"Run Flat" vs "Blowout" protection

Saw a thread on run flat fixtures to be used on the front of an RV to provide some protection against losing control if a front tire were to fail. A lot of discussion and conjecture but not many facts. Before I start it's important to be sure we all are on the same page with these terms.

"Run Flat" capability in today's tire market is a reality for passenger car tires. Tires designed and so labeled can provide mobility at reduced speed for various number of miles even after a complete loss of air. Some advertise 50 miles at 50 mph. I know of no true run flat tires for LT, Truck or RV application.

"Blowout" is a generic term used by many to describe a tire failure. This term does not provide information to tire engineers on the condition or possible cause of the failure.

"Rapid Air Loss" or "RAL" is any sudden loss of all the air in a tire.

"Belt or Tread Separation" -- This is when the belt and or tread portion of a tire separates from the rest of the tire. The carcass or body of the tire many times will still hold air.

"Run Flat Device" -- This is some equipment that fits inside a tire. It may prevent the beads from De-seating from the rim or may limit the collapse of the tire after the loss of air.

"Steering Stabilizer" -- This is vehicle equipment that may lessen the "jerk' of the steering in the event of an RAL.

I do understand the concern of some about the loss of control of a large RV in the event of a front tire failure. Yes, I have seen some of the videos and they are spectacular, but a front tire failure does not have to mean you will have a crash.

Back in the early '70s I worked extensively on a new type of tire from Firestone, the LXX, which was intended to replace 10.00-20 and 11-22.5 size tires but used a 26.5 rim. I even spent a week in Texas at the test track intentionally puncturing front tires with a 2" diameter hole to test vehicle control. While the tire worked as designed, the cost of new wheels made the tire design not viable in the truck tire market.

Here is a picture in the Akron newspaper at the time showing the tire with my then boss Ed Henry.

The main challenge for vehicle control is to either limit the "drop" when a tire suffers an RAL or to limit the steering response which can send the vehicle into another traffic lane.

There are a number of systems on the market:

Tyron is designed to keep the tire on the wheel. It does not appear to lessen the collapse of the tire.

Rodguard inserts for 14" to 17" tires appears to partially support a flat tire.

Safe-T-Plus steering stabilizers take a different approach to vehicle control.

Hutchenson seems to focus on extreme situations, such as military applications.


I recall hearing about multi-piece inserts like this one from TAC but was not able to find current info for 22.5 RV size tires.

IMO the best approach to preventing a loss of vehicle control is three steps:

1. Use a TPMS and have it set to tightly monitor your inflation. Test your sensor to confirm it reports pressure loss at the level you expect. It may not be set correctly and a test can confirm.

2. Closely inspect your tires at least annually and if possible even have your tire dealer check for out-of-round or lateral wobble of the tread and bulges in the tire sidewall. These can be early warning of separations or other structural damage to a tire.

3. Study and review the safety videos on how to maintain vehicle control in the event of an RAL.
   Here is one from Michelin, and another, and yet another.


##RVT807

Tire Blowout - China-Bomb or Pothole?

Hardly a week goes by without someone posting that they had a "Blowout" and since they had checked the tire air that morning, they "knew" the blowout must have been caused by a defective tire. Many times they jump to the conclusion that because the tire was not made in the USA, that fact seems sufficient in their minds to establish certainty.

I have posted replies that just because they had checked their tire a few hours prior to the failure, that is not sufficient proof that the failure was due to a defective tire. In my experience the vast majority of so-called "Blowouts" are actually "Run-Low-Flex" failures. A tire can loose air for any number of reasons such as puncture or valve leak or even an impact.

I am a strong advocate of TPMS as they can warn of air loss but even the best TPMS cannot provide warning of a catastrophic air loss that can occur after impact damage.

Those that have attended one of my seminars may remember my story of the two impact failures my then fiancee had and how both tire failures occurred some 20 miles after the actual impact. I am sad to report that I suffered an impact on my personal car. I do not remember hitting a specifically large or deep pot-hole with the LF tire but luckily for me I noticed a bulge on the outer shoulder of that tire.

When I saw the bulge I knew at once I had a failed tire and it was only a matter of a few miles before there would be a sudden rupture of the sidewall and the air would rush out the 1" plus hole. Too fast for my TPMS to provide a warning. I recognized the signs of an impact because I have inspected hundreds of tires with similar damage. Some were hard to find as the damage was not even visible after dismounting the tire while others had "blown" while the vehicle was parked so there was no damage from running on a tire with zero psi.

The silver lining to this is that it gives me an opportunity to show the results of my step by step examination. Hopefully this will allow you to have a better understanding of how proper failed tire inspection is done and note that simply jumping to conclusion that since the tire was not made in the USA the country of origin played no part in causing the failure.

Here is the dismounted tire.

 Note the signs of damage are essentially invisible BUT since I did a complete examination before dismounting the tire I can show the physical evidence on the rim that shows the marks left by the tire as it was severely deflected and bent down over the rim even though fully inflated.

  The small lines were left from the sidewall decoration on the tire where it contacted the rim.

Here you can see the break in the interior where the body cord failed under the shock load.

Before I dissected the tire I continued my visual inspection and noted marks on the interior opposite the fracture. You can see where the tire was bent and over extended but did not fail.

A close-up showing the failed body cord. This "crack" measures about 0.6" long

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Here is a video.

Watch the rubber to the left of the break. See how it stretches in a strange manner. The body cord under this rubber is also broken but not visible as the interior rubber has not failed yet. Sometimes all I find are signs of this stretching that indicates hidden failed body cord.

Hope this helps some understand what can happen. If I hadn't happened to see the bulge I definitely would have suffered a rapid air loss with possible vehicle damage or even loss of control and worse.