what is it like to experience tire blowouts?

When you hear the BOOM! You throw the death grip on the steering wheel and hope and pray you still have steer tires. Then ease it to the shoulder to find out which one and what damage is there.

 

when a car hangs in left lane just behind me or along side me not getting it done... my truck seems to wander back and forth in my lane more than it was before they got there... 98 percent of the time it wakes them up to the idea driving right beside me for an extended period is not smart. My first trainer 26+ years ago taught me this pulling doubles, so the effect is exaggerated.

 

I lost a steer once at highway speed and wasn't that bad, just eased it to shoulder and changed my pants. When I hear the boom of a blowout, I always hope it's the truck next to me and sometimes it is

 

It's kind of like getting mustard on your white dress shirt when you're out on a date. A big inconvenience!

 

A blowout on any of your tandems most of the time is just a noise. Most don't send much rubber flying unless you continue to drive on them, then they will start coming apart. Blowouts on the steering axle are a different subject. Depending on the age of the tires and the stress on them the blowout can just cause a lot of shaking until you get stopped. However a blowout can be so violent that it can jerk the steering wheel out of your hands. I know drivers that have lost their thumbs because of this. Try to drive without locking your thumbs inside that steering wheel.

 

Boom

 

I;ve had some trailer blowouts that I never heard. Others sound like my truck was receiving a mortar. The 2 steer tires I've lost have been non-events.

 

I had a drivers steer tire blow. It too was a big yawner.

 

I've lost drive tires when I drove trash truck. Big boom, maybe a little vibration if I was empty, but no big deal. First place I drove for, boss was tight, so they were always recaps. Second company was a smaller operation, so the couple that went out there were replaced with virgins. He was more concerned about not spending the money replacing recaps more often.