Monday, October 6, 2008

RVer's trailer keeps blowing out tires. What to do?

QUESTION: I have a 27 foot Dutchman travel trailer that I bought new in 2002. To date I have blown out seven tires. I am now on Goodyear radials having replaced the O.E. Carlyle tires. My question is this: Do tires on a trailer require balancing and alignment like a car? I just find it amazing that I have had that many blowouts.

Mark Says: My first thought would be that the tires are overloaded. If you haven't done it yet, take the trailer to a set of scales where you can weigh each wheel position separately. Compare the weights to the tire weight rating when they are inflated properly.

I have heard many people complain about Carlyle tires, but seven blowouts indicates some other type of problem. Balancing the tires cannot hurt but isn't absolutely necessary. Alignment for a trailer is usually related to one of the axles shifting over. If you stand in front of, and then behind the trailer look to see if both axles (tires) are aligned with each other. If one of the tires sticks out farther than the other take it in to have it checked out.

I still don't think this is what is causing the problem. Weigh the wheel positions and try distributing any weight in the trailer so none of the tires are overloaded. Another important factor is to make sure you are using replacement tires designed specifically for trailers. The sidewalls are designed to hold up to the twisting and flexing that occurs when you make turns etc.
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Posted by Staff Report at 3:37 PM

14 comments:

  1. In addition to weight causing blow outs, another main cause is bent spindles. Spindles get bent when axles are overloaded (most frequent cause), but can also get bent when a properly loaded trailer (but at max gross weight) hits a big pothole or curb, often at highway speeds. Bent spindles can easily be identified by tire wear on the inside half of the tire tread. Also look at the tires. If they appear to stick out at the bottom, you probably have a bent spindle.
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  2. Bent spindles aren't the only possible cause. I had a 2004 Dutchmen 26' travel trailer and had a blowout with only about 3,000 miles on it. While having the blown tire replaced the remaining tires were checked and found to all be ready to blow. I had the wheel alignment checked and learned that bent axles (both of them) were causing each wheel to be toed-out by 3/4" literally scraping the rubber off the tires while going down the road. Thor Mfg. (maker of Dutchmen) replaced both axles and Carlisle Tires reimbursed me for the full set I bought to replace the ruined ones.
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  3. I would also have to ask if the wheel bearings had been regularly maintained. I made the mistake a few years ago using the wrong grease on the bearings. We went to the beach and on the way back I blew a tire. It was 105 degrees in the shade and we had been on a newly paved road. The blown tire was too hot to touch. When I got home, I checked the grease I had used and it wasnt high temp axle grease.
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  4. How about checking the tire pressure. To low and the sidewalls can overheat. Do that enough and the tire will fail. Overinflate them and hit a pothole, you could have a catastrophic blowout.
    Don't just eyeball or thump them, use a good quality pressure guage.
    Yes, I know truckers thump the tires, it can detect a flat on the inside dually, but nothing works like testing the actual pressure.
    Always check the tires cold. Monthly if in storage, before each trip and daily when traveling.
    I went through several tires in one summer and learned the expensive way that I had underinflated all the tires on my trailer and truck.
    Since then, I've lost one tire and that was to a screw not an inflation problem. It really is that important.
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  5. I would like to add that I feel that tires made for RV use is lacking the quality and durability needed for this type of abuse. I never had tire problems in the 70's and 80's and now I have had several tire problems with tires losing the tread to several blowouts with most of them name brand tires. The last time they were tires on my new Dutchman 5th wheel with tires made in China and the tires were not on the recall list. Yes I do check air presser and no the RV was not over loaded. Talk to some of the RV old timers out there and you will get my drift. I know have the Michelin XPS Rib on my rig and so far they seem to be holding up to the task.
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  6. Check the valve stems to see if they are cracked near the rim. I blew 2 almost new tires due to valve stems that had cracks in them and would suddenly break enough near the rim to let all the air out quickly and ruin the tire when traveling down the road. Push them over enough to see if there are any cracks in them near the rim. They can't be seen unless you push the stems to the side a little. I replaced all the stems and about a year latter rechecked them and the new ones were cracking already so I changed them again.
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  7. our unit came with wheels and tires too small for the weight of the trailer. over a period of time, with the trailer and tire mfgs replacing tires w/only 200-500 miles on them, they upgrade the wheels and tires. haven't had a problem since. it turned out the suspension was underweight also. we had a trucking repair facility replace the suspension which had bowed in the opposite direction. we were a train wreck waiting to happen.
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  8. Make sure the tire store uses the metal valve stems and extenders. Rubber valve stems cause a lot of trouble on RVs. Happy Trails, Penny, TX
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  9. One thing many people are not aware of is that many ST (Special Trailer) tires have a maximum speed limit in the 60-65 mph range. Exceed that limit and you put the tire in jeopardy of blowing out.
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  10. My husband would like to know if using truck tires would be better on our travel trailer?
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  11. No, truck tires don't have the added support on the side walls that is needed when the trailer is turning and the tire is 'twisting'. Read Mark's final two sentences above.
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  12. Try checking the date of manufacture on your tires. A lot of people buy new rigs (autos and trucks included) with tires that are sometimes 3 yrs old or maybe more. It will be imbossed in the side of the tire and has a code for telling you the date they were manufactured. I believe there was an article written in this column about this. Maybe someone can refer you to the exact post onthis matter.
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  13. A few years ago I blew two tires on my popup trailer. Since I had two spares I could still function. I needed to replace the tires to finish my trip (I was in Canada on my way back to New Mexico). The only tires I could find were semi-trailer tires for a low-boy trailer. They were much stronger (E rated) so I never had another problem. I suggest looking for commercial trailer tires used on truck trailers.
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  14. I have a 26' Terry bumper pull with a full slide, its a 99 that i bought in 01. I run about 5000 miles a year and have blown more than 20 tires since i got the trailer. I have blown 4 this year, 1 last year, replaced all 4 the year before to a heavier tire(carlisle load range d) i had goodyears on it when i got it and didn't run 1000 miles before i had blown 3 out of the 4, replaced the 4th just because. Trailer is dry weight 5800 lbs and i do not run with the tanks filled. Trailer does not move until i make sure the pressures are correct. just had the bearings done and they were fine. Took the home today for 240 miles, hadn't went 40 miles before i had a blowout. Its random tires not the same ones all the time. Trailer looks like it tracks straight and i never run over 65mph. This is getting expensive at about $100 a tire.
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