A Tale of 2 Tires

Speckul8r · 08-13-2012, 02:54 PM

Just got back from our latest escapade. Took the wife to her family reunion in WI. On the 3rd day away from home, some place in IL, we had the first blowout. The 2nd was in WI within 100 miles of the 1st. I think they were precipitated by the most violent road hazard that I've encountered in nearly 50 years of driving. Came around a blind curve and a spot that looked like it had been a railroad crossing that had the tracks removed, jumped up at me. After we picked our eye teeth off the floor and put them back in our head, I got out to inspect and could find nothing wrong. About 4 hours later, in the 95 degree heat, the first tire went. Then, 100 miles later, the second one. Both blew out the middle of the tread, not the side wall. It looked like someone had put a 12 gauge inside the wheel and let fly. Wish I had taken a picture but I was somewhat preoccupied. My theory is that the bad road hazard damaged the tires internally. The 95 degree heat didn't help either. More fun. Had found a used trailer tire the right size b4 the 2nd blow out so that was a good thing. At least I had a spare. The used tire was a Marathon. (Who buys used trailer tires?? But, any ark in a storm and I won't travel without a spare.) I made it to the next exit going about 45 on the Interstate and the guy in the Shell mini mart put me on to a tire shop on the other side of the I. Great bunch of guys. ( I-90 Enterprises in Edgerton, WI) This was at 1740 so finding some one open was a surprise. And actually they closed at 1630 but were still around so.... Bought 3 brand new tires and had no trouble afterwards. I had aired up the tires that AM and the tires were just shy of 4 years old. I run 62 mph on the Interstates.

Did find out that my plumbing cage worked. The upper end of the cage was destroyed when the tire came around and grabbed the slight overhang of the plate. Plus it pushed the plate on the 45 degree angle back into the black water valve but it did it no harm. See Pix. I have to feel that a lesser cage would not have helped. This includes the so called BAM thingy and, much less so, the mud flap idea. Hope no one has occasion to test this out. Found one of the wheel weights on the flat part of the cage the next day. Also, there was enough smoke on the 2nd blow out to set off the smoke alarm in the TM. These plates are made of some fairly stout Stainless Steel.

Came back home thru Ontario via Niagara Falls. ~3700 miles total.

tgpmd1 · 08-13-2012, 03:46 PM

How old were your tires? Just curious.

Speckul8r · 08-13-2012, 05:04 PM

Just shy of 4 years old. Stored in a shed out of the sun. I'd guesstimate they had under 12K miles on them.

**Bill** · 08-13-2012, 07:03 PM

Speckul8r -

Wow! That's quite a story - and impressive performance from your protective cage. The pics are quite something.

Just as a jumping off point, I'll remind folks that your original cage contruction was documented with photos in post #10 at
http://www.trailmanorowners.com/foru...ad.php?t=10254
The photos in the two threads tell quite a story. Congratulations on a job well done.

Bill

Speckul8r · 08-13-2012, 08:06 PM

Changin' tires is a PITA especially on the side of the I. The 95 degree temps made it even more fun. Has anyone changed a tire with the TM closed? Seems near impossible to me.

The next major make over, after the repair of the cage, will be a lift kit. If someone has installed 1, I'd really like to know the dimensions of the square tubing used. Especially the wall thickness.

I didn't mention that I seemed to be lacking brakes after the incident. The Prodigy shows a connection but I have to do a better inspection and see if the wires are still intact or if they got ripped out of the magnets. Will also have to repair a rip in the right side wheel well. It never ceases.

**B_and_D** · 08-13-2012, 08:31 PM

Blowouts are not fun. Especially 2 in one trip. It does look like your protective cage helped, but where did that piece of torn off metal come from?

Speckul8r · 08-14-2012, 06:09 AM

You may have to go back to my original cage post that Bill was so kind to provide the link to in order to see exactly. But the piece was above the 45 degree angle dropping down from the wheel well. There was only a fraction of an inch of overhang but enough for the flapping tire to grab and mutilate.

**Bill** · 08-14-2012, 07:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Speckul8r

Changin' tires is a PITA especially on the side of the I. The 95 degree temps made it even more fun.

Having done it, I have to agree. But I can tell you that changing tires beside a narrow road in Mexican Water, AZ (pop 6, I think), and then again just up the road in Mexican Hat, UT (pop 88) at 95 degrees is no fun, either. Bottom line? Blowouts are not fun. It is worth spending some time and money and thought to prevent them.

Quote:

Has anyone changed a tire with the TM closed? Seems near impossible to me.

I came to the same conclusion. Since it takes only 30 seconds to pop the latches and raise the shells enough to get it done, I quit trying.

Quote:

The next major make over, after the repair of the cage, will be a lift kit. If someone has installed 1, I'd really like to know the dimensions of the square tubing used. Especially the wall thickness.

This has been discussed quite a bit here, and since you are an oldtimer on this board, I'm sure you've reviewed threads like Bill Miller's tutorial in the library. But perhaps you missed this one
http://www.trailmanorowners.com/foru...ad.php?t=10292
I think there are others.

Quote:

I didn't mention that I seemed to be lacking brakes after the incident. The Prodigy shows a connection but I have to do a better inspection and see if the wires are still intact or if they got ripped out of the magnets.

That is the problem with the Prodigy, and almost every other controller. If both brakes are gone, the Prodigy will signal a disconnect. But if one brake is gone while the other is still connected, the Prodigy will see the connected unit and report "OK". The proper solution, as we have discussed on this board, is for the controller to display the brake CURRENT, rather than the brake VOLTAGE. You can easily distinguish between 3-4 amps (one brake) and 6-8 amps (two brakes). But to my knowledge, none of them do it since Jordan Brake went out of business.

You are right, a visual inspection of the wires is the first step - do it soon. An even better check, if you have an ohmmeter, is to check the resistance of the brake circuit as seen at the trailer end of the Bargman. A reading of 4 ohms or so indicates only one brake. A reading of 2 ohms or so indicates both brakes connected.

Sorry to rant, but this is one thing that drives me crazy, and the controller manufacturers refuse to address it (I've tried).

Bill

08-14-2012, 09:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Speckul8r

Changin' tires is a PITA especially on the side of the I. The 95 degree temps made it even more fun. Has anyone changed a tire with the TM closed? Seems near impossible to me.

The next major make over, after the repair of the cage, will be a lift kit. If someone has installed 1, I'd really like to know the dimensions of the square tubing used. Especially the wall thickness.

I didn't mention that I seemed to be lacking brakes after the incident. The Prodigy shows a connection but I have to do a better inspection and see if the wires are still intact or if they got ripped out of the magnets. Will also have to repair a rip in the right side wheel well. It never ceases.

I had a curbside blow out once. It took me about 20 minutes to pull out the spa, crank up the TM with the front and rear corner jacks, swap the wheels, then lower the TM. The flat went in the back of the truck.

It would have been a little faster but I had a bad knee, so I had to maneuver so that my right leg was pretty much straight all of the time.

I am 59 and in decent health. It still was not a fun task.

I did not pop the roof up. I have a 2720 with factory lit kit and 14 inch wheels. I had no problem sliding the wheel down from behind the skirt.

T and C · 08-14-2012, 11:25 AM

I do not find changing a tire on the TM or any of my other vehicles difficult at all. I just dial the AAA on my cell phone and wait a half hour or so.

I pay the extra premium for rv coverage and forget about it. I really don't mind letting some twentysomething guy do the grunting and sweating.

Concerning sore knees, I have found my construction worker's knee pads with velcro straps on the back really helpful.

Tom