General Tire/brake advise - advocate for tpms

jxnbbl · 04-30-2022, 05:46 AM

I'm coming back from a 4+ week round trip from NH to Florida visiting people and vacationing with the grandchildren. The trailer has Rainier ST tires on it and after this trip would have approx 6k miles on them total in the past 9 months. This is about 1/2 the mileage on my previous trailer when I traded it in. They had another brand that although I can't remember what they were at the moment - less than I had on my XXX (can't remember currently) which when I trade it in they were fine.

The 2 problems and would like some advise from the more seasoned owners.

Prior to towing or unhitching, I always do a 'walk around'. A couple of days ago I found the problem with the tire (pic attached). So now this tire is my spare. In reading this probably happened with a lock up (I know of one) although I do test/adjust my brake gain I know it happened only once. But in general I'm not impressed with these tires as they seem to be wearing quickly and feel "gummy". To make a comparison it is like snow tire specific rubber which would not work well when tire temps are in the 90s in Florida.

Anyways yesterday the tpms started going off as there was a "sudden drop in pressure". My wife monitored the tire as I asked her to just tell me when it went below 50psi as I slowed down and managed to get off the highway. A mile off there was a Citgo with diesel below $5, next door a tire repair place so someone was looking after us! A screw on the outer fringe of the tread encroaching on the side wall....

$120 later and 1hour later - I had a new Americus tire with the load ratings, the plugged fixed tire as a spare and the bald one discarded. Fully fueled and back driving. Thank goodness for that tpms!

In looking at the original tires I'm disappointed and have committed on replacing them when we get back. BUT possibly the some of the difference between the wear performance was the difference in weight between a 273 and 330 Bullets (the two that I've owned) and certainly the brake spot was due to me. So looking for advise things to consider on tires, brake adjustment and possible future mods?

thanks in advance.

Jay

**flybouy** · 04-30-2022, 06:23 AM

A couple of red flags to me. First off plugged tire "encroaching the sidewall" ? No, no, no! Let me guess, this "tire shop" plugged it from the outside? A tire should only be repaired from the inside,, using a plug/patch and only thru the tread area between the two outer ribs.

Second thing is the flat spot on that tire. That did not happen in a single stop. That wheel was locked up and the tire was drug for a considerable distance. That brake position needs to be inspected. That tire IMO should not be depended on as a spare, it's useless.

Third thing is the OEM tires. Replace them NOW unless you enjoyed this experience. I might use the new tire as a spare but as a "second spare". I bought a matching rim and replaced our trailer tires with 5 Carlise Radial Trail HD tires. The original steel rim spare gets thrown into the bed of the truck for longer trips as a "just in case" back up if something would happen far from an exit or place to replace it and it became necessary to replace 2 tires.

wiredgeorge · 04-30-2022, 06:36 AM

Comment regarding the Americus tire. I HAD four on my F350 and one had the sidewall somehow break and a bulge started and blew up in the parking lot of the Napa where I had taken it to figure out why the truck was shaking. I personally would never put an Americus tire on a vehicle again although yours is hopefully an ST tire. I now have Coopers (made in Arkansas) on my truck as of yesterday.

**JRTJH** · 04-30-2022, 06:40 AM

I'm not sure which axles/wheels you've got as OEM, so this information is somewhat speculation.....

Your trailer is a 38' 8600 pound GVWR trailer with OEM tires size 225 75R15 LRD (65PSI).

So, in order not to "guess" on what tires would best meet your needs, what size axles, what lug pattern wheels do you have and what is the weight rating cast on the rear surface of the spokes on your wheels.... Depending on if you have 10" brakes with 5 lug hubs or 12" brakes with 6 lug hubs and the weight capacity of your wheels, the "best fit" can be determined. No need to put "super heavy duty tires" on a wheel that can't support the air pressure the tires need and no need to put that kind of tire with new, expensive wheels on hubs that become the weakest link and are pretty much assured to self destruct if you air the tires up to their rated pressure.....

So, 5 or 6 lug hubs/wheels, what's the wheel capacity and what's the axle rating and brake size ???

roadglide · 04-30-2022, 06:46 AM

I order 2 sets of Lippert self adjusting brakes from e trailer they have approximately 15 k miles . I found the brakes where pitted and gouged , everything is off I got 4 timken bearing sets with race and 4 new saline tires that where under recall . There are serious problems with your trailer brakes and possibly bearings.

**sourdough** · 04-30-2022, 06:49 AM

IMO you dodged a bullet with the Ranier tires. They came OE on this trailer new and they came off before I ever pulled the trailer from the lot - now you know why.

The repair and new spare are very questionable. I would replace 5 tires. If they are the size John noted I think I would go to LRE Carlisles @80psi if the wheel support the pressure/weight (look on the back of the wheel(s)).

**JRTJH** · 04-30-2022, 09:35 AM

I agree with Danny, IF (that's the question) the wheels are rated appropriately, I'd upgrade to LRE tires... But the reason I asked the questions above is that IF (there it is again) your trailer has 5 lug hubs and wheels rated at 2150 pounds, installing heavy duty tires won't give you any additional protection because you can't use them at their potential (65 vs 80 PSI and 2150 vs 2830 pounds)... That's why I asked all those questions. Upgrading is good, if the system benefits, but if all you do is move the weakest link "up the chain" without improving the outcome, IMO, it can be just wasted money....

As for tire brands, I've used Carlisle Radial Trail RF (predecessor of the HD) and Radial Trail HD tires on 5 trailers for the past 10 years and never had a problem. I change tires every 4 years, so that's a bunch of Carlisle tires without an issue.... There are other brands that may be "just as good or even better" but for me, why change brands or pay more when what I'm using is serving the purpose with no problems ???? YMMV

CWtheMan · 04-30-2022, 04:58 PM

A quote from USTMA:

"Puncture repairs are limited to the tread area. DO NOT make repairs where the injury damage extends into the shoulder/belt edge area OR where the injury extends at an angle into the shoulder area. If there is any question that the injury extends into the shoulder/belt edge area, then the tire must be scrapped."

jxnbbl · 05-01-2022, 03:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by flybouy

A couple of red flags to me. First off plugged tire "encroaching the sidewall" ? No, no, no! Let me guess, this "tire shop" plugged it from the outside? A tire should only be repaired from the inside,, using a plug/patch and only thru the tread area between the two outer ribs.

Second thing is the flat spot on that tire. That did not happen in a single stop. That wheel was locked up and the tire was drug for a considerable distance. That brake position needs to be inspected. That tire IMO should not be depended on as a spare, it's useless.

Third thing is the OEM tires. Replace them NOW unless you enjoyed this experience. I might use the new tire as a spare but as a "second spare". I bought a matching rim and replaced our trailer tires with 5 Carlise Radial Trail HD tires. The original steel rim spare gets thrown into the bed of the truck for longer trips as a "just in case" back up if something would happen far from an exit or place to replace it and it became necessary to replace 2 tires.

Thanks. I did say plug and it was actually plugged and patched as the tire was taken off the rim, etc. The plug is "in tread" but...anyways I'm in the middle of nowhere and this, to me is a better spare than the bald spot tire.

On to that..."considerable distance"... This is where I'm totally scratching my head and one reason why I posted this. There are two things that I do prior to starting a trip - trip =5-7 hours of straight driving minus fuel/toilet stops.

1. I find a straight away (no traffic), put down the windows and use the manual electric brake first at 15-20 mph and then at 30 mph to ensure they don't lock up but will stop the truck. Adjust as I've found humidity, etc matters.

2. Then I do the same with my brake pedal a little more agressively so that it is the truck as opposed to the trailer stopping the mass of 'combined vehicle".

There is only one time in the 3000-4000 mile on these tires, that happened that day that I really had to jam on my brakes and flip on the emergency flashers at the same time.

So either this bald spot was hiding at the top of the bottom of out of plain view for quite some time or ???

The ending of this will be 5 new tires, one new rim and the new tire/steel spare in the bed on these long trips.

jxnbbl · 05-01-2022, 03:45 AM

All, Thanks for the responses. When I get home I'll pull one of the alloy rims and look at the rating. The steel spare has 2850 on stamped on the outside. Attached are picks of the from the axle "outward" and it has 6 lugs.

When first taking the bald tire off and putting on the spare I remember thinking - Hopefully these lug nuts fit (just a bit of info from a story in here where the lugs only worked with the alloy rims and not the steel rim). The pics are from the other side of the trailer where I got the flat.

Although I know I'm getting new tires, a rim, etc I'm trying to devise a more detailed plan instead of just "check out this wheel/hub". Maybe my 'pre-flight' elec brake adjustment is the problem that has to be modified. Of course brakes are used all the time but I'm looking for that 'smooth stop' ... but used a heck of a lot less since I have diesel brakes and most deceleration is done when I just take my foot off the gas.

The unit has to go in for slide repair where the cable unit was obviously installed incorrectly.

jxnbbl · 05-01-2022, 03:46 AM

Sorry...pics

**flybouy** · 05-01-2022, 04:38 AM

Sounds like you have a plan going forward. By considerable distance I mean more than locking up the brakes in a single "panic stop". At some point, a single event happened where that tread was stationary and drug far enough to grind nearly all of the tread off in that one area. I can't tell you how far that may have been but I can tell you it's not "normal".

The thing with this type of malfunction is that it obviously did not recur or there would be multiple flat spots. It obviously did not remain in that state as it then would be a failure. I know it's semantics but what I'm trying to convey is don't get a sense of "it only happened once so it must be ok". Verify by inspecting that it's ok.

If I had to guess, my guess (purely a guess) is that perhaps that the breaks were tighter on that hub and at some point of being used heated up and locked up during a hard stop. It likely "broke free" and didn't repeat. That's all speculation and there could be a dozen other explanations. It could have been a failure where a spring or other component broke, wedged and locked up the drum. After being freed the breaks may no longer function on that drum. Without pulling the drums there is no way to know if there has been a component failure or if there is abnormal break lining wear at that position when compared to the others.

jxnbbl · 05-01-2022, 05:51 AM

Thanks for the reply sounds plausible any advise on electronic brake calibration of the gain…this was all new to me for sure. I just remembered that I might have access to the alloy rim info since it is in the spare…and I did.

It’s attached. Does this mean these are good for the heavy duty tires?

jxnbbl · 05-01-2022, 05:58 AM

Pic attached

**JRTJH** · 05-01-2022, 06:29 AM

The axles are 5200 pound (3" cambered beams) derated to 4400 pounds. That's the same as my Lippert axles. It looks like you have 12" brake hubs, so that's "standard build on 5200/6000 pound axle beams. (the 3" 3500 pound axle beams have 10" hubs, normally so smaller 14" wheels will fit)...

If I were you, I'd upgrade from 225 75R15 LRD tires to 225 75R15 LRE (10 ply rating) tires and air them up to 80 PSI to get the maximum load carrying capacity.

You already know my preference for Carlisle Radial Trail HD tires, so no "preaching" about brand... I would recommend staying with either Carlisle or Goodyear Endurance. I have NO (absolutely none) experience with Goodyear Endurance. It's been on the market about 5 years now and there has been only a small bit of negative owner experience, so I'd guess it's comparable to Carlisle in reliability.... So, IMO, it boils down to cost between those two. Check WalMart's price on Carlisle's to get a starting point. WalMart has been consistently lower in cost for the past 4 years.

Current pricing is $111.12 https://www.walmart.com/ip/Carlisle-...Rated/55012166 Many "retail tire stores" will price match WalMart's price, so you may be able to negotiate a better price at Discount Tire or some other sales outlet.

Good Luck with your purchase, whatever you choose.

jxnbbl · 05-02-2022, 04:50 AM

Thanks for everyone's help. Just sent a request to figure out the make/model of the rims to Keystone so that I can get one for a spare....and will order the 5 new tires sometime this week. (Still on the road for a few days...but getting close).

I've been monitoring the tires/wheels, especially the "bald spot" position and everything is fine. Will yank off the drum when I get back, probably to all positions but will start there to see if I see anything.

**flybouy** · 05-02-2022, 05:59 AM

You can probably find a matching wheel on line. Some sights like etrailer.com you can put in the year, make and model to find them and other sites like sendelwheel.com (a major OEM supplier) will have pictures and size/rating charts to help identify wheels.

**JRTJH** · 05-02-2022, 06:36 AM

I think these are the wheels you have: https://www.tredittire.com/wheel/altitude/

jxnbbl · 05-03-2022, 04:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JRTJH

I think these are the wheels you have: https://www.tredittire.com/wheel/altitude/

Thanks. Ordered!

jxnbbl · 05-04-2022, 04:11 AM

And as we have landed home without further incident 5 new tires ordered. After some private messages went with the Carlisle E rated tires.

Thanks for the help/advise.

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