17 wheelers- a threat?

[wingerr]

Do the tires show any visual indication that they're ready to spontaneously blow, or is it generally considered a ticking time bomb that would be undetectable by inspection?
Not really familiar with the requirements, but I see signs regarding required truck inspection check points on the highway; would tire inspection be one of the the things being checked or is it more of a cargo and load checkpoint?

[Turbo Ghost]

Sometimes you can see indications like the cap starting to seperate or a bulge on a sidewall but, most times they just go when they feel like it.

[Malfunct8]

It happened to me once when I was driving a full sized van. scary! It took out a headlight, dented the hood and windshield arm and wiper. On a bike I shudder to think..

[Turbo Ghost]

I couldn't count how many I've thrown from my rig when I was driving! I was basically off-roading with a 53' trailer and hauling 20-50,000lbs+ everyday! Kinda rough on tires and everything else! Never lost a tandem though! I've seen it and it is not pretty! Those things will take out a house!

[boofer]

Originally Posted by Turbo Ghost

I couldn't count how many I've thrown from my rig when I was driving! I was basically off-roading with a 53' trailer and hauling 20-50,000lbs+ everyday! Kinda rough on tires and everything else! Never lost a tandem though! I've seen it and it is not pretty! Those things will take out a house!

I've had a few super singles blow at speed. They do mucho damage to anything near, including the truck.

[Turbo Ghost]

Originally Posted by boofer

I've had a few super singles blow at speed. They do mucho damage to anything near, including the truck.

Super Singles were the worst idea to hit trucking ever! I hate those things! If one blows-out, you're done. With tandems, you can keep rolling! If the wheels aren't turning, you aren't earning!

[surfersami]

Coming back from FL, I was following a colleague in a trooper in front of me. Keeping safe intervals. Heard a huge explosion, the truck infront of him (1/4 mile in front of me) blew a tire. At first I saw little frags of rubber, I started switching lanes to get as far away as possible. The truck driver kept going. The tire that went was on the back truck of the trailer. The wheel became unbalanced and was bouncing the whole empty trailer until the driver finally pulled over. In the mean time, the tire had disintigrated in huge chunks all over the road, in fact as I was passing two lanes over he was throwing parts of tire out into my lane. I got around him as fast as possible. If I would have been beside, or following to close, there would have been very little I could have done to prevent a bad thing. Stay away from trucks!!! if you are not passing them, hang well back, if you are passing get around them as fast as possible, and give them plenty of room when you come back into your lane.

[Lawritz Mann]

This thread is why I stay as far as possible from trucks. If they want to pass, I pull over, slow down and let them go by. I have seen many of their shredded tires laying on the road, but have never had one shot back at me - yet.

[MSGT-R]

This thread just confirms that:
* Retreads should be banned from the trucking industry.
* Better maintenance/equipment checks need to be done at inspection stations, and more enforcement needs to be done about those trucks that actively avoid inspection stations!

If a company or independant trucker can't maintain the trucks to minimum standards, then park the damn things!!!

A very close friend of mine is an independant owner/operator and he can tell just as many stories as the 3 pages in this thread of what he has seen.

[lost dog]

There is the CSA program, Compliance.Safety.Accountability. Run by The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. The idea to catch drivers & carriers that are always in violation of the safety rules. But like everything else there are the ones that don't follow the rules & make it bad for the rest of us. As for retreads,can only be used on the trailer & when they blow it's loud & messy. Drivers doing pre-trip inspections should see bad tires, have them fixed before leaving on the road. Even then they can still blow with heavy loads & hot weather! BE CAREFUL- LIKE ALWAYS PAY ATTENTION. I know it's hard to avoid the main roads, but I got my KLR to get away from the main roads and have fun in the back country. BE SAFE.