Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2018/11/15/my-life-on-the-road-watching.html
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That sounds like entirely too much driving for one day.
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Sympathizing! Our family station wagon was outfitted with five Firestone 500s when my parents bought it. Every single one blew out, three of them at high speed. I remember careening wildly down the interstate, my father roaring and fighting the wheel, his lit briar forgotten and rolling around the floor as chunks of front tire banged against the underside and flanks of the car… long before Firestone admitted fault, we were biting our nails every time we got in the vehicle.
(That experience actually stood me in good stead when I dropped a ball joint on the highway in a 1960s Karmann Ghia decades later.)
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@SeamusBellamy Ref what happens if you have a blowout, I hope your wife saw this video posted in the comments on your last post re the RV trip.
https://bbs.boingboing.net/t/my-life-on-the-road-stranded-in-wyoming/13
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@SeamusBellamy Do you have Tire Pressure Monitors on your rig? If not, have you considered them? They could give you some assurance on your tires. Stay safe.
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I hope your tires hold up. I have a habit of buying a set of new tires before a long road trip if the existing ones are more than a few years old, but that seems like a lot of money for that rig. Still, it could be worth it for a catastrophe averted.
I hope none of your tires are Goodyear G159s - there are major problems with them. Basically truck/agricultural tires that are not designed for use on RVs and fail catastrophically when used at speed - which driving from Wyoming to Texas in a couple of days requires
https://jalopnik.com/the-tragedy-of-goodyear-s-allegedly-defective-g159-tire-1830404569
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It’s worth the effort to find vehicles that can use 11r22.5 tires. They are super common and most mobile service trucks carry them.
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Tonight, we’ll rest in Texas.
Do it Texas style!
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$1,200 and two new tires later
I feel better about having to cough up for four new car tires at my last auto inspection, but share your concern about blowouts. I keep written records, but when things like that are not the same age/condition, it makes me nervous. Stay safe!
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Cue Gerard Butler gif.
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20 yrs ago my parents gave me an old Saturn sedan that had Firestone tires on it. One of them delaminated in just the way you describe, chunks flying off, big flap of tread slapping into the fender and wheel well. After that I purchased Kuhmo’s and never bought Firestone tires again.
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This. Most blowouts are caused by low pressure causing undue flex fatigue on the sidewall.
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