Trailer tires!!!

[Seann45]

There has been a lot posted on tires and tire failure.. I think everyone should read this...

http://www.rvtiresafety.com/

[Threebutchers]

Read. Noted. Practical.

Darn....I really want to get my TT up to 75+mph....cant someone tell me how to do it safely? :wink:

[thomasmnile]

Have read bazillions of threads in many forums about trailer tire failures, and have come to the following conclusions:

There are low quality, low priced tires out there. Unfortunately a lot of them are OEM tires on many brands of towables. Counterpoint to that, I have read an equal number of threads about folks wanting to wring the maximum discount out the sale price of the RV they wish to purchase. Something has to give somewhere..........

OTOH: Tires like axles and suspension are sort of important. I get the impression manufacturers will install the bare minimum required to move the whole assembly down the road. I read/hear all this talk of "extra margin". What exactly is that in quantifiable terms and can it be proven by anyone? For example, Our WhiteHawk rides on 3500 lb. capacity Dexter axles with 205/75R 14 Load Range C tires, rated at 1760 lbs. each at 50 psi. By my cypherin' each axle's tire set provides a "margin" of 40 lbs load bearing capacity in excess of the axle rating. Is that enough, once I start throwing my stuff in the trailer? Is that enough to withstand the "dynamic" forces acting on the tire as it bounces down the highways and byways? Then there's the speed question. Who needs to drag a trailer down the highway at 75 mph? With the exception of a few Western Interstates, I don't know of anywhere in the country that's legal. Not to mention the faster one rolls, the more heat generated by the tire and sooner or later.........POP! goes the weasel! Witnessed that first hand 5 years ago towing our new to us fifth wheel home from California. Two pickups both hauling fifth wheels blasted past us on I-8 in the Imperial Valley area. We were rolling along at 65 mph (our trailer had GY 614's on it), they were going...., well faster than us. 15 or so miles up the road we passed both them; both suffered tire blowouts on their trailers. One of them had a nice slice out the sidewall behind the wheel well, the other had a bunch of wire and plumbing hanging out of its belly and good bit of the tire neatly wrapped around the trailing axle.

Maybe it's tire quality maybe it ain't. But I'm inclined to think loading, speed, & maintenance have a lot more to do with tire failure, regardless of country of manufacturer, than people want to acknowledge or admit. Again, I grant there are some sad tires out there, but (knock on wood) I have yet to experience a tire problem on either trailer we owned.

[tinlizzie23]

X2. Agree with all you said. Particularly why anyone needs to run @ 75mph. Camping is supposed to be lesiurely and fun. Why risk your whole trip, your family's safety, and that of others on the road, all just to arrive at the CG 10 minutes sooner ? If you get there at all.

As for me and my family - we're content with traveling safely at 60. If we want to arrive sooner, we just leave earlier. JMHO

[Seann45]

Go on any highway in California between the Glamis Dunes and LA or San Diego and you will see trailers being towed at 75+. I am sure the rest of Calif is the same but that is where I winter..

[clubhouse]

I live and tow in California, no way do I or will I tow at 75. In fact I rarely even tow at 65.

[norty1]

Originally Posted by Threebutchers

Darn....I really want to get my TT up to 75+mph....cant someone tell me how to do it safely? :wink:

You could post your route so we could avoid it. LOL

[Threebutchers]

Originally Posted by norty1

You could post your route so we could avoid it. LOL

[ATTACH][/ATTACH]

Hey look...there goes a TT going 75MPH [ATTACH][/ATTACH]

[Boss Wagon]

This picture documents the fastest trailer pulling I am aware of:

[DocBrown]

Originally Posted by thomasmnile

Maybe it's tire quality maybe it ain't. But I'm inclined to think loading, speed, & maintenance have a lot more to do with tire failure, regardless of country of manufacturer, than people want to acknowledge or admit. Again, I grant there are some sad tires out there, but (knock on wood) I have yet to experience a tire problem on either trailer we owned.

Well stated!

[RedHorse1]

When we got our TT (our first) I was wondering how fast I should pull it. I tried 65 for a while but the Expedition seemed a little happier at 60 so that's what I settled on. Recently sold the Expe for an F-350 SD which has enough "umph" to hit 80 or 85 without breaking a sweat but fortunately I read this forum and soak up the combined knowledge. On our last outing I wasn't tempted to even go 65.

[norty1]

Originally Posted by RedHorse1

When we got our TT (our first) I was wondering how fast I should pull it. I tried 65 for a while but the Expedition seemed a little happier at 60 so that's what I settled on. Recently sold the Expe for an F-350 SD which has enough "umph" to hit 80 or 85 without breaking a sweat but fortunately I read this forum and soak up the combined knowledge. On our last outing I wasn't tempted to even go 65.

Your fuel costs will make you very happy in any tow vehicle but particularly in a diesel below 65mph.

[RedHorse1]

Originally Posted by norty1

Your fuel costs will make you very happy in any tow vehicle but particularly in a diesel below 65mph.

Oh yeah, that's the other thing I noticed. :wink:

[Soulman]

Originally Posted by Boss Wagon

This picture documents the fastest trailer pulling I am aware of:

Attachment 9374

This also illustrates the importance of making sure your load is secure...because the trailer WAS loaded to start. :Embarrass:

[drfife]

I had 8 (eight) ST tires failures on my previous travel trailer over a period of 6 years.

The first 3 were North American made Goodyear Marathon 15" load range D tires. After conversations with a Goodyear exec, they sent 4 new Goodyear Marathon load range D tires, also made in North America.

I was not overloaded. I weighed the rig multiple times and have RVSEF documentation to prove individual wheel weights.

I checked the tire pressure before every tow.

I never towed in excess of 65 mph.

Less than 2 years later, 2 of the replacement Marathon ST's D's had failed.i replaced those with Carslile ST load range E. Over the next 2 years, 3 of those failed.

When those failed I replaced them one at a time with Maxxis ST E's. Never had a Maxxis fail.

I'm disgusted the tire manufacturers blame this on the consumer. I did everything according to the book and still had problems. Maybe it's because I live in Texas and the pavement is hot (almost all failures occurred on hot days). Maybe it's because I tow 10K miles per year.

I think the ST tires are poorly designed and made as cheaply as possible to keep costs down.

When I ordered my current 5th wheel I specified 17.5" commercial Michelin LT tires. I'm confident I won't have the same problems with these LT tires.

[robo59097]

Even though I am a big Maxxis tire fan, the new Carlisle RH are getting high marks for a new tire at about $70 apiece. Will have to wait and see if they hold up as well as the Maxxis.

http://www.carlisletransportationpro...adial-trail-rh

[Donr827]

Another benefit of a tire monitoring system like TST is that you can monitor the tire temperature. If it is a real hot day and the temperature of the tire starts to get to max temperature you can slow down and reduce the temperature.
Don

[kjohn73]

Come on out to Saskatchewan and Alberta if you want to see TT getting towed at high speeds. Young men, with their families aboard, seem to need to show everybody just how fast their big (insert truck make and model here) will pull the trailer.

The tires on our 197 need to be replaced. They are el cheapo tires as supplied on the trailer when it was new. It has maybe 8000 kms/5000 miles on it.