Interesting news is the federal register. I'll check it out but my initial reaction is somewhat different...
IPbiz wrote:
On March 13, 2013, the NHTSA published (via the Federal Register) proposed rules to amend Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 110 to make it clear that special trailer (ST) tires are permitted to be installed on new trailers with a gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of 4,536 kg (10,000 lbs.) or less. It also proposes to exclude these trailers from a vehicle testing requirement that a tire must be retained on its rim when subjected to a sudden loss of tire pressure when brought to a controlled stop from 97 km/h (60 mph). See http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2013-03-13/html/2013-05761.htm
Is this limiting ST tires to GWVR less than 10,000 lbs? blowouts don't need to stay on the rim like other tires so any damage isn't the fault of manufacturers. Is this due to the non passenger use for st tires? Seems like if people aren't in the vehicle than blowouts are accepted and the government doesn't care.
As part of its analysis, some interesting data surfaced.
First, over a 15-year period of consumer complaints, NHTSA found only nine (9) complaints related to trailer tires. I realize that not everyone is going to file a complaint with NHTSA, but I would expect way more than 9 complaints related to trailer tires over a 15 year period, especially after reading of the numerous ST tire failures on the RV forums (again, not saying folks have not had ST tire failures, but just pointing out that there appears to be a huge disconnect between that which has been experienced and that which has been reported). Doesn't this strike you as odd?
This is total BS...check out this NHTSA website with tire complaints..goodyear marathons have 85 complaints alone.
http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/owners/SearchTires
Second, you get a real-life look into what happens when there is a trailer accident with respect to proper tire selection. The agency cited an example of a trailer roll-over, where the police accident report indicated that the tires were underrated for the vehicle at the time of the crash (the trailer GVWR was 3,825 pounds and the two tires had a combined load carrying capacity of 3,250 pounds). However, there was insufficient information to confirm that the tires could not carry the load on the axle because there was no information on how much weight was loaded on the trailer's axle and whether the towing vehicle was carrying any of the trailer's weight.
Yeah trailers break up!
In any event, below are some excerpts from the Federal Register pertaining to the above:
"The agency has also reviewed consumer complaints made to NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigations, based on submissions of Vehicle Owner Questionnaires (VOQs) to identify safety problems related to tires. A search of that database in June 2012 revealed 963 complaints containing both the words ``tire'' and ``trailer.'' A review of the narrative of each complaint revealed that 942 of the VOQs reported tire issues on the towing vehicle, 10 VOQs involved tire issues on the trailer, and 11 VOQs were not sufficiently specific to determine if the tire issue was on the towing or towed vehicle. (Nothing in the VOQ data indicated any increased safety risk associated with the use of ST tires or tires with rim diameter codes of 12 or less compared to any other type of tire.)
Weblink I posted has hundreds if not thousands of ST tire complaints that arent' on tow vechicles.
"To determine if a safety problem exists, the agency investigated its crash data. As discussed in the prior section, NHTSA's crash databases were not sufficiently detailed to identify relevant crashes.
"However, the agency has reviewed the 10 VOQs identified in the prior section related to tire issues on a trailer. One complaint involved a truck towing another truck. This case was not considered relevant because the towed vehicle was not a trailer. Nine cases reported tire failure (either blowout or tread separation) of one or more trailer tires. Four cases resulted in trailer rollover, but none reported rollover of the towing vehicle. Seven cases reported property damage to the trailer or the towing vehicle. In one case, another vehicle was struck by separated trailer tire tread. There were no reported injuries or fatalities in any of these nine cases, and it does not appear that any of these cases would have been addressed by the rim retention requirement.
"For example, one case involving trailer rollover reported that the right trailer tire rolled off the bead on a curved section of roadway. The owner of the unspecified towing vehicle stated that the trailer was rental equipment. The police accident report indicated that the tires were underrated for the vehicle at the time of the crash (the trailer GVWR was 3,825 pounds and the two tires had a combined load carrying capacity of 3,250 pounds). However, there was insufficient information to confirm that the tires could not carry the load on the axle because there was no information on how much weight was loaded on the trailer's axle and whether the towing vehicle was carrying any of the trailer's weight.
This is great...I guess all tire ratings are worthless than. If you can't prove an underrated rated tire can't carry a load...throw up your hands I guess.
I did switch to LT tire but mainly because I do not occasionally use my trailer and like the higher testing requirements on an all position tire like a lt (rating to carry humans with reserve capacity).
