Eric,
This site gets read by many newbies to TMs and TTs in general. Pleae try to be very accurate in your statements. When you say you are surprised that so many have had problems and wonder if it is a design or safety issue that gets people's attention. We openly discuss these issues and I am not suggeting that you not question anything but 4 people having a tire blow out out of the 2,856 members (BTW, I am sure more than 4 have had a blow out) does not equal "so many" in my parlance. If you factor in the number of years of ownership by these owners and the miles driven it really makes your statement appear inflamatory and over exagerated. Texas Camper is one other I can think of off the top of my head that has had a blowout but he attributes that to trying to get one more year out of his tires.
That said, maybe you should post a poll and ask "Among those that have had a tire fail in any way shape or form, do you believe a design defect was the cause - yes or no?
Some very serious and expensive problems have been identified here on the forum and have lead to changes by the Factory. Joe Wetherbee, in Portsmouth VA suffered damage to his TM after a blow out that was more extensive than it should have been due to the design of the TM wheel wheel (they used to be square). He designed a mod to "round" out the inside of the well and made the plans available to all on this web site
http://www.trailmanorowners.com/foru...l+modification
If I recall correctly he spent most of one if not more rally's/jubilees actually helping others install the mod. If you own a late model TM (change happened sometime around 2001) your's came from the factor with a rounded wheel well because the factory took a look at what Joe did and found it was a better way to do things. Joe will be quick to tell you there were alot of others that deserve credit as well but as a minimumn Joe started the ball rolling and in my mind will always be the father of the rounded wheel well.
For what it's worth - Bill