TrackMaster grenade

[doublenot7]

On the way back from camping this weekend we had a tire detread and explode. Slight damage to the rim but a good amount of damage to under carriage of camper along with some side body damage around the wheel well.

We were running very light, under 65 mph, tire pressure at 65psi, these are TrackMaster 235/80/R16 with just over 2,000 miles on them. No cracking, dry rot, etc...

Besides the repairs ALL the TrackMasters are coming off too. I'm thinking of going with Maxxis. Made in the USA? I don't want any more fine China products.

Thoughts/comments?

[TomG2]

I just finished a 3,000 mile road trip and did not see one travel trailer with a flat tire and no spares appeared to explode. However, I did see three semis on the shoulder with shredded tires. Does that mean that truck tires are lousy and ST tires are great? No. That is the same logic that the anti-ST tire folks use. As mentioned by many, there are a whole lot of factors that affect tire life.

[wrenchbender]

With 16 inch rims I would go with reputable LT tire.

[lee_worsdell]

just seen this post why from what I have read would you put lt tire that carries about less weight than an st tire. Some 16 235 go from 3500 st tire down to 2900 on an lt tire

[Ohio_Engineer]

"Blowout" is the common term used for Run Low Flex Failures" these occur with an air leak usually due to puncture or cut to the tire or sometimes a valve leak.
TPM can warn of a pending Run Low Flex failure

"Tread Detachment" is the terminology for a separation of one or both belts and the tread from the carcass of the tire. Many times the carcass is still fully inflated. This is usually the result of rubber degradation due to a combination of age and heat. Heat is generated from low inflation, high load and high speed and direct exposure to an external heat source.
TPM will almost never warn of a tread detachment

[LarryJM]

Huntindog wrote:


To the OP: I used to have many ST tire problems. I have owned more sets of ST tires than I care to remember. When I ran STs, my TT was constatly sporting new tires. None of them made it to their second birthday

mabynack wrote:
I've had six blowouts with ST tires. The last two tires had less than 3000 miles on them and looked brand new. I'm definitely going with new LT tires before I take another long trip.

While it's just my opinion these two instances of issues with ST tires tells me something else is the problem more than just using ST tires. The VAST MAJORITY of ST tire users have no where near these sort of dismal experiences, myself included and in the close to 20 years of running Marathon ST tires I never had a tread separation, only one flat and routinely got 5 to 6 years use out of each tire.

Fast forward, In March 2013 I upgraded my wheels to aluminum ones which I always wanted anyway and at the same time went with the Kumho 857 195R14 tires that had a load capacity of 2094 (compared to the GY 205 of 1760) and a speed rating of over 100mph IIRC. These replaced the GY Marathons that came on the trailer that were at the time almost 7 years old and had just shy of 11K miles on them. Coming back from Fl. this past Feb I had one on the rear axle throw it's tread. At that time the tire was less than 3 years old and had only been on my trailer for just under two years and 6400 total miles. During this time I routinely traveled at a solid 65mph up from my normal 58 to 60 I had always ran before on the GY Marathons. This was the first real tire failure since some passenger car tires I ran on my previous trailer from about 1988 to 1996 started self destructing at which time I became an exclusive GY Marathon user for the next 17 years. Because Kumho evidently stopped marketing the 195R14 tires here I had to replace the bad tire with a GY Marathon 205R75x14 and have now invested in a 5th aluminum rim and one more new GY ST tire and now am running Kumhos on the front axle and GY marathons on the rear axle and carrying one GY marathon and one Kumho 857 spare. I'm going to drop my speed towing back to my previous 58 to 60 and see what happens with this "MIXED COMBO" next.

BTW I was running a TPMS at the time, but forgot to have my "range extender" plugged in so I wasn't getting reliable signals bacause the sensor batteries were several years old:S ... live and learn ... even the best stuff doesn't help if you forget to make sure it's working correctly.

Larry

[jerem0621]

MM49 wrote:
All these so called experts and not one mention about trailer hitch setup for a level trailer during towing. They tout the same BS; go with a heavier tire until the problem goes away.
mm49

There is a lot of truth in what you say. There is a LOT that goes into tire loading and these failures... (LT tires fail too)

My friend whose tire I posted a pic of earlier was one of two tires that experienced a blow out. Both were on the curb side. The other tire lost the entire tread.

His trailer was a quad slide fifth wheel. The street side had THREE slides and the curb side only had ONE slide.

I could only scratch my head, why did the tires that should have less weight on them fail? The only thing I could figure is UV... Maybe the curb side sat towards the sun and the street side sat in the shade? IDK... The truck and trailer sat pretty level, nothing crazy.

My AWESOME POP UP needs new tires. It's still wearing the original tires that were manufactured in 2007. The PO of the pup has thousands and thousands of miles on these tires, heck the tires still look great!

However, before I tow far I will be buying a new set of tires, I will probably be buying Maxxis M8008 ST tires... Sized 185/80r13... And I will only accept FRESH tires manufactured recently.

I do think Maxxis ST tires are some of the best ST tires available.... I have had a great experience with them in the past. I picked up a nail in one of my previous TT's Maxxis tires, so that proves that the are not immune from road debris. I noticed the leak once I got to the local campground. had I been on the road that Maxxis would have blown as I did not have a TPMS.

Thanks!

Jeremiah

[MM49]

All these so called experts and not one mention about trailer hitch setup for a level trailer during towing. They tout the same BS; go with a heavier tire until the problem goes away.
mm49

[TomG2]

Tire engineers must not know as much about tire design as some of our forum members, or else there would be no ST tires. Maybe some will read this thread and get the message?

[93Cobra2771]

Heat would likely have gone up pretty quickly in the tire, tpms would likely have given a heads up. Appears to be straight up tread separation.

[solismaris]

With all this talk about replacing ST tires with LT tires, I have to ask:

I thought the main difference between ST and LT (aside from the lower max speed) was that ST were specifically engineered for the high side loads caused by tight turns with double-axle trailers, which most autos and 2-axle trucks (and single-axle trailers) don't have. So isn't an LT tire wrong for this application (even if there are more choices available, including more that are not made in China)?

[jerem0621]

They are supposed to be experts on this subject.

My dad had a fiver with LT's from the factory.

Another friend experienced a "good looking" st tire come apart. I was following him and saw the tire pieces coming off and we got off the interstate before it went boom...

This tire was still holding pressure...just not too much...would a TMPS have discovered this issue? maybe... IDK



As to stiffer sidewalls...not sure I buy that ST tires are stiffer... Check out this video where a ST Carlisle Is cross sectioned.

Video

Looks like they can roll that cross section up like a burrito..looks pretty stiff to me.

Thanks!

Jeremiah

[PacNWChris]

I've been reading about ST versus LT tires lately. My "research" is coming from sources like Les Schwab, Tire Rack, American Tire Company, Big O Tires, Discount Tire, etc.

They state that ST tires are built differently than LT tires: different/tougher materials to resist weathering and cracking due to ozone, stiffer sidewalls, thicker polyester cording, steel cords with higher tensile strength ... all to meet the higher load requirements and demands of trailering.

Genuinely no offense to anyone, but why are these sources not reliable? Are they not experts?

On a side note, I have seen that there are a couple of ST models (Goodyear Marathon, and another I can't remember) that are rated up to 75 MPH with proper inflation.

[doublenot7]

Gr8life wrote:
I agree about the nail on the highway, but it is a lot more fun to rant about, "China bombs". Happens about every month around this forum.

REALLY? I didn't find anything fun or amusing about it. This was not a nail, incorrect pressure, or anything else but piss poor quality of a product produced by the same good folks who brings us asbestos drywall, metal shrapnel dog food, etc... There are also documented deaths contributed to the "China Bombs" trailer tires with an adjoining federal civil suit. I guess those were fun and amusing also.



EDIT: The original tires are not the R16 I listed prior, those are what I was looking to switching too; the correct ones that blew are 225/75/R15.

I do have TPMS (does not report temps) it there was no indication at all. Again, not one indication of anything in handling, etc... until the split second it happened.

Concerning the LT tires, do these have suitable sidewalls for use on a trailer? I've heard some say NO. This is a dual axle trailer with dry weight just under 9000 lbs, cargo is minimal and under 1000 lbs.

[Ohio_Engineer]

So you have weighed the TV and the TT and know the exact load on each tire. I bet you will find that the tires on the TV have lower % of the tire max load capability while the tires on the TT are nearer or even over their max rated load. Also bet that you do not run the TV fully loaded most of the time so a good portion of the tire life is probably at less than 75% of its max

The TV tires are probably rated for over 100 mph but you only run 75% of that max speed. Do you run the same 75% of the 65 Max speed on your ST tires on the TT?