Static2606

So its been almost exactly a week since I got back from Glacier NP. F150 performed great. Only time the truck felt under powered was when we were climbing the rockies with a very brisk headwind. I think it was a steady 15-20mph with gusts pushing 30. Getting gas right before we went up near East Glacier I nearly got blown on my *** when a gust came though the station. And I had to brace my self the entire time spent pumping. It was bad enough that my buddies Jeep Renegade was starting to heat up its oil. My trans stayed around 200f only climbing to about 215-220 shortly when we hit those mountains and wind. We both had to slow down.

That said there were several annoying things I noticed about the truck specifically. The most obvious was when we were hitting any kind of washboarding on the highway. The bounce was irritating. Actually could hear the wife exhale every time it bounced while she was reclined. I'm not sure if I need to adjust the WDH more or what. If I do need more adjustment I'm going to need a longer shank because the TT's hitch sits awfully close to the ground. Another minor thing is the brake response. I had it set to 5.5 and while braking it would feel like there was nothing from the trailer and then suddenly I'd be over braking. Drop it down a notch and it just felt weak. I did set it before I left by using the slider while slowly rolling.

Now for the more worrisome. We suffered not one but THREE blow outs on the TT. All of them on the same Axle. Two on drivers and one on passenger. First was suffered early on in Wisconsin, the rest in Montana on the way back with in 50 miles of each other. At first we thought the inner plastic wheel well had come loose and was rubbing but after the other two Im hoping it was due to tire age. Unknown to me, because I'm still new to trailers and didn't think to check, there were old tires on the RV that still looked new. It's a 2014 that I bought in Jan., and I still can't believe it, but it had the original tires on it with a date code of july of 13'. I'm hoping that is the cause of the blowouts. And not something else.

We were not speeding. All three were suffered while only doing 60-65. We checked tire pressure before embarking and had it at 50psi cold. I continued to check them at each gas up and hand checked them for temperature. Nothing stuck out at me, but none the less they blew. The first one took out a fender and the exterior shower door and put a large hole the woven underbelly fabric. The other two we had our friend behind us and he radio'd on the CB that they were starting to go and stopped before the violent explosion we had with the first. Also weight distribution looked good as far as how the truck was sitting and we packed light. One duffle bag each for clothes and the rest was mostly food and toiletries. The heaviest item was probably my recovery bag and sears socket and wrench set(1/2", 3/8", 1/4" drive) Most of the weight was moved to on or front of the axles. Seriously, the only cargo aft of the axles was two empty coolers, a pedestal fan, swiffer mop and dyson vac, the fresh water hose, and the stinky slinky in a large tote.

Now for the pictures of the carnage.




I fixed the loose plastic with a screw stolen from a cabinet access panel.
Also they really looked new. This is obviously the spare. It was actually the second tire to blow.

Truck and trailer sat pretty darn level. Also want to add that I suffered no noticable sway. Each time a fast moving car or large semi passed I would feel the push on the trailer and then an opposite push as it moved past but the trailer did not sway. Even the brisk winds of the plains didn't move much. And it was very windy.


Oh and because its f'ing beautiful out there!

Static2606

Forgot to add that the observation cameras caught everything.

MikeD134

Glad to hear with the troubles you had everyone remained safe.

Buying used you just never know what the last owner did with those tires. Might have run them underinflated, overloaded. Are you replacing all four with Goodyears?

Static2606

I replaced them with what ever I could find in the middle of no where. I was never with out a spare, even had two spares for about 50 miles, but yea. The first blow out happened late on a saturday, and the other two a week later early on a saturday. But still BF nowhere montana. Right now there are two originals on the front axle, a tractor supply co tire and rim on one side, and a 'towstar str' on the other side and as a spare. I haven't figured out what I want to do yet.

SpencerPJ

Darn, that stinks. You seemed to have done everything correct, I continue to monitor temps with IR gun at every stop (wifes job while I'm fueling) I hear wonderful things about Goodyear Endurance tires, I will buy them next year for mine. Beautiful destination pictures tho


Edit: One other thing to consider, Trailer axles / wheels can go out of alignment and have the tires track very odd. No big deal for a trailer shop to bend the axles back into alignment. Usually the axles bend from someone overloading them, junk to begin with, or fit a nasty pothole once. Maybe have someone knowledgeable follow you as you drive down the freeway for odd tracking?

Merlyn

On our old trailer we had a tire leave the trailer, all five studs where broken off, while traveling on the expressway, never did find it. It caused similar damage to what you experienced with the blow out. I know that they where properly torqued, but have no idea what the previous owner or service shop had done to stretch or damage them prior to us. I called AAA insurance who we had at the time and the damage was covered minus our deductible. AAA estimated the cost of repair and I opted to do the repairs myself which left enough to replace all four tires after completing the repairs.

Static2606

I was actually thinking of taking it into a shop to have it looked it. It still strikes me as odd that all the blow outs were on just one axle. I'm sure the age of the tire were the primary contributing factor but I'm willing to bet there were other forces at play as well. Could have been something as stupid as the sun just happened to be shining on that side too and the trailer was putting just a little more weight on it. But who knows, there could be an alignment issue or even a bearing issue too.

Static2606

I thought about contacting my insurance, but I don't know if I want to take a chance on getting hit for making a claim. so far I'm in this for less then 200 for repair parts. 99 for a pair of fenders, 49 for a shower box, and 20 or 30 for a 4x8 sheet of coroplast from homedepot. Can't really count the tires because those should have been replaced anyways. And had they been I probably wouldnt have had a problem.

smokeywren

Blowouts on trailer tires is an old story. Caused by excess heat. Manufacturers mount tires with the least weight capacity they can get away with. Then owners don't pump up the tires to the max PSI on the sidewall. Result: blown out tires on long trips.

I realized this around Y2K with a new 5er. Three blowouts on one trip from New York to Texas. Stock trailer tires were ST205/75R15C on 6" wide rims. Barely enough weight capacity for the GAWR of the trailer. I replaced all 5 tires with ST225/75R15E om 7-inch wide rims, pumped them up to 80 PSI cold, and that was the end of my trailer tire problem for around 100,000 towing miles for that 5er.. After we got home, I ordered new tires and wheels for my utility trailers that also came with ST205/75R15C tires. Then I bought a cargo trailer that also came with ST205/75R15C tires and replaced the tires and wheels with ST225/75R15E.

The bigger tires are a tight fit on some trailers. On my cargo trailer, the top of the tire rubs against the top of the wheel well when I hit a bump. But after dozens of thousands of miles, no apparent damage to tire or trailer.

ST225/75R15 requires 7" wide rims, and the trailer probably has stock 6" or 6.5" wide rims. So you must replace wheels as well as tires. I order my trailer wheels for decent prices from https://www.southwestwheel.com/c-39-...and-tires.aspx

Then be **** about tire pressure.. For load range E tires, pump them up to 80 PSI cold. "Cold" means first thing in the morning before you move the trailer even a few feet. That probably means you must have a portable air compressor that can pump up to at lest 100 PSI.

20 or 30 years ago, load range E trailer tires were not available from all manufacturers. But Maxis to the rescue for 15" trailer tires https://www.discounttire.com/buy-tir...-tire-m8008-st . I've had zero problems with several sets of Maxis trailer tires.

kozal01

iTrader: (2)

Go up a load rating or two if you can on your tires. Smokeywren is 100% right, the trailer MFG's cut it too close with the tire/ axle capacities on some of these trailers.