Flat Tire...@ 8K miles...does this look ok to you?
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Topic: Flat Tire...@ 8K miles...does this look ok to you?
Posted By: AmberKate
Subject: Flat Tire...@ 8K miles...does this look ok to you?
Date Posted: 15 Oct 2016 at 7:15pm
Was humming along at about 68 mph on FL Turnpike when all of a sudden boom... pulled off immediately! But please note - the flat ripped the fender off which ripped the wiring off and this is what is left...Have had the Pod since April 2016... maybe 10K miles on tires at the most - does this look right to anybody? And to the best of my knowledge, no, I did not run over anything. I could use some input from you folks... thanks.
------------- AmberKate & RIP Little Tootsie - 
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Replies:
Posted By: Leo B
Date Posted: 15 Oct 2016 at 7:25pm
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Wow haven't seen anything like that so far. ------------- Leo & Melissa Bachand 2017 Ford F150 2021 Vista Cruiser 19 csk Previously owned 2015 Rpod 179 2010 Rpod 171 |
Posted By: mcarter
Date Posted: 15 Oct 2016 at 7:42pm
| Wow, there has been posts on tires and speeds above 65 mph. I seems odd that tire would delaminate and take fender with it, like a retread. I have been thinking about better tires for my 178, would be interesting to see what forum thinks about tires. |
Posted By: jato
Date Posted: 15 Oct 2016 at 8:04pm
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Almost appears like a retread that failed. Possible low tire pressure and failure? Under low pressure (maybe you had a slow leak?) tire heats up big time and failure will occur. We always check to make sure ours is 50 psi, every trip. Put on just over 20 k miles on our original tires and just replaced them this spring even though they had plenty of tread left because I was told by some of the experts on this forum that when tires get a certain age, replace them. Mine happened to be nearly 7 years old when I replaced them in May this year. Take to your selling dealer, see if he will help you out, he ought to. Replaced our tires with Hartland brand, seems to be good so far. Keep us posted with what / how this plays out. ------------- God's pod '11 model 177 '17 Ford F-150 4WD 3.5 Ecoboost Jim and Diane by beautiful Torch Lake "...and you will know the Truth and the Truth will set you free." |
Posted By: Leo B
Date Posted: 15 Oct 2016 at 8:05pm
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It does look like a peeled retread. We had 14,000 miles on our first pod before we traded it for the 179. Tires were still in good shape. ------------- Leo & Melissa Bachand 2017 Ford F150 2021 Vista Cruiser 19 csk Previously owned 2015 Rpod 179 2010 Rpod 171 |
Posted By: AmberKate
Date Posted: 15 Oct 2016 at 8:37pm
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Jato, As always, I had checked tired pressure before I left... had only been on the road for about 3 hours when it blew. I have a motorcycle (Triumph Rocket iii ) and I am pretty fussy about tire pressure on all my wheeled toys!  ------------- AmberKate & RIP Little Tootsie -
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Posted By: finder9
Date Posted: 15 Oct 2016 at 9:31pm
| What brand were they? Constancy? |
Posted By: AmberKate
Date Posted: 15 Oct 2016 at 10:07pm
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Finder9 They were the OEM tires...Ridgeway Sport? ------------- AmberKate & RIP Little Tootsie -
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Posted By: StephenH
Date Posted: 15 Oct 2016 at 11:31pm
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I replaced mine with Carlisle tires from Discount Tire. These are load range D tires which use a tire pressure of 65 psi. I wanted something with more reserve weight carrying capacity than the load range C tires which came stock. I saw wear patterns on my tires that I did not like. I'm sorry for your mishap. FYI: The stock tires are supposed to be limited to 65 mph. 68 mph is not that much higher, and should not have caused this to happen. However, if you at some point had hit a curb or some other obstacle with the trailer tire, it could have started a delamination that took a while to manifest. In your case, it looks like it did so explosively. ------------- StephenH Happy is the man that findeth wisdom,... http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=7712 - ouR escaPOD mods Former RPod 179 Current Cherokee Grey Wolf 24 JS |
Posted By: jato
Date Posted: 16 Oct 2016 at 7:39am
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After doing some searching about this issue, the consensus is that the most common/frequent reason for this is" design and manufacturing defects" so hopefully your dealer will go to bat for you. Also saw a number of lawyers who specialize in this as well if your dealer can't help.
------------- God's pod '11 model 177 '17 Ford F-150 4WD 3.5 Ecoboost Jim and Diane by beautiful Torch Lake "...and you will know the Truth and the Truth will set you free." |
Posted By: StephenH
Date Posted: 16 Oct 2016 at 9:07am
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Jato, Thank you. This definitely should be pursued with the dealer's assistance. ------------- StephenH Happy is the man that findeth wisdom,... http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=7712 - ouR escaPOD mods Former RPod 179 Current Cherokee Grey Wolf 24 JS |
Posted By: CharlieM
Date Posted: 16 Oct 2016 at 11:07am
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Check the DOT code on the sidewalls. The first two digits in the code are the manufacturing plant. http://www.barrystiretech.com/dotcoding.html - http://www.barrystiretech.com/dotcoding.html http://www.harriger.com/tires.htm - http://www.harriger.com/tires.htm I suspect you are the victim of the China Bomb syndrome. Problems with these tires have been reported and some members have achieved resolution by contacting the supplier, Lionshead. Contact your dealer or Forest River to begin the process. Here's a contact at Lionshead, complements of our friends at the Camplite forum: bscott@lionsheadtireandwheel.com. You should replace both tires, preferably with BF Goodrich or Maxxis. ------------- Charlie Northern Colorado OLD: 2013 RP-172, 2010 Honda Pilot 3.5L 4WD PRESENT: 2014 Camplite 21RBS, 2013 Supercharged Tacoma 4L V6 4WD |
Posted By: john in idaho
Date Posted: 16 Oct 2016 at 11:35am
| I had a spare tire that had never been on the ground - bolted to the side of the horse trailer - explode in the driveway. Makes quite an explosive boom. It was made in China, but the tire store guy said all trailer tires are made in China these days. |
Posted By: techntrek
Date Posted: 16 Oct 2016 at 12:00pm
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I check mine before every trip and after having two blow on one trip, I've considered getting a TPMS. In the OP's case the pressure was right at the start but a slow leak could have caused the blowout. ------------- Doug ~ '10 171 (2009-2015) ~ 2008 Salem ~ http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=1723 - Pod instruction manual 
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Posted By: AmberKate
Date Posted: 18 Oct 2016 at 11:55am
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CharlieM, You and I are on the same thought wave. Contacted Forest River and in spite of being out of warranty, Jessica is checking with the tire vendor to see if they can make this right. I am leaning (heavily) to moving to a Load Range D tire that has a higher maximum speed... Thanks for your input...everyone here has been so very helpful. ------------- AmberKate & RIP Little Tootsie -
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Posted By: TheBum
Date Posted: 18 Oct 2016 at 12:19pm
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I also had two both tires blow out on one trip, one on the way there and one on the way back. They only had about 5k miles on them. I'm also considering a TPMS, although I have more confidence with the D load rated tires on our 179 now.
The second blowout was violent enough to bend back the front edge of the fender and almost completely rip it loose from the trailer. Fortunately, the screw heads tore through the fender and didn't strip out of the body, and our dealer replaced the fender under warranty. |