Driving a long distance with a flat inside dual

[ULTFREQCCA]

Dan L -

Thanks for the link - I should have figured it was Michelin who made it!
Excellent information - I watched the other one "Things RVers should know" and low and behold they say that there should be no greater than 4/32" between tread depths of the two tires on a dually. Also note the new tire should be mounted on the outside!
So there you have it, right from the horses mouth....so to speak!
I would still change the fronts out for peace of mind...but that's just me!

The Michelin link and/or video s/b a sticky on the IRV2 website....but where? Maybe there s/b a heading "Things every RVer should know!"

Any monitors or administrators watching this thread?

Gary
2001 Ultimate Freedom

[Roadking]

Skooper: On two prior motorhomes I've had three inside dually tires go flat. These were class C motorhomes with 16 inch tires. One of the flats was a blowout and was obviously immediately noticed. In the second case I left a campground and notice a driving issue. I stopped fo gas about 25 miles down the road noticed the inside dually was flat. I believe if I kept driving this tire would have come apart within just a few more miles. In the third case I know I hit a large rock about 40 miles from home and drove the motorhome home. I parked the motorhome and checked the tires and the inside dually was flat. Upon removal there was a very large sidewall slice and likewise this tire was very close to totally coming apart. With the last two failiures I replaced only the failed tire and the remaining tire lasted for 40K+++ miles and about three years without any issue.

From my limited expirence I don't believe a flat dually tire would survive anywhere close to 600 miles without throwing the tread, or somehow coming apart, regardless of how new or old it is. I would suspect you damaged the failed tire somewhere much closer to your final destination....most likely within 50 miles or less. Bottom line, the probability of any mechanical damage is almost zero. I would also expect the probability of the other tire having damage is also very low.

If you do elect to buy two tires then I would strongly suggest following John Hilley's recommendation: "put them on the front and put the existing front tires on the rear dually." It is very hard to steer with a flat front.

[two-niner]

We "thump" the duals at the start of the day. At refueling, just place hand on tire and you will feel an overheated tire. It's very obvious. Touch both sets of duals.
We have a tpms which is good.
It's up to you but AFCHAP's response would be mine also.

Kerry

[DAN L]

before i got the tst tire pressure and temperature monitor system, i used an infrared temperature gauge with a laser light to check temperatures on every stop as well as thumping them.
before traveling every day i always checked the tire pressure with a gauge.

speaking of gauges, i recently purchased a neat gauge. it is the psiclops. it is very well engineered and built. the benefit is that it checks, inflates and equalizes 2 tires at a time. i do both front tires together, then the rear duals. it is like inflating 3 tires instead of 6 and the pressures are equal. the inflator trigger and the air bleeder valve make it very easy.
with the tst system, i don't get to use the psiclops very often.

Vulcan Tire Sales - PsiClops Gauge - Tires, Tire Chains, Tire Gauges and More... Falken - Goodyear - Pirelli - Roadmaster - Avon

[bigskymt]

As Jim Stewart stated the partner tire would be the most likely to be damaged. I drove OTR for many years, if we lost a dual we would remove it (if possible), re-install the good tire and continue to a truck stop. The most damage is done to the partner by the flat rubbing on the good sidewall.
The fact that the flat might disintigrate and damage quarter fenders or mud flaps was another reason we removed it.

[skooper]

Well, I'm the OP and I just thought I'd report back. I checked around by phone for price. A local tire shop that caters to truckers and also cars (smaller town) told me that they could order one (they had the best "reasonable" price). I asked the owner over the phone about changing the tires around and if it is prudent for me buy more than just one tire to replace the one that blew. Since time wasn't a factor, he suggested ordering the one tire and then bringing the coach in and they'd examine the others. He told me that if the blown tire remained intact (didn't disintegrate and rub against the good outside dual) that the probability of any damage or undue stress would be minimal. He said a tire like this is built to take it and that the purpose of "duals" is just that ...one tire/wheel being able to sustain the load if the other should fail (hmmm, I don't know).

So when the tire arrives at the shop, I bring the coach in (drove it on surface streets at speeds below 45 mph for about 8-miles on the intact blown inside dual) to the shop. They remove the set of duals, remove the bad tire from the rim, and then proceed to examine the good outside tire. The guy doing the work tells me that the tire looks real good and in his opinion isn't damaged at all. He tells me that the rim on the inside wheel with the bad tire is not bent or damaged in any way. He said that it is common for the rim to be damaged if the tire were to have disintegrated. However, he said everything looked good. He then examined the front tires and told me that they looked good. I asked him what configuration he'd recommend in moving tires around (moving the good rears to front, etc.). He looked puzzled and asked me to explain. I told him several scenarios that were posted on this thread but didn't tell him where I was getting these suggestions.

Albeit, his examination didn't include taking the tires off the rims ...he just thumped, rubbed, and visually examined them. The impression I got from him is that I was being too critical of having tire damage. He reiterated that not only the XRVs were built to take a lot of abuse but that the purpose of having duals is that the load is shared but if one dual is damaged, the other tire and wheel can sustain quite a bit of abuse before failure or damage occurs.

He tells me that if it were him, he'd just put the new one in the same position as the damaged tire and call it good. He told me he'd do anything I wanted at $20 apiece for mount/dismount plus $20 for a balance but that he really didn't think it necessary. I kept grilling him if any other tires should be replaced at this time because of the stress due to this situation. He told me "no, not in my opinion" and then went to get the owner and another tech to ask for a second opinion. The owner agreed that no other tires should be damaged because of what happened. He said "we'd be glad to sell you more tires! ...but honestly, you should be fine with just replacing the damaged tire in the position that it's in since you have such little mileage on all the tires ...and hey, we'd be glad to change the configuration to any position you wish but you have to keep in mind that you'll be paying $40 apiece for mount/dismount and balance. I don't think I'd want to spend the money for something that is really not that necessary."

So, contrary to what you all advised, I ended up just replacing the damaged tire in the same position it was in and that was it. I also asked them if they thought the blowout was caused by under-inflation for the weight. They told me that they didn't think so; that by the look of the hole, that it more likely was caused by something being kicked up and ripping that hole in the sidewall (a road hazard) and probably not due to overloading or under-inflation. They said that XRVs are noted for having sidewall problems (probably referring to the zipper problems in the past) but said that overall, it is a very good, strong tire that will hold up to a lot of stress without doing damage to the integrity of the tire (belts, sidewalls, tread, etc.).

I hope I did the right thing in not insisting that more tires be replaced or changing their positions. I hope my decision won't kill me, my loved ones, or you or your loved ones. Thank you all for the feedback and suggestions. I'll keep my fingers crossed.

[CJ7ole]

Everybody has a truck tire gauge, right? But how many of you have a tire tread depth gauge? Very inexpensive.

Amazon.com: Milton S448 Tire Tread Depth Gauge: Automotive

[skooper]

CJ7ole, thanks. Yup, I've had one of those for years in my tool box.

However, my problem didn't have anything to do with tread depth. My tires only have 12,000 miles on them when my blowout happened.

Most RV tires will never need a tread-depth measurement as age will make most RVers change out their tires way before the depth of the tread make it necessary to replace tires.

A good example of this is when I was at this tire shop having this tire replaced, I noticed on their discard pile were six XRVs in the same size as mine. I mentioned to the tech who was doing my work that those tires look great ...the tread almost looked new (I was thinking to myself, I could have used one of those as a replacement) but after talking to the tech, he said that a guy with a Alfa See-Ya had been in two days before and spent over $3,000 to change out all of his tires because they were over 5-years old and he wanted six new tires put on.

Sure, I could have probably purchased one of those tires on their junk heap for next to nothing but being over 5-years old, they're about to the end of their life-cycle even though the tread looked brand new!

[wa8yxm]

These two questions are easy:

Originally Posted by skooper

My two questions are:

1. Do you think I did any major damage to the drivetrain …bearings, axle, etc.?[/quote

No, I seriously doubt you did, However check the wheel well for damage to plumbing, electric lines or gas lines that may pass over the tire

Yes, you did Replace it, and since all tires on the same axle should be the same age.. The other two too (or perhaps move the front tires back and put new rubber on the front)

[skooper]

Originally Posted by wa8yxm

Yes, you did Replace it, and since all tires on the same axle should be the same age.. The other two too (or perhaps move the front tires back and put new rubber on the front)

It's already been done. I took the advice of the owner and employees of a reputable tire shop that many local truckers use. As I explained in my previous post, I just replaced the bad tire and kept it in the same position. They told me that 12,000 miles is not enough tread difference to worry about.

I'll let everybody know if it turns out to be a bad decision. I figured when a professional tire person is actually recommending against replacing more tires than I need, they're not only honest but makes me pay more attention to their advice. They could have very easily told me I need to replace all the rear tires at $550 apiece but they didn't.

[inspectorudy]

I have had good luck with all types of tires and I think most people over think them. They are not like a metal than can exceed it's limits of stretch or strain. They can certainly be damaged but not in the way many seem to think. I would have done exactly what you did and put a new tire on the dual wheel. In fact that's exactly what I did when I bought my used '05 Adventurer. It had a sidewall cut that made it unrepairable and the tire company said put a new one on it a go.

[CJ7ole]

The tread depth gauge came in handy when determining if my front tires could be safely put in the inside dual positions. All were about five years old but some had seen steer tire duty and I presumed they saw more wear. Turned out they were all within 1/32, so there was no issue with diameter. Old inside duals were 9-10 years old