Born Free Leap'n Lions RV Club Info & Discussion Forum

Hello all,
Had an unfortunate blow out on the road today. Front driver side. I only have 9000 miles on the unit. I noticed the tire looking very low and filled it up to 105psi. Drove on it about 30 minutes before it blew. Thankfully there was no damage to the motorhome and we weren’t hurt in any way. This could have been much worse.

I have two questions: 1) what could have caused the tire to be so low on air (was 21.5 psi)..there was no visible sign of damage? 2) what tire do you recommend?

I have a 2016 Imperial Royal. 34 feet, just under 20k pounds. Ford F550. The last time I took it out was the end of February, so while it has been sitting in the driveway for a bit, it’s only been a little over a month since it went out for a short ride.

Thank you in advance.
Lia

Lia,

Well if you drove any distance with the tire inflated to only 21.5 psi, you over heated the tire and caused internal damage. That is why it blew.

I inflated the tire to 105psi before I took it out.

What brand of tire was it?

Randalrae,

Continental. They are the tires that came on the motorhome when purchased. (October, 2016)

Something was letting the air escape. A puncture, leaking valve stem, or bent rim, IMHO.

Bill

You might check with Continental to see if it was recalled. Do you have a tire monitor?

Thanks for the input, folks.

Bill, I think you are right. Something was making that tire lose air, which is why it got so low initially.
I didn’t think to contact Continental, but will do so tomorrow. Ford intends to replace it with the exact same tire.

Next question....is it necessary to replace the passenger side front tire, also? Like I mentioned in OP, I only have 9000 miles on the rv. I know it is common practice to replace both at the same time, but that’s assuming many more miles/wear and tear.

All input/thoughts are greatly appreciated.

I wouldn’t replace both if the front passenger tire is still good and hasn’t given you any problems. As you say, it only has 9,000 miles on it. Should be good for tens of thousands of more miles. Have Ford inspect it for damage or irregular wear.

Bill.

Update:

Ford replaced only the driver side tire, there was no damage to the rim, and said the other tire was in fine condition.

They replaced it with the exact same Continental tire. I am very grateful that things weren't worse.

Thanks for all the input.

Have a fun and safe season!
Lia

Less than two weeks since the new tire was installed, I found the same tire low again. 33 PSI when I checked. I have only driven it home from the Ford dealership. (15 miles)

When you get a new tire, do you also get a new valve stem? Can it be that I am having the same problem,( leaking valve stem) OR is it possible the rim is chewing up the tire? Ford did not replace the rim, only the tire.

Also, I had no warning prior to the blow out from the TPMS...what could have caused this?

Very frustrating to say the least. Getting a 20k lb motorhome towed is no easy feat. it is back and the Ford dealership and they didn't have the opportunity to work on it yet.

As always, I appreciate any, and all feedback.

Safe travels!
Lia

Remove the wheel, fill to 75 psi,or whatever, and put in a tank, pond, lake, tub, etc to see where the bubbles are coming from. Must be a leak.

Also, I would determine why your TPMS didn't give an alert.

Speaking of which, I finally tossed my TPMS due its unreliability and giant programming hassle and replaced it with a "Tire Safe Guard" unit. Far superior!

Karl Striedieck

98 24 RB 238K and running perfectly.

It is one of 3 things: leaking valve stem (although it should have been replaced when they mounted the new tire), tire is not sealing on the rim for some reason, or the wheel itself is split and leaking.

Suggest you do as Karl says: take the wheel with mounted tire off the RV, inflate to recommended pressure and stick it in a dip tank to find out where it is leaking. This isn’t rocket science, so
Ford should be able to correct this easily.

Bill

Lots of times the tpms that screw onto the valve stem will leak there. I would take the tire off and take it to a tire shop and have them look it over and find the leak and then go back to ford.

The Born Free has been at Ford since Tuesday. As of yesterday, I was told they can't find anything wrong with the tire.

I told them keep looking. I'm not taking it home so it can go flat in my driveway again. So very frustrating.

Stay tuned