Tireman9 wrote:
JBarca wrote:
I had asked about tire cracks before and did not get a definitive answer on what is tolerable and what is not. Today when I had all 4 tires off and I looked real good at them.
Here is one from the right side. This is not the problem bulging tire in the reply above. I am starting to get fine side wall cracks and a few splits in the tread.
Here is the DOT date
snisnip 2108
Some of the side wall cracks. They are real fine at this point but at the 4 year mark they are showing up.
The cracks seem to still be small
snip
close up
These tread "cracks" look to me more like cuts with some of the steel belts being exposed to water and rust.
When does one start getting concerned about these and start a change out? I was hoping for 5 years but don't know any more.
Any thoughts on when to start the change out process?
Thanks
John
Removed some of the pictures to save post space. The tread cuts would be the biggest concern so far as I believe the steel is starting to rust. I can see small areas of deposit around the cuts and what looks like a broken steel filament. This will just get bigger and you need to keep an eye on the tread area for any signs of distortion or non uniform curvature.
Tou might consider replaceing the two worst tires this year and the other two next year to spread the cost.
Roger,
Trying to catch up on the good comments and questions.
That zoomed in pic, I can see more in the pic then I can by human eye.... That slit is on a good tire of mine on the other side of the camper. The right rear position. It is not the tire that has the bulge which is left rear.
Some added background. The white dot needs more investigation on my end. It "might" be a stone chip or concrete dust from my driveway.
I will have to inspect further. Approx how deep under the surface are the steel belts that I would be looking for?
Another question. As you can see from all my pic’s, these tires have many "cuts" as Barry and you have noted. The "camper" goes camping. And CG's have a variety of surfaces. Some blacktop, some fine stone (~ 1/8" cinder almost) some have crushed stone (~3/8" stone) some have bigger stone, (~ 1/2" to 3/4" stone) and then there is my gravel/stone driveway... And there are 90 to 180 degree turns of a camper on a tandem axle setup on stones, concrete and black top. These are normal ways of life for a travel trailer. The new spread axle campers must really scrub in a turn so what ever is occurring on mine can be worse on theirs if this is an application problem.
I have never looked this close at a tire before…this is new learning for me. And I’m making an assumption here, the average RV’er does not look in this kind of detail at a tire either… My truck with LT tires on it goes in the same places as these ST tires. I will have to look to be sure however I do not believe they are as scared up as these. Is there a rubber durometer and or compound make up that is better in LT tires then in ST tires? I know, most likely a simple question for not a simple answer. I have 30 year old Goodyear tractor tires on my tractor that live in the dirt, pull large loads of torque churning in rocks and dirt and feel harder in rubber then theses trailer tires. I have more scares in a set of 4 year old TT tires then I do in my 30 year old tractor tires.
I am trying to learn what I did wrong , if anything to cause my tire bulge and now the potential of creating enough cuts in my TT tires that we are considering replacing them within 4 years of purchase. My tires came from a reputable company who built heavy equipment tires for a living and I had thought made a good quality tire. So in my mind this is either I am using them wrong, the application of the tires has issues or something else.
I am not a tire engineer but I know machinery and that is my living. As part of my job I troubleshoot failing machinery like you troubleshoot failing tires. I am very open minded and always looking at my own equipment for keeping problems at bay and the TT is my hobby. This instinct of mine may be what may have saved me from TT fender destruction and or worse an accident while towing as I look at the tires, hubs, hitch etc all the time to catch a breakdown before it happens.
It appears sooner then later I am going to need new tires. The money is always a factor but in my case I will pay more for the better product and heavier duty to avoid breakdowns. I have learned long ago that before I can fix a problem, I must understand root cause so I fix the right problem.
There is one thing I can add that may help the cause, I do on occasion (maybe 3 to 4 times a year) have to do a 180 turn in my driveway to turn around as the lawn is muck. We camp year round. The drive way is stone/gravel (round wash stone ~ 3/4” dia) and there is a portion of concrete. The tire that bulged was on the left front position of the camper for 2 years and when it failed it was on the left rear position of the camper for about 1.5 years of service. By nature of being able to see, I turn shaper left then I do right. While I have cuts on all 4 tires, does turning on a tandem axle set up create or aggravate this tire bulge?
Last night I put the spare on and the rest of the tires to get the camper off jack stands. I have my own tire machine (old, but it still works) and I can demount this bulged tire and look inside. And I will take pics. Is there anything I should look for specifically?
Before I buy anything new, I need more research into why my tire failed and what to buy to help not have the same problem then next time.
Thanks for all your help and everyone else.
John
