If you have a tire blowout, your natural tendency might be to hit the brakes and try to pull off the road. But, in fact, that’s the most dangerous course of action you could take. In this post, we’re covering a super important safety topic: what to do — and what NOT to do — in the event of a tire blowout.
What Does a Tire Blowout Feel Like?
If you experience a blowout on a rear tire, you’ll feel and hear changes alerting you to the situation. Vibration, noise, and possibly banging from a tire flying apart, as well as a disruption in driving stability, are most common.
A rear blowout is more likely to be felt in the body of the vehicle or even in your seat, and you’re more likely to feel the vehicle “wobbling” in a side-to-side or back-and-forth manner.
But a front tire blowout will generally have a sudden impact on steering control. The steering wheel may vibrate, and you’ll likely feel the vehicle pulling to the right or left. And it usually happens very suddenly, without warning.
If the blowout occurs on the right-front tire, you’ll feel your vehicle pull to the right. If it happens on the left-front tire, the pull is more likely to be to the left.
A motorhome with it’s passenger-side front tire blown out. As you can see, the destruction to the tire is pretty significant… but it could have been worse!
Can You Hear a Tire Blowout?
Depending on the vehicle and the situation, you may hear a tire blowout. If you hear the blowout, you’ll often initially hear a loud “bang” or a “pop” — a loud sound that reverberates within the vehicle. Immediately following the initial loud sound, you may hear air releasing from the tire, depending on how sudden and catastrophic the tire failure is.
You may also hear the flapping of the blown-out tire rubber against the road and the bodywork of the rig. And, of course, if you have a good RV TPMS (tire pressure monitoring system), it will alert you to a sudden tire failure.
What Should I Do If a Tire Blows Out?
Let’s start by discussing what you should NOT do if your vehicle suffers a tire blowout. A driver’s natural response to a sudden problem of any sort is likely to be to slow down and stop as soon as possible. The more serious the event, the more suddenly your reflexes will trigger you to stop NOW!
But slamming on the brakes in an attempt to stop as soon as possible is the exact opposite of what’s needed. As counterintuitive as it may seem, don’t hit the brakes! It’s the absolute worst course of action to take, especially in the event of a front-tire blowout.
Here’s why:
Braking shifts the vehicle’s weight forward onto the damaged tire, increasing the pull of the steering toward that side. This can result in a loss of control and even a rollover, particularly if you’re traveling at high speed.
Instead, the first thing you should do in the event of a blowout is accelerate, then gradually release the gas pedal. While this may seem counterintuitive, it will help maintain control, allowing you to slowly come to a stop without braking hard.
So, if your RV or any other vehicle you may be driving suffers a tire blowout, here are the actions you’ll want to take, in this order:
- Take a deep breath, stay calm, and keep a firm grip on the steering wheel (this is why driving with two hands is so important — for unexpected events).
- Accelerate for a few moments to stabilize and regain control of the vehicle.
- Slowly release the accelerator to allow the vehicle to slow down to a safe speed while adjusting your steering as necessary to maintain control.
- Activate your turn signal to alert other drivers that you’ll be moving over, and gently steer to the side of the road.
- Once you’ve safely pulled off the road and come to a stop, activate your hazard lights. Use extreme caution exiting your RV to obtain your spare tire, etc. Call for roadside assistance if you have such a plan.
For a good visual tutorial on how to respond to a tire blowout, we recommend this YouTube video, where you’ll see a tire blowout on a motorhome and how to respond:
What Causes Most Tire Blowouts?
As we noted in our post “Why Do RV Tires Blow Out?“, most tire blowouts occur due to improper tire pressure or tire age and wear. Essentially, this means that most tire blowouts are entirely preventable. So, how can you prevent tire blowouts in your own rig?
First, we’d suggest visiting the post we linked to above on why RV tires blow out and what you can do to prevent this from happening. Proper tire inflation is crucial, and knowing how to check your tire pressures is just as important.
Second, we always suggest good care of your RV’s tires, including using good-quality RV tire covers and silicone-free, petroleum-free tire cleaning and protectant products. We like these:
- Watch dirt and grime dissolve quickly and easily with our color changing foam formula
- Prevents and removes tire browning, tire blossoming, and dry rot
- ULTIMATE PROTECTION: Shield your outdoor products from harmful UV rays, dust, dirt, salt water, & staining with this 303 protectant. Prevents fading...
- NON-GREASY: This 303 protectant also offers a non-greasy formula that dries to a smooth matte finish for a like-new appearance for both the exterior...
We also recommend regularly monitoring your tire pressures as you travel. The best and easiest way to do this is with the use of a good RV TPMS (tire pressure monitoring system). A TPMS uses a sensor at each tire to constantly monitor the tire’s pressure. Should a tire drop below the proper pressure, your TPMS sends a notification to a screen mounted on your dashboard.
The TPMS we had on our Newmar also offered customizable high- and low-pressure and high-temperature alerts which we appreciated.
PRO TIP: All subscribers to our newsletter have FREE access to our eBook: How To Inflate RV Tires Correctly! So if you’re not already receiving our daily RVing tips, that’s just one more reason to subscribe today! (If you’ve already subscribed, and can’t find the link we sent with access to the book, simply re-submit your email address (the one where you receive our newsletters) on the subscribe page. You’ll receive an email with the link to the book, but won’t be double subscribed.)
What Can Be Done to Make RV Tire Blowouts Less Dangerous?
In addition to properly maintaining and inspecting your tires (including proper pressure settings), there’s a product on the market that can save the day in the event a blowout should occur.
Rettroband is an RV tire protection/safety system from National Indoor RV Centers that we’ve posted about before.
Read our post on Rettroband, and check out the following video to see how it works.:
Have You Experienced a Tire Blowout?
We’d be interested to know if you’ve ever experienced a tire blowout as you’ve traveled down the road in your RV. What happened, and how did you handle it?
Drop us a comment with the details below.
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Jay
Tuesday 1st of April 2025
Thinking about braking during a front tire blow-out, if you have an engine brake and it's turned on, that might battle you for braking control. During the initial seconds of a blow-out, your eyes will be on the road and it's not likely that you will think about that or be able to locate the switch for it to turn it off.
The after-market tire bands for the front wheels are supposed to help control in case of a blow out.
I used to carry a spare 275 tire, but it was huge and heavy. Now, with 295 tires, that's even more impractical. With 3 different wheels (rear inner, rear outer, and front), neither could it be mounted and nor will you be likely to carry all 3 spare wheels.
As for TPMS warnings, they're great when they work. Connectivity is an issue with 10-12 tires (coach plus tow). My 2022 coach manufactured in 2021 with DOT-dated 2020 tires only sees 3 of the 6 tires. The factory said, "It's a known issue." Perhaps their batteries are dead but they're inside-the-tire sensors. Rather than replace the internal sensors (or batteries, if replaceable), it was cheaper and easier to get the screw-on Pressure Pro tire sensors on all of the tires since we used a PP Pulse FX TPMS system for our tow car anyway. Our coach's internal TPMS constantly warns us of high pressures. The qualified tire engineer at last month's big FMCA/FRVA rally in Perry, GA said that tire damage occurs from low pressures and not high ones. He said to ignore the high pressure warnings. We get no high pressure warnings with the Pressure Pro, only with the coach's system.
If you replace your tires at 6 years, then you can usually avoid blow-outs. In RVs, tires age out before the tread wears out. The damage to the vehicle's wheel well and wheel itself alone are not worth risking. Having your tires inspected is a potential solution, but the tires would need to be unmounted and inspected on the inside and not just the outside. Doing that is probably not cost-effective since you will need to pay for unmounting, remounting and rebalancing. I suspect that your average tire guy probably doesn't know what to look for anyway. If you ever had a flat repaired, it must be patched from the inside. Doing only a plugged repair is considered an emergency repair and braided plugs are not recommended at all. "Keep it safe."
Henry Yee
Tuesday 1st of April 2025
In August 2024 I experienced a left rear tire blowout (very rapid air pressure loss) on a 2023 Forest River 203RKLE tandem axle with OEM tires (before Goodyear tires became standard for 2024 models) at highway speed. TST brand TPMS sounded immediately identifying the tire position and real-time monitored current air pressure which fell below the user defined threshold, and was reducing it seemed a pound every few seconds. Fortunately after having driven for several miles, this incident occurred fortunately as more frequent road exits appeared. I managed to take the next exit less than 1/8 mile away, straight through the intersection and into a large parking lot of a gas station where I changed the wheel/tire myself. My destination was an Indycar race track, and literally I arrived one minute prior to gates locked for the evening to accept RV arrivals. TPMS saved the day as the prior two weeks it reported about a 2-4 pound air pressure loss over a couple of days after repeated air inflations by air pump. I didn’t expect a blowout but it finally happened.
TST TPMS proved its worth.
Timothy Pittman
Tuesday 1st of April 2025
We had a front tire blowout in our 40’ Thor Tuscany towing a Ford F-150. We were on I-59 near McComb Mississippi traveling at our normal highway speed of 63 mph when the right front tire blew. The cruise control was on at the time which kept the rig from slowing dramatically. I was able to maintain control until I could get onto the shoulder. To say it was loud would be an understatement.
The silver lining was that there was a towing service and tire company about 5 miles from where the incident occurred. I also feel fortunate that there was no body damage.
William Moore
Saturday 8th of April 2023
I have a 2014 Berkshire 41' MH with a 24' cargo trailer. We experienced a passenger side front blow-out on Mar 24th, 2023. The tire blew just as we were slowing down to make a left turn off the Hwy. I used the engine brake to slow the vehicle as much as possible. The sound was tremendously loud and the steering instantly began shaking. During the very slow turn, the outside of the tire came off the rim but the inside protected the rim from touching the ground. Fortunately, I carry a spare tire in the basement. We used the MH jack stands to raise the tire off the ground. A Park Ranger stopped on his way to work, and another man stopped as well (he happened to work at an auto service center). Crazy as it sounds, we were able to change the tire with the wheel still on the MH. My tires were all made in 2017, so I was close to the age limit anyway. We changed all 6 tires a week later.
Recommendations: 1. DON'T PANIC, it will cause you to overreact. 2. Carry a spare if you have the room, I don't keep mine on a wheel (easier for storage). 3. Watch your tire pressure and follow the tire manufactures suggestions, not the MH placard. 4. Use the engine to slow down as much as possible before applying brakes. 5. If you have to make a turn, make it as slow as possible. 6. Don't go any farther than you absolutely have too when you stop (rims are expensive). 7. Keep roadside assistance on your insurance (we didn't need it, but I have it).
Ira Holtzman
Tuesday 4th of April 2023
I replaced my two front tires at Superior Tire Service in Portland OR they told me they had more issues with tires that had tpms systems then trucks and motorhomes without them. I have had a tire go flat due to a faulty cap separating on my TPMS system. You also need to be sure the caps do not touch the rims in anyway as the vibration can cause them to fail. They recommend extenders to be sure they do not touch the rims. In my case I have decided to only use them on my tow vehicle. I do manually check the pressure each morning when I am on the road. It also forces you to walk around your rig and look for anything out of the ordinary. Thanks Ira