Dude is hauling a$$

MAwolcott wrote:
We're on 81 northbound in West Virginia in the wife's car doing 80. Guy towing a travel trailer flew past us like we were standing still! Hate to be him when those tires blow!

Ugh, anybody missing a travel trailer.
Sure hope it wasn't a rear kitchen 'cause his dishes will be all over the place.:B

Turtle n Peeps wrote:

2oldman wrote:

Turtle n Peeps wrote:
Why do people think when a tire blows it will put you in a ditch or shake you like a rag doll?

I don't think that, but I do think it will destroy the wheel well and what's above it.

One of the reasons I hate SBR. The tire that blew on my trailer was a rag bias. The only thing it did was pull the screw out of the fender brace. Put a new screw in, put a new tire on and I was good to go.

Judging from some of the responses, some think if you blow a tire on a trailer at speed it will blow you off of the road, flip you end over end, barrel roll you 40 or 50 times and you will end up as a burning ball of smoking rubble. :R

The truth is most don't even know they had a blown tire on their trailer.

This is true, most don't know. Been there done that 3 times with a catastrophic tire failure.
All 3 times I didn't feel a thing, nothing. Trailer towed just fine.
One was a single axel Prowler. Steel belted tire let go and absolutely destroyed the TT. I did a mirror check and saw smoke pouring out the back. Still couldn't feel it. Pulled over and inspected. Tire was absolutely shredded. It destroyed everything in its path, trailer was a total write-off. Sold it for salvage.
Other 2 were tandems on my old 95 Sportsmen. Both times the tire came apart and was shredded to nothing. I noticed again doing a mirror check. Saw my fender flare flapping in the wind. Pulled over both times to find the tire gone and nothing left but the Center part on the rim.
Again, couldn't feel anything out if the ordinary. It towed fine, handled normally. But I was pulling it with a dually so that helped.
Damage was minimal fortunately. Minor repairs and good to go.

So yeah, it's easy to blow a tire and not feel it or notice until someone flags you or you see it in a mirror check.

Gotta get a TPMS.

Turtle n Peeps wrote:
Why do people think when a tire blows it will put you in a ditch or shake you like a rag doll? :h


I've only blown one tire in my life on a trailer. It was no doubt a low pressure situation and by the time I got the rig stopped there was nothing but two little rubber rings on the rim.

The only reason I knew something was wrong was a slight and I do mean SLIGHT vibration in the steering wheel. I looked in my mirror and saw the rubber coming off.

No big deal; no crazy event; nothing really but a rim with no rubber on it.

Judging from the amount of people I see towing a trailer that way it's no big deal to them either. They don't even know they are towing a trailer with 3 tires!

You weren't doing north of 80MPH, though. Throw in a trailer that's right on the ragged edge of sway (if you're crazy enough to tow at 80-85MPH, you're probably not too concerned about sway), and things would get interesting.

Of course this is was a 5th wheel, so no sway, but the speed definitely factors in.

mkirsch wrote:

Turtle n Peeps wrote:
Why do people think when a tire blows it will put you in a ditch or shake you like a rag doll? :h


I've only blown one tire in my life on a trailer. It was no doubt a low pressure situation and by the time I got the rig stopped there was nothing but two little rubber rings on the rim.

The only reason I knew something was wrong was a slight and I do mean SLIGHT vibration in the steering wheel. I looked in my mirror and saw the rubber coming off.

No big deal; no crazy event; nothing really but a rim with no rubber on it.

Judging from the amount of people I see towing a trailer that way it's no big deal to them either. They don't even know they are towing a trailer with 3 tires!

You weren't doing north of 80MPH, though. Throw in a trailer that's right on the ragged edge of sway (if you're crazy enough to tow at 80-85MPH, you're probably not too concerned about sway), and things would get interesting.

Of course this is was a 5th wheel, so no sway, but the speed definitely factors in.

You're correct. I was only driving 70 to 75 at the time my tire blew.

I've seen a lot of people driving happy as a clam on 3 tires. And some very fast. Don't even know anything is wrong. Like, la, la, la, life is good as sparks are coming off of their rim. LOL

And while I'm at it. Driving on 3 tires does not cause sway. If you don't have sway with 4 tires at 70 or 80 MPH you won't have sway on 3 tires at 70 or 80 MPH. Sway just does not work that way.

"When this baby hits 88 miles per hour, you're gonna see some serious ______!"

Why do people think when a tire blows it will put you in a ditch or shake you like a rag doll?

Because most people have seen all the horror stories, news and pictures of when a front tire blows out on a Class A. It 'does' put you in a ditch and the driver usually dies from it.

So they 'assume' the same will happen on a TT. :R

If he's towing anything of any size at 80mph you'll probably see him on the side of the road out of gas first.
I can't imagine any combo that is stable at that speed. Even my CCLB get's a little lite feeling around 70.

I had a tire blow on previous 5er. Was doing about 65 at the time. I actually heard a pop and happened to be looking in the mirror when it happened and I saw/heard the tire go. Never lost control and I got off the road quick enough that the aluminum wheel never got a nick in it. The fender well didn't fare so well and the 5er was in the shop for several weeks getting fixed.
I usually don't tow much faster than 65, if I do it is only for short periods like passing someone....

I have a buddy who brags about routinely towing a 28' TT at 90 MPH. Needless to say we do not travel together and I will not even travel the same route as he does when we are going to the same destination. Last thing I want to see is his family scattered along the highway. You just can't fix stupid.