By David Anderson. I was preparing to leave Fun Valley RV Resort in Colorado on Sept 5^th, on a Sunday, before I began a trip. I inspected the bus, checked all my tires, and noticed a couple of bubbles on the inside dual on the street side.  I jacked up the coach and removed both wheels to take them to a tire shop to replace the inside tire.  The tire had 90 PSI when I removed it.  That is what I run on the drives and bogies.  I run 100 PSI in the front.  

I put the wheel in the back of my 2007 Ford Escape, hoping to get a new tire on Tuesday after Labor Day when stores reopen.  On Monday afternoon at 1:15 PM, the tire exploded in the car, breaking out the front and back windows, blowing out all five doors, raising the roof, and knocking the SUV spare tire from underneath the car.  It was 75 degrees outside.  It looks like the car may be totaled.  

The explosion was as loud as Smokey, the cannon at UT Longhorn football games, and glass was found over 100' away.  Fortunately, no RVs were damaged around me.  If I had been in the car, I believe I would not have survived such a violent blast.  None of the doors will latch closed correctly now. 

The tires were Toyo's M177, date code 4419. The guy at the tire shop could not find any evidence that would indicate why the explosion happened. The other tire has the same date code. It looks fine, but out of fear, I replaced both tires. I towed the car back to Texas. I will see if it is worth fixing in a few days.

Publisher’s Note:  A tire Date Code of 4419, implies was manufactured in the 44th week of 2019. 

Post by: windtrader

I’m very relieved there was nobody in the car as likely something potentially much more severe could have occurred.  I have never heard of something like this happening.  I'm glad you are OK; the car can be replaced.  If you have full coverage insurance, the claim and conversation with your insurance agent must have been memorable.

Post by: David Anderson

I only had liability coverage.  The car is too old and not worth much, but it was such a great vehicle.  The wheel sat next to the coach for a day within 5' of my neighbor's 5th wheel trailer.  If it had blown there, then it would have launched through his galley, causing tens of thousands of dollars in damage. 

I assume the bus liability insurance would cover that, but it won't cover damage to my own tow vehicle, even though it was caused by a part from the insured bus.  

Post by: luvrbus 

That is why I never carried a spare tire in a bus; if I had to carry one, it would have been unmounted.  I saw an MCI at Kraft Tours in Tulsa; The 15-year-old spare exploded under the floor and tore the dash out.  It also blew out the windshields and side glass and sent metal through the roof of the MC-9. Mr.  Kraft considered himself lucky no one was injured and removed all the spares from his buses.  

Post by: freds 

It could have been 120 degrees in the car, which could have likely put it over the edge. 

Post by: David Anderson 

Re: 120 degrees: It should have been cooler than driving on a 110-degree day in the desert.  The tire guy said it should not have happened at that age.  

I'm with you on this after this fiasco.  At least, if you have a spare, inflate it to no more than 10-20 PSI, which is just enough to keep it beaded on the rim.  Air it up when mounted before you lower the jack.

Post by: DoubleEagle

The trouble with an old spare, or one that is not mounted, is that the same risk occurs when it comes time to re-inflate or mount. If a tire is too old, in the opinion of some tire services, they won't touch it even if it is in a cage. Maybe inflating it to 50-60 lbs. would reduce the risk of explosion, and the tire would still be usable to get somewhere at slower speeds.  

All of this underscores the danger of inflating tires. It used to be worse with the split rims. I've only had one tire explode on me in the last 50 years, and it was on a truck sitting in the garage with no one around. It was a second recapped Michelin.

Post by: Jim Blackwood 

I will lower the pressure in my spare. 

Post by: Iceni John 

Yikes. I think I'll do the same.   

Post by: windtrader 

I just armored the area above the spare. I went to the local military surplus and welded in a thick plate. Let it blow; it may mess up the tarmac but leave the coach unscathed. All joking aside, this incident did make me think I should not use a takeoff (tire) as the spare. The tire I have in there must be compromised by now. 

Post by: peterbylt 

When I was first building my bus and had not changed out any of the tires yet, I was working on the driver’s side drive axle. I had both drive tires leaning against the front of the bus. While I was at work, the inner of the two tires exploded with enough force to throw the outer tire 25 feet away.

One of the guys who lived on the property said the explosion was loud enough to scare him half to death.  He looked around but was unable to determine the cause.  Someone in the area must have called the police.  When I arrived at the shop, they drove up and asked if I had heard an explosion.

It wasn’t until later, when I found one tire 25 feet away and the other one shredded, that I figured out what had happened. A lot of stored energy was waiting to be released. It was a seven-year-old Firestone tire that looked pretty good.

Post by: chessie4905 

Next time you carry a coach tire in the car, lower air pressure to 10 to 20 PSI. Wow!  Imagine if you were driving when it happened.  There would be ruptured eardrums, at the very least. 

Post by: Jim Blackwood 

Yesterday, I dropped the pressure in my spare tire to 60 PSI, removing the valve core. That tire has a heck of a lot of energy stored in it.

Post by: dtcerrato 

We're assuming the OEM spare tire compartment on our 4104 is a safe place to store a fully inflated tire. At full pressure, it adds security and safety for the driver in a front-end crash. 

Post by: luvrbus 

I think that’s an old wives' tale, that an inflated tire under the driver, protected the driver, was started by a Bus Nut. Even with a spare tire, there is very little safety in the front of a GM or any other bus. That was always my fear of owning a bus; drivers seldom survive a head-on collision in a bus.  

Post by: rancher 

David, I am sure glad no one got hurt and that you were able to get your SUV repaired. There was a time when I thought Toyos were good tires, and I have frequently run them on semi-trucks.  I had the same issue as yours on a couple of grain trailers.  Tires were only four and five years old and not recaps. 

We only haul our own grain, so we do not put on a lot of miles. Both blew out like yours.  One was going down the road loaded, and it took the other one out beside it.  This caused five thousand dollars in damage to the trailer.  The other blowout happened while the trailer was sitting in the field, loaded with a grain cart.  It scared the guy in the tractor pulling the cart. 

Post by: luvrbus

Has anyone checked to see if Toyo has a recall on that tire?  I know they recalled a lot of tires made in Serbia.  I ran Toyo for years on my bus and RV, but only the ones made in Japan, and I never had a problem.

Post by: Dave5Cs 

My Toyo’s are 2013 and made in China. They ride nice and have no cracking. I’ve never had a problem with them. The drives are at 85 PSI, and the steer tires are at 90 PSI.

Post by: David Anderson 

Does anyone think I could file a claim against Toyo?  I still have all the damaged goods, the tire, and all my bills. 

Post by: luvrbus 

You never know.  Toyo is easy to work with and that tire should have a 5-1/2 year warranty.  I never had a Toyo on my Eagle or the Country Coach that didn't have the 5-1/2 year warranty.  You may have trouble trying to explain what the heck the tire the tire was doing in the back of a SUV.

Post by: DoubleEagle 

Another factor might be how hot the tire got in the car with the sun shining through the windows. It might have gotten hot enough to affect the tire pressure if it was closed up. 

Post by: epretot 

I shared this explosion story with multiple friends, who all thought the same thing. But I wonder what the temperature difference is between the hot car and the friction of the road.

Post by: David Anderson 

It was 75 outside at 1:15 PM. Yes, it was hotter in the car. The tire split open on the face-down side where the bubbles were on the sidewall. This launched it up to hit the roof, raising it with a noticeable bump in the rooftop. I have carried aired-up wheels in the back of my truck camper to tire shops in the past with no issues. I'm not sure what I would have done differently except deflate it next time. 

Post by: luvrbus 

Commercial tire companies have always told me a tire will increase 1 PSI per a 10-degree increase in temperature.  I have never noticed that much on my monitoring system.  Using their calculations, a 100-degree swing would be an additional 10 PSI.    

Post by: DoubleEagle 

If the pressure increases 1 PSI per 10 degrees, and it was not all that hot by Western standards, then what is left is a tire sidewall failure and the fact that David was very lucky not to have been in the vehicle. 

Publishers Notes:  

To see what happens when a tire explodes, check out this video. 

To see what happens when a front tire blows out on a bus or motorhome and how to handle it, check out this video.