Why trailer tire probs????

Bears Den wrote:
It would also be interesting to get an Honest survey going of how many people actually check their tire air pressure before Every trip and do an inspection of their tires before Every trip.

X2. Many stories of tire failure on these pages begin with 'ST' tire failure or 'China bombs'. And the trailer is never overloaded, improperly loaded, judiciously driven less than the ST rating of 65mph, always properly inflated, never climbed a curb, and inspected prior to every trip............ Not denying there aren't problem tires out there, but this is the Internet. ;)

It would also be interesting to get an Honest survey going of how many people actually check their tire air pressure before Every trip and do an inspection of their tires before Every trip. I tow with as little weight in my trailer as possible, no holding tanks full, no bikes etc. Tires are only designed to carry so much weight but people do forget and fill their trailers with things they need. Just MHO.

Why do we here about, and see so many trailer tire problems??

The same type questions were asked many years before the net and long time before china made ST tires started showing up on trailers. Back then they were simply known as ST maypops.

JMO but if china made tires were the culprit then why wouldn't we see the same problems with non ST tires. We have some excellent made in china P and LT tires out here.

Probably a lot of tires are damaged on turns when people forget about how a trailer, especially a 5er, turns inside the track of the tow vehicle. Jumping or scrubbing curbs, dropping off the edge of culverts, hitting rocks or other barriers off the edge of the roadway, etc. Then the damaged tire comes apart over time. I have seen it happen a lot, and jumped at least a couple of curbs myself before I became more aware of it. First time I was not even aware I was over the curb while pulling into a service station until I happened to see it in my mirror.

I do have a TPMS to let me know of a low tire before it gets destroyed while driving.

I don't know because in 35 years of trailer towing I've had 1 blow out. Even then I don't think it was a blow out, just a flat that I did not catch in time.

I break all the rules know to mankind with ST tires. I tow the speed limit, and in most of the stats and roads I travel that would be between 70 and 80 MPH. I tow only in the summer so heat is always an issue. Almost all the tires I have had on my trailer were cheap China made tires.

From what I have seen, most people flat out don't know they have a flat tire or even a tire completely gone off of the rim. Seen quite a few trailers towing down the road on 3 tires.

I just don't even worry about it. No problems here.

I think many things contribute to trailer tire failure. There will always be that nail or some sort of debris that is unavoidable and by the time you get off the road whatever it was is long gone. Many tires are flat out overloaded, either by the manufac new or by all our stuff we throw in the camper. Many don't keep the air correct in their tires and just assume if they were checked the last time out they will be ok this trip. Another big one is your trailer not being level, too much weight on either the front or rear tires. Going too fast whether your tires can take it or not, they build up lots of heat and sometimes just can't take it. Also any of the above said mixed with speed can have bad results. Lastly, some tires are just plain JUNK!

Remember to air the spare!

msgtord wrote:
Age is the number one enemy for trailer tires.

I believe this. It is hard to reach in your pocket for cash to replace tires that still look so good.

I see two factors in play here.
Made off shore in plants with low or no quality control.
Very low testing standards compared to passanger vehicle tires.

Age is the number one enemy for trailer tires.

But some folks have had problems with brand new tires.

When you consider the number of tires sold each year, the failures we read about each year are a small percentage.

Maybe related to all the side loads applied during turns. Trailer tires spend a lot of time being dragged sideways and cars almost never. Just guessing.