Dude is hauling a$$

[MAwolcott]

We're on 81 northbound in West Virginia in the wife's car doing 80. Guy towing a travel trailer flew past us like we were standing still! Hate to be him when those tires blow!

[camperforlife]

I have a buddy who brags about routinely towing a 28' TT at 90 MPH. Needless to say we do not travel together and I will not even travel the same route as he does when we are going to the same destination. Last thing I want to see is his family scattered along the highway. You just can't fix stupid.

[HaulinBass02]

I had a tire blow on previous 5er. Was doing about 65 at the time. I actually heard a pop and happened to be looking in the mirror when it happened and I saw/heard the tire go. Never lost control and I got off the road quick enough that the aluminum wheel never got a nick in it. The fender well didn't fare so well and the 5er was in the shop for several weeks getting fixed.
I usually don't tow much faster than 65, if I do it is only for short periods like passing someone....

[CampingN_C_]

If he's towing anything of any size at 80mph you'll probably see him on the side of the road out of gas first.
I can't imagine any combo that is stable at that speed. Even my CCLB get's a little lite feeling around 70.

[rockhillmanor]

Why do people think when a tire blows it will put you in a ditch or shake you like a rag doll?

Because most people have seen all the horror stories, news and pictures of when a front tire blows out on a Class A. It 'does' put you in a ditch and the driver usually dies from it.

So they 'assume' the same will happen on a TT. :R

[JoeTampa]

"When this baby hits 88 miles per hour, you're gonna see some serious ______!"

[Turtle_n_Peeps]

mkirsch wrote:

Turtle n Peeps wrote:
Why do people think when a tire blows it will put you in a ditch or shake you like a rag doll? :h


I've only blown one tire in my life on a trailer. It was no doubt a low pressure situation and by the time I got the rig stopped there was nothing but two little rubber rings on the rim.

The only reason I knew something was wrong was a slight and I do mean SLIGHT vibration in the steering wheel. I looked in my mirror and saw the rubber coming off.

No big deal; no crazy event; nothing really but a rim with no rubber on it.

Judging from the amount of people I see towing a trailer that way it's no big deal to them either. They don't even know they are towing a trailer with 3 tires!

You weren't doing north of 80MPH, though. Throw in a trailer that's right on the ragged edge of sway (if you're crazy enough to tow at 80-85MPH, you're probably not too concerned about sway), and things would get interesting.

Of course this is was a 5th wheel, so no sway, but the speed definitely factors in.

You're correct. I was only driving 70 to 75 at the time my tire blew.

I've seen a lot of people driving happy as a clam on 3 tires. And some very fast. Don't even know anything is wrong. Like, la, la, la, life is good as sparks are coming off of their rim. LOL

And while I'm at it. Driving on 3 tires does not cause sway. If you don't have sway with 4 tires at 70 or 80 MPH you won't have sway on 3 tires at 70 or 80 MPH. Sway just does not work that way.

[mkirsch]

Turtle n Peeps wrote:
Why do people think when a tire blows it will put you in a ditch or shake you like a rag doll? :h


I've only blown one tire in my life on a trailer. It was no doubt a low pressure situation and by the time I got the rig stopped there was nothing but two little rubber rings on the rim.

The only reason I knew something was wrong was a slight and I do mean SLIGHT vibration in the steering wheel. I looked in my mirror and saw the rubber coming off.

No big deal; no crazy event; nothing really but a rim with no rubber on it.

Judging from the amount of people I see towing a trailer that way it's no big deal to them either. They don't even know they are towing a trailer with 3 tires!

You weren't doing north of 80MPH, though. Throw in a trailer that's right on the ragged edge of sway (if you're crazy enough to tow at 80-85MPH, you're probably not too concerned about sway), and things would get interesting.

Of course this is was a 5th wheel, so no sway, but the speed definitely factors in.

[BobsYourUncle]

Turtle n Peeps wrote:

2oldman wrote:

Turtle n Peeps wrote:
Why do people think when a tire blows it will put you in a ditch or shake you like a rag doll?

I don't think that, but I do think it will destroy the wheel well and what's above it.

One of the reasons I hate SBR. The tire that blew on my trailer was a rag bias. The only thing it did was pull the screw out of the fender brace. Put a new screw in, put a new tire on and I was good to go.

Judging from some of the responses, some think if you blow a tire on a trailer at speed it will blow you off of the road, flip you end over end, barrel roll you 40 or 50 times and you will end up as a burning ball of smoking rubble. :R

The truth is most don't even know they had a blown tire on their trailer.

This is true, most don't know. Been there done that 3 times with a catastrophic tire failure.
All 3 times I didn't feel a thing, nothing. Trailer towed just fine.
One was a single axel Prowler. Steel belted tire let go and absolutely destroyed the TT. I did a mirror check and saw smoke pouring out the back. Still couldn't feel it. Pulled over and inspected. Tire was absolutely shredded. It destroyed everything in its path, trailer was a total write-off. Sold it for salvage.
Other 2 were tandems on my old 95 Sportsmen. Both times the tire came apart and was shredded to nothing. I noticed again doing a mirror check. Saw my fender flare flapping in the wind. Pulled over both times to find the tire gone and nothing left but the Center part on the rim.
Again, couldn't feel anything out if the ordinary. It towed fine, handled normally. But I was pulling it with a dually so that helped.
Damage was minimal fortunately. Minor repairs and good to go.

So yeah, it's easy to blow a tire and not feel it or notice until someone flags you or you see it in a mirror check.

Gotta get a TPMS.

[NJRVer]

MAwolcott wrote:
We're on 81 northbound in West Virginia in the wife's car doing 80. Guy towing a travel trailer flew past us like we were standing still! Hate to be him when those tires blow!

Ugh, anybody missing a travel trailer.
Sure hope it wasn't a rear kitchen 'cause his dishes will be all over the place.:B

[4LowNGo]

I also seen a guy hauling a$$ on 81N today around 10:30-11 here near Harrisburg PA. It was a little older blue Silverado 2500. I was behind him watching the front air vent flap around,finally bailing and me running over it.

[N-Trouble]

Similar situation coming down I5 south of Redding CA couple weeks ago. Guy pulling an older 5er that looked like it has some bent axles and horrible tires on it was keeping up with me at 75MPH. I was not towing... Just happy to get around him. Looked like a disaster in the making.

[Turtle_n_Peeps]

2oldman wrote:

Turtle n Peeps wrote:
The truth is most don't even know they had a blown tire on their trailer.

As long as only one of 2 goes. If the 2nd tire can't handle the weight, and lets go, then you're going to be all over the road.

I don't know about the trailer being all over the road? I have seen trailers run on rims (trailer races) and they seem to track pretty good. The U bolts tend to dig in and hold the trailer back like a parachute.

About 2 people on average are killed a year by vending machines. I think I will worry more about a vending machine killing me than 2 tires blowing out at the same time on my trailer. :B But that's just me! :B

[Lynnmor]

2oldman wrote:

Turtle n Peeps wrote:
The truth is most don't even know they had a blown tire on their trailer.

As long as only one of 2 goes. If the 2nd tire can't handle the weight, and lets go, then you're going to be all over the road.

Many just drive their interstate queens and can't see that a tire gets a real workout driving curvy mountain roads. When you have a failure on a road barely wide enough on a good day, things can get interesting real fast.

[Campfire_Time]

I see at least one rig like this every time I travel outside the area I live in.