1994 Holiday Rambler Imperial

GOODYEAR MARATHON AND HI-RUN TIRES. I HAD PURCHASED A NEW SET OF EACH BRAND (235/80 R16 LOAD RANGE E) FOR MY TWO AXLE 5TH WHEEL, AND HAD ONE OF EACH BRAND MOUNTED ON SAME SIDE. I PREPARED FOR A TRIP FROM TX TO PA - AT THAT TIME TIRES WERE LESS THAN THREE YEARS OLD, HAD LESS THAN 2000 MILES ON THEM, TIRE PRESSURE AT START 75PSI, AND SPEEDS NOT OVER 65MPH. ON THE TRIP, AT APPROXIMATELY 900 MILES ONE OF THE GOODYEAR TIRES BLEW - STEEL BELT SEPARATED, TREAD CAME OFF, AND CAUSING SIGNIFICANT DAMAGE TO THE RV SKIN. I THOUGHT I MUST HAVE RUN OVER SOMETHING CAUSING THE BLOWOUT. CHANGED THE TIRE AND CONTINUED ON. AT APPROXIMATELY 100 MILES DOWN THE ROAD THE SECOND GOODYEAR BLEW. THIS TIRE CAME APART IDENTICAL TO THE FIRST ONE. I PULLED INTO A TRUCK/TIRE SHOP AND HAD THEM ASSESS THE SITUATION. THEY HAD NO CLUE WHY THE TIRES CAME APART IN THAT MANNER. WHILE REPLACING THE TWO BLOWN TIRES THEY CHECKED THE HI-RUN TIRES. THEY FOUND THAT BOTH OF THE TREADS WERE BOWED AND THE STEEL BELTS WERE BEGINNING TO SEPARATE (SEVERAL ENDS OF STEEL BELT STRANDS HAD PENETRATED THE TREAD). THERE WAS NO UNUSUAL WEAR ON THE TREAD (WHICH WOULD LEND ITSELF TO AN ALIGNMENT PROBLEM), AND THE TRAILER WEIGHT WAS WELL BELOW THE TIRE RATING. I HAD THE SHOP REPLACE BOTH THOSE TIRES AS WELL, AND CONTINUED ON. THIS EVENT HIGHLIGHTED TO ME, EVEN THOUGH YOU FEEL COMFORTABLE WITH YOUR IN-DEPTH PRE-TRIP INSPECTION, IT'S VITAL TO DO CURSORY LOOKS AT CRITICAL POINTS WHILE TRAVELING. ON A SIDE NOTE, BOTH THE MARATHON AND HI-RUN TIRES WERE MADE IN CHINA, AND IF YOUR TIRE IS BOWED AND YOU'RE GOING TO RUN YOUR HAND OVER THE TREAD IN AN ATTEMPT TO SEE IF ANY WIRE IS PROTRUDING, SUGGEST YOU WEAR A GLOVE.

I OWN A 1994 HOLIDAY RAMBLER IMPERIAL 36 FEET MOTOR HOME. IN AUGUST OF 2000 I PURCHASED 6 NEW MICHELIN XRV 255/80R22.5 TIRES . THE NEW TIRES ARE MARKED ?DOT B6H6 AK3 X 1800?.MILEAGE WAS ABOUT 75,000 MILES ON THE OLD 235/80R22.5 XZU4 TIRES, ON THE RV SINCE NEW WITH NO PROBLEMS. 1) THE FIRST BLOWOUT HAPPENED ONLY 10 MINUTES (!) INTO A TRIP IN NOVEMBER 2003 ON A COOL RAINY SUNDAY AFTERNOON ON A HIGHWAY IN ONTARIO DRIVING AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS. THE SERVICE PERSONNEL COMMENTED IN THE LARGE SIDEWALL ?ZIPPER BLOWOUT? AND POINTED OUT THE BROWN DISCOLORATION (RUST!) VISIBLE . THERE WERE 35,800 MILES ON THIS TIRE 2) THE SECOND ?ZIPPER? BLOWOUT OCCURRED ON AN EXTREMELY BUSY HIGHWAY IN ONTARIO IN AUGUST 2004 AFTER DRIVING ONLY 10 MINUTES (!!) INTO A TRIP. THIS TIRE HAD 38,000 MILES. THE BLOWOUT CAUSED DAMAGE TO THE FIBER GLASS SKIRTING OF THE WHEEL WELL OF THE RV 3) THE THIRD BLOWOUT OCCURRED IN TEXAS IN JANUARY 2005 THERE WERE ONLY 44,000 MILES ON THIS XRV TIRE. AGAIN I SAW EVIDENCE OF BROWN AROUND THE STEEL CORDS OF THE SIDEWALL. I WAS ABLE TO TAKE A NUMBER OF DIGITAL PICTURES. THE FOURTH BLOWOUT OCCURRED ON FEBRUARY 5 BETWEEN PHOENIX AND FLAGSTAFF ON A CLEAR SUNNY DAY AFTER ONE HOUR OF DRIVING EVERYTHING WAS WITHIN SPECIFIED LIMITS. THE BLOWOUT OCCURRED ON THE OUTSIDE REAR DUAL TIRE AND WAS A ZIPPER BLOWOUT ? THE SAME AS THE OTHER THREE. THE STEEL BELTS AGAIN SHOWED RUSTY RED DISCOLORATION AT THE BREAK AREA. I HAVE SEVERAL DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHS THAT SHOW THE RUST COLOR AROUND SOME OF THE RADIAL WIRES. WITH THIS FOURTH BLOWOUT OF THE SIX TIRES I PURCHASED, I AM EXTREMELY ANXIOUS TO HEAR FROM YOU ABOUT WHAT WE CAN DO ABOUT THE OBVIOUS PROBLEM WITH THE TIRES . *AK