Blowout!

[Monkeyman_and_L]

Waiting on roadside assistance. Passenger side tow dolly tire blowout. We were making good time too.

Thing is, I didn't see anything on the camera that indicated a problem and the RV was pulling just fine.

Guess who's getting more tpms sensors for the toad rig!

Could have been worse.

[Monkeyman_and_L]

CapriRacer wrote:
A couple of thoughts:

First, it is possible that this was just a road hazard - it happens.

Second, what tire size is it? As was mentioned, LT tires do not come in 12"! Why is it that some people immediately assume that you can replace any ST tire with an LT?

Third, How did you get home? Replace the tire? Got it patched?

ACME says that towing at posted highway speeds hasn't caused any issues, so they're thinking road debris. And it's entirely possible that's all it was, since the tire was shredded by the time I got a look at it, I will never know.

Tire size ST145R12. I don't expect I can replace this with anything else. The LoadStar tire is 10 ply rated E, so it's good stuff, again pointing to a road debris failure.

Called recently acquired Good Sam roadside to get the tire replaced with a spare I bought. Now I need to replace the spare. Thinking I'll get 2 as they're small enough and inexpensive enough to keep in the underbays.

[CapriRacer]

A couple of thoughts:

First, it is possible that this was just a road hazard - it happens.

Second, what tire size is it? As was mentioned, LT tires do not come in 12"! Why is it that some people immediately assume that you can replace any ST tire with an LT?

Third, How did you get home? Replace the tire? Got it patched?

[hipower]

Monkeyman_and_Lady wrote:
Just bought the dolly this year. Date code on tire is 2017. They are indeed ST tires.

Do they make LT tires in the 12 inch range?

I guess I'm never too old to learn something new. In a previous post you mentioned tire pressure being 75 psi and I thought that seemed high from my experience. Then in this post you refer to 12 inch tires which also surprised me, but makes more sense out of the higher pressure.

I've don't recall ever seeing a tow dolly with 12 inch tires. The one we towed for many years had ST205/75-14's as stock and were replaced with similar tires as needed. If memory serves, we got 5-7 years out of them.

[Monkeyman_and_L]

BTW, got home okay, but kept speed at 65 as best I could.

[Monkeyman_and_L]

Just bought the dolly this year. Date code on tire is 2017. They are indeed ST tires.

Do they make LT tires in the 12 inch range?

[Mile_High]

If those are ST tires, see if you can dump them for LTs, or just replace them every 3 years. In a tow dolly arrangement, the tow dolly tires are the weakest link of the whole rig and limits you to 65 max as stated above (if they are STs).

[Blaster_Man]

Dutch_12078 wrote:
...Most blowouts are caused by under inflation according to the NHTSAs...

Yes, and old tires. Sometimes speeding can be a cause. Most ST tires are speed rated to 65.

[Bruce_Brown]

How old are the tires? Trailer tires seem to age faster than MH tires.

From an article in Trailer Life ;

"Carlisle Tire estimates that one-third of a tire’s strength is gone in approximately 3 years. Carlisle says to consider replacement after 3 years, regardless of tread depth remaining; and at 5 years definitely replace. That’s just one company’s recommendation.

[Monkeyman_and_L]

I did check the tires before departure. 75 psi, max inflation says 80. Could have been road debris.

We got fixed up and the spousal unit suggested that we camp sooner rather than later. Since we were doing a 2 day return trip just means more miles tomorrow.

Gonna nurse these tires.

Will look into upgrading the tires to D. Did that on our old trailer. Liked those tires very much.

[Dutch_12078]

Most blowouts are caused by under inflation according to the NHTSA, something that TPMS sensors are very good at reporting. There's nothing though, that can warn of an almost instant blowout caused by a sharp piece of road debris.

[emiddleb]

Had same thing happen to me 2 years ago. If it helps, I had TPMS sensors on the dolly, barely gave me about 3 seconds warning when the tire blew. They will help on the slow leaks but not the big bangs.

When replacing both last year, I also went up a load rating on the replacements from my OEM "C" tires that came on my dolly to "D". Gives me a bit of comfort with the 2 extra plys and higher weight capacity.

[ferndaleflyer]

I put new tires on our dolly last year as the old ones were showing some sidewall cracking. And I keep it inside when not in use....cheap insurance and since I bought tires already mounted I now have 2 spares.

[MrWizard]

glad there is no other damage
yeah could have been lots worse