Shredded Tire - Lessons Learned - Fiberglass RV
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Old 04-21-2017, 08:35 PM   #1
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Name: John
Trailer: 13' 2012 Scamp
Wisconsin
Posts: 96
Shredded Tire - Lessons Learned

Hi,

Wanted to summarize a recent eventful experience in case others can learn something.

Was towing our 2012 13' Scamp up to the Brule River in WI for steelhead fly fishing a couple weeks ago and about 8:30pm at night, pitch black on a moonless night on I-94 the driver side tire decided to completely shred itself suddenly. I tow with a 2015 Toyota 4Runner and it wasn't as noticeable as I would have guessed so stay alert. I caught it within about 15 seconds of it happening.

Raining solid and about 39F out, of course.

The Scamp doesn't come with a jack, jack stand, or anything else you'll need in this situation, other than the actual spare tire on the rear. I did a big grand circle western US national park tour last fall (7000 miles over 5 weeks) so had all the right items I needed to repair it quickly - see the pictures below.

The safety triangles were critical in this situation. Those have nice sand filled counter weights on the bottom and I put them about 150, 400, and about 750 yard behind the scamp as self-preservation. I really didn't want to be picked off by a semi at 75 mph. Wished I had a reflective safety vest to toss on as well in hindsight.

I also bought some 3M safety reflective tape right after taking delivery on the Scamp that you see on the bumper. That really helps visibility at night from the rear as well.

Last tip is that I was about halfway off the shoulder to maximize distance between me and the traffic lane - which put the scamp at about a 10 degree angle I'd guess (not very much). But in my haste to get the bottle jack going, after it was extended about 5" up and the tire was off the ground, but right before I was about to slide in the jack stand for safety, the top of the jack slid off the frame, the trailer dropped, and the jack punched right through the floor of the camper! Fortunately it was in the very rear area so not critical (like under the water heater would have been!). But I'm now repairing that with fiberglass matting and epoxy resin and filler.

This happened because as I lifted the trailer, the angle increased towards the ditch and the top of the jack was no longer flush with the frame member. It eventually got extreme enough that it just slid right off to the side. Be careful and really continue to check that contact point throughout the entire jacking process. After about 5 pumps, I figured it was going well and got distracted monitoring traffic, ready to dive for the ditch if I needed to and that's when it happened.

Be sure you have the key to the fulton lug nut lock on the spare tire. Might come in handy...

The rubber shrapnel from this event cracked the PVC on the gray water tank right before the waste valve. So I've been having fun trying to get that unglued and various new pieces cemented back in without leaks. Finally achieved success today.

I just bought another spare tire rim from Scamp also. Now I have 2 complete sets of tires that I can swap between. For really long trips (like the 7000 miles I did last fall), I'll take the second spare with me as well.

Since this event, I've added a tire plug repair kit and a solid 12V air compressor (Viair 88P) to items I'll bring in the TV for long trips.
https://www.amazon.com/Viair-00088-8.../dp/B005ASY23I

I had checked tire pressures before the trip and both were topped off to 50 psi. But they were both factory tires from Oct, 2011 and had I'd guess about 10-12K miles on them, but quite a bit of tread left on them. I already had fresh replacements in my shed ready to mount, just didn't quite get the chance to swap them out before this steelhead trip. But of course, they are now!!

Keep on Scamping! Still loving the trailer.

But I am finally relocating the front shower pump to an intelligent spot so it isn't a magnet for shearing completely off for the coming season. Beyond me why Scamp doesn't do this from the factory (just stubborn apathy by them).
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Old 04-21-2017, 08:53 PM   #2
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Your first problem is "there are no steelhead".
( that's been my sig for some 20 years on FF@ )

I will pick up a cheap vest.
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Old 04-21-2017, 08:58 PM   #3
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Name: John
Trailer: 13' 2012 Scamp
Wisconsin
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Yeah, I should have come out to BC for them I guess - next year!

This was my first visit to the Brule and trying for steelhead on the fly - got skunked, but didn't see anyone else catch anything either - except for a few stories in the parking lots, which may or may not be so true of course. But gorgeous area to fish and hike in and the weather the rest of the 3 day weekend was fabulous.
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Old 04-21-2017, 08:59 PM   #4
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Why would you have a lock on a spare which is to be thrown away after three years? Whole new meaning to the term temporary spare!
After walking nearly a mile to set the reflector and then changing the tire,did you have the energy to retrieve it,(not sure I would) and was it still there when you did?

But seriously... sorry to hear of the damage to your trailer.
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Old 04-21-2017, 09:06 PM   #5
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Thanks John F., as it did get me thinking about getting those reflective warning triangles and perhaps a reflective vest. I have 5,000 lb capacity scissor jacks mounted to the frame just behind the axle, so slipping off a jack will not be a problem. Now I to will have to overcome the urge to get a little more life out of older tires because they still look good. Thanks for sharing your story.
Dave & Paula
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Old 04-21-2017, 09:08 PM   #6
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Setting and retrieving the reflectors was a bit of a workout, but at least during that portion of the event I felt pretty safe and could take my time since I could walk in the grass way off the road.

The sheer traffic level of cars and esp. trucks between Chicago and Minneapolis at 75 mph in challenging dark, rainy conditions was unnerving. One roared past every 5-10 seconds about 5'-8' away. Not a margin of error I'd like to repeat.

Which led to me rushing as fast as I could to reduce my exposure time, which led to the jack-through-the-floor problem. Wrestling that back out of the floor took a few minutes of course as well...with a bit of colorful language..

The main point is think of worst-case-conditions for visibility on a tire event. That's what you need to plan for. It was ink-black outside, raining solid, and no street lights or other buildings anywhere around.

Trying to avoid the darwin awards and being around to spend my 401K!
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Old 04-21-2017, 09:31 PM   #7
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Good grief! It's a wonder you are still with us.

Partly, but only partly, because I am a woman, this is not going to happen to me because I won't drive, much less tow a trailer, at night or even near dark, if I can help it. And I won't have any such mishaps because I won't change the tire either but would call Good Sam or whatever roadside company I have at the time. And if they put a hole in the trailer, they will pay for it. Would your insurance cover those repairs if you were not so handy?

Just to mention, tire tread is not related to when trailer tires are replaced. You were due right about then. Five or six years is a common recommendation although I have seen sooner.

Good idea to have the reflective tape on the bumper. We should do that. I have reflective striping for the trailer but have not put it yet. We have the same triangles and also a reflective vest. And air compressor.

I also avoid Interstates when I can but realize that others are often on a schedule. Your incident is a good reason to not be on an Interstate and another reason that I am glad to have tandem axles. Of course, you were in that situation that many are in and figure that no such event will occur. It helps to assume that it can. Good of you to post.
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Old 04-21-2017, 10:48 PM   #8
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Not an experience I'd like to have!

It looks like that tire just disintegrated. It must have been running with very low pressure until it got hot enough to come apart.

I've decided that a small floor jack is the fastest, easiest and most stable jack to use in those situations. Plus they have more travel. You might look at one of them for (heaven forbid) next time.

Sometimes, since trailer tires and wheels are so cheap, it might make more sense to just drive on to a safer spot before changing it. Then throw the whole tire and wheel away.
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Old 04-21-2017, 11:36 PM   #9
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Love my TPMS - three times in 5 years I've been alerted to low tire pressure on the road early enough to get to a tire service place if just adding a few more psi from the compressor I carry didn't solve the problem.

Oddly, they were all during the daytime.
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Old 04-21-2017, 11:48 PM   #10
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Lucky you were able to pull over with the tire in such bad shape.

Having roadside safety gear is good but something worth thinking about.
I watch Live PD and it was pointed out in tonight's show that some 45 police officers were hit in traffic stops this past year.

Now given the lights, high vise vests, high profile, if they can be hit where does that leave the rest of us.
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Old 04-22-2017, 12:09 AM   #11
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We don't have a tendency to leap out into traffic with authority.
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Old 04-22-2017, 02:14 AM   #12
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Originally Posted by Daniel A. View Post
Lucky you were able to pull over with the tire in such bad shape.

Having roadside safety gear is good but something worth thinking about.
I watch Live PD and it was pointed out in tonight's show that some 45 police officers were hit in traffic stops this past year.

Now given the lights, high vise vests, high profile, if they can be hit where does that leave the rest of us.
My wife is ex law enforcement and has told me it seems to be the folks under the influence or sleepy tend to be the ones attracted to the lights. Maybe like following someone in heavy fog by their tail lights....they just have to know where the road that I can't see is .
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Old 04-22-2017, 02:40 AM   #13
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That's a bummer John, glad you got it changed out OK, that tire really blew up. On another note, in all my RVing years, any of the tire blow outs I've heard of or seen, it's always been on the plumbing side. Maybe tires don't like plumbing like tornados don't like mobile homes .
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Old 04-22-2017, 03:53 AM   #14
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No easy solution here. Continuing on in the break down lane until you can find a safer place to change the tire is probably just as dangerous considering the conditions. Glad you're ok. Thanks for sharing. Raz
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Old 04-22-2017, 07:03 AM   #15
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Shredded Tire - Lessons Learned

John,
As a requested birthday present, we recently bought our adult son some LED "flares".

They have multiple flashing patterns and are pretty bright. (The auto parts store did warn us that he should either leave the batteries out until needed
or else carry spare batteries.)

I guess we should have bought some for ourselves to leave in our Scamp and/or our car/truck.

Thanks for sharing the "food for thought"!

Ray
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Old 04-22-2017, 07:15 AM   #16
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If I can possibly avoid what you went through I will and tend to error on the side of caution

Three years seems to be the best years for tires and after that they seem to start failing regardless of tread remaining or air pressure. Trailer tires just seem to be made inferior. I upgraded my Casita from 14" to 15" tires and replace them every three years selling the "like new tires and wheels" on Craig's list, yard care crews snap them up and my rims for $35 or less always look new and selling the old reduces the overall cost.

I replaced the flimsy stabilizer jacks Casita put on with 2500# capacity scissor jacks placed halfway between the axle and bumper. In that location they don't hang down enough to catch anything and are capable of lifting the wheels, one or both, off the ground. Being bolted to plates welded on there's nothing to slip off.

I also avoid traveling after dark

Joe
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Old 04-22-2017, 07:30 AM   #17
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Good advice all around! Glad you got through it safely, and thanks for posting your experience.
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Old 04-22-2017, 07:54 AM   #18
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Shredded Tire - Lessons Learned

My instinct in such a situation would be to drag the trailer on the ruined tire off the highway and down the next exit to a safer place where it can be worked on. Tires and rims are just money. No-one could ever fix what could happen if you get hit by a car or truck on the side of the road.

One of the commuting cars I owned was a stick shift Kia Rio that was previously owned by a LEO. He went on a road trip with his motorcycle (vacation) and stopped to help a lady who was broken down on the shoulder. He was hit by a driver who did not stop. Nearly died and had 1 leg amputated at the thigh. Consequently could no longer drive any of his personal vehicles which were all stick shifts. Not to mention a whole lot of other permament life changes besides spending months in hospital.

Then there was the guy I bought my Kubota UTV from. Him and his wife stopped to help someone trapped in a wreck in very similar circumstances to what you describe. Were hit by a car with an unattentative driver and both ended up disabled, millions in medical bills and eventually got divorced, lost the house etc...

Its not worth it. Even if you had to replace the axle it would probably not cost more than $1000. You pretty much cant have any trip to the ER for less than that and I dont want to be the one who gets hurt. If it were me, it would be getting dragged to a safe place, period.
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Old 04-22-2017, 09:01 AM   #19
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Thanks for the post. I will be getting some triangle reflectors this weekend. I always assumed I could jack my UH up with the same jack for my TV but I've never actually looked at everything..... I better review things so I know what to do.
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Old 04-22-2017, 09:13 AM   #20
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I use the scissor jack that came with my Nissan Frontier. It has the slight "cupping" piece at the top that works well on the Scamp frame. At home, I have a small scissor jack that I added some 2 X 4's in an X fashion that I use to put my Scamp upon its jack stands when at home.

That was a scary story with a HORRIBLE tire pic. Glad everything worked out. Sounds like some are stepping up their game to be more prepared on the road.

I had some encounters with my tires last fall. Fortunately, it was dark when I went down to air up my tires and was using an LED flashlight. It was JUST the way it shined on the tires that I saw something "suspicious"! I got my magnifying glass and sure enough, the sidewalls had some very scary-looking dryrot that was opening up but I couldnt see with my aging eyes!!! I canceled that trip immediately and began my tire search.

If your tires has some age, PLEASE use a bright light and a magnifying glass before putting them on the road!!! I could have very easily been posting this SAME story!
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