Fender skirts or no fender skirts

[Virginia Deacon]

Excellent comments and advice, Bill.

I think that sometimes we INADVERTENTLY take the same tack that the media does: a few occurrences become "a lot" or "an epidemic." Stopping to gather facts by asking valid questions is one way to find out what the real facts are. Someone made this point, by taking a blank sheet of paper and drawing a half-inch black dot on it. When people were asked what they saw, they said, "A black dot." His point was that people focused on the dot, rather than all the white space around it. I think we all tend to do this.

When I owned a Coleman PU, I was constantly dealing with problems caused by poor design (e.g., a door latch made from cheap, potmetal that broke; plumbing leaks caused by cheap, too-short tubing). Any problems we have had with our TrailManor have been caused by oversight during assembly and quality control, not design. Those kinds of problems are pretty easy to deal with.

We love our TrailManor - and I am thankful for this forum!

Happy Camping!

[B_and_D]

The tire that blew out on our TM was apparently the original tire installed on our TM, it was 7 years old. It looked brand new. Age was definitely a factor in that blowout.

From what I've read on other RV forums, blowouts are a pretty common occurrence with all kinds of trailers, 5th wheels and motorhomes. One day while coming home through Santa Nella, we saw a big 5th wheel pulled over with a good portion of the skirt and the area around it ripped to shreds by a blowout. I also saw a motorhome pulled over on I-5 with the same damage.

Other RV's such as casita have had even more extensively reported tire failures - casitaforums.com

Once behind a 5th wheel I saw a blowout. He was going at least 20 mph over the limit and went over a hump/bump in a construction zone. The tire/wheel appeared to not be turning after that and there was no room to pull over, he had to drag it a half mile. There was alot of damage around the wheel well.

I have been reading about tires here and at rv.net for the past 2 years.

It has been my observation that the top 2 causes of tire failure on a trailer seem to be:

1. Old tires. 5 years seems to be the allowable maximum age of a tire. If the tire is a year old on the day you buy it then you get to use if for 4 more years, whether you drive it or not. Always check the date of manufacature when buying tires, especially for a traielr or any other vehicle that does not get driven a lot.

2. Overloaded trailers. This seems to be more true with 5ers than with a TT. When you read a thread that starts out "how much overweight do you tow" it makes you wonder what their expectations are.

Another issue that is frequently discussed is high speed towing. In California the fastest speed permited for a trailer tire is 55 mph. St (Special Trailer) tires, such as the Goodyear Marathon, are rated for 65 mph. This works out well in California. However, other states allow towing at speeds of 70 or 75 mph, which is faster than the design specification for ST tires. These folks should perhaps use LT tires instead of ST tires because they tow at high speeds. No one should be using P tires on a trailer.

ST tires are designed for applications where it is not on the road much. Between DW and myself we drive about 50,000 miles between 2 vehicles, but we only tow the TM 2,500 miles each year. In 5 years the TM tires will be at the end of their useful life, but only have 12,500 miles on them. I would expect that examination of the tread wear that the likely conclusion would be that they are good for another year. That may be a regrettable conculsion.

Because we keep the TM in the garage out of the weather, while others keep their TM outdoors when not in use, I doubt that the 5 year rules applies equally to both situations. I would "guess" that a TM that spends most of its time in the garage could "probably" squeeze an extra year out of the tires before they become too old for use.

I can't think of anything in the design of the TM that would affect tire mileage. The useful life of a tire on traielr seems to be:

1. ST versus LT rating.
2. speed rating versus actual speed driven.
3. stored in garage versus out in the weather.
4. weight carried
5. age of tire.
6. frequency of useage, a rolling tire lubricates itself while a parked tire does not. Using a trailer only once a year is not good for the tires.

Another issue may be the 14 inch tires verses 15 inch tires. On Goodyear's website there is a document that says you can tow above 65 MPH. The problem is you have to be able to inflate the tire 10 lbs above the recommended inflation for the tire based on load without exceeding the maximum inflation. The problem is the 2720SL and below with the 14 inch tires need to be at maximum inflation based on the load they are carrying. I have a 3124KS with the 15 inch tire. Based on my loaded weight, I should inflate to 50 lbs, but I normal run them at 60 lbs. According to Goodyear, I can run them at 75 MPH. I normal run them at 75 MPH when towing, but my speedometer read about 3 MPH high, so I am actually towing at 72 MPH. No problems yet. As suggested, I have checked the lug nut on the trailer before each trip, but I am yet to have a loose one. I also check the inflation before leaving home and before leaving the campground. Tempature will affect the pressure.

Bill,
Your point is well taken. I did not conduct a poll but my question was not intended to be inflamatory. It came from a genuine concern about the dependability of the Goodyear tires. One of the four (a moderator) in this post has had 3 failures in 25k miles. This alone would be enough for me to make serious inquiry and I would have sought an answer BEFORE I made my TM purchase if I had known that there were such concerns. I don't know if the factory has publically addressed these concerns but I think enough has been said by others to warrant an "official" reassuring word. I feel like a guy who, inadvertently, wandered into a mind field. I would guess that every RV manufacturer has had their share of tire failure issues. I just wanted to know what "I can do" to better insure the safety of my family and the people beside me on the road. I believe that TM stands beside me in that wish. It sounds to me (based on a few phone calls that I made today before reading your response) that tire failure can, in part, be linked to improper pressures (especially low pressures that cause a heat build-up), prolonged storage with the tires bearing the full weight of the trailer, and a general laxity when it comes to tire inspection before hitting the road. These are non-specific points that don't really focus attention on Marathons but it's all that I have gathered so far. Oh, I have also learned from another post that speed (even when loads are below maximum) may be factor in tire failure. This is just the "stuff of RV'ing" that I and other newbees need to learn. I love our TM and sometimes I just go out into the garage and stare at it -- imagining my next adventure. But it's all about getting there & back again.

I'm grateful for all the responses. More came in as I was writing to Bill. My response might have been different if I had read them all. Thank you for taking the time to write. Eric

Can anyone explanain why there seems to be more RV/trailer tire failures than car or truck tire failures.

[B_and_D]

I wonder if part of the reason may be that trailer/rv tires can sit for months at a time in one position. I "rolled" mine last weekend by jacking up each side and turning them about 1/3 turn. I plan to do the same next month and each month that I don't take the trailer out. It only takes a few minutes with a bottle jack under the frame and some boards. I've also considered jacking the trailer up and putting blocks under it so that the wheels don't have so much weight on them, but we are quite prone to earthquakes here and I'm not sure that that's such a great idea.

I don't know about everyone else on this board, but DH and I put at least 20K per year on our car tires, and they need to be replaced every 2 - 3 years. They don't have a chance to get old.