Front tire blow out going 55 MPH on the freeway

[Rifleman]

Today was a bright sunny day here in Arizona so i took a cold war vet for a ride in my M925. He use to drive 813's in Germany back in the 70's so he wanted to see how different the M925 was to what he drove.

Before we left i did a PM check on the tires,oil and trans fluid. We drove about 45 miles north of the city so we could do a little off roading. We spent about 2 hours off roading and then headed back into town. On the way back home we stopped and filled the tank and while at the station i did a walk around checking for fluid leaks and i wanted to check the tires to make sure there was no damage from the trails we took, everything looked fine. We hopped back onto the freeway heading south, we had about 40 miles to go to get home.

About 5 miles from our off ramp i had a right front steering tire blow out at 55 MPH, i was in the right lane but i have to tell you it took all of my strength to control the truck. As soon as the tire blew it was like someone had put a 1000 pound weight on the steering wheel pulling the truck into a HARD right turn.

The first thing i did was grip the steering wheel in a death grip, then i took my foot off the gas peddle, never once touching the brakes, i then released just a little of my death grip on the steering wheel, this allowed the truck to steer itself to the right, over to the shoulder of the freeway and coast to a stop.

Once i got the truck safely stopped we got out to inspect the damage. The first thing i noticed was a gouge in the pavement caused by the rim leading from what was left of my tire all the way back to the point where the tire had blown. The blow out was so server the tire bead had come completely off the rim both inter and outer, along with that the valve stem had been sheared off too.

After taking a few minutes to thank a higher power that we made it through this without a scratch we got about the job of changing the tire. Now if you have never done this job before it is best to learn how in your own driveway, learning how to do this on the side of a busy freeway during rush hour traffic is the wrong place to learn.

One very important point i would like to make, there was no warning signs at all that the tire was about to blow, one minute everything was fine, we were cruising along at 55 MPH, the next it just blew and we got to experience 30 seconds of shear terror.

All in all i do have to say it was a good day, the lord smiled on us, no damage was done to my truck other then needing a new tire, but i do have to report that my seat cushion is nowhere to be found, i think that has something to do with the pucker factor being so high during the blow out Updated on 9/25/13 with photos of the tire. Please take note that there is only damage on one side of the tire, the side that faced out. Also note the chunks of tread that are missing on the same side of the tire that failed.

 

[ducer]

When you do find that seat cushon it will probably have to be washed anyway. That is one of my biggest fears when I drive my truck, loosing a front tire. I'm glad you all are ok.

Denny

 

[FASTNOVA]

I've been there. Glad you were OK. Do you have any roadside pics of the damage to the tire?

 

[juanprado]

What size tire and make was it?

 

[Flyingvan911]

Wow. Glad you're ok. Good thing you had power steering.

 

[Suprman]

That's scary good thing no one was hurt

 

[TacticalDoc]

pictures?
why was it so hard to control? Isn't it power steering?

 

[zout]

Glad to hear all is well - I am sure you know what could have happened. Also not any other vehicles were involved scooping them up.

 

[skuhler]

I bet it was pretty warm that day. I've seen heat buildup on the large tires cause blowouts. It's most common on tires that show some weathercracking, but it's a potential problem on all tires once they get a certain age. I had a blowout this summer close to Grand Island NE and the local tire dealer pointed out that there is a code on the tire indicating its production date, like mine was 308. My reply was "oh, made in 2003, it's ten years old, wow", his comment was "no, they went to 4 digits in 2000, so this would be 1993".

 

[M35A2-AZ]

WOW!!! Glad you are ok!!

 

[gringeltaube]

......................there is a code on the tire indicating its production date, like mine was 308. My reply was "oh, made in 2003, it's ten years old, wow", his comment was "no, they went to 4 digits in 2000, so this would be 1993".

For what it matters: ( 308 ) would be 30th week of 1988; or ( 308<) which means it was made in the 30th week of 1998.


G.

 

[Suprman]

I look every week at trucks for sale on GL. There are usually a few trucks with a blown tire here or there. The blown tires are almost always the older style Michelins. The type that has the wavy sidewall thing going on. They always look like they had a catastrophic blowout the sidewalls look like they dry rotted and just fell apart. Those tires scare me I wont drive on those I stick to the newer Michelin xzl or the Goodyear at's. The date code on the tires is 4 digits the first two indicate the week and the second two indicate the year.

 

[Heath_h49008]

Flashbacks of this time last year. (I lost one at the same speed in my M35A2 on the recovery.)

Good job man!

 

[maddawg308]

I've driven many miles in my deuces on tires made in the 1960s and 1970s. Never once thought of a blowout, but maybe I should have, and made a concerted effort to put a newer tire on the front side.

Glad you're okay.

 

[steelandcanvas]

I've had the same thing happen to me once, only it was a left steer tire and I was in the left lane, it was a left hand exit off of I-25 North of Denver. Luckily my Dad was following behind me and started weaving back and forth so I could limp over to the right hand side. He said he heard the boom and saw the rubber fly and knew I was in trouble. It took every bit of upper body strength I had to get that truck to the right side with the left tire gone. Hope you find the seat cushion...probably the same place mine is in. Glad you took care of business and everyone came away unscathed.

 

[plumkrazy]

Also check the max mph limit on sidewall. The goodyear 395's are rated for 68mph. On the 14.00's I believe they are rated for 55 mph. It's not the thickness on the tread that tells you the condition of the tire, but the amount of UV sun damage to the casing, if the tire has been sitting with a flat, and the abuse the tire has suffered from under inflation.

 

[trukhead]

Thank Goodness nothing worse happened!
After hearing your story, My one experience of going 75 MPH in my M931A2 tractor will be the last as well. I'm gonna look for a civi tractor with civi tires and the 8.3 and the automatic tranny that I can hot rod around in.
Save the tractor for the off road pleasures!

 

[Heath_h49008]

Also check the max mph limit on sidewall. The goodyear 395's are rated for 68mph. On the 14.00's I believe they are rated for 55 mph. It's not the thickness on the tread that tells you the condition of the tire, but the amount of UV sun damage to the casing, if the tire has been sitting with a flat, and the abuse the tire has suffered from under inflation.

Sort of... That's max speed at max rated load.

Unless you bobbed a deuce down to a unicycle, those tires are WAY below the rated speed/load curve.

But I 100% agree, after my blowout, I'm paranoid about tire condition/cracking.

 

[Another Ahab]

Probability says it will NEVER happen to you again (like the proverbial lightning hitting twice). And you now have incontestable bragging rights on relating a blowout (much less at 55!). And thankfully without harm to anyone (other then the psychic terror for you two in the cab). You made it through, Brother. Amen.

 

[Triple C]

Yep, it gets exciting in a hurry doesn't it. I had one on the drivers side like that. Glad you are okay and I agree completely, learn how to change the tire before you find yourself on the side of the road. Thanks for sharing.