Blowouts!!!

[Frank NCenFL]

Just returned from a brief vacation. Towed the camper 550 miles each way. One blowout at 300 miles doing 60 mph on I-95. The other on A1A just 50 miles from home at 45 mph. Both tires looked brand new and had less than 1000 miles on them. So of the nine (Made in China) Goodyear Marathons (week 46 of 2006) that I bought in the spring of 2007 when I acquired my camper, I have had five blowouts and one valve stem failure that resulted in a shredded tire. That was the scary one because I didn’t hear it happen. So now I have three Marathons left on the ground and one odd tire I purchased on the road two years ago. This time it was one blowout on each side of the camper. Demolished both fender skirts and the first blowout ripped the aluminum off from the door to the tires. The second blowout merely beat the aluminum into submission so it is now wrinkled and curled. Fortunately no structural damage. Insurance will cover all damage less my deductible.

I always carry two spares – lesson learned. I have Good Sam’s Emergency Road Service but generally change my own tires. However this time the lug wrench spun on one of the lug nuts and I had to call for help. It took two hours from the time I called for the service truck to arrive and five minutes to change the tire.

I am now looking for four new E rated tires before I leave this weekend. I have four trips planned before the end of September. I don’t think there is time for repairs.

[hankpage]

Frank, I replaced my '06/'07 Marithons after 2 trips. (5,000 mi.) I just did not trust them. Since I had to replace rims also to upgrade to LRE I decided to go to 16" LT tires. On my trailer height was not a problem but the section width was hard to find narrow enough to clear on slide-out side. Just something to think about ..... no more Chinese tires ...... and not speed rated 65 mph.

[cumminsdad08]

sounds like you should be an expert on blowouts, you have had more with one tralier, then i care to have in a life time. good luck with your last four trips.

[Frank NCenFL]

Hank,
How do you tell if the rims will work with LRE tires?
Frank

[Jim W]

Frank, sorry for your troubles with your tires on the trailer.

I am a retired engineer, so beware with me.
I have been researching tire failures on RV's and trying to compile an informational data base for my personal use.

How often do you check the air pressure in your tires? Have you ever rotated them like you would on a vehicle?

In your post you stated that the tires were manufactured in 06, correct?
You put them in to service in the spring of 07, correct?
To me that means your tires are 4 to 5 years old, correct?
Why do you expect them to last so long? From what information I have found out most trailer tires should be replaced after 3 years regardless of miles on them.

Thanksfor the info
Jim W.

[hankpage]

Originally Posted by Frank NCenFL

Hank,
How do you tell if the rims will work with LRE tires?
Frank

Frank, The stock rims on my trailer were rated for 65 psi. This was stamped somewhere on the rim. (having a senior moment trying to remember where) It may have been weight the rim could support in lbs./kgs. Even if your rims are rated for 80 psi chances are you valve stems are not. I always keep my trailers tires inflated to max. to reduce heat and side-wall flex. In 20 yrs. of rv towing have had only one tread separation and that one did not go flat until I was stopped and off the road. I check pressure daily and temp. at every stop. Do you have your tires balanced????? If your tire dealer tells you you don't have to on a trailer ..... find another dealer. JM2¢, Hank

[antiqfreq]

We have MAXXIS E rated tires and they have been on camper almost 4 years now and we just finished a trip where we drove 11 months around the county and not a blow out or any tire problems at all.

We will definitely get MAXXIS again. On a previous 'brand' trailer we had the GoodYear marathons - only got a flat once and that was after they were four years old.

Hope everyone keeps a look out for cracks in side walls and monitors their tire pressures. We have use the little 'ray' gun looking thingee to check tire temps at every stop for fuel (that is MY job........).

Jo

[chuck&gail]

Sorry to hear of your troubles. IMO do not use Chinese tires. We have towed with many different ST tires for over 190,000 miles with only a few repairable nail punctures.

Changed tires when worn out or 7 years old, never used Chinese tires, use metal valve stems, and balance tires. Worked for us so far.

[zukafire]

For the people that have the 15 inch wheels how come you don't use a light truck tire?

[Festus2]

Light truck and trailer tires are 2 different species. Trailer tires are especially designed for non-steering trailer axles and for higher load requirements. Light truck tires do not meet these standards and shouldn't be used on trailers. Nor should trailer tires be used on trucks.

[Frank NCenFL]

The more I dig into things the less sure I become.

To start with I check the tire pressure within an hour before leaving on every trip. I do a hand check the temperature of the tires and hubs the very first thing at every stop. I seldom drive over 60 mph. The blowouts on these tires started before they were a year old. As a novice, I assumed it was my fault. I did not rotate the tires but they have all been changed out at least once. They were not balanced.

In my quest for LRE tires I have learned that my rims are rated for a max of 2540 lbs. That is standard for D Range tires at 65 psi. There are other codes on the rims but nothing I can interpret. E.g. – TTW inc (manufacturer I presume), TR4 ZNL, DOT-T-G, U-6 ETO, and Made in China DO62.

There is nothing specific to pressure stamped on the rim.

I do not feel comfortable putting LRE tires on these rims. New rims double my cost so it looks like I’ll be going with D’s unless I find a deal on LRE rims soon.

The two tire dealers in town and the two others I have called tell me all 15” ST tires are made in China. And three of the four recommended Towmasters.

[Jim W]

Frank,
You should check your tire pressure cold. That means before you drive and pull the camper any distance. The air in the tires will expand within three or four miles as the tires heats up from being used.
I normally check my tire temps and lug nut torques in the AM before I pull the camper any were. I will inflate/deflate based on the readings from the air pressure gage. I carry a small air compressor that I will inflate the tires to 80 PSI than recheck with my air pressure gage. Normally I will not lose pressure over a four day period.

I would check out this site for tires and wheels for your trailer. When I need new ones next year I will be buying from them. There is an 800 number to call for further information. https://www.southwestwheel.com/store...-assembly.aspx
Jim W.

[Frank NCenFL]

Just got my camper back from the repair facility. The bottm 18" on both sides look new. (The remainder is dirty with pealing decals. The dirty will get fixed and in another year I will probably have a generic white camper with NO decals as I continue to remove them. No advertising for Keystone.)

Very pleased with the service from the repair facility - Dick Gore RV Body Shop on the north side of Jacksonville near the Airport. When I took it in they told me one month - three days to assess, three weeks to get parts from Keystone and one week to put back together and paint. One month and two days when they called and said it was ready.

And my insurance company was a pleasure to deal with. I am once again a happy camper.

[ktmracer]

you mentioned that your tires weren't balanced.

Digging into some info from TT mfg, I remember seeing several state that they recomend or require TT to be balanced. The reason is that an unbalanced tire creates extra stress on the belts and can cause tread seperation. True or not can't say. What I can say is that I and several others I know have always balanced trailer tires. Reasons are:

1) keeps stuff from moving around as much in the trailer.
2) TT are not the best for quality control. I've had several NEW tires that they were unable to balance or were out of round enough or had belts there were not concentric enough that the dealer had to demount and replace. Wonder who got those tires!!
3) Ever ridden in a car with an out of balance tire?? if you've done that you can imagine the stresses 4 of them can put on the trailer suspension and tires.

Finally I also have a TPMS. Figure some blowouts are because of a slow leak (nail) etc. that you won't detect until it is to late. TPMS will give you a warning.

So, for $30 or so I just have mine balanced. Never had a blowout, but then I've not driven enough miles (30K or so) to say balancing has made a difference.

[Frank NCenFL]

My four new tires are all balanced as well as my two spares.