Trailer King Tire Exploded at 75% Load

[bdaniel]

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

[larry337]

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?

[bdaniel]

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

[Rex1vt]

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.

[larry337]

Originally Posted by Rex1vt

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?

[GmaPaTime]

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.

[sourdough]

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.....

[CWtheMan]

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

[Mic]

Originally Posted by bdaniel

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

curious

as I have ST tires and they say max 70 mph
...


.

[CWtheMan]

Originally Posted by Mic

curious

as I have ST tires and they say max 70 mph
...


.

There is no speed letter for 70 MPH, therefore, the tire manufacturer can use option two and mold the speed rating onto the tire sidewall.

Publishing a tire speed rating is not acceptable without individual tire certification.

[carwheel_09]

I bought a 2014 Montana 3610rl in November. It was built in March of 2014. It had Power King Tow Max STR tires on it. When I looked at the tire date they were made in late 2012. Not really that old but decided to replace them with a fresh set of Maxxis tires. When tire dealer pulled them off one of the had defect. After reading all the posts about blowout glad I did. New tires were less expensive than paying my $1500 dollar deductible and I have peace of mind.

[CWtheMan]

The generic Keystone Owner’s manual (04-14) does not mention tire balancing.

The Trailer King tires (Vanderbilt umbrella) warranty does not mention tire balancing.

http://www.keystonerv.com/media/8945...-19_-_1545.pdf

http://www.trailerkingtires.com/tire...ation=warranty

CW

p.s. Some tire manufacturers do not allow any form of liquid or solid substances to be inserted into some of the tires they manufacturer. It would be best to check your tire warranty before using balancing beads of any form.

(I've already looked, Maxxis does not mention anything about it in their trailer tire warranty).

[carwheel_09]

Forgot to add I use Dyna Beads to balance the tires. If you use them you will also need to the have filtered valve cores. Used Helium on this set of tires don't have the pressure changes due to temperature changes.


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[Ken / Claudia]

Good to know they will advise you about what caused the failure. It might take a few months to hear back but, let us know. As we all know the tires do fail and do so for many reasons. Most posters on here just show or print about a tire blowing up. Understanding why will only help all on this site. Thanks

[denverpilot]

Originally Posted by carwheel_09

Forgot to add I use Dyna Beads to balance the tires. If you use them you will also need to the have filtered valve cores. Used Helium on this set of tires don't have the pressure changes due to temperature changes.

Helium? I hope you meant to say Nitrogen. Even then, since the atmosphere is made up of 78% Nitrogen, you're only replacing the other 21% O2.

The folks at Edmunds did the math and found the test results from others and compiled it into an article, and unless you're getting a Nitrogen fill for free, it's probably not worth it.

http://www.edmunds.com/car-care/shou...-nitrogen.html

That 21% doesn't amount to much of a pressure difference.

Even if you are getting it for free, ask the nitrogen filler what purity their nitrogen fill is. None are 100%.

[carwheel_09]

I did mean Nitrogen, it's free for me. Never used it before but thought I'd give it a try.


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[buzzcop63]

Purchased our trailer new in March of 2012, unit came with ST225/75RF15 LR D Power King tires with 2,270 miles on them at present and a manufacturing date of Nov 2011. I purchased Tire Minder and monitor all four tires on our trailer due to reading so many problems with China tires. To date my tires have given me no problem but by monitoring the Tire Minder I have been made aware that traveling over 55 MPH that the temperature rises as well as the tires PSI. Every stop we take I do a walk around to check truck and trailer tires by hand for heat as well as the trailers wheel bearings. Tires are kept covered when in storage but do sit on Asphalt for 5 or more months during the winter. Note that sun side of trailer tires run hotter then shaded side and second tire runs hotter thn the front tire.
The Carlisle Radial TrailRH, here is what they say:
– Any tire, no matter how well constructed, may fail when in use
because of punctures, impact damage, improper inflation,
overloading, or other conditions resulting from use, misuse
or neglect.
– High speed towing in hot conditions degrades tires significantly.
– Best practice. Do not exceed 60 mph while towing a trailer.
– Most ST trailer tires have a maximum speed rating of 65 mph.
– Load carrying capacity decreases as heat and stress generated by
higher speed increases.
– Time and the elements weaken a trailer tire.
– 3 to 5 years is the average life expectancy of a trailer tire,
regardless of mileage.
– It is estimated that in approximately three years, roughly
one-third of a tire's strength is gone.
– After three years, depending upon storage and conditions of
usage, consider replacing trailer tires even if they have tread
depth remaining.
– After five years, trailer tires should be replaced in all cases.
en tire in front.

[cheatham09]

Are you saying Max pressure is 80 lbs ???
On the tire that blown, and how much air was in that tire?

[bdaniel]

To follow up on my initial post.

Today the tire manufacturer has compensated me for 2 tires and the damage done to my 5th wheel.

I am satisfied with the result.

Bobby

[CWtheMan]

Originally Posted by bdaniel

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

I was reviewing the information in this tread again today. Whoever evaluated your failures doesn't know a hoot about impact damages. But, that's water over the dam as you got a nice settlement.

The reason for this post is an error I made the first time around. It's quit clear in one of your pictures that the failed tire in the picture has a speed rating of 75 MPH. I copied the picture and enlarged it and sure enough there is a speed letter L on that tire.

http://www.irv2.com/photopost/showfull.php?photo=27722

CW