Truck tires scare the bejesus out of me .

[fastfredracing]

2 weekends ago, I went down into DC, and bought a wrecked Macan for my new drive the kid to school ride .
Im pretty safety conscious in the truck. I pre tripped before I left. We stayed the night in DC, and drove back the next morning. I again pre tripped that morning before we got back on the road .
I always do a quick walk around at fuel stops as well. I am 100% sure I was not flat at my last fuel stop . I made it home without incident, but found my inner rear tire flat the next morning when I went to bring the car and truck to work to start putting humpty dumpty back together .
Friday night after work, I removed the tire and wheel , and checked for any sort of nail or cut or tear. The tire was off the bead at this point from me moving the truck .
I found nothing so I poppped it back on the bead, mouted it back on the truck with about 30 psi of air in it , bolted both wheels back on and started to air up .
I began to hear some odd noises like there was a busted belt or something . I looked, and saw it was still on the bead, so I added about 10 more psi of air .
I heard some more odd noisses, like rubber, and steel tearing, so I stopped . I was tired and frustrated, so I decided to deal with it the next day .
I just got around to it tonight ..It freaking ruptured sitting over the weekend . I was not around . These are newer tires, in really good shape . Ive had this truck almost a year, and only had to add a few PSI to the tires going into the cold months, here. Never lost any significant air .
I am also 100% that I did not hit anything . Unless I went over foreign debris on the highway that I never heard or saw .
There was zero signs of the sidewall bulging or anything that alarmed me when I was inspecting the tire .
I almost put my head under there, and finished blowing up the tire, but somethign just felt " off " to me, so I stoppped .
Turned out to be a smart decision .


[img]http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploads26/mct11740443131.jpg[/img
I have done a lot of tires in my life. Not that many big truck tires, but I have done enough to know . I have a cage .
I know personally of two local guys. One works at the tire store, lost a leg due to a truck tire explosion , and our local Heavy Tow truck/service guy got really banged up when a semi tire exploded on him on the side of the road. Broken ribs, dislocated shoulder, bunch of stitches, has limited movement of a couple of fingers etc .
I always think about this stuff when working around them .
Any how, here is a pic of the smooshed macan since we all like pics .


And I was not sure if I could do it or not, but just dismounted a 19.5 on my rim clamp machine . Its def not made for it and was a little bit of a struggle , but its off .I hate oursourcing things
.
Im a little guy and 54 years old, but still get it done like a boss when duty calls

[fastfredracing]

Pic of ruptured tire didnt load first time

[masraum]

Originally Posted by fastfredracing

Was curious to see the image that didn't post right the first time (because the last "]" at the end of the "img" tag got deleted).

Yikes! As I was reading and you were describing the noises, I was thinking "STOP! STOP inflating!" I've seen enough videos of truck tire explosions. I'm glad it wasn't worse. That's crazy

[Steve Carlton]

You can never be too careful.




This was actually a pretty entertaining movie.

[LWJ]

Wow. Angels looking out for you. Truck tires are terrifying.

[fanaudical]

There is lots of stored potential energy in a truck tire (or even a car tire)...

[onewhippedpuppy]

That would give me serious pause. Tires and spring compressors both make me nervous as hell.

Keep us posted on the Macan and what you think about it. I’m probably buying my daughter one this summer, her GLK350 has over 100k on it and she’s going to college out of state. They are surprisingly affordable.

[vonsmog]

I had this one explode while sitting in the sun outside off the car! It sounded like a gun going off when it popped. Car had been sitting inside for over 20 years with a seized motor and not in the sun. I guess dry rot can happen without the sun.

[Tobra]

This is why I pass big trucks with alacrity, especially if I am driving some old air cooled tin can or little sports car

[GH85Carrera]

My dad told me that a tire from a C-124 was being worked on in a hangar, it exploded, and killed several men, and destroyed the hangar. That totally changed the the way those huge tires were handled after that.

I put Reveria wheels on my 74 914 2.0 back in the 70s. Every time new tires were mounted I watched from a safe distance as they aired them up a lot, to get the bead to seat, especially on the inside.

The most terrifying part of Semis is the recap tires they use on trailers. We all see the tire parts on the side of the road, or often in the roadway. I was getting close to passing a 18 wheeler just as one of the recaps had the entire tread fly off, and it when right over my head. I had the roof off and that tread could easily have take my head off. I have no idea just how close it was, but was truly terrifying. It was way too close. Now I always wait until I can blast bast a semi on the highways. I never ride along next to one for any length of time.

[911 Rod]

Are those the duallys that you see exploding in the cages?
I want nothing to do with them!
Glad to see you are unscathed after this.

[herr_oberst]

Air/tire incidents aren't limited to truck tires - as this guy finds out. It looks like he's trying to seat a tubeless tire when things go very wrong. Good thing he was wearing glasses. I hope his eardrums are OK,

(The white stuff is sticky, goody sealant. What a mess.)

[908/930]

fastfred, was that side of the tire facing the other tire, any chance they are making contact?

[fastfredracing]

Originally Posted by 908/930

fastfred, was that side of the tire facing the other tire, any chance they are making contact?

Nope, no chance they were making contact .

[fastfredracing]

Timely pic.. That is my backhoe tire in the background . It still holds air . I've owned that machine for at least 15 years, and it sits out in the weather ...
I have to stand on that tire to fuel it and check coolant. I was not taking anymore chances .

[Brian 162]

I remember when I was in college taking heavy equipment mechanics in the early 80’s. A Cat scraper was in the shop garage and out of nowhere one of the tires exploded. Luckily nobody was in the shop. I can still picture the cloud of dust that came out of the shop when the tire blew.

[Cairo94507]

Yeah, I do not dawdle when there is a semi on the road next to me. I pass and get away from them as best I can. We see "road-gators" all over the freeways in CA.

[GH85Carrera]

Originally Posted by Cairo94507

Yeah, I do not dawdle when there is a semi on the road next to me. I pass and get away from them as best I can. We see "road-gators" all over the freeways in CA.

Congress needs to pass laws about recap tires on 18 wheelers. I know they save money, and most go the distance, but the road gators are a menace.

Some new tires will fail, and that needs to go back to the manufacturer. Why did it fail, and what percent of those tires failed?

Like the infamous Firestone 500 tires failing. That ruined Firestone, and they were bought by Bridgestone.

[fastfredracing]

So, this whole incident ended up costing me.
I got a call for a tow last night . I took my old truck which is one month out of inspection . Its an older international, but in overall good shape . I use it as a back up .
My inspection license lets me drive uninspected vehicles , but this is gray area for sure as I was using the truck commerically , and not technically repairing or testing it at the time .
I pre tripped and had one small round corner led light out . The connector was corroded and had fallen off . I put it back on , the light worked so I rolled .
West View police did not like where I had my license plate mounted , and pulled me then gave me the business . I tried to explain that I mount the plate where I do because it is obscured when i mount it on the bumper bracket and I am towing a car on the wheel lift . I didnt argue with the officer .
I got the impression that they thought I was riff raff. Long hair ,dirty from an 11 hour day and an older truck . They grilled me about what I was doing in the area, who owned the car on deck , address for the pick up ( they drove by me twice while I was loading ) , and all sort of other impertinent questions about my biz, and where I live .
West View is a nicer town just outside of Pittsburgh City limits. Mostly a clean family type town, with a nice main street , and thriving businesses . Its still a city sewer compared to where I live in my own mind .
Im confident this will all go away in court . My drivers license is clean, my criminal record is spotless, and I run an honest biz, with never as much as a warning in 30 years of being a licensed inspection garage/mechanic in Pa .
The nicer officer said that he will drop charges in court if I show up with proof of the plate being moved, light repaired and current Pa inspection . Second cop was a tool and wanted to throw the book at me.
So, I was hoping this tow , would cover the cost of my new tire, instead, I ended up with 500 dollars in fines . All in the name of progress .
It keeps life interesting.
https://www.facebook.com/100001599331801/videos/809404101395488/

[masraum]

That sucks. What a royal PITA.