Ok so its about 7 AM this mornin' and im goin down the road in my Sterling Road tractor with a 600 HP Cat under the hood jammin out to some tunes, with my first load of the day, cruize locked down about 68 in a 65 zone. All is cool... All of a sudder BOOOOOMM Without warning the passenger side front tire blows up, the steering wheel is ripped out of my hand so hard I dislocated my thumb.. So im makin a mad dash for the ditch which is a small guard-rail and 2 sets of railroad tracks which are about a 75 foot drop down. I didnt dynomite the brakes, I just let the Jakes slow me down slowly with all 250LBS of me yankin on the wheel trying to keep me and the truck from a death drop... I finally landed the truck on the shoulder and got out, I missed all of the gaurd rail for about 50 feet by only about 3-4 inches. After poping my thumb back into place which is one painfull ordeal if you have tried it. I proceded to check out the truck for damage, there wasnt much left to the passenger side of the truck, half of the hood is gone, bumper is almost touching the frame its bent so bad, 1/4 of the passenger side door is gone, fuel tank supports are bend, inner fender is gone too. Im guessing at least a 10k-15kUSD insurance claim just from a tire!! I really didnt care for that ride!!

 

I have always wondered what happens when a tractor trailer has a blowout on a steering tire. Is that the norm when a front blows???

 

Glad to see you Okay!!!Sorry to hear about your ride though!Do you have any pictures?

 

Wow . . . . happy you are ok. Any idea what caused the tire to blow? Typically don't just blow like that . . . I'd be checking the driver's side tire pretty closely. I had a valve stem blow out on my front pass. tire this week.

 

You don't need any bleach for the inside of you cab do you?
Sorry that was the scarcastic side,glad your all in one piece.Do tractors ever use a device like a "steer safe" as do some of the r/v's?

 

The steer tires dont usually blow, but anything is possible. Im not to sure if the Safe device on the steering is ever used on the tractors, not on mine anyways. I do have some pics of the damage on my phone, I will see if I can get them onto my puter tonight. I got a call just after the accident and it was a Bud of mine who drives for his dad, he was going northbound and he seen the whole deal, he said he was surprised that I came out OK. He said it looked like the truck was goin on its side when it first blew out.

 

Glad you are OK, you were very, very lucky and might want to send a few thanks to the big guy.

We just had a case where a 62 YO Operator who was retiring in 3 months lose a brand new steer tire on a truck crane here, he wasn't as fortunate.

Perhaps you should also buy a lottery ticket tonight.

 

My dad was a trucker. He showed me a steering wheel from a truck that had a blowout. The wheel was all twisted up by the driver trying to keep it on the road. No word on the condition of the seat.

Edwin

 

I don't know if any of you guys have seen the Michilin instruction video's on how to handle a blowout. It's a great video. If you have a tire blow out front or rear the thing to do is mash on the go pedal. This forward momentum will help keep the truck going straight with minimal steering input. If you let off the go pedal or mash on the brake the side momentum caused by the blowout will pull you in the direction 90 deg to the blown tire. By mashing the go pedal you introduce more forward momentum lessoning the side mometum until you gain control of the vehicle. Great video. I learn alot from it. I don't know the link for it. Maybe someone can find it.

 

Yeah, actually that's the basic rule for all things surprising/immediate with big rigs - mash the go pedal instead of the brake! It doesn't seem natural(especially in a car), but as Spooler mentioned, you have to 'get ahead of it' with momentum or power to decide what to do next. This holds true for big trucks(especially hauling trailers) with anything from tire blowouts, to jack-knifing in the rain, to having a tire run off the edge of the pavement, etc etc. You 'mash the go pedal' , keep off the brake and steer your way back straight. Of course every incident is unique and goes w/o saying there will be times you can't or won't be able to do this, but for the most part, yeah. Glad to hear you reacted quickly and only came out with the hurt thumb! Good luck in the future, and drive safely!!

 

lovin , nice save. glad you're ok.

 

my dad drives for a living and he said when those steer tires or floats blow they take out alot of stuff in their path. he had a blowout the other day near a bridge and he said it scared him pretty good and he doesnt admit that very often

 

Wow, glad your ok bud. I bet that turned a couple of your hairs gray.

Where did this happen at?

 

Nate, It happened HWY 52 southbound, just before the truckstop on 117th by the U haul rental place.. Im glad I was in the right lane, if I had been in the left lane and there had been a car or truck in the right lane next to me it wouldnt of been good.

92DuallyCTD, Yea i actually talked to a few guys after this and they said the best thing to do is put er to the rugs. Never really thought of it, as I had everything I had into the steering wheel to keep in somewhat on the road. I never worked so hard trying to keep a truck on the road!!! I have been in a few jacknife situations on bad roads and I smashed the skinny pedal and applied Slight brake pressure to the trailer tires and it works well, just becareful how much pressure is applied on the trialer though.

Hey Byron, you shoulda been with for that ride man!! lol

 

Yes, I have dislocated my thumb! OUCH! OUUUCH!!

No, I never rap my thumbs around the wheel just because I could dislocate my thumbs!

Tick