The RV industry has always been somewhat plagued by tire problems, but recently the problem has escalated to a scandal not too much unlike the formaldahyde issue.

It all came to a head when Sean Kane (Safety Research and Strategies, Inc.) published a report in the bimonthly journal The Safety Record that Goodyear Tires apparently destroyed significant testimony taken in a deposition of one of their officials after a lawsuit in question was settled out of court. A Goodyear official reportedly admitted under oath that Goodyear knew its G-159 tires were inadequate for use on class A motorhomes. Yet it had been used on a number of different brands from different manufacturers and was the subject of "dozens of lawsuits".

The case that prompted this damaging information involved a couple who owned a 1999 Monaco Windsor class A equipped with the offending G-159's. After a failure of two left rear tires and damage to the rear of the vehicle, Goodyear replaced the tires and paid for repairs. However, a year and a half later, a left front tire failed, causing a crash that resulted in injuries as well as damage to the vehicle. After this accident occurred, Monaco finally recalled the G-159 tires from Windsor motorhomes made between 1999 and 2001.

Previously, Fleetwood had also recalled G-159 tires that were used on over 3,400 of their class A models made between the years 1996 and 2000. This was after four accidents occurred, resulting in the deaths of two RVers.

Some interesting questions arise from these incidents.

While Mr. Kane's article focuses on Goodyear's responsibility in these matters, we wonder why the RV manufacturers chose the G-159's in the first place, when all parties (Goodyear, the chassis manufacturers, and the RV manufacturers) knew, according to Kane, that these tires could be "problematic" on class A's, particularly those that exceeded a certain weight. In the case of the Monaco Windsor, which was on a house-manufactured chassis, the manufacturer certainly bore the responsibility for the proper selection of tires.

In the case of Fleetwood, the tires probably came with the chassis. However, Fleetwood would have had the opportunity to upgrade. While these tires may have been perfectly adequate on shorter, lighter models with no slideouts, they should have been replaced with higher-rated tires on the longer, heavier models from the outset. The G-159's were certainly not forced upon them by Goodyear. So, why did the manufacturers choose to do what they did? The larger tires would undoubtedly have been more expensive. You do the math.

Shortly after the lawsuit involving the Windsor was filed, at the behest of Goodyear, Monaco sent a letter to owners of models bearing the G-159's stating that, in some cases, air pressure in the tires was being reduced by the consumer to ensure a more comfortable ride, which caused the tires to "operate in an overloaded condition." What this means is that the tires, unbeknownst to the consumer, had to be inflated to the maximum to be safe. Monaco, however, did offer to replace the inadequate G-159's with larger tires that could be driven comfortably at a lower inflation pressure.

We have to wonder why Goodyear destroyed the testimony of their officials. Perhaps they wanted to avoid publicity that could lead to further lawsuits and injury to their reputation. But what, we ask, could be more injurious than being caught in a lie?

It seems that Monaco and Fleetwood waited until injuries and deaths resulted from the erroneous use of the G-159's before issuing recalls of all the vehicles using them. We also wonder why Freightliner used those tires on the chassis it sold to Fleetwood in the first place.

While corporations worry about the bottom line, especially in today's sagging market, consumers must increase their vigilance of safety issues - because the RV manufacturers and the government ain't doing it.