FlyerChief
Active Member
Just thought I would share my recent experience.....
While traveling on I-10 near Palm Springs (not towing), with a semi on the right and a car passing me on the left, I experienced a large 'boom' that lifted the left rear of my F350 off the ground, turned me almost sideways, and then came back down. I got it straightened out - looked in the mirror - was very thankful for professional truck drivers (they had backed off and given me room) - and made my way to the shoulder. Expecting that I had experienced a blowout of the left rear, I was surprised to get out of the truck and find what was left of the tire was the carcass (without any tread left on it) and it was still full of air! There was also considerable damage to the truck (actual repair costs of $8,500). Note that the tires are less than 2 years old with less than 15,000 miles on them. They are regularly rotated and pressure-checked. In fact, it was at the dealer that same morning for oil change, rotate, etc. I'm thinking that I'm pretty lucky I didn't hit someone, they didn't hit me, and/or I didn't roll over.
Learned a couple of things that might be useful for others:
- At least on the F350, if you have the 20" wheel option, that does NOT include the spare. The spare is an 18" wheel. According to a number of sources, including Ford, the difference in circumference is sufficient that the 18" wheel is only supposed to on briefly and for not very many miles, to avoid overheating the gears in the differential. In theory, if it's going to be on there for long, you're supposed to put the spare on the front and move one of the 20" wheels on the front to the rear. There seems to be some disagreement, but it is also reported that a 20" spare won't fit in the spare tire slot, so don't even think of that as an option.
-I immediately reported to my insurance company, then thought better of it and also called BF Goodrich. So far, my experience with BFG has been nothing but a runaround. It was difficult to talk to a live person. Then they wanted me to take the tire to a local dealer for inspection. The dealer told them that it was not underinflated and there was no obvious evidence of road hazard damage. Then they wanted me to ship them the tire and they would let me know in 60 days if they will accept any responsibility. Still waiting.
- My insurance company (Hartford/AARP) has been nothing but terrific. Since I didn't want to wait around for 60 days, they were very willing to repair the truck (they wouldn't replace the tire) and I had to pay my deductible. But my claim was handled by their subrogation department and they will go after BFG and get them to both reimburse Hartford AND reimburse me for my out of pocket costs. It's much easier having them fight my battle than for me to go through the frustration.
- I also went to the NHTSA website and reported the tire defect. This wasn't their first report of a problem with BFG tires.
- If something like this happens, take LOTS of pictures: of the tire, of the damage, etc.
After researching on the web, this is apparently not a rare event for BFG tires. Sudden tread separation without any warning is frequently reported on various websites. Still waiting to see if BFG will own up to any responsibility, but I'm not holding my breath.
Be careful out there. Even the 'good' brands can have problems. By the way, my tires were BFG Rugged Terrain T/A.
While traveling on I-10 near Palm Springs (not towing), with a semi on the right and a car passing me on the left, I experienced a large 'boom' that lifted the left rear of my F350 off the ground, turned me almost sideways, and then came back down. I got it straightened out - looked in the mirror - was very thankful for professional truck drivers (they had backed off and given me room) - and made my way to the shoulder. Expecting that I had experienced a blowout of the left rear, I was surprised to get out of the truck and find what was left of the tire was the carcass (without any tread left on it) and it was still full of air! There was also considerable damage to the truck (actual repair costs of $8,500). Note that the tires are less than 2 years old with less than 15,000 miles on them. They are regularly rotated and pressure-checked. In fact, it was at the dealer that same morning for oil change, rotate, etc. I'm thinking that I'm pretty lucky I didn't hit someone, they didn't hit me, and/or I didn't roll over.
Learned a couple of things that might be useful for others:
- At least on the F350, if you have the 20" wheel option, that does NOT include the spare. The spare is an 18" wheel. According to a number of sources, including Ford, the difference in circumference is sufficient that the 18" wheel is only supposed to on briefly and for not very many miles, to avoid overheating the gears in the differential. In theory, if it's going to be on there for long, you're supposed to put the spare on the front and move one of the 20" wheels on the front to the rear. There seems to be some disagreement, but it is also reported that a 20" spare won't fit in the spare tire slot, so don't even think of that as an option.
-I immediately reported to my insurance company, then thought better of it and also called BF Goodrich. So far, my experience with BFG has been nothing but a runaround. It was difficult to talk to a live person. Then they wanted me to take the tire to a local dealer for inspection. The dealer told them that it was not underinflated and there was no obvious evidence of road hazard damage. Then they wanted me to ship them the tire and they would let me know in 60 days if they will accept any responsibility. Still waiting.
- My insurance company (Hartford/AARP) has been nothing but terrific. Since I didn't want to wait around for 60 days, they were very willing to repair the truck (they wouldn't replace the tire) and I had to pay my deductible. But my claim was handled by their subrogation department and they will go after BFG and get them to both reimburse Hartford AND reimburse me for my out of pocket costs. It's much easier having them fight my battle than for me to go through the frustration.
- I also went to the NHTSA website and reported the tire defect. This wasn't their first report of a problem with BFG tires.
- If something like this happens, take LOTS of pictures: of the tire, of the damage, etc.
After researching on the web, this is apparently not a rare event for BFG tires. Sudden tread separation without any warning is frequently reported on various websites. Still waiting to see if BFG will own up to any responsibility, but I'm not holding my breath.
Be careful out there. Even the 'good' brands can have problems. By the way, my tires were BFG Rugged Terrain T/A.
