Tire Blowout

[vacane]

This past weekend we had two tires blowout on our way back from the Outer Banks. The same thing happened two years ago and at that time I replaced all 4 tires. So these on this trip were only two years old. I keep the psi right under the max of 50psi and don't go over 65mph. Both time happened on the return trip. Could heat be a factor? Maybe I should drop the psi a few pounds? Hope someone smarter than me on tires has some suggestions. Having the family stuck on the side of the road is no fun...

[Huntindog]

colliehauler wrote:

dclark1946 wrote:

LadyRVer wrote:
Certainly no expert, but I had two blowouts on trip at Thanksgiving. One down, one back. Fortunately had spare each time. But, method of elimination:
Age OK according to your statement
PSI OK ditto
Speed OK but, I don't drive over 60
Weight????? Have you pulled on scales at a truck stop? That would be my first guess.

The tire shop upgraded all 4 new tires with load range E, I have 15" wheels and 3 different places said no to light truck tires on a 15"wheel.

Edited by Barb

I have been running LT (load range C currently Yokahamas)tires on my last two trailers with 15 in. wheels with no problem for 8 years with no tire failures. LT tires if they can be found for your load range and wheel size are acceptable and are much better and consistent quality compared to most generic ST tires.

There are no load range E or LT tires in 14" tires, that I'm aware of.

Yes the selection is pretty thin in the 14" size.
It gets a little better in 15"
Once you get to 16", there are more choices than you can imagine.
My solution for a TT I owned that came with 14" was to switch it over to 16".
I unfortunantly did not do it all at once... In retrospect it would have been far cheaper to bite the bullet and just go all the way.

Instead I did what many do. I upgraded one step at a time thinking that a "baby" step would solve my problem. That didn't work.
Many thousands of dollars later, I ended up with 16" LT tires. That was in 2006, and I have never had an LT tire fail on my TT.

My advice to all who have an under tired rig sporting ST tires is to bite the bullet and do whatever it takes to get 16s and LTs.
Yes the intial cost will be high... But it will pay off over time... AND more importantly you won't be dealing with tire issues while on a trip.
Everybodys recreation time is precious. It is the time that counts, when great memories are made.
Work time is just how we make the money to pay for it. You can always make more money. The memories lost due to tire problems is something that you will never get back.

[All_I_could_aff]

Here's one, I'm trying to think of another besides the Kuhmo commercial tires

[colliehauler]

dclark1946 wrote:

LadyRVer wrote:
Certainly no expert, but I had two blowouts on trip at Thanksgiving. One down, one back. Fortunately had spare each time. But, method of elimination:
Age OK according to your statement
PSI OK ditto
Speed OK but, I don't drive over 60
Weight????? Have you pulled on scales at a truck stop? That would be my first guess.

The tire shop upgraded all 4 new tires with load range E, I have 15" wheels and 3 different places said no to light truck tires on a 15"wheel.

Edited by Barb

I have been running LT (load range C currently Yokahamas)tires on my last two trailers with 15 in. wheels with no problem for 8 years with no tire failures. LT tires if they can be found for your load range and wheel size are acceptable and are much better and consistent quality compared to most generic ST tires.

There are no load range E or LT tires in 14" tires, that I'm aware of.

[colliehauler]

vacane wrote:
I am definitely planning on carrying two spares going forward. It has been difficult trying to a load D in R14. The Kumho 857 does look promising.

I would look to upgrade to the Kumho and travel lite as possible. Reducing air pressure would only make matters worse.

[dclark1946]

LadyRVer wrote:
Certainly no expert, but I had two blowouts on trip at Thanksgiving. One down, one back. Fortunately had spare each time. But, method of elimination:
Age OK according to your statement
PSI OK ditto
Speed OK but, I don't drive over 60
Weight????? Have you pulled on scales at a truck stop? That would be my first guess.

The tire shop upgraded all 4 new tires with load range E, I have 15" wheels and 3 different places said no to light truck tires on a 15"wheel.

Edited by Barb

I have been running LT (load range C currently Yokahamas)tires on my last two trailers with 15 in. wheels with no problem for 8 years with no tire failures. LT tires if they can be found for your load range and wheel size are acceptable and are much better and consistent quality compared to most generic ST tires.

[vacane]

I am definitely planning on carrying two spares going forward. It has been difficult trying to a load D in R14. The Kumho 857 does look promising.

[schlep1967]

coolbreeze01 wrote:

schlep1967 wrote:

coolbreeze01 wrote:
4 tire failures in 2 years suggests not enough tire for your trailer. Larger load range E tires, aired to max PSI per sidewall would be my recommendation.

He currently has load range C tires. Going to a load range E would be overkill and would cost him much more money buying rims rated for that pressure.

I had Load range D tires on my 10,600 lb (empty) fifth wheel for 7 years with no problems. I'm sure his 7,500 pound trailer would be fine on D rated tires of the same size.

I'm into overkill and his rims won't be a problem. Have you ever needed to use a trailer spare? I haven't.

No I haven't. And when those load range D tires I had on my 5vr started showing cracks I upgraded one class to E's. Which is what the rims I had were rated for. There is no reason to go to a tire that can carry much more than the axles of the trailer are rated for. It is just a waste of money.

[gat75]

Dick_B wrote:
Hard to say without knowing the brand of tires, age, what it says on the sidewall for cold pressure and what weight they are carrying. Sure sounds like they might be heavily overloaded to have two blowouts two years running. What was the cause of the blowouts?
Letting air out is the LAST thing you want to do.
One of the reasons I carry two mounted spares.
Clarification on age of tires. Just because they were installed two years ago doesn't necessarily mean they are two year old. See the DOT info on the tire sidewall.

X2 on carrying two mounted spares. For me, it is well worth the trade-off of less storage space and extra weight of mounted spare.
I also shoot all tires (& wheels) on Truck & 5V with a laser temp gun every time we stop. A tire with a slow leak will usually show a higher temp than an adjacent tire on same side of trailer.

Of course, I check & adjust pressures before I start trip.

[JIMNLIN]

Kenda maypops as their called around the different trailer forums (rv and non RV).
Check out the new Carlisle HD or a Provider or a Maxxis 8008 in that order.

[Huntindog]

coolbreeze01 wrote:

schlep1967 wrote:

coolbreeze01 wrote:
4 tire failures in 2 years suggests not enough tire for your trailer. Larger load range E tires, aired to max PSI per sidewall would be my recommendation.

He currently has load range C tires. Going to a load range E would be overkill and would cost him much more money buying rims rated for that pressure.

I had Load range D tires on my 10,600 lb (empty) fifth wheel for 7 years with no problems. I'm sure his 7,500 pound trailer would be fine on D rated tires of the same size.

I'm into overkill and his rims won't be a problem. Have you ever needed to use a trailer spare? I haven't.

There is no such as overkill when it comes to tires. The TT I had when I started my tire upgrade journey was the same size as the OP. Many tire and rim upgrades followed as I searched for the answer to a reliable TT tire. That search FINALLY ended many thousands of dollars later with 16"rims, and LT LRE E tires...

So IMO, the OP needs to skip all the steps I wasted money on and go straight to the solution...
My LT changeover was in 2006. No more tire problems after the switch... Yes it is expensive.. And yes I cried when I paid the bill...
But pay once right and cry once.

Pay on the cheap and cry over and over.

[vacane]

Found these on etrailer. Anybody heard of this brand?

Kenda Tires and Wheel
Karrier ST205/75R14 Radial Trailer Tire w/ 14" White Wheel - 5 on 4-1/2 - Load Range D

[coolbreeze01]

schlep1967 wrote:

coolbreeze01 wrote:
4 tire failures in 2 years suggests not enough tire for your trailer. Larger load range E tires, aired to max PSI per sidewall would be my recommendation.

He currently has load range C tires. Going to a load range E would be overkill and would cost him much more money buying rims rated for that pressure.

I had Load range D tires on my 10,600 lb (empty) fifth wheel for 7 years with no problems. I'm sure his 7,500 pound trailer would be fine on D rated tires of the same size.

I'm into overkill and his rims won't be a problem. Have you ever needed to use a trailer spare? I haven't.

[vacane]

Forgot to mention, the tires that failed were powerking, not sure what brand the OEM were.

[vacane]

I really could not afford purchasing all new rims at this time, but will look at the 225s at a higher load rating. There are two slide on the left side but never had an issue with the left side tires. I definitely heard the right rear blow this last time. I agree the weight seems low for a trailer that size, I took it to the scales when I first bought, loaded for our first trip. I haven't taken it lately but the weight was all in range of the truck. I might still have the paperwork and will post the weights. Again, we go on many trips a year and only happens on the way back from the beach...we have way less weight than going and the holding tanks are always empty before heading out.