I can tell you this, the experience was scary.
It was a travel day and we were leaving Jacksonville, Florida to head to the Tampa area. On days we are hitting the road, Mike does the outside stuff by putting away our lawn chairs, the fire pit, the Blackstone grill–all of the things we get out while stationary. He loads the golf cart, hitches the truck for towing, takes care of the sewer, and disconnects the electric. It’s an unbalanced work load, because all I do is stow away items inside to make them safe for travel and do some housekeeping. We weren’t in a hurry since we were just a couple of hours from our destination, so the morning was leisurely and relaxed. I was ecstatic to get out of Jacksonville and looked forward to our next stop.
We were driving down the road and exchanging banter when all of a sudden I heard a loud bang, which sounded like a close-range gunshot. Mike tightened his hold on the steering wheel and got us onto the side of the road as smoothly as possible (I will post a video below which caught the moment on camera). When we exited the motorhome to see the cause, it was a front tire blown completely to shreds. We’ve heard stories about blowouts causing extensive damage to RVs and causing severe bodily injury in uncontrolled situations. We both said our prayers of gratitude for being safe.
Mike handled the situation calmly and expertly. He’s one of those guys who researches and practices safety measures before they happen. I’m so thankful for his tenacity in this regard. It could have ended very badly had he not been confident in how to handle the disabled motorhome and get it off the highway.
We called Good Sam Road Service for help. Mike explains the process in the video below. To make a long story short, we had a tire delivered and installed within two-and-a-half hours of the accident. It was enough to propel Mike to make the decision to purchase new tires all around.
The good news: We are safe and unscathed.
The bad news: It was a financial setback on top of other repairs we recently needed.
The outcome: We still love this lifestyle of working, living, and traveling full time in an RV. There are unplanned issues from time to time, but there are unforeseen events in life no matter whether it’s on the road or being in a sticks and bricks home. We are learning to roll with the flow.
Below is a short video describing the incident and the outcome.
This video was made the day of the actual event, how Good Sam responded, tire repair, and explains how the tire monitoring pressure system did not work in warning of us of impending blow out.
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What a scary experience. I’m knocking on wood as I type this that we never have it happen to us. GSRS is worth every penny. We’ve been towed twice so it has already paid for itself! Awesome video! Hope you have lots of happy miles with the new sneakers! Safe travels always!
I must say I happy to hear of a good report on Good Sam. The hubby and I are getting ready to go full time and I have heard nothing but bad about Good Sam. Your experience is giving me some valuable information! Thank you!~Kim
We were reluctant to go with them because we heard about delays, etc. We were pleasantly surprised by our experience. I’m not sure how it would have been if we were in a more remote area, but we are fortunate it worked out the way it did. I hope you’re enjoying the process of preparing to go full time–it’s the hardest part of all! Dawn
Prepping is difficult, glad to hear it gets easier. In a constant state of moving boxes right now! I live in a metro area and we found a truck dealer and a Camping World right next to each other. I was afraid to buy from Camping World but I am reconsidering. Thanks for this timely post!~Kim
Sorry to hear this happened to you. We had two blowouts in 2018. Luckily AAA came to the rescue both times and all damage to the RV was covered by extended warranty. We also took valuable tips away from this, beginning each year with new tires will be a time, money and sanity saver.
Safe travels!
The most valuable lessons are always learned from experience. I don’t think we’ll get tires yearly on the motorhome, but we will be keeping close eye on them, for sure. I’m just so thankful we didn’t have damage to the RV itself and we got off the road safely without hurting anyone else. It’s good AAA helped you quickly and efficiently. I had my doubts about Good Sam until they were there when we needed them. Safe travels to you, also!
Glad that you are okay. I’m sure it was very scary. I’ve had a blowout like that once but it was in a small car. I can’t imagine a big thing like yours!
It’s about the same experience relative to size. It’s always scary when something happens while traveling. Just thankful we are all safe. Take care! Dawn
Glad you’re safe. Thanks for the very informative videos.
Thank you! Hope you are enjoying your time out west. Happy Adventuring! Dawn
Dommage, or words to that effect. 🙁 Just glad to know you are both safe and well. x
Thank you, Eleanor. Hope you are doing well!
We had a rear tire blow out in our first month of travel. That took out the black water tank and all the wiring. That caused a 3 month delay in our departure down south. You were blessed. Good Sam is definitely worth the price of participation. Happy trails.
I’m so sorry you so much damage–we knew we were blessed when we stepped out and saw the tire. If we’d been going full speed, it could have been so much worse. Do you miss being on the road? Take care!
You never really said why your TPMS did warn you about the blowout except that your tires were old. Was there any other reason?
This is Mike. I think the TPMS is a false sense of security for some. I wanted to set the expectation that a TPMS does warn of a pending event if a tire is too old. Its great to tell you what your tire pressures are. It’s great to tell you if you have a slow leak, its great to tell you if your temps are increasing. But it can’t warn of a pending blow-out if your tires are too old. I hope that helps.
Whew! Thank the Lord you are safe! Thanks for writing about this scary experience.
We were definitely thanking the Lord. I start each trip with a silent prayer for safety on the road for others and ourselves. We’re just so thankful it ended safely.
So glad all is well. If you are a member of FMCA Michelin has great tire deals. We have a ‘tire fund’ we started on purpose so we can add $$$ as we can afford to so that our tires get replaced as needed.
Thank you. We are members of FMCA and their Michelin deal is wonderful. After much research, Mike decided on the Toyos and still came just below the FMCA discount. I’m so thankful for our repair/tire fund–it’s gotten somewhat depleted the past few months, but we’re getting it back up to comfort level. Still wouldn’t change this lifestyle for the world! Safe travels to you!
I’ve been on the fence about AAA…this post just pushed me over the line. Thanks for posting this!!
We definitely learned the importance of road side assistance. Ours is Good Sam–we’d heard a lot of bad about it, but they came through for us. Others have commented on AAA, too–but having something is important when stranded on the side of the highway. Thanks for stopping by! Safe travels! Dawn
I am thankful this ended well. How scary.
Set backs are sometimes inevitable. It’s funny I came across your post because we were talking about changing our tires before we encounter a scary moment like that. Glad to hear you guys are safe!
It was a little scary, but we are thankful things turned out well, also. We have shiny new tires and have been moving slowly up the East Coast. I tried to take a look at your blog, but it was marked private. If you ever decide to make it public, let me know. I love to follow fellow RV bloggers–never know who we’ll meet on the road. Thanks for the kind comment. Dawn