4th Tire Failure - This is getting old

[Rich S]

So,..I just had my 4th (count’m) tire failure. I originally had the Goodyear Marathon’s on my trailer. They both developed ply separations within days of each other. I then upgraded to the Goodyear Load range D trailer tires. They were less than two years old. This past August coming down a hill, a chunk of tread (approx 18” by 6”) came off one of the tires. I was told it was an anomaly so I replaced the tire. Then, yesterday coming back from the coast, someone left a note on my windshield at a restaurant saying to check my trailer tire as it looked about to blow. Sure enough the inside corner had a huge expanded section ( like a bubble) about 12” long by 4” wide by about 2” high) that encompassed part of the sidewall and part of the tread. Of course it was dark, pouring rain, and cold as I jacked up the trailer and changed the tire.
Needless to say I am now skeptical about these tires too, as I need to replace one of them, maybe both, but the other one is only 3 months old.
The other issue is that I have heard numerous times that the tire pressure should be maxed out. So,.. if you have a tire with a 3,500lbs capacity and you are pulling a 3,000lbs trailer, then yes I can see increasing the tire pressure. But if you have a tire with a 5,000lbs capacity and you are pulling a 3,000lbs trailer does the tire still need to be maxed?
Any ideas, comments, suggestions, re tires or pressure welcomed.

Thanks!

[Ken C]

Might want to see if they are made in china. The popular slang on rv.net is china bombs for a search to help you decode the sidewall.

[Joe MacDonald]

what actually is the weight of the trailer?
what is the temperature outside?
Are there any uneven wear patterns on the tire?
is there a posted minimum psi on the tire?

Joe

[cpaharley2008]

What ever is stamped on the tire is what you should use, do not start subtracting air if you think you are only using 50% of the tire capacity. Leave it full 100% all the time.

[Darwin Maring]

If the middle of the tread is worn then it's 2 much air. If the sides are worn then it's not enough air. If the tread is evenly worn all across the tire then it is the correct pressure.

I would change brands and try a tire made exclusively for trailers.

[honda03842]

We've run our Marathons at 100% of capacity and have never had a failure of our Goodyear Marathons in probably 40,000 miles and 5 years including a couple 1,000 of dirt road miles. We have a single axle Scamp 16 loaded to 2400 lbs.

You did not mention your tire size nor the tire pressure, that would help, however, depending on your tire, the load capacity can drop quickly, at 35 psi they could be down to 1500 lbs per tire.

Another factor is that the load does not split evenly depending on load and the road. As well it would be interesting to know the Casita's weight, the 17s can be very heavy for their size.

We just returned from a 315 day, 23,000 mile trip and our now preparing to leave for the winter. In the process I went to grease my bearings and was surprised to find one of the Marathons was unevenly worn, to the steel on the inside of one tire. The rubber was really worn but only on half the circumference. Definitely blow out material.

What had happened is that who ever previously greased the bearings had not adequately seated the bearings so the tire seemed to wobble on the hub causing the weird wear pattern. (When jacked up one could simulate the wobble by rocking the tire from side to side.) Fortunately though weakened it did not blow.

Your tire size and running pressure would be interesting.

[Jared J]

Good luck. I just got new tires for the scamp. I was going to run LT235/75/15's as I have had nothing but bad luck with ST tires. The tire shop swore their tires are great (of course). I decided to try them, now I'm wishing I hadn't. I might put them on the car trailer, and get LT's on the scamp. I would hate to see what a blown tire does to a scamp, there wouldn't be much left.

I just accept that I'm blowing 1-2 tires every long trip with the car trailer. I run max p.s.i., no matter what. I also feel the hubs for overheating, and check tire pressure at every gas stop (200 miles). Doesn't matter, they still let go.

[Alistair Camelford]

I continue to be the only ( I think ) trailer user running nitrogen fills on the tires on both trailer and tug.
The tires never get hot ...and rarely need a top up because the gas does not heat and cool and thus bleed out at the end of a long trip. We do the Canada to Florida I-75 run annually and stay with the traffic at 70mph and the tires are cool to the touch at each gas stop.
It is a bit of a nuisance getting the top-ups, but more tire dealers south of the border do nitrogen than up here in the great white north.
There's another bonus with nitrogen...it does not hold water in suspension so no rust on rim issues.
According to the website, you get one extra year's life on the tires- more than enough to offset the $7 fill charge at outset.
I get my hitch guy to "re & re" the wheels and service the bearings before we head south...and check the inside walls of the tires...and I replace the tires every three years regardless (cheap peace- of- mind insurance).
Alistair & Inge in The Road Toad (eight weeks from The Keys and counting)

[Jared J]

Air is already 79% nitrogen. Check out the studies, after sitting for a year, there's less than a 2 p.s.i. difference in loss between air and nitrogen.

I've never had a rim rust out, that wasn't filled with chloride.

The only thing it has, is less of a pressure swing with temperature. I used it racing, because it made a difference in handling. Those tires spun so much on the dirt track though, you couldn't even touch them after a race. An extra years life on tires? Maybe in the ideal world. Mine will sun crack, or just plain blow up long before that matters, and nitrogen isn't going to stop that.

Nitrogen doesn't make a tire run any cooler.

Each to their own, but I see zero benefit in it.

Personally, I think speed and road temperature are the main culprits. I refuse to putter around, endanger the road, and add 3 hours to my trip. As such, I lose tires. I think switching to LT's will end that, myself. We'll see how these ST tires do.

[David B.]

I and a friend of mine, have had similar problems with our car haulers that had Carlisle Road Tracker tires, and with Marathons (ST235/75 15 D-range tires) on them, set to just 5psi below MAX tire pressures. The tires literally exploded and or tread separation occurred while just sitting unloaded in the Arizona sun. I lost 4 of them less than a year old and with 4 thousand miles on them. My Toy hauler trailer has my Michelin take-offs on it from my Dodge Ram, and have not given me any problems with 80 psi in them. They were put on after I have had nothing but trouble with new trailer tires on it. My Scamp 13' has had very good luck with HI-RUN ST 185/80-D 13, with 5lbs less than MAX of 65lb psi in them. I just keep a close eye on tire wear & pressures, and replace them every 3 years. I noticed uneven inside tire wear after a 9 thousand mile trip this past summer, so now a new axle sits under it. I now keep the "Trailer Tires" in the garage to be out of the sun, but the Michelins stay outside and show no signs of breakdown, but they will be replaced as soon as my truck tires need replacing.

[Mike Magee]

Wow. I just shake my head in amazement when I hear of folks having a lot of trouble with trailer tires. I never have. I had one tire go that may have been a blowout, or maybe it had a nail and went flat... couldn't tell, it was chewed up by the time I realized and stopped. One "maybe" in close to 150,000 miles of trailer towing. I just get whatever trailer tire brand the nearby tire store is stocking at the time; the brands change, but come to think of it, none have been Goodyear FWIW. Carlisle, Hi Run, several others I can't recall.

[Jared J]

It depends on what you're towing, also. I'm guessing I might get away with the ST trailers on the scamp, because it's so light.

On the car trailer though, different story. Put it this way...I have a 15+ year old LT 235/75/15 tire on it, weather checked, you name it. the 5 ST tires on it (2 spares), are all less than3 years old, except for one, which is 4-5 years old. Logic dictates that I should replace that LT tire, but the track record shows...it's no more a gamble than a new ST tire.

[Bob Miller]

It sounds like it might be worth looking at axle alignment on those trailers that seem to be eating tires on a regular basis.

Years back I knew of an Airstream with dual axles that kept eating tires every 5000 or so miles and the problem was traced to worn components that allowed one axle to be out of alignment with the other axle as well as not square to the frame. Repairs to the axle solved the problem.

I don't know how to determine if the axle is properly aligned, but a frame alignment shop may have a magic method.

Accepting that you will blow tires doesn't seem like a good idea to me, but I am sure that the professional tire peeps at Joes Discount Tire and Hubcap Emporium appreciate the extra business......

[Alf S.]

Hi: Rich S... When you bought all the tires did you check the Mfg'd. date (2412)eg. molded into the side wall? The week and year of mfg. It's usually on the inside so you need to get under the trailer. Sometimes tires are old before you get 'em and they're not like wine...improves with age.
Alf S. North shore of Lake Erie

[Jared J]

Axles are straight, it's just the tires. Plenty of people have had bad luck with st tires and switched to lt's, and had no more problems.

[Mr. W.]

And, many people have had bad luck with LT tires, and switched to STs, and had no more problems.

I have never had "trouble" with either, but find that the trailer tows more true with STs, because of the stiffer sidewalls. Less bobbling around.

I think one needs to pay closer attention to the load limits on whatever tire you use on a trailer. For one thing, almost everybody's trailer is a lot heavier than they think it is. Second, when you go over a hump in the road, and the trailer comes down on the suspension, it is applying a LOT more load on the tires than the trailer's static weight. On a car, this additional dynamic load is spread across four tires. On these trailers, it is spread across just two. Additionally, most trailers are a lot heavier on the drivers side than on the curb side, so that tires is disproportionally loaded.

[Bob Miller]

I agree with Paul that in ST tire failures it's often more a case of abuse than of design issues. For example, I believe that all ST tires are speed rated at 65 MPH, yet I can't count how many times, on a hot August day here in SoCal, I have had someone zip by me, either on the way to or the way back from "The River", at 75 and even 80 MPH with a trailer in tow and a ton of personal junque hang off of and out of the trailer they were pulling.

And I would guess that they pay just as much attention to the tire pressure and load conditions as they do to the posted speed limit of 55 MPH for trailer towing.

And FWIW: One would guess that LT tires would do better on misaligned axles, if only because they have more sidewall flex than ST's and would be less prone to scrubbing. But I haven't a clue how to easily and accurately determine if an axle is positioned at a right angle to the direction of travel or not.

[Carol H]

Originally Posted by Paul E Henning

And, many people have had bad luck with LT tires, and switched to STs, and had no more problems..

Over the years we have had people complain about some LT's tires and considering how many here are running with ST's vs LT's you would think we would hear *a lot* more complaints than we do if they were really as bad as some think they are.

I like others I suspect a lot has to do with miles traveled, age, condition of roads frequently traveled and speed traveled. I am also surprised when coming or going to a trailer meet when some goes flying by me doing more than 65 mph and I know they only have ST's on the trailer. I also know that a party who was frequently complaining here about ST tires wasnt shy about admitting they didnt stick to 65 mph.

I have not had an actual blow out with an ST tire but I have had to replace both of my last two sets of tires shortly after they hit 3 years of age. Although the tread was still good and no tread wear issues - if you looked closely between the treads you could see they were starting to separate. The last set I replaced had about 10,000 miles on them when I noticed it.

[Jared J]

Originally Posted by Bob Miller

I agree with Paul that in ST tire failures it's often more a case of abuse than of design issues. For example, I believe that all ST tires are speed rated at 65 MPH, yet I can't count how many times, on a hot August day here in SoCal, I have had someone zip by me, either on the way to or the way back from "The River", at 75 and even 80 MPH with a trailer in tow and a ton of personal junque hang off of and out of the trailer they were pulling.

And I would guess that they pay just as much attention to the tire pressure and load conditions as they do to the posted speed limit of 55 MPH for trailer towing.

And FWIW: One would guess that LT tires would do better on misaligned axles, if only because they have more sidewall flex than ST's and would be less prone to scrubbing. But I haven't a clue how to easily and accurately determine if an axle is positioned at a right angle to the direction of travel or not.

I think the speed is a big thing. Here it's 75mph for trailers. I believe iowa and minnesota are 70 mph. That's why I prefer lt's on a trailer. Once again, the axles are not misaligned. It's quite easy to check. Run a string from your hitch to your axles, the length should be the same.

I just put my new axle in that way. Level the trailer, drop a plumb bob from the fifth wheel, and measure back from there.

Three of the tires will take more weight than the trailer, not even close to overloaded.

[Rich S]

Originally Posted by honda03842

We've run our Marathons at 100% of capacity and have never had a failure of our Goodyear Marathons in probably 40,000 miles and 5 years including a couple 1,000 of dirt road miles. We have a single axle Scamp 16 loaded to 2400 lbs.

You did not mention your tire size nor the tire pressure, that would help, however, depending on your tire, the load capacity can drop quickly, at 35 psi they could be down to 1500 lbs per tire.

Another factor is that the load does not split evenly depending on load and the road. As well it would be interesting to know the Casita's weight, the 17s can be very heavy for their size.

We just returned from a 315 day, 23,000 mile trip and our now preparing to leave for the winter. In the process I went to grease my bearings and was surprised to find one of the Marathons was unevenly worn, to the steel on the inside of one tire. The rubber was really worn but only on half the circumference. Definitely blow out material.

What had happened is that who ever previously greased the bearings had not adequately seated the bearings so the tire seemed to wobble on the hub causing the weird wear pattern. (When jacked up one could simulate the wobble by rocking the tire from side to side.) Fortunately though weakened it did not blow.

Your tire size and running pressure would be interesting.

Norm;
I have/had the Goodyear HMG2020 ST205/75D - 14
The load range D has a recommended max air pressure of 65psi.ad 65mph
I routinely run at 62-64 psi and try and keep it at 65mph or lower.