Another vote to replace trailer tires every 6 years. And get TPMS.

[newbury]

I bought 4 Greenballs for my 12K Hudson back in spring of 2013. I've made maybe 6 to 8 round trips from Alexandria, Va to Fulton, MS. Round trip distance is about 1620 miles. So total distance travelled was those trips plus annual trips to the inspection station in Virginia, about 5 miles.

Three of the tires still have "whiskers". The fourth blew out on the interstate at speed (about 65) last Thursday. About 1/3 the way to Mississippi. Thankfully a fellow motorist waved me down. About half the tire was gone and I didn't take pictures .

An hour wait for AAA, a tip to the guy, roll into town and buy 2 low end tires. My spare (that AAA put on) was even older so that got tossed.

Now I'm a paranoid type guy when it comes to trailering - I've had my "mishaps".
I was driving down to Kings Dominion on I81 in my Dodge B100 van with two of my sons and one of their friends - all 3 between 9 and 12. At speed and in thick traffic a boat trailer in front of me lost a tire and it went airborne, right for my windshield. Traffic to the right of me, traffic to the left, I was stuck in the middle. I floored it and was able to catch the tire above the mirror, it dented the support but nothing broken and I only had to change underwear.

While moving down in 2012

I just had an accident with a U-Haul car dolly last Thursday. I was pulling a Honda Civic down from Alexandria, VA.
Driving about 55 on 72/20 in North Alabama the wheel and tire broke off the passenger side of the dolly. Luckily I was in the slow lane. Unluckily the wheel spun off and hit a house with minor damage.


As soon as I heard the noise I knew something was wrong and pulled to the side. My F350 was partially loaded


View attachment 285695




with about 1800 lbs of pallet rack and I didn't notice any "pull" on my dually until I got the tow dolly off the pavement and the axle stub started "plowing", even then it was only a slight pull. I first thought a chain or something had broke and was dragging, not the entire dolly. I left a groove in the asphalt about 50 to 100 yards long.


U-Haul is not maintaining their equipment well. I had to grease the ratchets to get the tire straps to work, the 4 wire for lights frayed and broke.


/edit - in retrospect a dually is nice.

So my routine is every stop I go around and FEEL the tires and axles for heat.

This trip it had been maybe 2 hours since I had checked ALL exterior tires (didn't fell the insiders on my dually) all had been well.

Now maybe the tire picked up a nail or something.

Moral - replace tires every 5 years maybe and now I'm looking for a TPMS system and a new enclosed trailer.

Any recommendations for a TPMS that is good for a trailer?

 

[vvanders]

I have this one: Amazon.com: YOKARO Wireless TPMS, Tire Pressure Monitoring System for Cars, Trailer, and 4 wheeled Vehicles, 4 External Cap Sensors, Black: Automotive

It works pretty well, only complaint is our power outlets are angled downwards which makes it impossible to read but the alarm still goes off(found out when swapping one of the sensors on a wrong wheel).

 

[newbury]

I have this one: Amazon.com: YOKARO Wireless TPMS, Tire Pressure Monitoring System for Cars, Trailer, and 4 wheeled Vehicles, 4 External Cap Sensors, Black: Automotive

It works pretty well, only complaint is our power outlets are angled downwards which makes it impossible to read but the alarm still goes off(found out when swapping one of the sensors on a wrong wheel).

Per the questions :

Question: will this monitor a tire pressure set for 18 to 20 lbs psi. If so, can each tire be set at different psi.
Answer: No, the monitor just tracks real-time data, you cannot customize. However, you can customize alarm data and the range is 29 to 44 psi.
By Yokaro US SELLER on July 10, 2017

44 PSI is way too low for me.

My Greenballs, load range E ran at 80 psi.

 

[fried1765]

I bought 4 Greenballs for my 12K Hudson back in spring of 2013. I've made maybe 6 to 8 round trips from Alexandria, Va to Fulton, MS. Round trip distance is about 1620 miles. So total distance travelled was those trips plus annual trips to the inspection station in Virginia, about 5 miles.

Three of the tires still have "whiskers". The fourth blew out on the interstate at speed (about 65) last Thursday. About 1/3 the way to Mississippi. Thankfully a fellow motorist waved me down. About half the tire was gone and I didn't take pictures .

An hour wait for AAA, a tip to the guy, roll into town and buy 2 low end tires. My spare (that AAA put on) was even older so that got tossed.

Now I'm a paranoid type guy when it comes to trailering - I've had my "mishaps".
I was driving down to Kings Dominion on I81 in my Dodge B100 van with two of my sons and one of their friends - all 3 between 9 and 12. At speed and in thick traffic a boat trailer in front of me lost a tire and it went airborne, right for my windshield. Traffic to the right of me, traffic to the left, I was stuck in the middle. I floored it and was able to catch the tire above the mirror, it dented the support but nothing broken and I only had to change underwear.

While moving down in 2012


So my routine is every stop I go around and FEEL the tires and axles for heat.

This trip it had been maybe 2 hours since I had checked ALL exterior tires (didn't fell the insiders on my dually) all had been well.

Now maybe the tire picked up a nail or something.

Moral - replace tires every 5 years maybe and now I'm looking for a TPMS system and a new enclosed trailer.

Any recommendations for a TPMS that is good for a trailer?

Though feeling the axle hubs every several hours is a good idea, using an infra red heat detector gun is even better.
They are $26 on Amazon, and a quick walk around with one, will give you an accurate temperature (comparative) reading for each axle hub.

 

[newbury]

Though feeling the axle hubs every several hours is a good idea, using an infra red heat detector gun is even better.
They are $26 on Amazon, and a quick walk around with one, will give you an accurate temperature (comparative) reading for each axle hub.

Even better is the HF offering which I've gotten with coupons for $15.
I tried that, but my hand is handier.

 

[plowhog]

An hour wait for AAA, a tip to the guy ...

Had no idea the tow truck driver expects or gets tips. I must have angered a few in my day ....

 

[newbury]

Had no idea the tow truck driver expects or gets tips. I must have angered a few in my day ....

This guy carefully explained how our basic AAA membership did not cover for working on the trailer and went ahead and did it anyways.

 

[Deere Dude]

I have been camping with a bunch of people with big class A motorhomes. One camper in particular had 22.5" tires that were stored inside and looked great and were 12 years old. A few times around the campfire we were discussing tire age and blowouts. I told him my concern 5 years ago but he brushed me off, maybe because I am a low life with a fifth wheel. Anyway, I finally talked him into changing his tires but it wasn't all a waste because he could put them on his dump truck. Six months after he changed his tires around the dump truck was just sitting on the lawn and blew a front tire out from the batch he had on his motorhome. He lucked out because he could have wrecked a lot of stuff on a motorhome.

 

[SPYDERLK]

I agree that age is a factor. I think long periods of stasis is also a key aggravator. A tire supporting weight for a long period on the same spot is likely not totally benign even when parked on a smooth surface. And lots of times we park on gravel. The result is lots of minor internal damage.

And then theres the aging, stiffening rubber. ... :confused3:​

 

[Redbug]

I air my trailer tires to the max pressure. That way, the tire does not flex as much and stays cooler. My trailers that are parked for any length of time are placed on jack stands so the tires don't sit in the same position with weight on them. Tires need to be used to last longer.