Tire blowout

joe puma wrote:
I have a 2006, 28' Puma. the loaded weight is aprx. 6800lbs. I thought it was a hitch issue, a lot of bouncing. Turns out it was my second thought, tires. Had hitch adjusted and ten miles down the tollway had a blowout. This is my second set of tires, Carlisle's about 4 years old, don't tow a lot of miles each year. Trailer kept inside for winter storage, and I keep my tires covered during the summer at outdoor storage

Forgot to address this issue in my above post. Most folks know tires on a trailer operate better/last longer on average with max sidewall pressures for many reasons.
Tire makers tell us to use max sidewall pressures when the trailer is sitting in storage. Goodyear at one time advised 10 percent above max for storage.
I use four different brands of LT or P tires on all of my trailers. They all recommend max pressures when the trailer is in storage in my trailer and tractor sheds so their easy for me to maintain.
I jack one end of a axle on my 11200 lb RV a couple of times a winter and rotate each tire 30-40 degrees so it doesn't sit on one spot for 5 months at a time. My equipment trailers don't sit with a load so no issues with then for 8-10 years.
I average about 7 years and 50k-55k miles on my tires on all of my trailers. Having towed commercially with these size tires/wheels and axles on flatdeck trailers I also check the tires at each rest/fuel stop from habit.

Keep those ST pumped to the max unless you have over tired the trailer. Then its a guess and a compromise.

For those who are reading these threads to expand their knowledge base:

The term "Blowout" is problematic. While it can refer to a rapid loss of inflation pressure - which is primarily caused by a puncture, it can also refer to a loss of structural integrity - such as a "tread separation", where no air is lost and the tire is still inflated after the failure sequence. If you are trying to sort out the cause of the tire failure, you must be aware of those 2 types.

The problem here is that if the cause is puncture related, not only is the puncture not always visible ( sometimes the puncture occurred where the tire is damaged), but also the rate of puncture isn't much different from brand to brand. In other words, blaming a loss of pressure type "blowout" on a particular brand flies in the face of available data.

One type of failure is commonly called a "Run Flat" - that is the tire was operated with little or no inflation pressure. It is characterized by the tire being in 3 pieces: The tread in the form of a hoop, and 2 sidewalls. The sidewalls will have become detached from the tread in the off shoulder region and more loss circumferentially. About 90% of the time, you can find the puncture in the tread, and the other 10% of the time, the puncture must be in the damaged area and is difficult to impossible to find.

Please note there are variations in the "3 piece" scenario. Sometimes the failure hasn't quite reached the point where there is complete detachment - and sometimes, the tread portion has been lost in the failure sequence.

The type that is of most interest is the "tread separation" where there is normally no loss of inflation pressure. Typically, the top belt (and the tread over top of it) detach as a unit from the bottom belt. In my view this is NOT a defect related failure, but a design related failure. In other words, the failure stems from a flaw in the materials and the arrangement of those materials as specified, and not from some flaw in the way the tire is manufactured. In my view the fact the many ST tires are prone to this type of failure is more a testament to lack of sophistication (and experience) in tire design, than it is to manufacturing quality.

And lastly, trying to sort this out can be challenging. There are times when both the tread is lost AND there is loss of inflation pressure. Considering that insufficient inflation pressure can cause a tire to have a "tread separation", it becomes even more difficult to sort out if the tire is at fault or if the puncture caused the failure.

hddecker wrote:
I love this stuff.

I have to chuckle with every post and the passion that y'all put into them.

At least you are passionate about something in life.

I read and I just keep on doing what I have always done. That is to look after my tires. Check the preasures regularily, use my ball pien tire tapper at every fuel stop and comfort stop for the dogs.

Every morning I on my pretrip, i check for lug nuts that are backing off, cuts, abrasions, and bulges on the side wall, both outside and inside.

This proceedure has never failed me in 50 years of driving and 30 towing.

I have found tread were problems, bulges and cuts long before they became catastorfic.
The only failures that I have had were caused by road debris and never had a blow out.

Look after your tires and they will look after you.

I think there is a free trip to Thailand every time the "Mx" word is mentioned!

I love this stuff.

I have to chuckle with every post and the passion that y'all put into them.

At least you are passionate about something in life.

I read and I just keep on doing what I have always done. That is to look after my tires. Check the preasures regularily, use my ball pien tire tapper at every fuel stop and comfort stop for the dogs.

Every morning I on my pretrip, i check for lug nuts that are backing off, cuts, abrasions, and bulges on the side wall, both outside and inside.

This proceedure has never failed me in 50 years of driving and 30 towing.

I have found tread were problems, bulges and cuts long before they became catastorfic.
The only failures that I have had were caused by road debris and never had a blow out.

Look after your tires and they will look after you.

joe puma wrote:
I have a 2006, 28' Puma. the loaded weight is aprx. 6800lbs. I thought it was a hitch issue, a lot of bouncing. Turns out it was my second thought, tires. Had hitch adjusted and ten miles down the tollway had a blowout. This is my second set of tires, Carlisle's about 4 years old, don't tow a lot of miles each year. Trailer kept inside for winter storage, and I keep my tires covered during the summer at outdoor storage.
My hitch/trailer shop guy sells Trailer King. Of course says they're good. Only other advice he has is stay away from Carlisle.
Anyone have any feedback about Trailer King Tires? Any thoughts if it is better to go up to load range E instead of D ?
Any other feedback about tire brands?
As a bonus I get to repair the wheel wells and get a new trim piece from the damage.
Thanks for any/all comments or suggestions.

I suggest you go up a size or load range or both. Make sure the wheels can handle the extra pressure.

Post the size and load rating you have now for best suggestions.

It's advice, a suggestion, not mandatory to put on 16s or Es or 18s or 20. As far as load you can go to a scale and weigh axles and divide X 2 each axle by 2 and get the ammount of seight distributed over both sides. The DOT weighs trucks like this with a single scale and consider it close enough to be able to prove in court the weight on both sides. Load on both side at any given time on a road can differ.

JIMNLIN wrote:
Any tire dealer wants to sell you the tires he carries so naturally when we ask them their brands are the best tire.

Not knowing the current tires size and load range or your trailers wheels width and load and pressure capacity were guessing. Comments like move to a E tire or go with a 16" LT E tire or a ST E or D may not be a wise choice for your smaller trailer.

Tire experts and most ST tire manufactures and folks that have pulled trailers for many years tell us to use max pressures in the tire.

Your trailer weighs 6800 lbs - 800 lb hitch weight = 6000 lbs on the tires. Now divide by four = 1500 lbs per tire minimum requirement. Tire experts and experienced RV owners also know a 10-15 percent reserve capacity is a better idea.
Now you need a tire with 1700-1900 lbs range. The tires width and pressure need to match your trailers wheels.

Jimlin I don't really disagree with what your saying but the real fallacy is the divide by 4 part.

Why do we (me included) believe the weight is spread equally across our 4 tires?
The chances of the weight being spread equally is slim to none. The trailer is not balanced in that fashion. Somehow we magically expect the weight evenly distributes itself across the 4 tires.
Bottom line is ST tires are cheap. I have had several blowouts with ST's and only 1 with an LT.
The OP's trailer is relatively light. Changing to 16" rims is probably not worth it and a bit impractical. I suggest he get the heaviest 15" ST tire he can find. Which I believe is a Maxxis E rated tire. I don't see how the added ply (strength) can hurt.

Joe - After my blowout last year, I purchased a TPMS. Good investment. It gives me immediate alarming should my tire pressure drop. I was lucky when mine happened (if you can call it that), my inner fender wasn't damaged. I had the Line-X dealer up the road spray my inner fenders with truck bed liner. A bit more piece of mind in the event I have another blowout. I switched to Maxxis M8008's this year. 8000 miles later I haven't had any issues.

Any tire dealer wants to sell you the tires he carries so naturally when we ask them their brands are the best tire.

Not knowing the current tires size and load range or your trailers wheels width and load and pressure capacity were guessing. Comments like move to a E tire or go with a 16" LT E tire or a ST E or D may not be a wise choice for your smaller trailer.

Tire experts and most ST tire manufactures and folks that have pulled trailers for many years tell us to use max pressures in the tire.

Your trailer weighs 6800 lbs - 800 lb hitch weight = 6000 lbs on the tires. Now divide by four = 1500 lbs per tire minimum requirement. Tire experts and experienced RV owners also know a 10-15 percent reserve capacity is a better idea.
Now you need a tire with 1700-1900 lbs range. The tires width and pressure need to match your trailers wheels.

CKNSLS wrote:
It is quite obvious your "Tire Guy" is behind the times. Carlisle has a new tire that has been out about two years and there hasn't been any negative reports. They are the Carlisle Radial RH. I installed 4 of them in Florida and they went all the way up the East Coast to Maine-then back out to Utah with ZERO ISSUES.

Here is the info-

http://www.tirereview.com/article/88909/carlisle_has_new_trailer_radial.aspx

Of course there are no negative reports because they have only been out for two years. My Carlisle Radial Trails lasted three years before two of them blew.
Brian