Tandom trailer blowout

[SPMMD]

I had the great displeasure of having a blowout Friday while traveling 60 MPH on the freeway transporting one of my vehicles. I was towing with a GMC Sierra 2500 on I495 with most of my family in the crew cab delivering a car for repair. The experience is one I hope to avoid in the future. It took a few moments to recognize exactly what was going on. Sudden loss of power, speed, with terrible vibration with the sensation of the truck and trailer bouncing madly. The ride was so uncomfortable that at first I thought I lost a wheel off the truck, not the trailer!. I was almost bouncing out of the seat!!! Looking in the rear view mirror I saw white smoke followed by tire fragments flying from the passenger side of the trailer. The heavy traffic west of Boston to either side and behind me fortunately parted like the Red Sea giving me room to slow and pull off to the right shoulder without incident. Fortunately I think the other drivers recognized my problem before I did!

While I have all the tools and spare trailer tire and wheel, couldn't free my jack for use!

AAA sent a wrecker to give assistance, whom was on seen within 15 minutes on to say" dude we don't do trailer tires/flats, you will need a oversized rollback or two trucks to remove your trailer and car separately!!!!

The Mass State Troopers had a car on seen in less than 5 minutes who recommended mobilizing the Mass Highway authority roadside/curtesy assistance and made the call on my behalf. They arrived within 10 minutes, within a couple of minutes of AAA!

Keeping busy, I noticed the rear edge of the heavy duty diamond steel dual tire fender was actually folded in twice on itself by the spinning steel belted radial trailer tire as it began to throw the tread and steel belt!!!!!

While neither AAA or the roadside assistance gentleman thought it was possible, I was able to unfold and recontour the fender with use of a 7 inch crescent wrench to capture and pry back the edge with the assistance of a 6 foot 4X4 wooden post I brought for loading/ unloading the car do to its low ground clearance.

Total elapsed time from blowout tow back on the road was under 35 minutes!!!!! A little luck went a long way!!!















Thanks to MA state troopers, and MA roadside curtesy assistance whom refused any payment for services, AAA on the other hand (whom I pay in advance), not too helpful this time!! Next time I'll remember to call BoatUS, whom will help with trailer problems on the road!!!!!!

The wheels on the trailer were 3 years old with very little wear/use!!!

 

[SPMMD]

Trailer was manufactured by All Pro Trailers Fla, 7000 lb rated with electric brakes on all wheels.

 

[Diamondpilot]

Been there done that. You got Lucky it did not do more damage. Sounds like everything went your way this time.

Just out of curiosity when was the last time you used that trailer and more importantly checked the tire pressures?

One thing that sticks out to me is that appears to be a 7K trailer which means 6 ply load range C 50 psi. You have cheap rubber valve stems that are rated at 55 psi. If one lets go air pressure drops, tire deflates slowly, heat builds, and tire lets go. I see it all the time in my trailer business.

Get a 8 ton bottle jack and a 4 way lug wrench and let it live in your tow vehicle. Some 2x6 cribbing, about 4 pices, and you will be set for the next time.

Chris

 

[SPMMD]

This trailer was last used 3 months before, which was also the last time tire pressures were measured and were appropriate. The trailer was dug out of 2 feet of snow for use, visual inspection, lights, brakes all checked but inflation pressures were not checked!!!! Trailer electronic brake gain set appropriately. Should tire inflation pressures be checked with every use ?







Tires: Trail America ST205 75D 15

 

[David_Kb7uns]

This is the exact reason I have a TPMS that monitors pressure and temp of the trailer tires. I cannot tell you how many travel trailers I see beside I5 with fenderwells and whole sides missing parts from the axles back caused by blown tires ripping things apart as they go.

On the equipment and dump trailers I carry one spare (they are short trips only) and for the Weekend Warrior toy hauler I have two spares because as with tripple axle toy haulers alot of times if you loose one a second may not be far because of the added stress incured. In the last two years the TPMS has alerted 3 times for low air because of a bad rubber valve stem, nail in tire and blowout caused by road hazard. The temperature display also clued me in on one of the tires on the triple axle Weekend Warrior that was begining to seperate as it was running 10-15 degrees warmer then the rest and was able to remove and have checked before complete failure happened.

Have a Chrysler Town and Country and a Jeep Commander with factory TPMS and you can see about a 1-3 pound loss of air per month depending on the season, the newer tires do not hold air as well as the old ones used to either. Strongly encourage people to look at the systems if they tow much on higher speed roads and to check pressures every week of use and before long trips.

David Kb7uns

 

[SPMMD]

Wow, I didn't know TPMS was even available on trailer wheels/tires! Is it very expensive and easy to retrofit?

 

[David_Kb7uns]

It was less then $700 for the receiver, repeater and 10 wheel sensors. The sensors replace your valve stem cap and attach with a special wrench so they are not stolen you do need metal valve stems to support the sensors. I think some of the sytems have come down in price and now have user replacable batteries on the sensors. You can set the tire settings to give you an alarm when pressure drops or temp goes above a set temperature.

Here is one of the newer systems on ebay now, your local RV dealer may have them now, but not all systems do the temp I think that is needed for trailers for excessive sidewall flex or bearings going bad.
Tire Pressure Monitoring System for Car Truck or RV TPMS 8 Sensors | eBay

David Kb7uns

 

[mjncad]

Dang...Lady Luck sure smiled on you, your family, the Porsche, and everyone around you when that tire let go. I'm glad all ended well.

 

[mojoinco]

I am a fan of steel valve stems. I fight the teenage tire guys every time. My 16' trailer had rubber valve stems. As DiamondPilot alluded to, turns out there are rubber valve stems rated for different pressures. You wouldn't think that anything below 90 psi would be different, but they are. As was my trailer (had one tire that kept coming off the bead). Go to a real tire shop (not the Discount TIre's) and get educated about them (I don't know more than what I put down here).

 

[Diamondpilot]

This trailer was last used 3 months before, which was also the last time tire pressures were measured and were appropriate. The trailer was dug out of 2 feet of snow for use, visual inspection, lights, brakes all checked but inflation pressures were not checked!!!! Trailer electronic brake gain set appropriately. Should tire inflation pressures be checked with every use ?

<img src="http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=305382"/>

<img src="http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=305383"/>

Tires: Trail America ST205 75D 15

Thats not good enough. Just for kicks I checked two of the load range E tires on my boat trailer this morning. It is in my barn on jack stands and was put in around November 1st. Load range E is 80 psi and in that short time with the temp change one was at 66 and another 64. Its a tri axle 18,000# trailer and all tires were set before storage.

You absolutely need to check them once a month or more if the temp has swung. I guarantee you can not visually tell the difference between a properly inflated load range C 50 psi tire and say one at 38 psi.

Check your other 3 and you will see they are low. Don't forget the most important tire, the spare. I once went to put on a LRG tire on a large trailer after helping out a stranded motorists and it was less than 20 psi. That is worthless. Might as well not even have a spare.

Chris

 

[joemd11]

Wow, I had no idea there are different valve stems for different applications. I recently bought 3 new Green ball tires (kudos Diamondpilot) for my utility trailer. Will have to check what valve stems they installed.
Last week the TPM in the wifes 4Runner came on. I checked all 4 tires and the pressure was fine but the light was still on. Stood there scratching my head till it dawned on me - check the spare tire dummy! Sure enough, it was the low one.

 

[Diamondpilot]

Wow, I had no idea there are different valve stems for different applications. I recently bought 3 new Green ball tires (kudos Diamondpilot) for my utility trailer. Will have to check what valve stems they installed.
Last week the TPM in the wifes 4Runner came on. I checked all 4 tires and the pressure was fine but the light was still on. Stood there scratching my head till it dawned on me - check the spare tire dummy! Sure enough, it was the low one.

Yea, most of your rubber stems are only good for Load Range C 50 psi tires. I find that even most of the tire shops are uneducated on valve stems.

Chris

 

[Xfaxman]

Valve stems come in different lengths also. I use the shortest metal ones on my trailer, since there no hubcaps.

 

[Soundguy]

This trailer was last used 3 months before, which was also the last time tire pressures were measured and were appropriate. The trailer was dug out of 2 feet of snow for use, visual inspection, lights, brakes all checked but inflation pressures were not checked!!!! Trailer electronic brake gain set appropriately. Should tire inflation pressures be checked with every use ?

View attachment 305382



View attachment 305383

Tires: Trail America ST205 75D 15

i don't even pull off my farm without checking the tire pressure.

if I stop for a meal while hauling a load, I walk around and thump and look at all the tires.. etc.

 

[texasjohn]

Agree with all this.


check tire pressure with gauge weekly. visual check only inadequate

check visually AFTER loading trailer, each time, learn how to notice low pressure

use high pressure valve stems, there is a difference, metal are preferred.

include spare in pressure check

I, too, carry two spares, 4 way spinner and heavy duty jack.


am glad your government services were truly beneficial...both LEO and roadside assistance...government being more useful than private enterprise...worth noting!

 

[crazyal]

To add to the discussion about valve stems I'll say this. Get ones made with EPDM. It's a synthetic rubber, not the natural stuff that China uses in almost everything. Natural rubber dry rots in a year or two while the EPDM will last a heck of a lot longer. On top of that EPDM will remain flexible in cold weather where as thee rubber doesn't and will leak. When I asked about what pressure they were rated for they laughed at me, joked about not being cheap natural rubber, and then said more than 120 psi. So I bought a box of 50. It was something like $3 for 2 or $13 for a box of 50. The first thing you notice is they don't stick like fresh rubber when you open the box.
BlackJack Tire Repair | Snap In Valve Stems

 

[schmism]

I check tire pressures EVERY time i take the trailer out before i load it up. I also recheck them after im on the road, usually at my first fuel stop. I also check tire temp (by hand) and hub temp (by hand) to verify no-ones doing something they should be and overheating. If on a long road trip, ill do the same hand check at each fuel stop. After the first pressure check with gauge, i generally just do a knock test for sound on subsequent stops.

OH i also do the tow vehicle tire check.

 

[David_Kb7uns]

I check tire pressures EVERY time i take the trailer out before i load it up. I also recheck them after im on the road, usually at my first fuel stop. I also check tire temp (by hand) and hub temp (by hand) to verify no-ones doing something they should be and overheating. If on a long road trip, ill do the same hand check at each fuel stop. After the first pressure check with gauge, i generally just do a knock test for sound on subsequent stops.

OH i also do the tow vehicle tire check.

Always have been careful about checking by hand as you got a real hot hub or stuck brake you could get a good burn got singed by a bearing once. Carry one of those cheap $30 IR thermometers that will tell you temp within a few degrees and you can actually see if the front to rear tires or brakes are doing their fare share of the work.


David Kb7uns

 

[yelbike]

Always have been careful about checking by hand as you got a real hot hub or stuck brake you could get a good burn got singed by a bearing once. Carry one of those cheap $30 IR thermometers that will tell you temp within a few degrees and you can actually see if the front to rear tires or brakes are doing their fare share of the work.

David Kb7uns

That's what I do plus I can check the transmission oil pan temp. I don't have a gauge in my dash. I try and measure the same spot every time. If the temp changes to much you can tell something is wrong or pushing to hard.

 

[aczlan]

Always have been careful about checking by hand as you got a real hot hub or stuck brake you could get a good burn got singed by a bearing once. Carry one of those cheap $30 IR thermometers that will tell you temp within a few degrees and you can actually see if the front to rear tires or brakes are doing their fare share of the work.

Yep, I have one of those that I got to check temperatures in the furnace and it has lots of uses. Used it last night to measure the temperature differential in my car radiator for a discussion on the Volvo list I am on.

Aaron Z