tire question

No good tire will make a gator, ever.

Buzzcut1 wrote:
Me on I5 in the central Valley passing a semi at 65. I was running Toyo Open Country tires 285/75R16 rated at 3750 I was right at the tire rating and I had a belt separation. The left rear tire shredded almost instantly. I fought for control to keep from rolling and to get to the shoulder safely. I upgraded to 19.5s after that just for the peace of mind. rig was a 2003 F350 CC SRW Longbed 4x4 carrying a Lance 1055

Do you think it was a weight problem or just a bad tire?

I have had trailer tire blow outs like the the above but never had vehicle tire blow out. I did destroy a tire at high speeds due to a valve stem failure on the autobahn...

My F250 had 18" wheels and I upgraded to 19.5's soon after getting real world loaded vehicle weights. I was able to keep within tire limits, but I did not not want to be so close that I had to worry about what I brought with me and where I packed it.

so I have blown 3 ST tires. None of them were overloaded, and none of them were underinflated. However ALL of them were starting their 4th year of service. so guess what. Due to my experience. 3 / three years is the limit of time I will run ST tires.

All else being equal bigger diameter wheels with same overall tire diameter means shorter/stronger sidewall. Also, the highest rated tires seem to be 18s in conventional type. Obviously, 19.5s are a completely different animal that won’t air down and are stiff riding all of the time.

I’ve never blown out on a truck, but did on my Class A. It did quite a lot of damage. I didn’t remember the air pressure, so I’m guessing it was lower than it should have been. I can’t say for sure.

On my SRW, I updated to 19.5s just in case. I didn’t feel like I wanted to wait until a blowout to change the tires. I felt good about the safety margin. As I’ve noted, I would have gone with higher rated 18s if I had know about them.

Looking at a different angle . Have not had a blowout yet in 60 years of driving ( knock on wood ), BUT , I have also not been overloaded . I did have a rear dually wheel crack around the hub , took out the hub with it . Of course you can also have a blowout for other reasons than being overloaded .

I won't comment about blowouts, don't want to jynx myself, so read into that, but I reccomend 18s or 20s becasue they don't make heavy duty tires for 17s anymore.
And based on ratings, OE wheels and tires generally are the weakest link on the vehicle for heavy loads.

Buzzcut1 wrote:
Me on I5 in the central Valley passing a semi at 65. I was running Toyo Open Country tires 285/75R16 rated at 3750 I was right at the tire rating and I had a belt separation. The left rear tire shredded almost instantly. I fought for control to keep from rolling and to get to the shoulder safely. I upgraded to 19.5s after that just for the peace of mind. rig was a 2003 F350 CC SRW Longbed 4x4 carrying a Lance 1055

I had exact separation while driving empty on my F250, but that was "famous" Firestone tires who had whole list of recalls.
If you study the tires - they can easy take 3 times the rated load when rolling.
What kills them is combination of heat and load.
Heavy load with low pressure makes tires flex more than manufacturer design, what generate more heat and heat deteriorates the rubber.
Speed is accelerating factor.
My trucks were used in construction and very often rear tires were overloaded by 20%. But that was on +- 10 miles drives at 50 mph. Never had blown tire is that use.
Remember old El Caminos? I had garbage scale receipt showing 2100 lb cargo on it. Car tires, but El Caminos had factory air-adjustable shocks

I wasn’t overweight when a rear TC tire blew on my first RV. Was very lucky. To increase the likelihood of a blowout by being overweight is not prudent, bordering on foolish IMO.

Me on I5 in the central Valley passing a semi at 65. I was running Toyo Open Country tires 285/75R16 rated at 3750 I was right at the tire rating and I had a belt separation. The left rear tire shredded almost instantly. I fought for control to keep from rolling and to get to the shoulder safely. I upgraded to 19.5s after that just for the peace of mind. rig was a 2003 F350 CC SRW Longbed 4x4 carrying a Lance 1055