Litigation

RV Accidents and Tire Failures

Tire Failures involving RVs:

Consumers have reported that the Goodyear model G159 tire in size 275/70 22.5 fails without warning causing serious RV accidents and RV damage. This popular Goodyear tire was not designed for use on recreational vehicles but was still used on many. As a RV tire, it has a serious design flaw that could potentially cause a catastrophic RV wreck leading to severe injury or even death. The G159 Goodyear tire has a history of de-treads and failures as a RV tire and we urge RV motorists to discontinue use of their G159 tires.

Goodyear and some of the RV manufacturers have initiated limited recalls and tire replacement programs for the G159, but there are thousands of RVs still in use today that are equipped with this defective tire. Fleetwood, Monaco and other RV manufacturers used the defective G159 Goodyear tires on several of their Class A RV models manufactured between the mid 1990's and 2004. If you drive a RV with Goodyear tires, check to see if your RV is equipped with G159's. Talk to us if your RV had these tires on it.

Also,

Country Coach, one of the nation's largest manufacturers of Class A motorhomes, has launched multiple recalls to replace the tires on some of its motor homes,blaming the Toyo tire company for outfitting its recreational vehicles with tires unable to carry

Country Coach, a Junction City, Oregon-based subsidiary of RV Holdings Inc. has said that
Toyo's M102z models were responsible for more than 50 tire failures since 2003 ­ (a charge that
Toyo has denied). This most recent safety campaign underscores what appears to be
an industry-wide problem: RV manufacturers under-rating the axle weight of their vehicles and
outfitting them with tires that cannot bear the load, particularly in the left front. In the last several
years, at least five manufacturers, including Fleetwood, Newmar, Airstream, Four Winds and
National RV Inc., have initiated recalls involving more than a dozen motor home models with
incorrect weight or tire pressure ratings.

With government scrutiny increasing, this problem is also pitting tire manufacturers against RV-
makers as both try to lay the responsibility for these accidents on each other. Toyo has
issued a technical bulletin to its dealers sternly advising against outfitting any motor home
manufactured by RV Holdings Inc. with a Toyo tire.

In the meantime, RV owners have borne the brunt of these miscalculations in the form of sudden
sidewall blowouts on the road. The Country Coach tire failures have mostly resulted in property
damage accidents. But in other cases, motor home tire failures have resulted in injuries and
fatalities.

Some of the recreational vehicles most vulnerable to weight and tire issues are Class A Motor
homes, the largest, and usually the most luxuriously appointed RVs on the road. They measure
24-40 feet in length and feature a kitchen, cockpit, living area, a bathroom and a bedroom. Over
the years, manufacturers have found a way to maximize the living space with motorized slide-out
units. Some models have multiple slide outs. But, as other motor home manufacturers have
discovered, slide-out units can also considerable stress on the front tires.

Full post as published by Trial Lawyer Resource Center on May 15, 2009 (boomark / email).