Tire concern

[JerryandSusie]

I have a 5th wheel that is 2 years old and has about 6000 miles on the tires. The rear axle tires have dimbles on the sidewall. Is that the beginning of tire failure?

[CALandLIN]

Country of origin, tire age or brand name has nothing to do with tire undulations. They are a common byproduct of radial tire construction. Sidewall indentations/undulations are more noticeable in tires with taller sidewalls or operate at higher inflation pressures. Sidewall indentations/undulations are conditions that do not affect the performance of the tires."

[fj12ryder]

^^^^^^Considering the brand, Tow Max, I would suggest that the blowout happened in spite of the indentation, not because of it. The Tow Max tires of that era were flat out horrible, and unreliable, kind of like the Carlisle of that time.

[Bipeflier]

aftermath wrote:
You asked a very good question and you got a very good answer. Sidewall indentations are not to worry about, they are actually stronger than the rest of the sidewall.

Not necessarily. The Tow Max tires that came on my trailer (2010) developed these undulations within 6 months of taking delivery. I asked the dealer and US distributors about this and was told "this is normal". Within 2 years one of the undulations ruptured and blew out a "H" shaped hole in the sidewall. The cross of the H was one of the undulations. A local tire guy determined the undulation was where 2 pieces of sidewall reinforcement was spliced and the bond had failed.

Before you jump on the low air pressure, I run a TPMS system and had observed the pressures less than a mile before the blowout.

BTW my Goodyear G641 show no such sidewall indentation after nearly 4 years now.

[aftermath]

I am with Sound Guy. I am also glad to hear that you read the posts regularly. You asked a very good question and you got a very good answer. Sidewall indentations are not to worry about, they are actually stronger than the rest of the sidewall.

If you read the posts you will learn that tires need to be taken care of and regularly inspected. 5 years is a good rule of thumb for replacement times. I know you are aware of all the issues that might move this date back or up. You are already paying attention to your tires, good for you. Enjoy the trailer.

[time2roll]

What brand & size tires and what trailer GVWR? Two years is time to know what you have and where do you expect to go with them.

[Atlee]

Not always now. I know Jayco puts USA made Goodyear Endurance tires on all of their trailers since at least mid model year 2017. And all Endurance tires begin at LRD. There are no LRC Endurance tires.

guidry wrote:
Not absurd at all. Trailer manufacturers use the cheapest, lowest quality tires they can get away with. Like the other poster, from experience I know original tires are the poorest quality and most owners are lucky to get one year from them. OP, research those tires and see what the reviews are like then you may want to upgrade anyway. Good luck

[wa8yxm]

Tires should last more than 5 years and on trailers perhaps longer if not overloaded (I won't say how long. liability) But on 2 year old tires.

IF you are worried ask an expert.. now the guy at the tire store is a salesman. so they want to sell you somethign.

A Police Motor Carrier Officer.. Now he's an expert.. (NOTE I'm not an expert on tires. but I am on police officers... (Civilian employee of a police dept.)).

[JerryandSusie]

I read each and every post. Thanks you guys for your ideas and suggestions.

[SoundGuy]

guidry wrote:
Not absurd at all. Trailer manufacturers use the cheapest, lowest quality tires they can get away with. Like the other poster, from experience I know original tires are the poorest quality and most owners are lucky to get one year from them.

Nonsense. The OP hasn't identified his tires in any way so you have no idea at all what they are, where they were manufactured, whether they're of "the poorest quality" or not, so yes it's absolutely absurd to fear monger by categorically trashing his 2 yr old tires based on NO information at all. :R

[Blazing_Zippers]

Right or wrong about tires on a trailer, my thoughts are this;
The manufacturer only has to provide equipment to last for the warrantee period. We changed our tires out on the last couple units after a years service with Maxxis tires.

[fj12ryder]

^^^^^^^I'd have to agree. My tires blew with less than 8,000 miles and less than 2 years old, so it can happen. However I believe the builders are putting better tires on them than they did 5-8 years ago.

[guidry]

Not absurd at all. Trailer manufacturers use the cheapest, lowest quality tires they can get away with. Like the other poster, from experience I know original tires are the poorest quality and most owners are lucky to get one year from them. OP, research those tires and see what the reviews are like then you may want to upgrade anyway. Good luck

[SoundGuy]

lmpres wrote:
BUT....If you still have the same tires on your trailer that came with it you could be near the end. Actually gone past it.

The OP hasn't provided the date code for these tires but "China bombs" or not, on a 2017 model trailer they were likely manufactured sometime in 2016, making them little more than 2 yrs old from date of manufacture so to claim these tires "could be near the end. Actually gone past it" is absurd. :S We have no idea what they are, where they were manufactured, but they're certainly not overdue for replacement based on just age. :R

[lmpres]

BUT....If you still have the same tires on your trailer that came with it you could be near the end. Actually gone past it.

Look at the brand name and post it. I'll bet you have been riding on China Bombs for the last 2 years. Posting from experience...