Tire Safety

[Jim Eh.]

We had a little incident at the shop on Friday. Our yard donkey (KW T400) was sitting with the drivers side towards the sun for most of the day when suddenly at around 3:00 PM the LR outer tire had a sudden and catastrophic failure. The failure started about an inch from the bead. The piece that ripped out of the tire was about 14" long and went from the failure point outwards towards the tread about 6-7". Granted it was a used tire when it was installed and being a yard donkey, was meticulously maintained and checked all winter   so I did not expect much from that tire. But I certainly did not expect this.

I am assuming it had a curb strike or a run flat in it's former life, enough to weaken the sidewall cords. My point of this is two things ... always assume the gun is loaded!!! and when you are checking your tire pressures or working around tires, make sure you have a pair of good quality safety glasses on because a tire failure can happen at any time. This one happened while the truck was unattended. Some hearing protection might be a good idea as well but you can make that personal choice.

Take note when you are setting your tire pressures to adjust accordingly. If it is early morning and in the shade you may want to adjust downward a little and re-check when they are in the afternoon sun. Cold tire pressure specs mean not just after coming off the highway and not the middle of winter.

The scary part is it was parked right beside the smoking area where people are standing. If that had gone off while there was someone there, loss of hearing would be one of the best outcomes, I don't want to think of the concussion injuries could have resulted. I now have a dent in the metal siding as a reminder of the incident.

One person from a business 1/2 a block down the street called to ask if everything was OK which thankfully everyone was.

[Oonrahnjay]

    That is scary, Jim; I'm sorry that that happened and it's good that nobody was hurt.  My latest exp.

   Couple of years ago, three lanes going north on US Interstate; I'm in the right-hand ("slow") lane.  A truck comes up next to me with another tailgating him;  it's just my guess the first truck was heavy because he wasn't able to accelerate much up a very gentle hill.  Finally, the first truck gets a reasonable distance in front of me (and I probably slowed down a little just because that's the way I usually drive).  The second truck hit the hammer and pulled past the first when the first was about 100 yds from me and both were edging on BAAMM!!!!
    The entire right hand rear outer dual on the trailer totally exploded in a huge cloud of tire pieces (and I saw very few of them any bigger than the palm of my hand, including tread pieces) and dust, no sign of anything (smoke, bits of rubber being thrown, anything like that) before it went.  The noise was incredible -- like a couple of sticks of dynamite -- and I hit my brakes more out of instinct than anything else (and good luck that he'd pulled ahead of me) so I didn't get hit by anything substantial.  The pieces of tire and other debris were thrown up, and out towards the shoulder of the road, and mostly to the rear farther that I ever thought possible.  He pulled over a couple of hundred yards down the road and I stopped behind him.  There may have been a two inch band of remnants with a very "fringey" edge right at the bead all the way around -- otherwise, the entire tire was gone!  
    The driver was stepping down as I pulled up; I asked if he needed help, if he had a cellphone, etc. and he said it was OK and he could take care of it so I drove on.  Only a couple of miles down the road did it sink in that that tire had been 2 1/2 feet from my car door only 45 seconds before it blew.

    NOBODY SHOULD TAKE TIRES ON A HEAVY VEHICLE FOR GRANTED.

[eagle19952]

pretty much the same deal, sort of...

proper air
under an oak
direct sun only off the horizon, after 5:00 pm
was a spare
was outdated
had previously traveled about 200 miles
now have a newer spare

[lostagain]

A lot of side wall damage can be avoided. Do not curb tires like hired drivers do. It happens in tight spots going in and out of parking lots, street corners, etc. Look in your mirrors to know where your rear tires are. If they are going to run over the curb, stop and back up to take the turn wider. Ignore the line up of cars behind you. They'll have to wait a couple of minutes. Curbing tires is a major cause of tire failure. Often doesn't fail right away, but the damage is done, then heat from under inflation will later cause the failure. Tires need to be babied every day.

JC

[chessie4905]

I've heard of zipper failures like this on one ton truck tires. Like a 235x85-16.

[luvrbus]

My trailer tires do it they will be looking good one day the next day they may zipper and blowout,oh the quality of good 10 ply tires made in China

[windtrader]

Clifford,

Thanks for the tip. I just ordered the China tires with 11 plies - Now I can sleep well at night.

[lvmci]

I was driving I-215 near the Miller brewery in LA area when a very dirty 18wheeler wanted to pass an econobox in the right lane, I was in the middle, in my MCI5A towing a 93 Wrangler. I slowed to allow him into the middle Lane to pass the little car, after passing her, his rear right, 2 tires blew as was described, only an entire tread, unbroken came flying upward from behind the truck, fell infront of the bus, rolled and tumbled under the bus, looked in the rear camera to see the Jeep jump up and down, front then back. Snapped the sewer drain, the jeeps brake vacuum and reservoir, broke both rear drum brakes in assorted ways.
    About $1400 in damage, things happened to fast to see what happened to the family in the little econobox...

[daddysgirl]

Apologies for the late response to this post, but the topic is one of special significance to me.

Nearly lost my dad's best friends a while ago, the 80-year-old wife is finally walking on her "new" leg. The husband told me last week that dad and God were looking down on them as they went into a tree at 70mph off I-95 in South Carolina. The right front tire blew on their MC8.

I don't advocate any brand of tire, but please...ESPECIALLY any new bus nuts...watch this...it can save your life.

https://www.michelinrvtires.com/tires/tires-101/tire-maintenance-and-safety/how-to-handle-a-blowout/