KennyG
Elite Member
Have you checked your tire age lately? I know most of you are smarter than I am but I make up for it by being lucky.
The backstory is I bought a used 7K trailer about 5 years ago. It was in rough shape but I usually only use it for hauling within 10 miles of home. I bought it from a trailer fabricator. It had no brakes so as part of the deal I had him add brakes to one axle. When I picked it up I noticed it had two new tires, which I took as a bonus. Later I discovered it had GM 4-3/4 bolt circle wheels and when he put the brakes on he had to switch to 4-1/2 trailer hubs.
Fast forward to early this year. I was towing empty and I hit a big bump and the hitch latch failed and it jumped off the ball. The chains held, so not much damage. I put on a new hitch A-frame, heavy safety cables and, because I noticed the older tires cracking, changed the hubs, added brakes to the other axle, and put on new rims and tires. I just stuck the old tires in the corner of the pole barn.
Last week I happened to walk by and saw this. The tire blew out just sitting in the barn. I checked the tires and found they were built in 1998. Now the real scary part. Out of curiosity I looked at my "new" tires that were put on when I bought the trailer. They were dated 2000. Apparently they were new old stock and were 10 years old when I got the trailer. They still look brand new (I keep the trailer inside) but I will be replacing them before I do any more towing.
The backstory is I bought a used 7K trailer about 5 years ago. It was in rough shape but I usually only use it for hauling within 10 miles of home. I bought it from a trailer fabricator. It had no brakes so as part of the deal I had him add brakes to one axle. When I picked it up I noticed it had two new tires, which I took as a bonus. Later I discovered it had GM 4-3/4 bolt circle wheels and when he put the brakes on he had to switch to 4-1/2 trailer hubs.
Fast forward to early this year. I was towing empty and I hit a big bump and the hitch latch failed and it jumped off the ball. The chains held, so not much damage. I put on a new hitch A-frame, heavy safety cables and, because I noticed the older tires cracking, changed the hubs, added brakes to the other axle, and put on new rims and tires. I just stuck the old tires in the corner of the pole barn.
Last week I happened to walk by and saw this. The tire blew out just sitting in the barn. I checked the tires and found they were built in 1998. Now the real scary part. Out of curiosity I looked at my "new" tires that were put on when I bought the trailer. They were dated 2000. Apparently they were new old stock and were 10 years old when I got the trailer. They still look brand new (I keep the trailer inside) but I will be replacing them before I do any more towing.