Tire blowout

[knotflying]

Just reporting on a blowout I had on a tire. I always knew it was a matter of when, not if it will happen. I was going 64mph and POP! The trailer swayed a little and all was under control. I carry a spare and a tandem trailer lift ramp, so I was back on the road in 15 minutes. What surprised me was that when the tire separated it bent the fender up to within a quarter of an inch of the boat hull and pushed it forward somewhat. I was able to pull it back with a come-a-long and once I launched the boat I was able to "persuade" the fender down.
I always keep my tires properly inflated. Shortly before the incident I had run along side a curb in a tight fueling station. I think that weakened the sidewall.

 

[Tom Zmon]

:?: What does a tandem trailer lift ramp look like? Any pictures
Thanks.

 

[knotflying]

Here is one on YouTube. http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=1ql6aLH71NI&desktop_uri=/watch?v=1ql6aLH71NI

 

[baz]

Just reporting on a blowout I had on a tire. I always knew it was a matter of when, not if it will happen. I was going 64mph and POP! The trailer swayed a little and all was under control. I carry a spare and a tandem trailer lift ramp, so I was back on the road in 15 minutes. What surprised me was that when the tire separated it bent the fender up to within a quarter of an inch of the boat hull and pushed it forward somewhat. I was able to pull it back with a come-a-long and once I launched the boat I was able to "persuade" the fender down.
I always keep my tires properly inflated. Shortly before the incident I had run along side a curb in a tight fueling station. I think that weakened the sidewall.

Glad all was resolved for you Mike. How does the tandem trailer lift help if both tires on same side 'POP' (go flat at same time)... ???

 

[knotflying]

Just reporting on a blowout I had on a tire. I always knew it was a matter of when, not if it will happen. I was going 64mph and POP! The trailer swayed a little and all was under control. I carry a spare and a tandem trailer lift ramp, so I was back on the road in 15 minutes. What surprised me was that when the tire separated it bent the fender up to within a quarter of an inch of the boat hull and pushed it forward somewhat. I was able to pull it back with a come-a-long and once I launched the boat I was able to "persuade" the fender down.
I always keep my tires properly inflated. Shortly before the incident I had run along side a curb in a tight fueling station. I think that weakened the sidewall.

Glad all was resolved for you Mike. How does the tandem trailer lift help if both tires on same side 'POP' (go flat at same time)... ???

Time for a jack or Boat US towing service!

 

[abcandjrc]

I suspect from your boat's age that the tires were probably "new". Yours does sound like a failure caused by the curb.

But a general caution is that trailer tires can look great and have unseen, age-related, problems. We just don't put enough mileage on them to think they need replacement. The Common-Wisdom-Around-the-Campfire is that a five-year replacement cycle is best, 6 or 7 can be done but the risk goes up during that time, and after 7 the user should plan extra time on trips for sitting along the road looking at all the damage to his vehicle, trailer, or boat.

Tread separation can really beat things up. We lost one on an RV Camping Trailer at around 60 mph. Not a pretty sight. The tires had about 4,000 miles on them but were 9 years old. We bought 3 replacement tires and put the "brand new" never-used spare on the fourth wheel, keeping one of the "old" tires as a spare. The "brand new" spare threw its tread in less than 400 miles!!!!!! At least I had the good fortune of having put it on the same location as the first one that blew, and the parts I ordered were waiting for me several states away or they would have been wiped out like the originals. Also fortunate, both tires held their air and the steel belts did not fail so there were no handling problems with those two failures.

We did find out that fresh trailer tires were roughly 20% cheaper at Truck Stops than at Tire Dealers, at least in the northern plains. We bought 2 more tires at a Truck Stop outside Minot. My momma didn't raise no idiot chillen. I'm sure it pays to shop around a bit before the failures show up.

 

[knotflying]

I am of the same adage of replacement before problems. I also suspect that this particular tire may have been an issue from the get go. It was a tire I had purchased from the Trailer Parts Superstore. When I was getting it balanced originally the service guy was having a hard time balancing it. I wonder if these discount places are selling seconds.

 

[tugfan]

I bought tires from Trailer Parts Superstore and had good luck, it may be luck of the draw. One thing I did learn though is when buying any tire, look for the date of manufacture on the sidewall. An old new tire is an old tire.

 

[knotflying]

Absolutely correct. The tires are dated and when you see sales many times they are selling old date tires. There was a whole exposé on this on a Sunday Morning episode.

 

[Levitation]

On the farmer groups trailer/implement tires are a constant source of hand wringing. The demise of american manufacturing has resulted in a sharp decline in tire quality. Carlisle Tires is the major source these days and is not particularly loved - but the alternative brands-you-never-heard-of-before are even less loved..

 

[knotflying]

Well we shall see. The only tires I could get locally were Akuret. Never hear of them and I am surely skeptical. The dealer told me he has sold plenty and has had no issues, but he was selling them. After doing research on them it sounds like they should be okay. Only time will tell.