Look What Tires Can Do!

[Turn_Key]

Always have His angels watching over me and this time I had one riding on my shoulder. Was headed to Ozark, Arkansas when my wife spotted this on the rear, passenger side of our "5th". Was on the inside of the tire so it was just luck she spotted it. I would have been very unhappy had it let go, at speed. We were at the Choctaw Travel Center in McAlister, OK when it was discovered and it took less then an hour to get Roadside Assistance out there and get it changed. Very lucky and well blessed, in my opinion.

Happy Camping!

[Dave_H_M]

guess i am getting old but cannot understand how the Marathon line is still in existence. :h

[Hammerboy]

Harley Doc wrote:
Im always surprised...always...that tt mfg dont put metal sheilds in wheel wells to prevent a lot of damage caused by blowouts.

Problem is they don't think much past the point of it leaving the factory driveway on a sunny day.

Dan

[packnrat]

sorry for no photo, and not on a rv.
but saw a rig once, he blew one of his drivers. it caught the fancy crome fender. brought the fender down took out the second tire. that took it over and took out the front two drive tires.
so he lost a fancy chrome fender, and four drive tires on one side of the rig.

having quality tires can pay off big time.

[Westcoasting]

GoPackGo wrote:
How old are those tires ? With ST tires it's more about age then miles.

** Also, what is the tire size and what is the GVW of your trailer (not dry weight).

With ST tires they can blow or shred at any point. I have had them at 4 months leave me on the road 😞

[GoPackGo]

How old are those tires ? With ST tires it's more about age then miles.

** Also, what is the tire size and what is the GVW of your trailer (not dry weight).

[Turn_Key]

Well, I think I may be able to post some pix now. Plus the story has gotten even more interesting.

The first picture I will post shows the tire that failed on our way up to Arkansas. As said in the original post, I got this taken care of and sent a claim to my warranty organization, "Tire Shield". They turned me down saying that the tire was not damaged but failed and that's not covered!!! Paperwork did agree so I have little recourse here. Sent a claim to the manufacturer (Unicorn Tire, Memphis, Tennessee) last Friday 11/17. Don't expect much but we'll.



Now things get real interesting. This last Sunday, 11/19, I am sitting in my living room about 9pm. I suddenly heard a very loud "bang" from the front of the house. It was so loud, it brought my neighbor out, wondering what had happened. I discovered that the front, driver's side tire had blown at the same point the passenger side, rear tire had developed the large bubble. This happened, in the driveway, tires clean, inspected and covered about a week ago and the temps in the 40s!!! Needless to say, I was stunned. Took picture of this tire and sent them to Unicorn with an addendum to the first letter. Here is a picture of the most recent failed tire;



I honestly expect little from Unicorn but plan to continue this through Winnebago. I know these tires don't last a long time but a little over 5000 miles wear and having one totally fail in the driveway is a bit much. Will post back here as things progress.

Happy Camping!

[Lenny_K]

A friend of mine installed those aluminum fenders which I thought was a good idea in case of a blowout. However when he had his blowout it also blew the fender off.

[cummins2014]

3ares wrote:
To protect my trailer from tire blowout, I install jeep style aluminum fenders inside the wheel well. I buy mine from Tractor Supply.

Happy Camping

I bought Sailun S637 G rated trailer tires to protect my fifth wheel :B

[3ares]

To protect my trailer from tire blowout, I install jeep style aluminum fenders inside the wheel well. I buy mine from Tractor Supply.

Happy Camping

[partsman01]

Amazing the power of air

[time2roll]

Yea this all random until the OP gets that picture to show up.

[Jetstreamer]

Turn Key wrote:
Always have His angels watching over me and this time I had one riding on my shoulder. Was headed to Ozark, Arkansas when my wife spotted this on the rear, passenger side of our "5th". Was on the inside of the tire so it was just luck she spotted it. I would have been very unhappy had it let go, at speed. We were at the Choctaw Travel Center in McAlister, OK when it was discovered and it took less then an hour to get Roadside Assistance out there and get it changed. Very lucky and well blessed, in my opinion.

Happy Camping!

So I’d like to see the picture??

[lee_worsdell]

Same here marathon blew out i79 north last april on my way back from Bristol race. Put all new sailun on great tire.

[pcm1959]

That's some crazy looking tire, huh? Looks like the damage is repairable. Glad you got stopped safely.
The subject of poor tire quality is endless and for good reason.
Many trailer tires are being pushed right to their limits on a good day. Combined with under inflation, excessive sidewall abuse in jack-knife situations and excessive speed and there's not much room for safety.
Anyone who is pushing weight limits that may be worried about tire issues should bite the bullet and upgrade to 17.5 tires. They certainly are overkill in the weight capacity department for most but the heaviest of fivers, however, its very rare you see a post from someone running them with any issues. Not that you should tow at 75mph, but they are speed rated for 75mph, not 65 like most.
In addition, the 17.5 tires are available from several manufacturers like Toyo, Continental, Hankook and others.
Until Goodyear introduced their Endurance line (which has yet to be proven), the best 16" heavy duty trailer tire has been the GY G614. Overall, it has a decent rating but some have had issues with them, too.
Just my 2 cents. I have had the Goodyear g114 17.5 on my 15k+ fiver for nearly 4 years and 15k miles and they still look new - even the tread.
Safe travels.