16 years with no blowouts, now two in a month.

[davehultin]

I figure anyone pulling a trailer will probably have a blowout at some point. I dodged the bullet for 16 years, but now I'm up to TWO blowouts. Hmmmph.

Picked up some wire on the road a month ago for the first blowout. The wire wrapped around the axel, the tire didn't have a chance. OK, that's understandable.

Yesterday we were seven miles from our destination and someone pulled up beside us on the interstate and waved us down. Not sure where yesterday's blowout came from. Driving too fast? Tire overinflated? Probably not. Damage from the wire on the last blowout that didn't show up until now? Maybe...?

Anyways, now the questions begin.

For the first repair I used the original spare tire as the permanent replacement because it's an exact match, and then got a similar tire, but 6-ply vs. 8-ply for the new spare. So far so good.

For the current replacement I was able to find a trailer tire in the town we're camping. It's also an 8-ply, but when I told the tire guys that my original tires inflated to 75 pounds, that really puzzled them. They just didn't know of any 8-ply tires that inflated to 75 pounds. Everything they saw was 65 pounds. Well, I don't have a ton of options on the road so I went with it so I could put it on tomorrow. The tire guys were pretty convinced that even though the trailer placard said 75 pounds I shouldn't inflate past 65 pounds.

OK. Back to the campground. The original trailer tires do indeed have a max inflation of 75 pounds, and are 8-ply. The newest tire has a max inflation of 65 pounds, and is 8-ply. The spare tire has a max inflation of 50 pounds (or so, I have to double-check) and is 6-ply.

I'll put the new tire into the mix (the 8-play with 65 pounds max pressure) tomorrow before we head home. What kind of trouble will I make with 3 75-lbs tires + 1 65-lb tire?

[2halfs]

After reading and since I know everything turned out fine for you....I have to share with you my story of our first long trip in 2007 returning from Texas to California.

We learned a few things....first off, just because Semi's speed limit is 75mph does not mean a pick up towing a 30ft TT can do the same.
When tempts outside are 107+ degrees....the asphalt is much hotter. We believe these two factors is what caused our original flat tire.

Long story short, we had our first blow out. Did not even know this. We discovered the flat tire when we pulled off the freeway into a town, rolled down the windows and heard this dragging noise.

My husband was actually asleep when I was driving and the sound woke him up. He said "Denise are the breaks out?" I gently tap the breaks and said "Nope".

When we came to a stop we discovered, not only did we have a flat but we were riding on the rim. We changed to the spare, which was in excellent shape.

Next day we traveled to the next big city and had a rim and tire replaced.
Drove less than 100 miles and had another flat on the same side. Well everyone that knew better said to always expect the other tire on the other side to go soon, because it takes the pressure of the first blown tire. It happened.

So next stop, husband decided to not play around and chance anything, to make the rest of the trip worry free....we put on four brand new tires.

Up the road less than 20 miles, ANOTHER flat on the opposite side of the trailer.

Changed again with the spare, drove up the road and stopped at a Good Year. They told us that the new tire and all our tires that were replaced from the Good Year in the other city where we bought all four tires did not change the value stems and this is what had given out on the new tire to blow out.

We had that fixed.....

When returning home we had contacted the original Good Year and explained to them what had happened....they agreed to reimburse us for charges we encountered (for new value stems, a new tire and labor) Yet they insisted we mail them the flat tire....huh! I asked how in the world do you do that...The manager said "it's easy, you just put a label on the tire and take it to the post office".

We laughed at this idea, we could not even vision my husband or I standing at the local post office with a tire in our hands. Good Year stores are all independently owned so we could not turn the tire into our local Good Year and get a credit. We had to mail it.

No Thanks. We called our credit card company and explained...they reversed the charges. At first the bank was willing to reverse our whole bill....but my husband asked for them to just reverse the charges for one tire, values and part of the labor cost.

That was 2007, we have only had one other time when we found a tire going and caught it before we drove any further.

Now we look back at that 2007 trip with humor. No one hurt and lots of stories.

Got to love those RVing stories 🙂

[kellem]

I'm well aware that I'll likely pay for this BUT, never had a blowout on any of our trailers over a 20 yr span.

Only procedure that I follow:
Inspect before each trip.
Inflate to max psi before each trip.
Replace tires every 5 years.

Sorry to hear of your run of bad luck. Hope you go another 16 years.

[MattFromPA]

Had two blowouts in a single week last summer! The first occurred not a mile away from the storage lot on a Wednesday. Put on the spare and picked up a replacement (Goodyear Endurance as it turned out) the next day. The second one blew on the way to the campground Friday night, followed by hunting down an open tire shop on Saturday. Moral of the story, always pick up a new tire ASAP after a blowout.

I was on borrowed time with the China bombs that were on the trailer and I knew it. Five years and done for me going forward. Picked up 8-ply Carlisles earlier this summer to replace the other two.

[afidel]

Well at least it took you 16 years, poor family I helped today was on their first trip ever, with a borrowed popup. Tire blew out and dad didn't notice, mom saw some smoke and they pulled off at the side of the next exit. Poor dad had an impact but not the right socket or end on the tire iron to take off the lugs. Luckily I saw them in time to get slowed up and pulled in front and asked if there was anything I could do to help. Dad explains the situation and I go grab my socket set and inflator, takes about 45 minutes but we got them back on the road. Tires were brand new and from checking the spare and the opposite side were properly inflated to 65 psi cold inflation per the sidewall. Don't know if they'll go RVing again but I hope the kindness of strangers helps them decide to stick with it 😃

[JRscooby]

Glad things turned out well, or nearly so.
A bit of advise; The carriage bolts, with round head and square that fits in the hole are soft bolts. When they start to turn you can often hold with a finger, and tighten it up. (The nut just ran over that part of bolt, so will do easier than off, lube helps) Once it is tight, keep turning, snap it off.
Now, for everybody that wants to plan ahead, can you get a wrench behind if the spare is off? Get bolt and 2 nuts to replace each one. Remove the carriage bolts, replace with hex head, and jam it tight with a nut. Hang the spare, use other nuts to hold. And use anti-seize on threads after bolt is locked in place.

[davehultin]

The tire has been replaced, we'll be on the road home tomorrow, so hopefully that's the end of the story for now. I can change a tire as easily as the next guy, but all the additional nuance from this group really helps build the understanding and knowledge. I'm thankful for this community!

It really has been quite a weekend. There's all the tire stuff you know about, but there's more too. When the tire blew out we weren't on the side of the road for too long until the highway patrolman stopped to check out the situation. He was so helpful. When I was getting the spare off the spare carrier the bolts were NOT cooperative. (The square part of the bolt had stripped out the soft metal of the carrier.) I just didn't have the right tools to wrestle with it. The patrolman was an RVer too, and he said, "I live 5 miles from here. I'll go get some tools. Unless another call comes in that takes priority I'll be right back." Sure enough, he was back with a vice grip, and a sawzall. He ended up sawing the bolt off and helped put the tire on, and I was on the way to the campground! When I got to the campground (and mostly set up), roadside assistance FINALLY called to say they're on the way.

It's been a very rainy weekend. No problems, though, because we chose this destinatio so we could see our oldest daughter who's in grad school now. We must have reached the "parents must be cool" stage again, because she skipped staying in her apartment and stayed in the camper with us (me, my wife, and her two younger siblings). It was just like old times again! 🙂

So yes, the blowout and the rain could've wrecked the weekend. But getting the family together for a camping weekend like we used to do ... that made it all worthwhile!

Thanks again for the comments, suggestions, and advice, everyone!

[Grit_dog]

OP, 2200lbs is 2200lbs load rating however you slice it.
You have new tires so now you can finish your trip in peace. Worry about it when you get home.
If you looked up trailer tires for sale, you’d find you can get your size in “75 psi” tires if you wish. And if you get all new tires, consider 215s. They have a few more options.

There is also an (old) recommendation been around since the Goodyear marathon blowout days that says fill your light duty trailer tires 10psi above max stated pressure for max load/speed. Maybe some mfgs have adopted that “officially” since the 65 and 75psi tires seem to have the same load and speed rating….just a thought.

[JRscooby]

Boon Docker wrote:

stein4 wrote:
Same applies if one of the rear dully tires goes - change both. Ask me how I know!

OK, how do you know? :B

Running dual, it is very unlikely the replacement will be same circumference as the other. This will eat the tread off the smaller tire very fast.

[Boon_Docker]

stein4 wrote:
Same applies if one of the rear dully tires goes - change both. Ask me how I know!

OK, how do you know? :B

[stein4]

Same applies if one of the rear dully tires goes - change both. Ask me how I know!

[stein4]

Terryallan wrote:

davehultin wrote:
I figure anyone pulling a trailer will probably have a blowout at some point. I dodged the bullet for 16 years, but now I'm up to TWO blowouts. Hmmmph.

Picked up some wire on the road a month ago for the first blowout. The wire wrapped around the axel, the tire didn't have a chance. OK, that's understandable.

Yesterday we were seven miles from our destination and someone pulled up beside us on the interstate and waved us down. Not sure where yesterday's blowout came from. Driving too fast? Tire overinflated? Probably not. Damage from the wire on the last blowout that didn't show up until now? Maybe...?

Anyways, now the questions begin.

For the first repair I used the original spare tire as the permanent replacement because it's an exact match, and then got a similar tire, but 6-ply vs. 8-ply for the new spare. So far so good.

For the current replacement I was able to find a trailer tire in the town we're camping. It's also an 8-ply, but when I told the tire guys that my original tires inflated to 75 pounds, that really puzzled them. They just didn't know of any 8-ply tires that inflated to 75 pounds. Everything they saw was 65 pounds. Well, I don't have a ton of options on the road so I went with it so I could put it on tomorrow. The tire guys were pretty convinced that even though the trailer placard said 75 pounds I shouldn't inflate past 65 pounds.

OK. Back to the campground. The original trailer tires do indeed have a max inflation of 75 pounds, and are 8-ply. The newest tire has a max inflation of 65 pounds, and is 8-ply. The spare tire has a max inflation of 50 pounds (or so, I have to double-check) and is 6-ply.

I'll put the new tire into the mix (the 8-play with 65 pounds max pressure) tomorrow before we head home. What kind of trouble will I make with 3 75-lbs tires + 1 65-lb tire?

i would suggest that if the second flat was on the same side as the first one. then the first one caused the second one, and IF I were you. I wouldn't just put ONE on this time, as you may have driven quite a distance with just one tire on the side that blew. That damages to other tire, and it too will go flat soon. Ask me how i know? Been there done that. It would be better to replace both tires on the side that went flat.

[deltabravo]

noteven wrote:
Last year was my "year of flat batteries..."

What happened to it to make it flat, run over it with a truck?

[Terryallan]

davehultin wrote:
I figure anyone pulling a trailer will probably have a blowout at some point. I dodged the bullet for 16 years, but now I'm up to TWO blowouts. Hmmmph.

Picked up some wire on the road a month ago for the first blowout. The wire wrapped around the axel, the tire didn't have a chance. OK, that's understandable.

Yesterday we were seven miles from our destination and someone pulled up beside us on the interstate and waved us down. Not sure where yesterday's blowout came from. Driving too fast? Tire overinflated? Probably not. Damage from the wire on the last blowout that didn't show up until now? Maybe...?

Anyways, now the questions begin.

For the first repair I used the original spare tire as the permanent replacement because it's an exact match, and then got a similar tire, but 6-ply vs. 8-ply for the new spare. So far so good.

For the current replacement I was able to find a trailer tire in the town we're camping. It's also an 8-ply, but when I told the tire guys that my original tires inflated to 75 pounds, that really puzzled them. They just didn't know of any 8-ply tires that inflated to 75 pounds. Everything they saw was 65 pounds. Well, I don't have a ton of options on the road so I went with it so I could put it on tomorrow. The tire guys were pretty convinced that even though the trailer placard said 75 pounds I shouldn't inflate past 65 pounds.

OK. Back to the campground. The original trailer tires do indeed have a max inflation of 75 pounds, and are 8-ply. The newest tire has a max inflation of 65 pounds, and is 8-ply. The spare tire has a max inflation of 50 pounds (or so, I have to double-check) and is 6-ply.

I'll put the new tire into the mix (the 8-play with 65 pounds max pressure) tomorrow before we head home. What kind of trouble will I make with 3 75-lbs tires + 1 65-lb tire?

i would suggest that if the second flat was on the same side as the first one. then the first one caused the second one, and IF I were you. I wouldn't just put ONE on this time, as you may have driven quite a distance with just one tire on the side that blew. That damages to other tire, and it too will go flat soon. Ask me how i know? Been there done that. It would be better to replace both tires on the side that went flat.

[rexlion]

Front and rear trailer axles can be loaded differently depending on the trailer's weight fore & aft and whether you use a WD hitch. So, it's not entirely as simple as adding up the 4 ratings and comparing to the GVWR. Best to weigh what each tire is carrying.