Tire blowouts

[Hamnet]

I have a 27' 5th wheel. Over the years I have had (5) blowouts. I have 15", E rated tires from Les Schwabb for trailers. I have two 5200 # axles with the 5th wheel being rated at GVWR of 12,000 #. A few questions,
(1) I have had in storage for twelve months with little use.
(2) bent axles a possibility?
(3) wheels out of alignment?

I am looking at going with 7000 # axles, stay with 15" tires or should I go with 16" tires,
Stay with E rated tires or go higher rated tires.
Any help or suggestions would be appreciated.

[Vulcaneer]

So what kind of tires did you end up with? Looks like you took the best route for your situation.

[JIMNLIN]

great.
Oct is a good time to travel. Summer 100+ temps are gone.

[Hamnet]

Thank you all for responses. I ended up installing new greaskable shackle kits, new 16" rims and tires. Next thing is to install shocks on rv. First trip with new set up is 2nd week of October.

[kedanie]

FastEagle wrote:

Me Again wrote:

There is also LT245/75R16E that was shorter.

Chris

You do know the above tire requires a minimum rim width of 6.5" don't you?

FE

You know the OP has 15" rims don't you? 16" tires would require the op to purchase new rims of the appropriate size!

Keith

[Cummins12V98]

NC Hauler wrote:

Cummins12V98 wrote:

Hamnet wrote:
I have a 27' 5th wheel. Over the years I have had (5) blowouts. I have 15", E rated tires from Les Schwabb for trailers. I have two 5200 # axles with the 5th wheel being rated at GVWR of 12,000 #. A few questions,
(1) I have had in storage for twelve months with little use.
(2) bent axles a possibility?
(3) wheels out of alignment?

I am looking at going with 7000 # axles, stay with 15" tires or should I go with 16" tires,
Stay with E rated tires or go higher rated tires.
Any help or suggestions would be appreciated.

First thing I would do is get away from Les Schwab.

Go to Discount tire and get a set of E Michelin Ribs or Dravis 250's.

You could call Scott at trtailertiresandwheels.com and get a price on some tires and wheels mounted and balanced shipped right to you.

Good company!

Yeah, agree, don't know much about this "Les Schwab" group, but sounds like they're full of bad information, don't care what they sell you, as long as they sell you "something":R...Tire Rack or Discount tires would work.

We could sit around the camp fire and I would not run out of stories about Les Schwab. These stories are from family and friends.

[JIMNLIN]

Hamnet wrote:
I have a 27' 5th wheel. Over the years I have had (5) blowouts. I have 15", E rated tires from Les Schwabb for trailers. I have two 5200 # axles with the 5th wheel being rated at GVWR of 12,000 #. A few questions,
(1) I have had in storage for twelve months with little use.
(2) bent axles a possibility?
(3) wheels out of alignment?

I am looking at going with 7000 # axles, stay with 15" tires or should I go with 16" tires,
Stay with E rated tires or go higher rated tires.
Any help or suggestions would be appreciated.

Most likely the blowouts were from a heavy trailer and ST tires. We see this just about daily on trailering forums (rvs and non rvs).

IMO your cheapest long term scenario is upgrade to 16" wheels and LT E tires.
The best LT E are the all steel carcass commercial grade Michelin XPS Ribs and the Bridgestone R250.
I use the BFG Commercial LT E on my 11200 lbs 5er. Other excellent fabric carcass LT E are the Firestone Transforce or Uniroyal Laredo HD-H or a all time favorite Goodyear Wrangler HT.

Your 12000 lb GVWR 5er may have a 2400 lb pin weight which leaves 9600 lbs on the axles or 2400 lbs per tire. The LT E at 3042 lbs capacity will give you a nice reserve capacity plus years of trouble free operation if you keep them pumped to the max sitting or on the road.

Going to 7k axles gains more braking but does nothing for blown tires or tire reliability issues. Makes for a lighter pocketbook.
Out of aligned axles on a trailer will show abnormal wear patterns usually on one side of the tires tread or the other.
A big rig trailer repair shop can handle your axle alignment issues along with replacing worn out pins and bushings.

[NC_Hauler]

Cummins12V98 wrote:

Hamnet wrote:
I have a 27' 5th wheel. Over the years I have had (5) blowouts. I have 15", E rated tires from Les Schwabb for trailers. I have two 5200 # axles with the 5th wheel being rated at GVWR of 12,000 #. A few questions,
(1) I have had in storage for twelve months with little use.
(2) bent axles a possibility?
(3) wheels out of alignment?

I am looking at going with 7000 # axles, stay with 15" tires or should I go with 16" tires,
Stay with E rated tires or go higher rated tires.
Any help or suggestions would be appreciated.

First thing I would do is get away from Les Schwab.

Go to Discount tire and get a set of E Michelin Ribs or Dravis 250's.

You could call Scott at trtailertiresandwheels.com and get a price on some tires and wheels mounted and balanced shipped right to you.

Good company!

Yeah, agree, don't know much about this "Les Schwab" group, but sounds like they're full of bad information, don't care what they sell you, as long as they sell you "something":R...Tire Rack or Discount tires would work.

[FastEagle]

Me Again wrote:

There is also LT245/75R16E that was shorter.

Chris

You do know the above tire requires a minimum rim width of 6.5" don't you?

FE

[Cummins12V98]

Hamnet wrote:
I have a 27' 5th wheel. Over the years I have had (5) blowouts. I have 15", E rated tires from Les Schwabb for trailers. I have two 5200 # axles with the 5th wheel being rated at GVWR of 12,000 #. A few questions,
(1) I have had in storage for twelve months with little use.
(2) bent axles a possibility?
(3) wheels out of alignment?

I am looking at going with 7000 # axles, stay with 15" tires or should I go with 16" tires,
Stay with E rated tires or go higher rated tires.
Any help or suggestions would be appreciated.

First thing I would do is get away from Les Schwab.

Go to Discount tire and get a set of E Michelin Ribs or Dravis 250's.

You could call Scott at trtailertiresandwheels.com and get a price on some tires and wheels mounted and balanced shipped right to you. Good company!

[ol_Bombero-JC]

djgarcia wrote:
I have a 27' 5th wheel. Over the years I have had (5) blowouts. I have 15", E rated tires from Les Schwabb for trailers. I have two 5200 # axles with the 5th wheel being rated at GVWR of 12,000 #. A few questions,
(1) I have had in storage for twelve months with little use.
(2) bent axles a possibility?
(3) wheels out of alignment?

I am looking at going with 7000 # axles, stay with 15" tires or should I go with 16" tires,
Stay with E rated tires or go higher rated tires.
Any help or suggestions would be appreciated.

Go with 16" wheels. I have had good luck with Good Year G rated tires. You can't beat Good Years warranty tire policy and their willingness to pay for any damage to your trailer as the result of the tire blow out:)

Hola!

Adviso no bueno!..:(

"G" rated tires are unnecessary overkill..:(

You *can* beat GYs warranty & repair policy......
if you don't need repairs!.:S

Options:

Least expensive - go with 15" Maxxis - E rated if you can find some.

Next (and best) would be - *quality* 16" LT "E" tires (which means wheels also). Michelin XPS, BFGs, etc.

IMO - don't change the axles - at least for now.

At some point, *If* you want to do change axles - just make sure you
get the same bolt pattern as the 16" wheels.

~

BTW -
GY has TWO track records.
1. GY ST Tires (Marathons) fail. Lots of negative karma for G614 also.

2. GY will replace tires and repair your trailer damage caused by their tire failures. - Whoopee!..:R

Downright silly rationale!.
Why risk incurring unnecessary damage if you don't have to?.:h

*DOWNTIME* anytime for repairs -no matter who foots the bill- is *ALWAYS* a bummer..:(

Here's a LOT of ST info from a thread that doesn't get shut down due to age, or whatever.
Also, the STs are *NOT* being used on 5th wheel trailers.

Speaks volumes - 'cause there *ARE* volumes!

Goodyear Marathon Failures - "Airforums"

~

[Me_Again]

Most tire companies do not recommend putting anything on tire sidewall. Just wash with mild soap and water. Aerospace 303 is the only thing I put on mine tires, more for looks than anything else. Chris

[Hamnet]

Thank you all so much. I think I will take to a good local tire & alignment (have one available) that does RV's. have them check the axles and make sure their not bent. Check the alignment and all things on the axles/hubs , etc. I may stay with 15" and get another set of tires. Maybe the Maxxis 8008. I am retiring in a couple months and will be using it more often. Also, I think I will keep covering and take weight off the tires and look for a conditioner. I will keep reading responses for ideas. Thanks again to all. I love this site.

[cabanaman]

C Schomer wrote:
My last set of STs lasted 4 years, almost to the day, and they were only on the ground (I store it raised up) for 1 month worth of camping trips. They seem to have a time limit regardless of any other conditions... at least in this desert. I have 6 lug hubs so I went to 16" LTs. No problem since. Craig

I ruined a set of tires a couple years ago by setting in the desert for 2 months without moving and uncovered.Of course It took a sidewall blowout to notice that all my sidewalks had developed cracks and the tires were only 2 years old.I now use covers and tire conditioner always.my michelin ltx m/s2s are about 2 years old now with 2 coast to coast trips and look like new.

[Me_Again]

Thurbersfolks wrote:
7000# AL-CO axles will accept either 6 lug or 8 lug with changing the outside bearing, the inside bearing was the same on mine. I had to call and talk to AL-CO direct to get the correct info. I had to know axle # number for them to tell me the hubs were interchangeable.

What does he gain by going to 7k axles and 6 lug wheels. Al-Ko brakes are the same 5200-7000 axles. He appears to have the normal ST tire problem.

If he follow your lead and stays with 15" ST tires, problems most likely will remain.

Chris