Friday the 8th of April wife and I were tooling up I-81 North, just past Harrisonburg, VA on the way to a travel group campout. I was running between 60 and 65mph in the 70mph zone, just taking life easy not watching the gas gauge drop as quickly as it would at the higher speed. All of a sudden we hear a loud bang from the aft end of the coach. Aw, crud. Came from the right side. I've blown a tire.
Let off the fuel and coasted to the outside of the shoulder looking right at a mile marker. Shut things down, turned on the flashers, and scoot around to the right rear and check the tires. Outside dual is OK, but the inside is toast, it is very hot and smells of hot rubber. Great. I know the spare slung up underneath is good, so I go back in the cab and call Good Sam Roadside Assistance.
Excellent response, very professional on the phone. The first question I got was are you in a safe place? Um, yeah. As safe as you can be on the side shoulder of busy I-81. A few minutes later I was informed that a tech from Steve's Truck and Tire Service in Harrisonburg, VA is on the way. Josh shows up and in about 1/2 hour had the old tire off, the spare on, and the old one back underneath the rig. Quick check of the Smart Car Toad and back up the road we go.
No damage to the coach, no tire chunks thrown.
The only damages were the tire, my pride, and a missing section of the driver's seat cushion.
That part will take about a week to clear out of my system.
Tires were checked and pressures were good as part of my de-winterization and first trip of the year preps.
The tires will be 5 years old in July and have about 10,000 miles on them. Look like new.
Just goes to show that things will happen when they will.
Now, if I ever catch that Mr. Murphy fella, he will not be going much further...
Sorry for the long read, but I hope this helps someone in the future. I know I've learned a lot from this forum and the hard won lessons of others here.
Chris in Virginia
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