Tire problems
Bought a 2010 Jayco 35 ft 5th wheel in 2011. Went on a couple of short trips (10 to 500 miles round trip). Lived in the trailer for a year in our yard. Began fulltiming in Feb. Got 800 miles and one o...
Forum Discussion
robertmcc wrote:
Bought a 2010 Jayco 35 ft 5th wheel in 2011. Went on a couple of short trips (10 to 500 miles round trip). Lived in the trailer for a year in our yard. Began fulltiming in Feb. Got 800 miles and one of the tires separated, with the center of the tread coming out. Had it replaced, drove another 100 miles and had the other one on the same side go flat. Drove another 400 miles and now see a large bulge in one area of the tread on the other side. Have kept tires at 80 psi as our load is max but not over. The tires are GoodYear Marathon ST235/80R16 with an E load rating. Tread looks fine and the tires were manufactured in 2010. Real disappointed with GoodYear. Is this common or have I done something wrong? Sitting in one place too long?
I posted the information below on page #2. My mistake was not to attach it to this post of yours.
When the RV trailer is required to set in one place for extended periods, the owner should try and to reposition (rotate) the tires 180 degrees every 90 days - or more often - if possible. Tire manufacturers use a lot of chemicals to help prevent ozone damage, aging and weather checking - just to name a few. Over long periods of time those chemicals will migrate to the bottom of the tire leaving all areas above them unprotected. Our cars, trucks, etc. are not normally idle for long periods and do not suffer from the lack of protection.
Another beneficial safety precaution would be to provide a barrier between the surface the tire is parked on and the tire. Over long periods of inactivity water can permeate into the tire treads and decay them along with the tires innerliner and maybe even the carcass.
Tire history is a key element for maintaining trailer tires - of any design. Low tire pressure for tires in storage with the trailer weight on them is as damaging as rolling down the road with low tire pressure. Not storing a trailer in a level condition will put undue - long term - weight on the low side/end causing those tires to degrade faster than the tires on the high end/side.
People that have had tire problems with their OE trailer tires almost always become more proficient with their maintenance the second time around.
FastEagle
