Trailer Tire Failure - Not a good way tho start the weekend

[wolfpack2]

Chris, I think you meant 13th week, not month. I can't agree with you more. 6 years and replace them no mater how they look. As soon as any 1 of them has a failure, replace them all including the spare.

 

[Spanky100]

Yesterday on the interstate, driving to the lake to enjoy the day on the water, I had a catastrophic failure of the drivers side tire on my double PWC single axle trailer. Not any fun at 65MPH but fortunately I was pulling it with my truck and not the SUV, I was miles from an exit and could not get completely off the shoulder as there was a 20' sound barrier. The real experience was changing the tire while cars were passing within a few feet at 70+mph, unbelievable todays drivers would risk killing someone because they are to stupid or distracted to change lanes. Fortunately a state trooper was kind enough to pull behind and put his vehicle between me and traffic, even with his lights on several cars refused to change lanes and came within a couple feet of hitting him. IDIOTS - Now on to my questions:

I bought these tires brand new 5-years ago, my loaded trailer weighs 3000lbs and I had checked the tire pressure maybe an hour before the blow-out occurred. Max pressure is 65psi cold and both tires where at 61psi and I didn't add any air. Tires maybe had 2000 miles on them and trailer is always store under cover and I park on 2x6 to keep the tires off the dirt.

- Worst case I was 200lb below max load, I really believe I was closer to 500lbs below but I will need to weigh the trailer to be sure. Would being 4psi below max pressure cause a blow-out?

- After putting on the spare I drove another 30 miles to the lake and felt the tires, the newer radial was uncomfortably hot to the touch while the OLD bias spare was notable cooler, is this normal?

- What is my solution? Do I need to consider larger wheels with heavier ratings or are there better brands I should buy?

Kenda Karrier ST175/80R13 Radial Trailer Tire w/ 13" White Mini Mod Wheel - 5 on 4-1/2
Tire capacity:◦Load range: D
◦Ply rating: 8
◦Maximum load: 1,610 lbs at 65 psi

Beltzington

Were you towing with a full size half ton pickup truck?

When the driver side trailer tire failed, how did it affect your ability to maintain your lane, slow down, and pull over to the side of the road?


I have a two place PWC trailer with the same size tires. With two fueled/loaded PWCs with trailer weight it is about 2300 pounds total (the trailer tongue weight loads the tow vehicle not the trailer tires). For my setup the tire load weight should be around 2300 - 230 = 2070 pounds on the trailer tires. The trailer max weight is 2900 pounds and two tires have a combined (at 65 PSI cold) weight capacity of 3220 lbs. Well below the tire capability which I like to be conservative. I normally check the tire temp and bearing temp when I stop. On 85 degree F sunny day at highway speed, the tires are warmer that the bearings which seems normal. Both are not too warm to touch with your hand. Will have to take the heat gun to see what the actual temperatures are next time.

Trust you still had a great day on the water.

Wayne

 

[Btown]

My trailer has LT tires on it, they are 15 years old and look great still. I only tow about 2,000 miles a year with it. Probably going to replace them this year. From what I hear ST tires only seem to last about 5 years then people have issues. With the price difference I'll get LT again.

 

[4570Man]

My personal experience is tires rated only for trailer service are junk. Spending a little more and putting vehicle tires on it would help. Not saying a vehicle tire can't blow, but it happens far less often. We travel as a group with about 15 campers a few times a year. I don't think we have ever made a trip without someone blowing a tire. We have never lost a tire on a vehicle. On the last blowout the parked trailer was hit and a boy was almost killed. Thankfully he escaped unharmed.

 

[joefromga]

Are trailer tires directional? Maybe they were on backwards?

 

[handirifle]

Trailer tires are junk, period. I could only WISH I had a set that lasted 5 years. Most I have ever gotten has been 1.5 from brand new tires. Always aired to max cold and stored in the air, with trailer jacks keeping them off the ground.

Even read the fine print on ones highly rated like the Maxxis, and they say 10 ply rating, with an asterisk that says (3 ply sidewall). ST tires will never see my trailers rims again, ever.

You had the perfect storm, tires 5 years old, 13 inch tires, heavy load. Personally 4 psi should NEVER make a difference, they were ready to go.

Get some decent LT tires with 14" rims if they fit. If not, I would adjust the fenders so they WOULD fit.

 

[Ford850]

Trailer tires are junk? I thought they were designed specifically for trailer work and performed better than regular tires. I know they must be inflated to the max rating to perform properly, compared to passenger or truck tires.

 

[Dftodd]

Check the date on the tire as stated previously. Most large tire store chains buy tires in massive quantities to give the lower prices. The issue is they rarely rotate there stock.

I've had issues with them selling 6 plus year old tires as "New". Had "New" tires installed on an 18,000lb service truck that were 12 years old. They didn't like it too well when I went to get the truck, and checked the dates before I signed the ticket. They had to pull the truck back into the shop, and replace all 6 tires a second time with tires manufactured in the past 6 months.

Had a run at another location on trailer tires. Happened to be there when the tire shop dropped off the spare tires. Half the tires were over 6 years old. Tire shop wouldn't warranty the failures that they were having. I rejected the whole load, and made them bring us "New" tires u Der 6 months old. 4 months now, and no premature failures

 

[Beltzington]

Beltzington

Were you towing with a full size half ton pickup truck?

When the driver side trailer tire failed, how did it affect your ability to maintain your lane, slow down, and pull over to the side of the road?


I have a two place PWC trailer with the same size tires. With two fueled/loaded PWCs with trailer weight it is about 2300 pounds total (the trailer tongue weight loads the tow vehicle not the trailer tires). For my setup the tire load weight should be around 2300 - 230 = 2070 pounds on the trailer tires. The trailer max weight is 2900 pounds and two tires have a combined (at 65 PSI cold) weight capacity of 3220 lbs. Well below the tire capability which I like to be conservative. I normally check the tire temp and bearing temp when I stop. On 85 degree F sunny day at highway speed, the tires are warmer that the bearings which seems normal. Both are not too warm to touch with your hand. Will have to take the heat gun to see what the actual temperatures are next time.

Trust you still had a great day on the water.

Wayne

I was pulling with my Chevy 2500HD Diesel that weighs about 8000lbs and when the tire went I actually thought I had hit something in the road, kinda a hard bump and a pull to the left, also allot of noise, looking in the mirror, I could see rubber flying everywhere and the vehicles in the passing lane swerving over to the left side. I never felt I had lost control of the trailer and was able safely slow down and move to the side of the interstate.

You are dead on concerning the weight, my two skis full of fuel and gear are just shy of 2,000lbs, I looked up the specifications yesterday and my trailer weighs only 500lbs so like you I am well below the tires rating so honestly I am not sure why the tire failed. Maybe I did hit something in the road or maybe the tire just failed. I checked the date and they are 6 years old not 5.

I am going to buy two new Greenball tires but still unsure if I am staying with radial or going back to bias. Have found allot of disagreement on the web concerning pro's and cons. What is the TBN consensus? Do radials have less or more sway than bias? Due to my fender height I am going to have to stay with 13" wheels and I MAY pull the trailer 2,000 miles a year.

 

[Turbys_1700]

I can write a book on the performance of ST trailer tires. I owned a 92 Prowler 5th wheel camper that was fitted with 225/75R 15 trailer tires. In 10 years of ownership I had 5 tire failures. When I first purchased the trailer on our first camping trip a tire blew. The tires were aired up to 65 psi the max for a D rated tire. Not old and in good shape visually. After that instance I replaced it with a new D rated tire. On our next trip I blew out another one. Same issue. Eventually I upgraded to E rated tires and inflated to 80 psi. Still had a blowout.

My theory on ST tries are that they are rated to be pulled no more than 65 MPH. In the summer pulling a heavy 5th wheel like I did those tires heat up and just can not stand the temps. Never once was I over the weight ratings of the tire and only pulled at 60 MPH. I sworn to myself that I would never ever run an ST trailer tire again. My wife and I do not camp anymore but I always thought that if I was buying another 5th wheel it would have 16" rims so that I could fit it with LT truck tires. I know that ST tires have special so called UV inhibitors that ****** sun degradation. I understand that. But again based on my experience the performance and reliability of ST tires at least in my experience has been awful at best. YMMV