First front tire blow out....

[RLS7201]

12 miles north of Pratt, KS., on 61 Hwy, I heard a BOOM from the left front. Tightened my grip on the steering wheel and tapped the brake to turn off the cruise. I managed to hold the steering wheel and turned a little to the right but the coach still drifted about 3 feet into the on-coming lane. Then, as the coach slowed, it jumped to the right and I was back in my own lane. The death wobble was intense until I was almost stopped. Drifted off the Hwy until the left tires were just on the asphalt. Proceeded about a quarter of a mile until I found an intersection to stop at. I have a spare and the necessary tools to change a tire BUT the tire ripped my left front jack hose off the control valve. I couldn't lift the coach to get my hydraulic jack under the axle. Called road service and they had a service truck, from Pratt, there within the hour. The damaged tire and wheel was covered with oil, so I asked the service man to take it to his shop and dismount the tire and wipe down the wheel. Didn't want that oily mess in the storage bay.
Not only did I blow a tire, the shaking caused some electrical issue. We decided to turn around and head back home (Gladstone, MO), instead of proceeding on to Quartzsite. That was about a 600 mile turn around. I will go to the hydraulic shop tomorrow and have a new hose made for the LF jack. New tires are here and all I need to do is dismount the tires & wheels and go use my friends tire machine and balancer.
Now before we go to talking about a Steer Safe, I did not lose control of the steering wheel. So a Steer Safe would have been of no help.

Richard

[wa8yxm]

One thihg I will say about the brake tap to kill the cruse control
Usually the cruise disengages at like 1" or less. takes over twice that to start breaking

[LouLawrence]

Considering the outcome, the OP did just the right thing! He's safe and that's all that matters. He could have just stomped the gas and ke tpthe RV on course a tiny bit better but getting off the cruise and maintaining control worked. Just keep in mind that you DO NOT want to put on the brakes! Knowing what to do and having your reflexes do what needs to be done is easy when shown on a video but pretty **** hard in the real world.

[RLS7201]

PastorCharlie wrote:

RLS7201 wrote:

PastorCharlie wrote:
All vehicles I have owned with cruise control had an OFF or CANCEL button with the same group of buttons on the steering wheel. Tap it with finger.

Would you have released the steering wheel with one hand to tap the cruise control button when the steering wheel needed both hands to control it?

Richard

No need to release wheel...only takes one finger to press off button on wheel.

Obviously you have no idea how you hands grip the steering wheel. With your fingers wrapped around to the back side of the wheel, how do you get one finger to the front of the wheel with out loosing grip? Come on Pastor, get real!

Richard

[hohenwald48]

Come on folks. Get real. The guy lightly tapped the brake pedal just enough to make the brake lights come on and shut down the cruise. All while keeping his cool and maintaining a good grip on the wheel.

Why are so many acting like he did a two footed stand on the brakes. Good grief.

Real life and YouTube videos ain't the same thing. :h

[JRscooby]

RLS7201 wrote:

JRscooby wrote:
Too late now, but you could of found a hydraulic shop in Hutchinson or Pratt. Tires are everywhere

I have a complete shop and RV pad at my home, with all the necessary tools to do any repair necessary and I don't have to sit around and wait for others to do the job.
Try to find Michelin XPS 235/85R16 all steel cord in a small town. My Michele dealer friend found the 6 tires I needed in Kansas City, MO for $270 ea. I can do the mounting balancing at my friends shop for free.......Nice to have friends.
10 minutes after I entered my local hydraulic shop, I had the necessary replacement hose and fitting in my hand. Got out my easy outs and removed the broken fitting from the valve body and finished the repair. Just can't do that stuff very easy on the road.

Richard

Well you know what your trip was worth. Over the years I have cussed when I had to pay somebody to fix what I could fix myself if I was home. But in my case, the miles and downtime to get home would of been more than the savings.

PastorCharlie wrote:

RLS7201 wrote:

PastorCharlie wrote:
All vehicles I have owned with cruise control had an OFF or CANCEL button with the same group of buttons on the steering wheel. Tap it with finger.

Would you have released the steering wheel with one hand to tap the cruise control button when the steering wheel needed both hands to control it?

Richard

No need to release wheel...only takes one finger to press off button on wheel.

I must have a strange hand. 4 fingers and thumb have a much tighter grip than 3 fingers and thumb. Then, a switch mounted on the wheel spoke will move in relation to my body. Sure I can find the spoke moving hand on wheel, but I know that to move that hand on the rim, grip must be reduced. OTOH, in every vehicle with more than 2 wheels, the brake pedal has been pretty close to same location relative to my body, and for a given vehicle, it does not move.

[PastorCharlie]

RLS7201 wrote:

PastorCharlie wrote:
All vehicles I have owned with cruise control had an OFF or CANCEL button with the same group of buttons on the steering wheel. Tap it with finger.

Would you have released the steering wheel with one hand to tap the cruise control button when the steering wheel needed both hands to control it?

Richard

No need to release wheel...only takes one finger to press off button on wheel.

[RLS7201]

JRscooby wrote:
Too late now, but you could of found a hydraulic shop in Hutchinson or Pratt. Tires are everywhere

I have a complete shop and RV pad at my home, with all the necessary tools to do any repair necessary and I don't have to sit around and wait for others to do the job.
Try to find Michelin XPS 235/85R16 all steel cord in a small town. My Michele dealer friend found the 6 tires I needed in Kansas City, MO for $270 ea. I can do the mounting balancing at my friends shop for free.......Nice to have friends.
10 minutes after I entered my local hydraulic shop, I had the necessary replacement hose and fitting in my hand. Got out my easy outs and removed the broken fitting from the valve body and finished the repair. Just can't do that stuff very easy on the road.

Richard

[RLS7201]

PastorCharlie wrote:
All vehicles I have owned with cruise control had an OFF or CANCEL button with the same group of buttons on the steering wheel. Tap it with finger.

Would you have released the steering wheel with one hand to tap the cruise control button when the steering wheel needed both hands to control it?

Richard

[RLS7201]

wallynm wrote:
Do you have a TPMS and if so did it give you any warning. In theory ours alarmed after a 20% lose of air pressure. In your case this could have been instantaneous.

No TPMS.......It was a sudden loss of air. Boom!.....The tires were check the morning of departure.

[RLS7201]

JRscooby wrote:

Dutch_12078 wrote:

JRscooby wrote:

Ranger Smith wrote:
NEVER . . . NEVER . . . NEVER

Step on the brake with a front tire blowout. You step on the gas then work on slowing down without brakes.

Most vehicles I have driven, the only way to disengage cruise control and maintain a grip on the wheel is tap brake or clutch pedal. Would be willing to bet the OP does not have the 2nd option

The cruise controls on my F53 based motorhome are on the steering wheel within easy thumb reach while maintaining a grip on the wheel.

Most hands, the thumb is the strongest digit. From the time steering knobs where declared unsafe, anytime except the most relaxed driving, or tight low-speed maneuvering, thumb has been wrapped around the rim of wheel.
Note, I do not advocate hitting brakes when the tire blows, but a touch of the pedal to trip a switch is not same as hitting the brakes.
The OP brought his ride to a stop, with the dirty side down, and without hitting anything. No keyboard driver has a right to tell him he did wrong.

Thank You

Richard

[RLS7201]

Ranger Smith wrote:
NEVER . . . NEVER . . . NEVER

Step on the brake with a front tire blowout. You step on the gas then work on slowing down without brakes.

I didn't step on the brake. I tapped the pedal to shut down the cruise control.

Richard

[RLS7201]

dodge guy wrote:
A steering stabilizer very well may have kept you from going into the oncoming lane! That could have been bad.
What electrical issues popped up? What was the age of the tire?

Explain what a steering stabilizer would have done for me, when I had complete control of the steering wheel.
Electrical issues. Alternator regulator failed. 2000 watt, whole house, inverter failed. PD9180 converter failed. 750 watt inverter for the entertainment center failed.
Tires are 6 years old.

Richard

[Oldtymeflyr]

He survived, that is all that matters. Say what you will. Congrats.

[Lwiddis]

I’ve had a steering wheel cruise cutoff for years and still prefer a brake tap for quick cruise cutoff. Much faster.

[wanderingaimles]

JRscooby wrote:

Dutch_12078 wrote:

JRscooby wrote:

Ranger Smith wrote:
NEVER . . . NEVER . . . NEVER

Step on the brake with a front tire blowout. You step on the gas then work on slowing down without brakes.

Most vehicles I have driven, the only way to disengage cruise control and maintain a grip on the wheel is tap brake or clutch pedal. Would be willing to bet the OP does not have the 2nd option

The cruise controls on my F53 based motorhome are on the steering wheel within easy thumb reach while maintaining a grip on the wheel.

Most hands, the thumb is the strongest digit. From the time steering knobs where declared unsafe, anytime except the most relaxed driving, or tight low-speed maneuvering, thumb has been wrapped around the rim of wheel.
Note, I do not advocate hitting brakes when the tire blows, but a touch of the pedal to trip a switch is not same as hitting the brakes.
The OP brought his ride to a stop, with the dirty side down, and without hitting anything. No keyboard driver has a right to tell him he did wrong.

x2