2021 Grand Design Imagine

While towing our travel trailer we experienced a tire blowout on the left side rear. The blow out tore up the black water valve and sewage cap dumping sewage on the side of the highway. The lack of protection to the valve is not present and the valve is directly behind the tire. With trailer tire blowouts prevalent this is bound to happen again.

The contact owns a 2021 Grand Design Imagine RV equipped with Westlake Tires, Tire Line: Super ST, Tire Size: 225/75/R15, DOT Number: JULT1CT3920. The contact stated that while driving approximately 60 MPH, the contact felt a thump from the rear end of the trailer. The contact had not noticed a warning light being illuminated. The contact pulled over to the side of the road and noticed that the tread on the front passenger’s side tires had completely separated, causing damages underneath the trailer. There were no warning lights illuminated. The tire was changed by a towing service. The trailer was driven home, and the dealer was contacted. The contact had not yet received a call back from the dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 7,000.

The contact owns a 2021 Grand Design Recreational Travel Trailer equipped with Westlake Tires, Tire Line: Super, Tire Size: 225/75/R15, DOT Number: 3320. The contact stated that while driving approximately 72 MPH, he experienced a failure with the passenger’s side rear tire. The contact noticed that the tire was delaminated, and the tread had separated from the casing. The travel trailer was damaged. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who replaced the tire; however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was taken to another independent mechanic who informed him that the other three tires had small bubbles and had started to delaminate. The manufacturer was contacted but provided no additional assistance. The tire failure mileage was approximately 9,000.

On 6/17/2022 the cold pressures were set correctly for the 2021 Grand Design 2800BH travel trailer as they had been for a dozen or more prior trips. A TPMS was being used during travel to monitor pressures and temperatures. All 4 of the Westlake brand ST 225 / 75 R 15 tires with manufacturing date "3320" were inspected for bubbles, cuts, punctures, etc... prior to departure and no anomalies were observed. With absolutely NO WARNING the right rear wheel experienced a complete tread separation. The tire's entire tread was thrown from the tire in one piece, after making contact with the vehicle, while traveling at 68mph on the FL turnpike southbound. The remainder of the tire remained inflated however the steel belt was now in contact with the highway. The debris caused a multicar accident and delays on the highway according to the Road Ranger who assisted with installation of the spare. The camper itself has consequential damage in excess of $6000 that neither the tire warranty nor travel trailer warranty will cover for this manufacturing defect. The safety of myself, my family riding along, and those around me while traveling on the highway was put in severe risk of injury or death. The defective tire that was removed from the wheel has been retained.