Defective Tire Issue

I think Mike Beckett said it takes over 300 psi to blow a tire using air only. Heat will do it much sooner than later that.

 

I will share three experiences.
1: Was working the fuel island because the that guy was off, which also did tires. So I was doing my job plus his as best I could. Pumping fuel in two lanes. Pulled the outside tire up on a 2x4, second truck back, hit it with a blast can and seated the bead. Hoped I could plug it. All strictly against company policy. It was making strange noises. Assumed it was the dry bead seating. It exploded the side wall.
Have to catch the other two latter.

 

This is exactly the reason push plugs are a big NONO...........and at the very least a temporary git it home fix on any tire on our highways. The inside of the tire needs to be inspected for damage and repaired from the inside out.

 

Google search or youtube search truck tires exploding. It's something that actually kills people all the time. Stop with the stupid finger pointing. Nobody is willing to risk their life to make a buck here. This is just another guy trying to get you back on the road and bad luck hit.

 

It had nothing to do with a plug. I was just putting air in it. The fuel island was covered and on the side of the building. May have attributed to my hearing loss. Really glad it was the inside duel.

 

I in no way was implying you were doing anything improper. Just pointing out that a quick fix is not always the safe, long term fix. Just using your incident as an example, is all. We have all done stupid, and unsafe things in our past. That's how you learn, from mistakes. Hopefully those mistakes just dont get you dead. Stay safe.

 

2: Read a TSB on tire failures caused by running with low air pressure. It explained that a tire ran low on air pressure can cause excessive heat and flexing of the steel cords in the side wall. If you ever hear a popping noise while inflating a tire the side wall cords maybe breaking.
We all know by todays standards the tire should be in a cage and all service trucks should carry one.
At that time all of us were on a one week rotating call. It was my week. Not just tires but anything possible before a tow truck. I took a tire but patched the one that was flat first. As it was inflating it started sounding like Rice Krispies. I could see lines changing in the side wall as the cords broke. The valve stem had no core in it so I whipped the hose around at a distance and got it off the stem. Then walked away.
3: We had a lot of trailers running through this place. Tired to keep at least 6 tires mounted ready to go but 12 was better. If one had a flat, even low, we would swap it out during the trailer inspection. They were on their way to be loaded. When we had some breathing room we would repair the pull offs for spares and put them in the rack. One day during lunch there was a great boom. We were all in the break room and the building shook. The Snap On dealer was around the corner three shops away. He called and asked " Is everything OK over there? " A week latter we found the side wall blown out of a tire in the rack.

 

By the company rules I was doing a lot of things improperly.
1: Do not leave a fuel pump unattended. I had four hoses running and two lines of trucks backed up. Went into the shop to get tools.
2: No repairs on the fuel island.
3: Do not plug tires for a repair. Only to fill the hole preventing water from getting to the steel cords causing structural failure latter. Then break in down and patch it.
4: Must have been more.

Do not recall what I was supposed to be doing. Something like putting on a water pump that absitivly posilutly has to be ready to go at 5AM. Then get #####ed at for working overtime to finish it. After 11:30 you were here alone. That can be #5.
Yes be safe everyone. You only have two eyes and only get one chance at some things.

 

Rules are made to be broken. Even poor managment often pushes us to do the quick fix and sacrifice our own safety for the benefit of the customer or for profit.

It's when you get smart, and move up to the bigger better situation because you know that you are learning from those mistakes that others might force you to take.