Tire "Failed for no Apparent reason" I think not.

OK, as you know I follow a number of RV forums. Here is one that caught my eye. Maybe some can learn this lesson before they end up in big trouble.

 

The post started off with   "Well, I can assure that a tire can blow up for no apparent reason. LT275/70R18 Americus Commercial date code 3518. Truck was shaking a bit. Thought drive shaft. If any of you ever drove a bit heavy truck (I used to drive fire trucks) that sat for a long time and got a flat spot, well drive shaft or flat spot feeling.

Couldn't see anything wrong but decided to take my clunker over to (a local NAPA store) and let them have a look. Its about 15 miles. Missus following. Truck was shaking even worse. Missus said she saw the left front "flapping" (her words) and I queried why she didn't call me so I could pull over and check. Anyway I went to the tire and checked by feeling the inside and there was a definite bulge. So I decided to let that go and went in to the office and BANG! rubber off the inside of the driver side front blew off; about a foot long x 8 inch hunk. Tire still holds air. Always kept those tires aired properly.

Bought four Cooper Discoverer A/T All-Season LT275/70R18 125S Tires. The old Americus tires no longer had my confidence. I praised the Lord I was able to make it over to the NAPA without a blow out on the road.

Michelin's would have been my choice but they are outside what I wanted to spend. I checked Sams Club and the same tires were about $100 more a piece than the Coopers."

I wrote the following: I hope this truck owner and some that are reading this post can gain some knowledge.

Well there clearly was a reason for the failure as tires are not Magic. I do not understand what was meant by "blow up for no apparent reason"  If the owner is saying  that he did not understand the different technical reasons for a tire to fail, I can understand that, but as a minimum people should read and try and understand the information in THIS post as it covers the two main reasons for a tire to fail. I have posted this "Why tires Fail" on at least a dozen different RV forums, but as they say you can lead a horse to water but you can't make them drink.

 

When a tire fails, I strongly suggest that you should make at least a minimal effort to understand the "Why" otherwise the actions you take may not prevent another failure.

Think about getting in a car or truck and turning the key and the vehicle doesn't start. Would you simply replace the battery without confirming the reason it didn't start was because the battery didn't have enough charge? What if you were out of gas? Would replacing the starter motor "fix that problem? Of course not. You may not have thought about it but you already approach "Problem Solving" in a logical manner.

 

Tire failures should be approached in the same way if you want to avoid making the same mistake over and over

The vibration you felt was a significant hint that the tire was in the process of coming apart. Tires simply do not go from having a 100% solid construction to having the components such as the steel belts separate the next instant. 

Here is a more detailed post on why tires might fail.    

Here is a story of a tire inspection I did on a tire that was in the process of coming apart.

 As you can see there were a number of warning symptoms. Some were similar to the symptoms you experienced but failed to understand or act upon. 

 

Luckily you were not driving your truck with a significant load at speed when the front tire finally came apart. That could have been serious. I believe that a little self education can be a significant help in reducing potentially serious problems if you have a tire failure.

##RVT1051