Posted 2011-03-24 10:14 AM (#132049) Subject: Trailer tires blowing out
Veteran
Posts: 112 Location: ohio
We have not had much luck with our trailer tires lately. We have a 04 4Star, 3 horse with living quarters and we haul 2 horses. The first time we started having problems was with the tires that came on the trailer which was new. One blew out about 100 miles from home. The next year same exact spot (no kidding) another tire blew out. Went to tire dealer in the area and bought 4 new tires dealer said we would never have problems with again, rated G's. This year two of those blew out. We replaced them with yet another brand of trailer tires rated F. While the trailer was setting for the winter, we noticed one of those new tires, only pulled one, 100 mile round trip was going flat! Took it to dealer for repair and it had a hole in the sidewall. Dealer did replace it free of charge. There is no set pattern for the blow outs, they occur on each axle and each side. Now with camping season coming on we are a little nervous about even starting out. I know some is going to suggest buying Goodyear tires. I do not want to pay over $300 for one tire just for it to blow out too. I just read the thread about bent axle and got to thinking maybe that could be going on with our trailer. Our trailer sets on black rubber trailer mats when not on the road so thought these might be absorbing the heat and dry rotting them. We only haul approx. 1000 miles per year at the most. Also I have been told speed has a lot to do with it too. Going over 60 mph will blow them out. Well, husband did have a lead foot, but taking it much slower now. Any suggestions would be helpful!
Posted 2011-03-24 10:41 AM (#132052 - in reply to #132049) Subject: RE: Trailer tires blowing out
Expert
Posts: 2453 Location: Northern Utah
This is difficult for us who have never seen your trailer, who have no idea how much it weighs or what kind of roads you drive. Lets go back to some basic to start this study.
How much does your loaded trailer weigh? How much weight is actually sitting on the trailer axles?
How many miles were on the tires that have failed? You indicated you only travel 1000 miles a year, If the tires were 5 years old and had 5000 miles on them I would look for something different than tires that were 1 month old and had 100 miles on them. Did all the failures happen to tires with about the same wear on them?
It could be any number of things casuing your problems. From over loaded tires carrying too much weight, dryrot, bent axle or alignment problems, underinflated, or maybe just a series of bad luck, hitting chuck holes in the road and severely bruising the tires or picking up nails etc. I've replaced more tires on trailers for road hazards than any other reason. I've found nails, screwdrivers embedded. I cut sidewalls on rocks. Trailer tires take a beating.
The tires that are failing, what wear are they showing? Inside or outside excessive wear? Have any shown any road hazard damage? Alignment or bent axle problems will usually show up with the same tire being destroyed. Since you are seeing the failure all around, My first thoughts are that the tires are old or overloaded.
Posted 2011-03-24 11:05 AM (#132056 - in reply to #132049) Subject: RE: Trailer tires blowing out
Veteran
Posts: 112 Location: ohio
Hello Painted, sorry I left so much out. Guessing the trailer weight around 12,000 - 15,000 loaded. We over load, that much I know. Husband takes two of everything. We have not had it actually weighed loaded. There is no noted wear on the tires. The first two blow outs it was a very hot summer day, those were original trailer tires that came on the trailer new. The second set of tires only had maybe two summers on them, 2000 miles. The blow outs vary from tire to tire so maybe axle problems can be ruled out. The way my husband backs into parking places, I tell him he is wearing the sidewalls out. He backs in and out 5 or 6 times until everything is just perfect. It could just be our luck too, picking up junk off the roads. Some years you don't have any problems and the next everything seems to go wrong. He does keep them properly inflated. After they blow out they are pretty much in shreeds so can't really investigate what happened. My guess would be where they set in the hot sun on those black matts, trailer is overloaded and husband drives too fast.
Posted 2011-03-24 11:44 AM (#132059 - in reply to #132049) Subject: RE: Trailer tires blowing out
Extreme Veteran
Posts: 402 Location: Valentine, NE
In my experience, tire blow out is usually due to overweight, under inflated, road debris, wear/alignment issues, poor tire construction, rot, or driving habits.
Overweight-get a weight on the fully loaded trailer, do the math, read the rating on the tire and see how close you are. Heat/speed will need to be considered also when getting the proper weight rated tire. If you drive 80 in 100 degree heat, you will need a lot more tire.
Under inflated-on any tire, 10 psi makes a big difference when fully loaded.
Road debris-If we buy just one or 2 new tires, we put them on the front axle as the front seems to have less chance at "catching" a nail or something. The front tire throws the debris up for the 2nd tire to catch.
Wear issues-should be able to see--search for tire wear and there is a lot on this site for that.
Poor tire construction-a lot of people say to stay with USA made tires-I agree. I have a set of China one's on my ranch trailer and they are truly junk!!!
Rot-I really doubt rot is an issue as it takes several years (5+) for the tires to rot unless exposed to chemicals (a lot of tire cleaner for example) that dries out the tires.
Driving habits- If you turn a loaded trailer and "drag" the front tire into the turn and the rear tire outside of the turn, you will have problems no matter what you do/have. I try not to ever turn sharp enough to see the tire's sidewall flex. Did I already say that speed/temp/max weight are other killers?
In my experience, I try to stay under 80% of weight ratings, on real hot days, try to slow down or lighten up, constantly check air pressures, rotate and balance the tires ~10k mile, stay away from aluminum rims (bend easier, won't stay on, costs, etc), and buy the best tire you can afford--even if they are used.
A lot of people blame the axle for tire wear. I always get the suspect tire/rim balanced first as a lot of times, it is the rim that is the problem--especially on aluminum rims.
Posted 2011-03-24 1:13 PM (#132068 - in reply to #132049) Subject: RE: Trailer tires blowing out
Expert
Posts: 3802 Location: Rocky Mount N.C.
How old were the tires on the 4 Star trailer when you had the first blow outs...? 5, 6 years old. Seen brand new trailers delivered to the trailer lot with 2 and 3 year old tires on them... Mfg's buy the tires already mouted on the rims, they buy pallets of them at the time and use them as needed. They have never been on the road, still new, but they have birthdays just like you and I. After about 5 to 7 years they should be discarded. Doesn't matter if they've ever beet on the road or not, they're time is up. Load Range "G" tires are rated at 3750# at 110psi. All the load range "F" tires I've seen are built in Asia, so that may have something to do with the recient blowouts, plus they are a lighter built tire than a load range "G", even though some of the "F" tires are rated at 3950#. You actually put a weaker tire on when you went to the load range "F"'s. Spend the extra coin and get a set of sll steel (sidewall as well as the tread), load range "G" (14 ply) AMERICAN made trailer tires...
This is what we use on our 4 Star with 8000# axles.... http://www.goodyear.com/rv/products/g614rst.html And yes, mounted, balanced and installed they'll run about $307.29 a piece...!! The 65 mph rule for "ST" trailer tires doesn't apply to the G614RST, they are rated for 75 mph.
Last of all as others have said, load the trailer and have it weighed, that's the only way you'll ever know what it really weighs, no more guessing. Good tires ain't cheap and cheap tires ain't good!!
Posted 2011-03-24 5:04 PM (#132076 - in reply to #132049) Subject: RE: Trailer tires blowing out
Veteran
Posts: 112 Location: ohio
Thank you all, great advise and every thing makes sense. We will get it weighed when loaded and we can lighten up because husband is tired of changing tires on the interstate. The first tire blew out after we had the trailer for two years. I understand that just because you get a new trailer doesn't neccesary mean your tires are new. Yes, it is air ride.
Posted 2011-03-24 5:44 PM (#132078 - in reply to #132049) Subject: RE: Trailer tires blowing out
Member
Posts: 36 Location: The Natural State
We also have an 04 4 Star, 3 horse (haul 2), 11 ft. LQ. It had Goodyear Wranglers on it when we bought it in 2007. Replaced tires in 2009 because we were at the 5 year mark and were concerned about the age; tires were still in perfect condition with minimal wear. Replaced with Goodyear Wranglers. Made about a 500 mile trip, the new tires had "bubbles" or "knots" in numerous places on every tire. It was a miracle we didn't have a blowout. Dealer gave us credit on the tires and we stepped up to the Goodyear G614RST tires because of all the recommendations we have read from other posters on this site. We've had no problems at all even pulling in the heat. When you are pulling a heavy trailer, they're worth the extra cost for peace of mind.
Posted 2011-03-24 6:11 PM (#132080 - in reply to #132076) Subject: RE: Trailer tires blowing out
Expert
Posts: 3853 Location: Vermont
Originally written by sdlepalpm on 2011-03-24 5:04 PM
Thank you all, great advise and every thing makes sense. We will get it weighed when loaded and we can lighten up because husband is tired of changing tires on the interstate. The first tire blew out after we had the trailer for two years. I understand that just because you get a new trailer doesn't neccesary mean your tires are new. Yes, it is air ride.
Posted 2011-03-24 7:08 PM (#132084 - in reply to #132076) Subject: RE: Trailer tires blowing out
Regular
Posts: 54 Location: Farmington, IL 61531
You got some good advice on trailer tires. But possibly the single most important thing to check has not been mentioned. Make sure your trailer sets level with an equal amount of weight on each axle when it is fully loaded. With the torsion spring axles on trailers today there is no way for the axles to equalize the load if the trailer is not setting level. Some air rides can compensate for this to some degree. The fully loaded weight you mentioned puts you near the load limit of each tire; 15,000 lbs / 2 axles or 4 tires = 3750 lbs per tire. If the rear axle is carrying more weight than the front or vice versa you could see blow outs from overloaded tires and/or road hazards.
Posted 2011-03-24 8:52 PM (#132090 - in reply to #132049) Subject: RE: Trailer tires blowing out
Location: Central Arkansas
I would get the air ride system checked. I had a 2004 4 Star 4H LQ that blew quite a few high $ tires. I had it checked out. There was a issue with the air ride tubing on one side so trailer was not riding level at all. Replaced all the tubing and upgraded the compressor, pulled the trailer another 10,000 miles with no flats.
Posted 2011-03-25 9:39 AM (#132109 - in reply to #132049) Subject: RE: Trailer tires blowing out
Veteran
Posts: 112 Location: ohio
Where would we take the trailer to get the air ride suspension checked out? We don't have a 4Star dealer closer than 500 miles away. Could a RV dealer or another trailer place check it?
Posted 2011-03-25 2:02 PM (#132126 - in reply to #132049) Subject: RE: Trailer tires blowing out
Extreme Veteran
Posts: 402 Location: Valentine, NE
I would think any semi truck repair shop would have someone familar with air suspensions. But they are pretty easy to work on--for ride height, just get a tape measure and a level spot to park on and start measuring. Might want to do it loaded as that will make a difference. For leaks, a bottle of soapy water sprayed on the lines/fittings, pump, air bags, etc will bubbe up when you have a leak. Usually, in my experience, it is a loose fitting somewhere. Most systems have a bleed valve to drain water out of the air tank and that is where I always start as they are prone to stick slightly open. It usually will have a small wire or cable attached to it so you can pull on the cable to open the valve to let the water out.
Good luck.
Trailer tires blowing out
