tire to tire shop tomorrow.

[Oonrahnjay]

... I am taking tire to tire shop tomorrow.

      I'll be interested in what they say.

[Tony LEE]

Maybe a rock got stuck between the tyres.

[Jon]

I cannot speak about all brands, but I do know that would be a warranty issue with some of them. Based on your description it does not seem you did anything wrong so the reason for the failure would have to be determined by the tire company's forensic examination by the area experts.

If the tire had a plug due to a repair or the inner liner at the bead got nicked during installation it is possible air traveled from the defect between plies until it reached the point where it failed. It could have been a road hazard issue, or the tire might have had a manufacturing defect. An examination of the tire would likely isolate the cause.

[chessie4905]

Most likely explanation is that you ran or backed over something at some time. Could have caused a bubble in sidewall which finally burst.

[PP]

Most likely explanation is that you ran or backed over something at some time. Could have caused a bubble in sidewall which finally burst.

I had this happen on a truck of mine a long time ago and the bubble was rubbing against the outside tire until it rubbed it raw and blew. Tire looked fine when I did my walk around and pressures were all good. It was determined to be a bubble by the tire expert who cut it apart and knew what he was looking for. Except for where it blew out it looked fine. Good luck.

[belfert]

The tire has never been patched or touched since new.  I am finally heading over to the tire shop in about 30 minutes.  I wanted to go before I would have to deal with rush hour, but I having been catching up on my sleep from the trip.

[belfert]

The tire shop says I probably hit something.  They showed me how the tire was showing damage all the way through to the inside.  This really sucks as I might have to replace at least two tires on the drive axle and maybe all four.  Two dual tires need to be reasonably close to the same tread depth.  The remaining tires have tons of tread left so maybe I will get lucky and only have to replace one tire.

I think I probably did hit something as my exhaust pipe going into the muffler also has a dent in it and it seems to be broken or disconnected somewhere as the exhaust is much louder than normal.  (I have not yet taken things apart to determine if the exhaust pipe is really broken.)

[gumpy]

yep, that was my expectation. Road debris.

I'm still marveling over your statement that it took you and your friends 3 hours to change it.  You guys should come out some time and I'll show you how to do it properly, in about 15 minutes. Waiting round for some service truck to come put a spare tire on you bus is a complete waste of time, especially when you have the tools and enough able bodied people to do it yourself.

[akroyaleagle]

I agree with the guys that suggest hitting something as my first thought when I saw the post.

I also considered maybe the tires are too wide for the rim and under the right conditions were rubbing.

Getting any tire people to admit any responsibility, especially on a tire a few years old would be akin to pushing a car up a hill with a rope!

[belfert]

I'm still marveling over your statement that it took you and your friends 3 hours to change it.  You guys should come out some time and I'll show you how to do it properly, in about 15 minutes. Waiting round for some service truck to come put a spare tire on you bus is a complete waste of time, especially when you have the tools and enough able bodied people to do it yourself.

What tools do you use?  We used a 90 to 1 torque multiplier designed for removing lugs, a 12 ton jack, and a Tireman 600 ft lb torque wrench.  Since it was an inside dual it was twice as much work.  It would have been a heck of a lot faster with a pneumatic impact.

[HB of CJ]

Also remember the tire warranty guy has a vested interest in making you pay for their faulty tire.  They probably also have that very secret list of known factory defective tires that are on the road but they will never admit that also.  Top secret corporate stuff. 

[belfert]

I took things apart to look at the exhaust pipe and the clamp between two pipes came off.  This explains why the engine seemed so much noisier.  I am guessing whatever we hit with the tire also hit the exhaust pipe.  Had I realized the exhaust pipe was loose when out in the desert I would have fixed it then.  It would have been too hot for a road fix.

This tire dealer is no longer a Roadmaster dealer so he probably could not warranty the tire.  He simply said nobody would warranty the tire.  I decided it wasn't worth dealing with another dealer for maybe $200 in warranty coverage.

[gumpy]

What tools do you use?  We used a 90 to 1 torque multiplier designed for removing lugs, a 12 ton jack, and a Tireman 600 ft lb torque wrench.  Since it was an inside dual it was twice as much work.  It would have been a heck of a lot faster with a pneumatic impact.

I use a 1" impact. With your manual torque multiplier to loosen them, you should then have a double ended lug wrench and bar to remove them, and a long handled spoon to get the wheel back on the hub. 15 minutes, even for the inside dual. Maybe up to 30 with your manual torque multiplier or if I have to wait for my air compressor to recharge pressure between nuts. But, the key is, you have to know what you are doing, and how to use the tools efficiently.

[belfert]

If I had a 1" impact and enough air to drive it we could have changed the tire in a fraction of the time.  We had a bar to get the wheels on and off.

Any bus with air brakes of course has an air compressor.  I just haven't figured out where a good place to tap into the system is.  I had planned to use an extra port on an air tank until I realized it was only 1/8" or 1/4" NPT.