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Old 01-04-2015, 01:09 PM   #1
bdaniel
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Trailer King Tire Exploded at 75% Load

A few hours after getting my rig weighed on Dec 30 I had a catastrophic tire failure on a Trailer King "Special Trailer" ST MADE IN CHINA tire with 5500 miles and 9 months in my possession. It was properly inflated and not over loaded.

I have written about my experience on my website along with many photos, the CAT scale receipt, all my tire and axle ratings and actual weights on that night along with how I solved the problem.

I hope this will help someone.


http://www.bobbystuff.com/RV/index.p...l-trailer-tire

Thanks,
Bobby
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Old 01-04-2015, 01:29 PM   #2
larry337
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Wow! As the owner of a brand new Cougar with the same tires that is not very comforting to know. Out of curiosity what are the issues others might have using LT tires on an RV?
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Old 01-04-2015, 01:40 PM   #3
bdaniel
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Just Google. You will find many opinions. It is like talking religion.

One of the links in that blog was about the exploding Carlisle tires I had in 2002 and how I replaced them with LT tires. If you did not see it, here is the link

http://www.bobbystuff.com/RV/index.p...-16-inch-tires

There is a lot of good info in that blog.

The biggest thing is to make sure the width of your rim works with the LT tire. Also make sure the weight capacity is there. If you go with a larger or wider tire, is there enough space?

As far as side wall stiffness, or special chemicals in ST tires, etc. my experience over 10 years and 50,000+ miles is that does not matter.

My LT tires have never failed me and I can drive 80+ MPH if I want. I've never had a flat on a LT tire on a 5th wheel.

Did you know ST tires can not be towed over 65 MPH? I now have had two explosions of ST tires, one on 2002 and now in 2014. Also one side wall hen egg bubble of an ST tire in 2002.

After 10 years ST tires are still MADE IN CHINA junk.

Bobby
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Old 01-04-2015, 04:30 PM   #4
Rex1vt
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Trailer King tires

Larr337- Had a 235/80/R16 Trailer King failure on 2014 Cougar 327 on 12/23/2014 5000 miles.Five new Maxxis ST on order,HERES HOPING.
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Old 01-04-2015, 04:44 PM   #5
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Thank you " bdanial " for posting this and glad to hear everything turned out ok.

Just showed this to the DW to explain why I want to replace the tires on our new trailer.
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Old 01-04-2015, 06:35 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Rex1vt View Post
Larr337- Had a 235/80/R16 Trailer King failure on 2014 Cougar 327 on 12/23/2014 5000 miles.Five new Maxxis ST on order,HERES HOPING.
Not what I want to hear. New tires wasn't on my list of mods for my new trailer. Has anyone here had better luck with these tires?
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Old 01-04-2015, 06:39 PM   #7
sourdough
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bdaniel -

I'm sure you've made all the contacts on the pre-mature blowout of your tire, and I'm sure you aren't shopping for more Trailer Kings, but you might contact the distributor for the tires and see if they might help out toward your purchase of "other" tires Or, you might want to let them know how you feel Here's some info you might be able to use:

Olga Fraga - Consumer relations
TBC Wholesale
Palm Beach Gardens, FL
800-238-6469
[email protected]

Just some info in case anyone might have a desire to express their concerns.....
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Old 01-04-2015, 08:27 PM   #8
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I can’t tell from your pictures what started the failure. Probably sudden impact in the vicinity of the two vertical tears. I don’t think it was a tread separation because I couldn’t detect any melted threads. I’m surprised the people at discount tire didn’t give you some feedback on the failed tire.

I hope you got a warranty written by Discount Tire for the Michelin tires. Michelin will nor warranty any of their LT tires used to replace Original Equipment ST tires. Actually I’m surprised that a large Discount Tire retailer like the one in Jacksonville wouldn’t have asked you questions about their usage. I doubt that they registered them. You can get blank registration papers on the net and register them yourself.

Sometimes the misuse of OE tires can be traced back to the delivery drivers or dealers. Probably the miles you have put on them will take that path to a dead end.

Personally I would not mention your replacement choice as an option. And, I would never make a recommendation for them because of the misapplication problem. However, they have plenty of reserve load capacity for your application and they should serve well as trailer tires.

CW
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Old 01-05-2015, 01:02 AM   #9
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I pulled the china bombs off the SRX before our big holiday trip. So far, over 2,200 miles on the Maxxis ST's (Thailand) with no issues.

Maxxis also makes a great quad tire, BTW.

From chilly College Station/Bryan tonight and loving the "fireplace".
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Old 01-05-2015, 03:21 AM   #10
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There was no sudden impact to the tire. The road was light color concrete on a clear night with no rain. There was no traffic around to distract me. I did not have a sudden impact. I was driving within the MPH limit for ST tires and clearly was not over loaded. Temperature was not an issue. The tire simply lived up to its reputation as a China bomb.

Discount Tire made sure the weight rating of the LT tires still worked with the toy hauler by checking the sticker on the side of the toy hauler.

I don't ever expect to have any issues with the LT tires. Regarding warranty I have yet to determine if Trailer King even has one they will honor.

Bobby
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Old 01-05-2015, 04:10 AM   #11
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Sorry for your troubles with the tires and hope everything works out for you with the LT tires...

Somehow I feel compelled to say this.... If I changed tires every time someone else had a blowout with a particular brand, by now I'd be reduced to running on steel wheels...

You can find someone who has had a bad experience with EVERY brand tire on the market, even Michelin, and Goodyear.

Will I replace my brand new tires because you had bad luck with them on two separate occasions... NO

Will I replace them with the same tire when they have reached the end of their service life or I have a blowout... NO, but that's because I tend to buy the best tire I can afford that fits my application.
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Old 01-05-2015, 07:07 AM   #12
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I have run these tires for several thousand miles without any issues. The tire monitors show very equal heat and pressure build up in each. The right front would heat up/build up quicker, but once up to temp, they all equaled out. I'm curious what yours would have shown.

With that said, I did just switch to Carlisle F load range tires. I gained 1600 lbs in load capacity. My trailer loaded is about 1000 lbs heavier than yours on the axles. The first thing I noticed with the Carlisles and extra load capacity is there is a lot less sidewall deflection (squat). I also added steel valve stems to the wheels, I had just a slight bit of rub with the tire monitors on the high pressure rubber stems.
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Old 01-05-2015, 07:10 AM   #13
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Sourdough- I called Olga about the Trailer King tires, before I even put the Cougar on the road,after reading the forum China Bomb comments. I got nothing from her except very poor lip service. I am waiting to hear from them again via the dealer regarding my tire failure but expect more of the same.Please advise if you have had better results.
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Old 01-05-2015, 07:31 AM   #14
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Don't forget the NHSTA. https://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/ivoq/
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Old 01-05-2015, 07:32 AM   #15
bdaniel
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bsmith0404 View Post
I have run these tires for several thousand miles without any issues. The tire monitors show very equal heat and pressure build up in each. The right front would heat up/build up quicker, but once up to temp, they all equaled out. I'm curious what yours would have shown.

With that said, I did just switch to Carlisle F load range tires. I gained 1600 lbs in load capacity. My trailer loaded is about 1000 lbs heavier than yours on the axles. The first thing I noticed with the Carlisles and extra load capacity is there is a lot less sidewall deflection (squat). I also added steel valve stems to the wheels, I had just a slight bit of rub with the tire monitors on the high pressure rubber stems.
On my previous Copper Canyon I had 15 inch rims and replaced a couple of the tires with Carlisle. They have a new model of tire that they think highly of. I did not put many miles on the tires before trading the RV so I have no idea how well they would have worn. The existing ST tires wore out quicker than I thought they should have with uneven wear but they did not explode. I wish I could remember the brand of tires on the Copper Canyon.

Check the speed rating for the Carlisles. I thought I saw 62 MPH on the Discount Tire website.

Metal valve stems are smart.

Good luck,
Bobby
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Old 01-05-2015, 10:06 AM   #16
larry337
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bsmith0404 View Post
I have run these tires for several thousand miles without any issues. The tire monitors show very equal heat and pressure build up in each. The right front would heat up/build up quicker, but once up to temp, they all equaled out. I'm curious what yours would have shown.

With that said, I did just switch to Carlisle F load range tires. I gained 1600 lbs in load capacity. My trailer loaded is about 1000 lbs heavier than yours on the axles. The first thing I noticed with the Carlisles and extra load capacity is there is a lot less sidewall deflection (squat). I also added steel valve stems to the wheels, I had just a slight bit of rub with the tire monitors on the high pressure rubber stems.
When you say "these tires" do you mean the Trailer Kings?
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Old 01-05-2015, 03:30 PM   #17
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JRTJH- The NHSTA information which covered complaints filed on different tire manufacturers was very helpful, thank you for the heads up.I would certainly encourage anyone with tire concerns to use the resource when making a new selection.
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Old 01-05-2015, 04:01 PM   #18
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So if Maxxis tires are not on the list can one assume there are no reported complaints?
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Old 01-05-2015, 05:53 PM   #19
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Quote:
Originally Posted by larry337 View Post
When you say "these tires" do you mean the Trailer Kings?
Yes the Trailer Kings that came as OE on the camper.
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Old 01-05-2015, 10:25 PM   #20
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I wish we could learn what may have caused the blow out or what the tire shop said.
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