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Old 05-08-2016, 01:58 PM   #1
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Name: Anne
Trailer: 2014 Parkliner 2016 Honda Pilot
North Carolina
Posts: 197
Blowout!

Thankfully, we didn't get far from home when one of my (Parkliner) trailer tires blew. I pulled over, tried for 10 minutes to get AAA, then called my 2-miles-away local AAA tire dealer and had them come.

Lessons learned:
-- Don't pull too close to a curb, you need room to get the tire off. (Luckily this wasn't a problem, though not because of planning on my part.)

-- Have a jack that will fit under the frame when you're resting on the rim. (I didn't, but the tire dealer did.)

-- Know where (and where not) to put a jack. I sort of did, but had a friend who confirmed.

Questions: How could I have predicted a potential problem?

-- The guy who changed the tire said having them sit on one spot is bad. (Last used in Feb.)

-- He also said to park on boards. (We have covered gravel.)

-- Any warning signs? Ways to find out the actual age of the tires? (We purchased in 11/14, though tires are certainly older.)


-- Other suggestions?
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Old 05-08-2016, 02:45 PM   #2
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The manufacture date of the tire is stamped in the sidewall as WWYY (week and year).
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Old 05-08-2016, 03:19 PM   #3
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Blowout!



As indicated above this tire was manufactured during the 3rd week of 2004.

Cheers
Doug
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Old 05-08-2016, 04:33 PM   #4
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Name: Gordon
Trailer: 2015 Scamp (16 Std Layout 4) with '15 Toyota Sienna LE Tug
North Carolina
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You can add to lessons learned list:
  • Always check tire pressure (when cold) before heading out.
  • Consider a Tire Pressue Monitor for detecting low pressure while on the road, even after checking it before.
  • For long term storage (for example Feb to May) follow the instructions under the Removing weight from axle section of Scamps website (applies to Parkliners also). This not only helps the torsion axle if you have one, but is better for the tires.
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Old 05-08-2016, 05:34 PM   #5
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Originally Posted by neparker View Post

-- Other suggestions?

Change them every 4 years or so no matter how good you think they look.
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Old 05-08-2016, 06:51 PM   #6
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Trailer: 2015 Scamp (16 Std Layout 4) with '15 Toyota Sienna LE Tug
North Carolina
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And I prefer to cover my tires when parked for longer periods (esp the south side). I tend not to worry about when on a trip of less than a week, but at home when parked in my driveway for a month the tires get covered to reduce UV damage.
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Old 05-08-2016, 09:01 PM   #7
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According to the tire people the biggest cause of blow-outs is under inflation.
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Old 05-09-2016, 06:12 AM   #8
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Alberta
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Quote:
Originally Posted by neparker View Post
Questions: How could I have predicted a potential problem?

-- The guy who changed the tire said having them sit on one spot is bad. (Last used in Feb.)

-- Other suggestions?
This may seem like overkill but up here in the far north we usually only have 3+ months of camping (the rest of the year is sledding season), which means my trailer is sitting in storage for about 8+ months.

I have a complete second set of cheap tires on rims that I use on the trailers when in storage, in the spring I swap on the good set. Something like our other spring ritual of taking the winter tires off the car and putting on the summer tires.
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Old 05-09-2016, 06:24 AM   #9
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Another approach is to use your trailer year round, I try to get out at least once a month and this allows the rubber tires to remain flexible.
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Old 05-09-2016, 06:30 AM   #10
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Name: Norm and Ginny
Trailer: Scamp 16
Florida
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We regularly check and adjust our tire pressure, pressure always 50 psi..

We have tire temperature/pressure sensors on our trailer tires. Ginny has the responsibility to monitor the tire pressure display (pressure always shows, temperature requires pressing a button).
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Old 05-09-2016, 06:52 AM   #11
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Name: Steve
Trailer: 2018, 21ft escape— 2019 Ram 1500 Laramie
NW Wisconsin
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My trailer sits up on blocks with the weight off the axle and the tires off the ground / covered from October until May . In the Summer I park the trailer with the tires setting on wood .
We are going camping this weekend and highs are supposed to be in the 40's . I have often questioned the wisdom of people in my area who buy $30 K - $40 K -$50 K etc. trailers that sit in storage for 8 to 9 months out of the year and then are only used on weekends in the Summer . That's the reality of living in the Great White North. I've had boat trailer tires start to show signs of rot after only two winters .
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Old 05-09-2016, 07:11 AM   #12
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Trailer: 2012 ParkLiner #006
New York
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Glad to hear you didn't have more of a problem Ann!

Now that I have a car port for the egg directly adjacent to my big shed, I put the trailer on jack stands and remove the wheels and store them in my shed. They just got put back on, air pressure checked, brakes adjusted and tires balanced.

Our egg sits on gravel. I need boards to put under the tires!

If I left them on over the winter, our Calmark cover covers the tires and the front power jack.

Frank
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Old 05-09-2016, 08:09 AM   #13
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I also park the trailer on jack stands, wheels off ground, when not in use. It's not as much trouble as it sounds- five minutes with a small floor jack. I make a point to give the wheels a spin every now and then. Someone suggested that's good for the bearings, too.

But pressure and age are the primary culprits in most tire failures. There doesn't seem to be any clear consensus about how old is too old. Four years is pretty conservative, but given the potential for fiberglass damage in a blowout, seems reasonable to me. Six years is the age beyond which the tire shop I use will not service or repair a tire. Pressure is also debated, but most advocate inflating trailer tires to the max pressure on the sidewall.

Like you, I learned recently due to a blowout on my utility trailer that my Pilot's jack is too tall for a trailer sitting on a rim. Thankfully, my wife was nearby and the scissors jack in her CR-V worked perfectly. One more thing to carry around. BTW- the lug nuts may be a different size than your tow vehicle, too.
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Old 05-09-2016, 08:42 AM   #14
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Name: Anne
Trailer: 2014 Parkliner 2016 Honda Pilot
North Carolina
Posts: 197
Thank you all for the good information. I did check the pressure before leaving and tires were at 50 lbs, so that wasn't the problem. Good to know that under-inflation can cause a problem, though.

Re dates, the other 2 tires that came with the trailer have dates of 51/13 so they're still within the 4 year limit. I no longer have the bad tire, so it's possible it was older. It's not something I checked, but will add it to my checklist in the future!

-- Anne
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Old 05-09-2016, 09:17 AM   #15
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Trailer: 2015 Scamp (16 Std Layout 4) with '15 Toyota Sienna LE Tug
North Carolina
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Quote:
Originally Posted by neparker View Post
Thank you all for the good information. I did check the pressure before leaving and tires were at 50 lbs, so that wasn't the problem. ...

Sometimes you just get a defective tire.. my pre-Scamp pop-up was stored in the garage and the tires were well cared for. Yet one of the tires, in it's second year of life, developed a visible bubble larger than a golf ball on the sidewall. Always good to do a visual inspection every chance you get too.
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Old 06-07-2016, 04:30 PM   #16
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Name: Anne
Trailer: 2014 Parkliner 2016 Honda Pilot
North Carolina
Posts: 197
Now that I'm in the market for a tire pressure monitoring system ��, I'd appreciate recommendations. My car (16 Pilot) already has them, so all I need is to monitor two trailer tires. I've looked at prior posts here, but most recommendations seem to monitor both car and trailer. The ones I've looked at on Amazon have a great variability in price, but it's not clear what the differences in function are.

It sure would be nice to have something send an alarm to my smartphone, rather than yet another display. But I may be dreaming.
Thanks, -- Anne
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Old 06-07-2016, 04:36 PM   #17
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Name: Gordon
Trailer: 2015 Scamp (16 Std Layout 4) with '15 Toyota Sienna LE Tug
North Carolina
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I have my eye on this:
Tire monitors
They package it just for use little trailer owners (with only two sensors).

From what I gather, the best (as in most favorably reviewed) sensors require dismounting the tire as opposed to putting them on the valve, and the ones that go on the valve seem to work better if the rubber valve is replaced with a metal one. In either case, it seems like it might be best to use something that requires unmounting the tire, so I have been putting it off.

As for dreaming... if you can dream it, perhaps you can patent it! Someone should make some money on that idea. OK, maybe not.. but somewhere there must be....
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Old 06-07-2016, 05:16 PM   #18
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Quote:
Originally Posted by neparker View Post
Now that I'm in the market for a tire pressure monitoring system ��, I'd appreciate recommendations. My car (16 Pilot) already has them, so all I need is to monitor two trailer tires. I've looked at prior posts here, but most recommendations seem to monitor both car and trailer. The ones I've looked at on Amazon have a great variability in price, but it' snot cleR what the differences in function are.

It sure would be nice to have something send an alarm to my smartphone, rather than yet another display. But I may be dreaming.
Thanks, -- Anne
Shoot! A day late. It is already being produced here
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Old 06-07-2016, 10:02 PM   #19
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Name: Kelly
Trailer: Trails West
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Originally Posted by Ian G. View Post
This may seem like overkill but up here in the far north we usually only have 3+ months of camping (the rest of the year is sledding season), which means my trailer is sitting in storage for about 8+ months.

I have a complete second set of cheap tires on rims that I use on the trailers when in storage, in the spring I swap on the good set. Something like our other spring ritual of taking the winter tires off the car and putting on the summer tires.
I like that approach. I want to buy new rims and new tires so maybe I will just hang onto the old ones too....if I have a place to store them.
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Old 06-08-2016, 07:25 AM   #20
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Trailer: 2012 ParkLiner #006
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I like that approach. I want to buy new rims and new tires so maybe I will just hang onto the old ones too....if I have a place to store them.
You're better off to just put the egg on blocks for storage, but each to their own.

Frank
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