Blowing tires

All of these are good suggestions. I would also agree with the poster that mentioned 'curbing' the tire. The right front is the one that you will catch most often if you go around a right hand corner too tight. The right front wheel will hit hard, ride up over, then slam down over a curb. Even worse is when it just drags the entire way around shredding rubber off of the sidewall - the weakest part of the tire.

I drove trucks for years and now operate a truck driving school. Any tire can go at any time, but if it is an outside, righthand tire (especially the front) the first consideration in the trucking industry is curbing.

Hope you figure it out. Can't imagine how frustrating and unnerving it must be.

People are so quick to blame made in Ch*na tires or the brand which is so wrong. Many, many owners have had excellent success with Marathon tires and with other tires made offshore. We have Marathons and expect long life from them. It has a LOT to do with how you treat them.

500 miles is waaaay to short so something has to be wrong, especially if the same wheel.

Unless it's a new unit and has not had the bearing removed and repacked, it could also be a really loose wheel bearing. I helped a fellow camper replace a flat tire in a CG a few days ago. He bought the TT used and the PO had removed and repacked the bearings which he did not tighten properly and the new owner said he found it had up to around 1/4" of play when he checked it once. The tire was severely worn on the inside and I would have guessed a bent axle... He thought that wheel was the only one with a loose bearing but since we got both wheels off the ground, I noticed the the bearings on the other wheel were loose, but maybe 1/16" - 1/8" and he was a bit shocked to find out. He said he would check them all when he got home.

I guess the moral is that when buying a used TT if you know nothing about the history, at least check the bearings for play, especially the older it is and even better, remove, inspect, repack and re-install.

I would agree on the direction with Boband4. Anything with axle would show wear patterns first, even in 500 miles and you should have handling issues. have you inspected the tread of the blown tires, if axle one edge should rubbed off like an eraser to go out that fast (500 miles). The brake drag is also a item I would check, easy to do yourself. Do you balance your TT tires? You may want to go as far as find a place where they will balance on the TT, the drum/rotor could be out of balance.

Since it is always 1 wheel and so blows so fast, axles (because you can see wear patterns) and tires are not the issue. IMO

Tires:(
After you get the axel checked, consider going to a tire with a higher load rating. If you use "C" , go up to an "E" rated tire. If possible go to a 16 inch rim.

goducks10 wrote:

Tom/Barb wrote:
I would eliminate the axel position ( out of line) because that usually causes problems with both tires on that axel.

Not always true. When I had alignment problems only one side was affected. The axles won't move. It's the ends that get out of alignment. You can hit a pot hole or curb with one tire and it will be the only one affected.

Bent axel will show a wear pattern, long before it blows.

If it is bad enough to blow a new tire in 500 miles, it should be very obvious.

Get it checked at the frame shop of your choice.
Don't forget that the right front wheel is the first one to get to the pothole,curb, roadside debris, etc. Therefore the most likely to be damaged.

John

I hope I've given enough detail here. If not, let me know.

Year, brand, and model of trailer w/weight slips if you have them. Tire size. Type of rim (aluminum or steel). Any tight parking or storage issues that you have, i.e. "I always have to jump the curb when backing out of my driveway".

Each time it has been a different rim.

All of the discussion focus has been on the axle. What about the wheel/rim? If the same tire has always failed has the same wheel always been put back in the same place? If a rim is losing air then the tire will overheat and fail. It would probably also be flat when parked, but it is still something to consider.

goducks10 wrote:

Tom/Barb wrote:
I would eliminate the axel position ( out of line) because that usually causes problems with both tires on that axel.

Not always true. When I had alignment problems only one side was affected. The axles won't move. It's the ends that get out of alignment. You can hit a pot hole or curb with one tire and it will be the only one affected.

That would be a bent axle, not a misaligned axle.

Bruce