Tire Blowout

JB

jbfunfinder

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May 31, 2011
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206
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Southern California
I apologize if this post's topic is obvious to most of you, but in case you are not familiar with the poor quality of trailer tires, please indulge me. We are currently on week 3 trip doing the Utah Grand Circle. Had a tire blow out about 50 miles from Moab, UT doing 60 mph, tires at 50 lbs., 75 degrees outside, dual axles, 2012 189 with original tires...about 10 k miles on them. I knew the quality of trailer tires in general is poor and that they need to be replaced around 4-5 years. It's just hard to shell out the bucks to replace tires that look practically new.
Tire guy in Moab had two dozen of my typical 205-75-14s in stock, said the best railer tires he can get "are crap and he replaces blown trailer tires several times a day." "Can't buy anything better" he claimed. Glad I had a pumped up spare, twin axles and the tools needed for the job. Anybody with similar warning stories?
 
Jb, glad to hear that no one was hurt. Was there any damage to the wheel well?

There is a huge controversy over whether to use trailer tires or light truck tires -- some folks say that truck tires are sturdier. The manufacturers say that the trailer tires are designed with flexible sidewalls, making blowouts less likely. My guess is that the manufacturers have an incentive to avoid liability, so they have a good reason to recommend the safest tires, so I have trailer tires on my trailer. I bought a supposedly good brand -- Goodyear Marathons -- and yet many people say that any tire made in China (which is all of them) is unreliable.

Bottom line --- I have no idea what is right.

What brand were your tires? Were they those odd off-brand items supplied by Cruiser? I got terrible wear on those (cupping and uneven patches) and replaced them very soon with Goodyear. Also, be sure to get the tires balanced -- I made the mistake of not doing that on my first trailer and paid the price. (Low speed blowout wrecked my wheel well.)
 
I'm not going to enter the hugely controversial fray of arguing the relative merits of ST vs LT, other than to say, I have been towing since the late 1960's, and in my case, going to "LT" or "commercial LT" has solved my tire failure problems on trailers.

I pull four different trailers ( two different horse trailers, my camper and my equipment trailer ) regularly.

I've done extensive research on the subject, have talked to three different tire engineers about it, and feel I've done my homework well.

"Your mileage, experiences and choices may vary".
 
gmw, it sounds like you are much more experienced at trailering than I am -- plus I have found over the last several years that your comments are always informative and thoughtful. So I am intrigued by the idea of switching to LT tires. What did the tire engineers have to say?
 
The Cruiser RV originals are Freestar, whatever that is. The tire I bought in Moab is a Hercules. I have also heard they are all made in China regardless of name. Dan, our over slung axle unit has no tin wheel wells to get shredded like my 2006 FF189 had.
Jamie
 
I have been fiddling around on Google in response to gmw's comments, and I stumbled across the following item, which includes an interview with a Goodyear tire engineer -- he says that ST tires have thicker cords and wires for greater strength:

https://rvingwithmarkpolk.com/2012/11/08/trailer-towing-st-tires-vs-lt-tires/

I have no clue if this is right or not, but it is worth reading, I think.
 
My thoughts:

I have read on many RV forums that Maxxis trailer tires are the best brand but have no personal experience with them.

I'm still running the ST tires that came on my XT276 without any issues. I keep them at 50 PSI, they are balanced to ride smoothly and not wear the suspension and avoid speeds above 65 MPH...the max speed for ST tires (something many do NOT know).
 
Hi Dan,
In the world of trailering ( not just RV's, but all trailering ) there is likely no subject that is more controversial than tires.
A common theme expressed by the proponents of ST tires is that since trailers are different than trucks, the demands of the tires are different, therefore you must use "special trailer" tires.

I'm going to cut to the chase here because I don't feel like engaging in what can easily end up in long argumentative discussions.

Bottom line:

LT tires are:

built to a higher standard.
approved by tire companies, trailer companies for use on a trailer.
are often fitted by various trailer companies as OE.
are a better long term value, as they last much longer and only cost slightly more than ST.
typically have a higher speed rating, therefore more reserve capacity in this aspect of design/function

In the world of 14", my current choice on my funfinder is Kumho 857. However, as of right now, to my knowledge, they are in short supply in north america in two of the three appropriate sizes.
If I were buying new 14" right now, it would likely be Hankook RA12 ( RA12 has replaced the the RA08 in their lineup ).
These tires are commonly called a "commercial LT" tire.
The Kumho is also marketed in north america as a "trailer tire".

It's a involved subject where you can spend a lot of time researching. Believe me, I have. Dozens of hours reading every document I could find, including tire industry test procedures, and SAE documentation on wheel standards and testing protocols.

Not trying to sound snotty here, but if anybody feels compelled to pick an argument with me on "my" conclusions, they can save it. I'm all argued out on the subject.

So there you have it, my take on it, and any readers of this can take it for what's worth, or blow it off as the ramblings of a blowhard ! :D

Finally, I will simply say this ( and this is NOT a reccomendation, this is simply what I run, and/or what I would choose):

14" - hankook ra12 or kumho 857 load range D
15" - good year G26 or good year wrangler HT in "LT" ( not "P" ) load range D
16" - firestone transforce HT load range E

None of my trailers have tires that have needs that go beyond load range E, so I have no comment or experience with tires above E.

....and that, as Forrest Gump said, is all I have to say about it !
Folks can take all that for exactly what they paid for it, which is zero dollars and zero cents.
 
gmw photographics said:
Not trying to sound snotty here, but if anybody feels compelled to pick an argument with me on "my" conclusions, they can save it. I'm all argued out on the subject.
Click to expand...

Aw, come on - let's argue. I wanna see you turn all red in the face and watch you eyes bulge out...

I think ST tires are the absolute best in the entire world, hands down...

Your turn.

Aw, I'm just kidding. When the times comes, I'm going to buy whatever George tells me to buy because I'm sure as hell not going to do all the research he's done!
 
Also, one of the best aspects of this particular Club is the absence of rudeness, unlike the Wild West of rv.net (where one can get good advice and contemptuous responses, often in the same posting). So when we discuss something as notoriously tricky as tires, I take each person's comments seriously, and I would hope that our exchanges would never become heated.
 
No matter how innocuous the conversation starts out over on rv dot net, some chest-thumper gets his knickers in a wad and starts the arguing. VERY annoying and serves no purpose.

I think the only forum over there where I've not seen chest-thumping is the Cooking forum.
Us cooks are gentle creatures, male or female... :rolleyes:

cooking-on-campfire-2.gif
 
One conclusion I have come to regarding this whole subject is there is effectively no good data collected on tire use, failures, etc. We are left with anecdotal data, that certainly must be considered schetchy at best.

Which is why I always try to state these discussions as "this has been my experience, and these are my personal conclusions based on not only that experience, but observation and research".

Arguing it any further than that spins off into the never-never land of arguing competing opinions just for the sake of arguing.

It's certainly fair to say that any one of us could have a tire failure with any tire we choose. The name of the game then becomes a matter of trying to stack the odds as best we can in our favor.

....and yes Dan, rvnet is like a world all it's own !
 
I ran Maxxis tires on my 5er for a few years w/o any problems. When I was ready to do my 1st 1000 mile trip in FF I replaced the tires with Maxxis. Good tire and speed rated to 85, this surprized me but they are. Refuse to use Chinese 'will pops' on my trailer.
 
Well, I'm almost afraid to jump in here, but I guess I will... ;)

1st, I am still running the original 14" tires that came on my '08 FF xt-190, but I am becoming concerned of age and will start a serious search for replacements before too long.

So far my findings say much the same as you have already posted... LT were designed for Light Trucks and perform better at the typical higher speeds and lower load range; where as the ST tires are supposed to be designed for higher loads and a lower speed (65 mph max). I was heading south towards Minneapolis a few days ago and running a bit hot at 75 mph in the car, and a pickup pulling a 22 - 25 ft. trailer blew past me at what must have been 80+ mph! :eek: There was no reason to drive that fast, especially towing a trailer in traffic... My trailer behind my TV is rock steady at even the upper limits I set on the speed limit and I typically tow at ~65 and hit an occasional 70+ mph, but in the event of an emergency, I'd hate to be responsible for killing some family... :( :(

I was told by a couple tire guys that the tires on my FF are just barely in the load range for the trailer GVWR and when replaced I should go with a higher rating. I asked about the LT tires and he said they would be fine as long as I meet the load range for the trailer... :rolleyes:

So, as you see, I am still checking and appreciate all the feedback that is here... :)
 
Hi,

Yeah, here is THE tire thread :)

Anyone has experiences with those new High Speed HD tires?
Carlisle RADIAL TRAIL HD

Radial Trail HD

Thanks ;)
 
No experience with the Carlisle. But Goodyear Endurance is also a ST trailer tire with a D load rating.
I'll be the first to admit, I ask a lot of my trailer tires. When I'm running cross-country, I run 8 hours a day. 65mph or . . . So when one goes, I'm replacing it at the nearest tire shop with whatever make they have available. Most of the time it's a C load rated tire.
This year we'll be starting in TN, head to MT, then up in to BC and AK, then back down again. Talk about putting mileage on a rig. . .
 
Thanks for the Goodyear Tip.
Seems to be a brand new secret on the Endurance as even tire rack has no picture or description of the build of the tire.
 
runner421, do you have a link to the Endurance for trailers? I am having trouble finding it, and I am in the market for new Goodyear ST tires, preferably in load range D. I an currently running range C Marathons, which have been very good, but I am putting about 10,000 miles a year on them, sometimes in very rough conditions.
 
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