Tire blow out

[floyd]

Originally Posted by Wayne Collins

Yes,
For example.
an ST175/80R13, C-rated tire at 50 psi will carry a load of 1360 lb
or, for two tires, an axle load twice that. = 2720 lb.
25 psi = 905 lb
30 psi = 1000 lb
35 psi = 1100 lb -- MAX for a B rated tire
40 psi = 1190
45 psi = 1270
50 psi = 1360 lb --MAx for C rated.
ALL ST or Special Trailer Tires are limited to Max Speed Rating of 65 MPH

You may want to upgrade to a ST185/80R13 but no need if the fully loaded trailer axle weight is under 2700 lb (C rated tires)

I haven't even seen a "B" rated trailer tire in about 10 years.


Using a minimum pressure chart as a guide for tire pressure settings is the perfect formula for catastrophic tire failure.


Many new "ST" tires are now rated to 81MPH.
(well beyond safe towing speeds IMO)


Cord damage caused by maximum sidewall pressure is simply a canard.

[ZachO]

Yeah. Especially with a trailer like the Boler, you can't go by the sticker. It was based on different tire technology. The Boler may as well have been referencing wagon wheels

D range, eh? I hadn't realized trailers had gone to those. I've never seen a D tire. I only see C and E. Interesting. I think C are fine. as my truck runs C tires and it's 4000 pounds. Of course it has 4 tires...

My tires will be at the 5-year mark next summer, so I guess I'll be getting re-educated in what's out there soon.

[Jann Todd]

Originally Posted by Bob Durrstein

ALWAYS check the DOT Tire code:
How to find the DOT code?
The first two digits of the code represent the week of production during the year (from 1 to 52).
The second two digits represent the year of manufacture.
If your DOT code is a 3-digit number, it means your tire was produced before 2000.

If you tire is 4 or more years old, great tread is deceptive. Expecially since camper tires tend to just sit in the sun, they may be rotted on the insidde and look great.

CHECK THE AGE OF YOUR TIRES.

Speaking of age of tires. When you buy new ones make sure they are fresh. We were getting tires once and they were already at least a year old from the warehouse. So in reality they only had 4-6 years of life left. We said no get fresh tires or I go elsewhere. Had to wait a day or 2 but we got fresher tires. Just did the same thing on our Tahoe and told them I wanted tires that were fresh. The guy said well the warranty is still the same then I said but they are still older and the life is less on them. He agreed when he saw I knew a little more than the average person. Usually you can get tires that are made within 4-6 months.

[AC0GV]

Originally Posted by Bob Durrstein

ALWAYS check the DOT Tire code:
How to find the DOT code?
The first two digits of the code represent the week of production during the year (from 1 to 52).
The second two digits represent the year of manufacture.
If your DOT code is a 3-digit number, it means your tire was produced before 2000.CHECK THE AGE OF YOUR TIRES.

Date code picture

[rdickens]

Jon,

The D load range sticker says 68 lbs.

IIRC - Carlisle may not honor the warranty if you significantly(?) under-inflate your tires.

There is no appreciable difference in the appearance of D load range tires versus the C load range tires. For similar money, I would always take the stronger tire.

Ray

[Glenn Baglo]

Originally Posted by rdickens

For similar money, I would always take the stronger tire.

Ray

Except that the higher pressure required for the D range tire will result in a harsher ride if the trailer doesn't weigh enough to warrant D range.
I have D range. Should have stayed with the Cs the trailer came with.

[rdickens]

Originally Posted by Glenn Baglo

Except that the higher pressure required for the D range tire will result in a harsher ride if the trailer doesn't weigh enough to warrant D range.
I have D range. Should have stayed with the Cs the trailer came with.

Glenn,

I guess that I should have been more specific to the 13" tires on a Scamp.
My bad!

Not to be contrary but, if your 2009 Escape 17B came with 15" radials
(like the newer 17Bs do), doesn't that seem like kind of an
"apples to oranges" comparison with the little Scamp 13" tires
and wheels?

The axle weight on our empty Scamp16D-A is/was roughly 2000lbs. I'm
guessing that your empty axle weight is maybe 2300 lbs? I'd suppose
that 15" C radials are able to carry a lot more weight than our little 13"
D-rated tires? I'm fairly glad that Scamp went to the D-rated tires on
our Scamp16D-A.

Ray

[gordon2]

Originally Posted by Jann Todd

Speaking of age of tires. When you buy new ones make sure they are fresh. We were getting tires once and they were already at least a year old from the warehouse. So in reality they only had 4-6 years of life left. .....

Well, yes and no... as long as the tires are properly stored before they are sold they age much more slowly. So one year in storage might equate to six months or less of ageing when in use (in the sun, etc). You can find tire storage instructions for tire dealers online, but you have to have faith that the dealers and warehouse followed them. So I agree.. six, to maybe nine months old is about the max age that I want my new tires to be.

Another thought is to buy tires from a good local shop and not online. Amazon will sell you tires at a really good price, but they will not entertain requests for tires under a certain age.

And yet another thought.. now you know why I dont leave my spare on the camper, and why I should remove the wheels from the camper when storing it for long periods, while properly storing them, if I really want to get as much life as possible out of them (~ seven years) as opposed to replacing after about five years..

[jeff f]

Originally Posted by William Deak

Blew a tire on our 13' Scamp a couple of weeks ago going about 70 mph and wound on the rim. This was on a stretch of road that became suddenly quite "bouncy" due to unevenness in the road bed. The tire inflation was checked at recommended 50psi before departure and the tire itself was not worn. Besides being a truly harrowing experience that we do not ever wish to repeat it raised some questions for us. These are standard belted 13" rim trailer tires that came with the trailer. Do others have experience with these? Are there better grade tires available?

Greetings William:

I did a lift on our Casita, run 15" Goodyears and replace every 4 years. I live in the Phoenix metro area, Casita is outdoors, but covered. We travel at our "happy" trailer speed of 63 - 65 mph when towing this trailer. Our Casita has covered over 90,000 miles and knock on wood, never a blow out. Our tow vehicle is a Dodge Ram Diesel so we could of course go faster, but when I pull single axle trailers, I keep the speed down.
cheers, skol, be well and tally ho...…………..>
Jeff in Phoenix

[Debbie]

When we had a 13” tire we changed out the rims to get a better tire more selection. We have a 16 foot Casita now and I like to change out the tires every three years including the spare. Last year we put on the Goodyear endurance because they have a much higher speed rating 87. I do have to tell my husband to slow down often to meet speed limits for towing in different states.

The trailer is put on jackstands in the winter and tires are covered in the summer. Overall I feel that tires are pretty inexpensive and a good investment in safety. We drove from Chicago to Massachusetts and back etc. and they handled well.

We do weigh the trailer and car to make sure our tires will handle weight with no issues. I guess this means I really need to work more on my diet because I got weighed too!

Tires are so important because that’s your only contact with the road!

[redbarron55]

When installing a higher rated tire remember the rim has to be rated for that higher pressure as well.
A harsher ride when inflated higher is certain.
Remember that the air holds up the tire, the tire holds that air within.

[captlou3]

You should never tow at 70 mph. Most states require towing to be at a max of 55?

[Doctor Harold]

Originally Posted by Jon in AZ

...........Spoiler alert: there is no consensus, but lots of contention.

������

So true, Jon!!

There's a lot of good information to be found in this thread.

As for me:

My 13-ft Scamp has a plate the says GVWR = 1250.

I believe it originally it came with bias-ply tires, load range C.

Just yesterday I bought 2 new National Road Max ST tires:
175/80R13 (8-ply Radials.)
Load Range D
81 mph speed rating
Max load single (axle) 1610 lbs

On the sidewall it says: Maintain 65 psi inflation pressure.

For Trailer Service Only.

=============

My experience as a tire salesman in the dark ages was:

For passenger tires there is a max inflation, which means don't go over it. Less is okay -- up to a point.

Car manufactures inflation recommendations were always lower because lower pressures gives a softer ride, which you will associate with the quality of the car. They don't care how long the tires last.

Higher pressure (up to max) tires run cooler and will last longer, which you will associate with the quality of the tire. (You will blame a harsh ride on the car.)

EDIT: The enemy of tires is heat, which is increased by overloading and under inflation.

The tires I replaced were about 11-years old. They looked almost new. (They were on the Scamp when I bought it) As others have suggested: old tires are risky tires. We used to call them MayPops.

Be safe out there,

Harold

[Dennis McMillan]

Several years ago we had a two blowouts on the same trip. Yup shoulda changed tires sooner. However, check under your scamp for damage to the floor of the camper. In both instances the failed tire beat holes in the bottom of the trailer. Easy fix w/ plywood & fiberglass. ;-)

[Debbie]

Thankfully I have access to rims and tires as a tire distributor and Access to tire manufacturers reps. I get a lot of great info. It’s good to hear all sides.

[ThomasBalmer]

The Globaltrax ST175/80R13 (LR-D) that came on my 2017 Scamp are rated to 81 MPH, according to the sales site I just accessed. They have 15,000 on them now and still look good.

[Yank]

The trailer tires are supposed to be heavier belted sidewalls. Besides, Scamp recommends not going over 60-65 mph while hauling a Scamp trailer. The trailer tires are especially made for trailers with thicker side walls. I have heard of some people using a LT Truck tire but they are only 2 ply sidewalls, not what is recommended for trailers.

Yank

[Radar1]

Originally Posted by rdickens

Bill,

Our 2017 Scamp16 Deluxe came with load range D tires.

As of early 2017, I think that Scamp now uses load range D tires on all of
their trailers. (Load range D tires are stronger and carry more weight than
the load range C tires that Scamp used before.)

Ray

I was glad to see that Scamp went with D rated tires on the 16' Scamp. We had C rated tires on ours, and the weight rating per tire was only 1360 lbs at max pressure. Lost one of the Marathons on our first trip although I believe the previous owner was using 32 PSI in the tires which was inadequate and probably shortened its life.
1360 lbs per tire is only 2720 lbs on the axle. Our Scamp weighed 3080 lbs on one long trip we took, with 1500 lbs on the right tire, and 1295 lbs on the left tire. (All the heavy stuff is on the right side of the side dinette model)
The left tire would have been marginally within the limits of a C rated tire, but the right side was definitely above.
Fortunately we had switched to 14" tires shortly after losing the 13" Marathon and a 14" C or D rated tire is well within the advertised 3500 lb GVWR of the Scamp.

[Bob Durrstein]

ALWAYS check the DOT date on your tires. They may look good to your eyes andbe old and dangerous due to age and inside deterioration. Just google DOT age code.

[FRED SMAILES]

Originally Posted by William Deak

Blew a tire on our 13' Scamp a couple of weeks ago going about 70 mph and wound on the rim. This was on a stretch of road that became suddenly quite "bouncy" due to unevenness in the road bed. The tire inflation was checked at recommended 50psi before departure and the tire itself was not worn. Besides being a truly harrowing experience that we do not ever wish to repeat it raised some questions for us. These are standard belted 13" rim trailer tires that came with the trailer. Do others have experience with these? Are there better grade tires available?

I have a boler, very similar in design and weight.
I have run 185-60R14 82H tires on a 6inch rim since 2003.
I understand the need for trailer tires on the bigger heavy, and dual axle trailers but these little trailers,,, and all the blowouts I read about on those cheap trailer tires,?
Oh, I did have one flat, turned out to be a cut sidewall. Scored a used tire only 6 years old, replaced my 12 year old cut one. But, you guys continue using those trailer tires that keep blowing out,,??
Fred