Double Blowout

[Ami P]

A warning to all: do not buy SUPERTRAIL brand tires. Last Monday, after five miles on the freeway, we had a blowout of a brand new Supertrail 5000, ST175/80/13 tire. The inside sidewall blew. Forty-five miles later, the other brand new tire blew, even more violently. This time the rim was also destroyed, because there was no shoulder to navigate to in time. (Load rating C=1,360 lb. each, 1,000lb more than the gross trailer weight.) We had to unhitch, leave the trailer near LAX (not the safest area) and go find a tire. After hours of searching (no one had any trailer tires) a Good Year dealer sold me a used car tire, just to get home. I think, henceforth I will only travel with two spares. Of course, first I must find a 13" UHaul wheel and find a way and a location to mount two spare support brackets.

[Gina D.]

oh my...

[Dan Meyer]

Have you contacted the store where you bought the Supertrail tires? What was their response?

-- Dan Meyer

[Alf S.]

Hi: Ami P... Glad you are ok!!! To bad about the rim. The only tires I will use on a trailer are Goodyear Marathon radials. Even they are questionable. I had to replace the stems on all 3 of our tires as they had deteriorated and cracked. It would be interesting to know the Date of Mfg. of the tires (four digit) molded into the sidewall ie: 1609 for next weeks tires. What you bought may have been old stock!!!
Alf S. North shore of Lake Erie

[Pete Dumbleton]

Most tire companies will not even consider replacing a tire unless you have the old tire to give to them for examination, so it's a good idea to save them.

[Ami P]

The retailer refunded my money and he is working on getting a new UHaul wheel. The tires were DOT 3408 = fairly fresh.

[Donna D.]

How absolutely nerve racking!! And I would imagine leaving the Uhaul behind while you were out looking for a replacement tire was the worst part.... since you and the trailer and everyone else made it through the blowouts in okay shape.

IF you ever hear back from retailer about WHY the tires failed, I think we'd all like to hear about it. So please keep us and this topic in mind.

[Ami P]

(replying to IM's) The Supertrails were $50 ea. The replacement Good Year Marathons were $96 ea., installed.
Ami

[David & Leslie]

Thank goodness, Ami, you, Egg and tug are (relatively) unscathed! And kudos to the retailer for agreeing to the refund AND to help with the search for replacement wheel(s). Safe travels in the future - L 'n D

[CindyL]

Glad you are OK. Kevin blew a tire on our second trip out.

I hope you are able to find a UHaul rim. You might be able to find an old UHaul dealer if you look around, like the one we stumbled on in Cheyenne, WY. He has been repairing UHauls for 30 years and had two hubs that he sold us when ours fell apart two years ago on vacation (it had previously been mended but the mends failed).
Otherwise, you will need to find a dealer who is willing to order a rim(s) and then sell it to you.

The rims are standard UHaul trailer rims, so a used one might be possible to find too.

CindyL

[Kurt & Ann K.]

Ami P,
You are now a member of a unique group! Wow, 2 flats basically at once. Many of us have experienced one flat or blow-out but when your spare is already in use, you are pretty much "high and dry".
We also, are glad the situation has worked out OK for you. The thought of leaving your TT on the side of the road, particularly in that area, is scary.

Stay safe!
Kurt & Ann K.

[Tim Wood]

I have a friend in Ohio that bought 4 new tires for his toy hauler camping trailer. He blew all 4 tires in less that 1K miles. Reason: The stems where blowing out of the tires, so what his son in law told him to do is use steel stems like on a Tractor Trailer. After doing that with his 4 new tires, he hasn't had a problem with anymore flat tires. I would have never guessed.

[Ami P]

The fireworks-tire HAD new steel stems installed prior to blowing. This was definitely rubber failure.

[Steveo R]

That is scary, especially because the DOT number shows that your tires were made so recently. Scary thought that manufacturers can put tires out like that with little to no reprocussions. My thoughts on tires is that they are the most important part of your rig (vehicle or trailer) so the extra money is definitely well spent! Another thought is that the retailer that installed the tires may not have correctly inflated the tires? load C are about 65 PSI regular car tires about 30-35... maybe a newbie installed the tires and didn't know the difference..?

[Ami P]

I was present at the installation. 50psi cold inflation, new metal stems, torqued lugs.

[FredericL]

I was present at the installation. 50psi cold inflation, new metal stems, torqued lugs.

Ami,

Glad you are alright.

Had a similar experience with my car (4 tires blew up in a week) 2 years ago with Michelin tires. I finally had to call DOT in order for the manufacturer to do something. This also initiated an investigation and according to DOT might turn into a recall if proven that enough tires were defectives.

Contact DOT, they might need your info.

Frederic

[Ami P]

Final update: Unable to find the original Uhaul wheel, I had a wheel transplant operation. Cut the inner wheel and weld it to a new outer rim. Looks to be precisely on spec. I hope someone finds a more reasonable replacement for this next-to-impossible-to-find wheel.
Ami