2001 Bounder Motorhome

I HAVE A 2001 BOUNDER DIESEL MOTORHOME WITH MICHELIN XRV 255/80R22.5 TIRES. WITHIN A SIX MONTH PERIOD FROM APRIL TO OCTOBER 2004, FOUR OF THE ORIGINAL SIX TIRES ON THE MOTORHOME HAD BLOWOUTS BETWEEN 27,000 AND 33,000 MILES. ALL FOUR BLOWOUTS WERE SIDEWALL FAILURES CHARACTERIZED BY A "ZIPPER-RIP" ON THE SIDE OF THE TIRE. ALL BLOWOUTS WERE ON REAR TIRES OCCURRING AT SPEEDS BETWEEN 55 AND 70 MPH. AIR PRESSURE IS CHECKED REGULARLY AT THE BEGINNING OF THE DAY. WEIGHT OF MOTORHOME IS WELL WITHIN TIRE SPECIFICATIONS (I HAD EACH CORNER OF THE MOTORHOME WEIGHED SEPARATELY). SINCE ALL TIRES HAD A SIMILAR TYPE OF BLOWOUT WITHIN A RELATIVELY SHORT PERIOD, I'M QUESTIONING THE SAFETY AND SUITABILITY OF THE MICHELIN XRV TIRES FOR MOTORHOME USAGE. DOT NUMBERS OF TIRES THAT HAD BLOWOUTS NOT RECORDER BUT DOT NUMBERS OF THE REMAINING TWO ORIGINAL EQUIPMENT TIRES ARE B6H6AK3X1700 AND B6H6AK3X2000.

WHILE DRIVING MY 2001 BOUNDER DIESEL THROUGH CRESTLINE, OH, I STOPPED AT A TRAFFIC LIGHT AND THE RIGHT FRONT TIRE'S SIDEWALL BLEW OUT. NO ADDITIONAL DAMAGE WAS DONE TO THE MOTORHOME. I CALLED A ROADSIDE SERVICE COMPANY AND HAD THE TIRE REPLACED WITH A NEW ONE. THE STEEL IN THE SIDEWALL AT THE BLOWOUT SIGHT WAS RUSTED AWAY. THE TIRE WAS A MICHELIN 255/80R22.5 XRV, DOT B6H6 AK3X2300 WITH 35,292 MILES ON IT. AFTER ARRIVING HOME FROM THE TRIP, I CALLED MICHELIN TO INQUIRE ABOUT WARRANTY COVERAGE. THEY REFERRED ME TO ONE OF SEVERAL DEALERS IN THE AREA. UPON INSPECTION OF THE TIRE, I WAS TOLD MICHELIN WOULD NOT DO ANYTHING ABOUT THE FAILURE, AND THIS IS A FAIRLY COMMON FAILURE FOR THIS TIRE. THE FAILURE WAS ATTRIBUTED TO EITHER UNDER INFLATION, OVER INFLATION OR OVERLOADING (TAKE YOUR CHOICE). THESE ARE NOT VALID ASSERTIONS AS THE TIRE PRESSURE HAS BEEN MAINTAINED WITHIN 5 POUNDS OF MICHELIN'S RECOMMENDED PRESSURES, NOR HAVE THEY BEEN OVERLOADED. I HAVE KEPT THE TIRE FOR INSPECTION BY ANYONE WHO IS INTERESTED. THIS TIRE IS ADVERTISED AS BEING DESIGNED SPECIFICALLY FOR RV USEAGE. AFTER NOTICING THE INORDINATE NUMBER OF COMPLAINTS BOTH ON THREADS ON THE INTERNET AND ON YOUR SITE, IT IS OBVIOUS THEY UTTERLY FAILED IN ACCOUMPLISHING A SAFE DESIGN. THIS TIRE IS DANGEROUS AND SHOULD BE REMOVED FROM THE HIGHWAYS FOR EVERYONE'S SAFETY. MICHELINS DENIAL OF POSSIBLE DEFECT PROBLEMS HAS CHANGED MY MIND ABOUT WHETHER I SHOULD SUPPORT THEIR CORPORATION BY BUYING ANY OF THEIR PRODUCTS IN THE FUTURE.*AK