Poor Tire Install
Prior to a recent vacation I had new tires (5.3 X 12) installed on our jet ski trailer. I didn't know the age of the old tires and didn't want to risk a blow out on the road. About 150 miles into our 650 mile trip one of the tires exploded spectacularly but thankfully we got the vehicle slowed quickly and there was no damage. I looked all over the tread and found no signs of punctures, cuts, or imbedded objects that would have caused the tire to rapidly lose air. The outer side wall had completely separated from the tire right at the edge of the tread.
As I started to remove the blown tire I was baffled to see an inner tube wrapped around the axle :? :E "Wait, didn't I purchase tubeless tires? Sure enough I did.... It read TUBELESS right there on the side wall. After swapping the spare I realized all 3 had inner tube valve stems, not tubeless.
As I drove to the nearest town to get a replacementI called the shop that installed them and told them I had a blow out. Their first response was I ran over something which I had confirmed was incorrect. When I asked why I found a tube in the tire he started to spew malarkey about them using tubes when the tire won't seat on the bead so I must have a bad wheel. I then asked how that's possible when I brought them 3 wheels that were all mounted tubeless and those tire were holding air just fine. :M
The two jet skis plus trailer weighs about 1,700 lbs and these tires are rated for 1,050lbs each. I know they were at max cold pressure prior to leaving so the issue isn't overloading. The only issue would be the friction from tubes inside a tubeless tire. When I returned from vacation I went back to the shop and demanded they refund me for the two tires that were on the ground and to dismount the spare and remount it tubeless. They tried to give me the runaround saying they put tubes in those tires all the time but eventually agreed to my demand. Oh, and the tire they remounted miraculously went on the bead just fine so that story about my wheels must have bad spots didn't hold water.
My guess is the tire tech was lazy and just threw inner tubes in them so he didn't have to bother cleaning the bead on the wheel. These were cheap Chinese made tires, but I had used this brand for years without issue. Of course this could have been the one bad tire in the bunch, but I'm 99% convinced the main issue was the heat generated from the tube inside the tubeless tire.
When searching the topic I found many references warning not to do this. Here is one reference, and another article, and yet another reference. If this were a lawn mower or other low speed tire I would have no problem with a tube, but not a highway tire. I've used this shop for a long time for my trailer tires but this will be the last time. If they are silly enough to do this I don't want to run the risk of what else they may do.
KJ
As I started to remove the blown tire I was baffled to see an inner tube wrapped around the axle :? :E "Wait, didn't I purchase tubeless tires? Sure enough I did.... It read TUBELESS right there on the side wall. After swapping the spare I realized all 3 had inner tube valve stems, not tubeless.
As I drove to the nearest town to get a replacementI called the shop that installed them and told them I had a blow out. Their first response was I ran over something which I had confirmed was incorrect. When I asked why I found a tube in the tire he started to spew malarkey about them using tubes when the tire won't seat on the bead so I must have a bad wheel. I then asked how that's possible when I brought them 3 wheels that were all mounted tubeless and those tire were holding air just fine. :M
The two jet skis plus trailer weighs about 1,700 lbs and these tires are rated for 1,050lbs each. I know they were at max cold pressure prior to leaving so the issue isn't overloading. The only issue would be the friction from tubes inside a tubeless tire. When I returned from vacation I went back to the shop and demanded they refund me for the two tires that were on the ground and to dismount the spare and remount it tubeless. They tried to give me the runaround saying they put tubes in those tires all the time but eventually agreed to my demand. Oh, and the tire they remounted miraculously went on the bead just fine so that story about my wheels must have bad spots didn't hold water.
My guess is the tire tech was lazy and just threw inner tubes in them so he didn't have to bother cleaning the bead on the wheel. These were cheap Chinese made tires, but I had used this brand for years without issue. Of course this could have been the one bad tire in the bunch, but I'm 99% convinced the main issue was the heat generated from the tube inside the tubeless tire.
When searching the topic I found many references warning not to do this. Here is one reference, and another article, and yet another reference. If this were a lawn mower or other low speed tire I would have no problem with a tube, but not a highway tire. I've used this shop for a long time for my trailer tires but this will be the last time. If they are silly enough to do this I don't want to run the risk of what else they may do.
KJ
