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Old 07-16-2011, 10:08 PM   #1
luvmymanor1
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Default 1000 miles and three blown tires... OMG this sucks!

so I decided to take the kids and DV out west... purchased a TM three months ago and been working on it ever since and it has never stoped. been draining the bank account too. so anyway everything was working and we hit the road. one hour from home and we blow a tire... ok it sucks but not the end of the world we all get a flat once in a while so I put the spare on and we are back on the road in twenty. we even found a tire plce that had the exact tire we needed. great! right? Nope... we get annother 300 miles and we blow another tire. another 350 and we blow the third one. now its not even funny... this time its in Canada and NO ONE had the darn tire for the TM. so had to unhitch on the side of the road and cross back over to the us and pick up tires to drive back to the TM and rehitch to het to the campground back in the US. ugrrrr. longggggg day.

so heres the thing. I'm not over weight becouse I got the thing weighed.... I adjusted the WDH and cant imagine it has anything to do with that. fyi, 600 lb bars and adjusted properly according to the directions. measured the fenders and all. called Ed at Tm and he tells me that its the age of the tires. (04) but only been on the road since 05. he tells me that tires (goodyear marathons) are only good for three years after that they can fail due to rubber breakdown even if the tire NEVER saw the road like the spare under the TM. all the blow outs occured on the right hand side or door side of the TM. two occured on about a 5-7% grade incline and the third on a flat road coming around a soft right turn ( which would not put additional stree on that side). road conditions was cracks and some uneveness on the first two but the last none.

I now have all brand new tires so befor I get another blow out I figure post here and see if others can help me understand what is happening... are the goodyear marathons crap? has this occured to others? am I not supposed to drive 300 miles per day? I just want to enjoy this thing already and not have to work on it all of the time. any and all suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I'm half way to my destinationa and considering turning back home... perhapsgive it another shot... but with new tires and another $$$ down the drain. I'm getting real stressed. please help!
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Old 07-16-2011, 10:45 PM   #2
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Sorry to hear about your tire issues. I purchased a new-to-me 2006 2720SL last July and after reading about tire issues and other problems on the forum, decided to install a factory lift kit and go to 15" wheels and tires. Even though the tires looked brand new (the unit was only used three time and garaged due to the death of the owner's husband after using on three short trips), I wanted more rubber on the road. After installing the lift kit in May, finally found a tire guy in the area that would help me. He ordered the exact wheels that I wanted and I went with his tire recommendation. We went with metal stems and kept checking the tire pressure along the way.

I'm pleased to report that we went from D.C. to Yellowstone via a family reunion in NE on the way out without any tire problems. Came back through CO and even though there we other minor issues with the TM, pleased at how easy it was to tow. Have you considered going to a 15" tire?
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Old 07-16-2011, 11:02 PM   #3
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Originally Posted by tgpmd1 View Post
Sorry to hear about your tire issues. I purchased a new-to-me 2006 2720SL last July and after reading about tire issues and other problems on the forum, decided to install a factory lift kit and go to 15" wheels and tires. Even though the tires looked brand new (the unit was only used three time and garaged due to the death of the owner's husband after using on three short trips), I wanted more rubber on the road. After installing the lift kit in May, finally found a tire guy in the area that would help me. He ordered the exact wheels that I wanted and I went with his tire recommendation. We went with metal stems and kept checking the tire pressure along the way.

I'm pleased to report that we went from D.C. to Yellowstone via a family reunion in NE on the way out without any tire problems. Came back through CO and even though there we other minor issues with the TM, pleased at how easy it was to tow. Have you considered going to a 15" tire?
yeah its something I have considered but since I had to purchase new 14" on the trip I doubt very very highly that I will be upgrading anytime soon. Honestly, i looked closely at the spect of the 15" tires and although they are rated at 2500 lbs why should I uses these when I'm not intending to overload the TM. the 14"ers are rated for 1850 lbs. which are within the rating for the axles weight. people put the 15" tires and think that everything is great and now I don't have to worry about weight since my tires can support more which in thelong run is even more dangerouse. I'm not saying you do this but I'm sure some do. I think in my situation its age of the tire. clearly you switched out the tires for new ones so you have new rubber. thanks for your input hopefully others here will chime in on the age issue. if thats even an issue to begin with... we'll see.
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Old 07-16-2011, 11:02 PM   #4
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With tires made in 2004, I would have been willing to bet money that you would have at least 1-2 blowouts over a few thousand miles, especially being that you are traveling in the summer (higher temps). As my signature implies, I had 2 Kumhos blowout at ~3.5 years of age within 100 miles of each other, on both sides. It was on this trip cross-country that I upgraded to 15" wheels. I've also had a 6-year old Marathon blow.

You didn't say what you replaced the tires with, but assuming they are 14" 205 Marathons, and they are less than 1.5-2 years old, you will probably be fine for the rest of your trip. Check the date code in the sidewall of the tire (a 4-digit number).

Unfortunately, loaded TM's really push the envelope on the weight capacity of 14" tires. So once you add other deleterious factors like high heat and tire age, the chance that you have a blowout goes up substantially. That's why several of us have upgraded to 15" wheels (and tires), as they have a higher weight rating, and thus a wider safety margin.

When you pull off the road after riding at speed for an hour or two, touch the hubs. If you can't keep your hand across them for more than a few seconds, you are definitely running on the hot side of normal. That could mean faulty wheel bearings, inadequate grease/lubrication on the bearings, an overweight trailer, and under-inflated tires, among other things.

You say you weighed your TM but didn't say what the weight is. What is it? (both the axle and tongue weight)

Did inspect and repack your wheel bearings before your trip?

What exact tires do you have on there now? What pressure are you running (checked with the tires cold)?

What was the ambient (outside) temp during your blowouts?

Did the blowouts damage the TM? If not, you are very lucky.

My advice: don't turn back home -- you will still have to deal with this problem, and it will ruin your vacation in the process. I was in your shoes last summer.

See this thread for more details: http://www.trailmanorowners.com/foru...ad.php?t=10265

Dave
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Old 07-16-2011, 11:11 PM   #5
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Originally Posted by luvmymanor1 View Post
yeah its something I have considered but since I had to purchase new 14" on the trip I doubt very very highly that I will be upgrading anytime soon.
Don't let that dissuade you. When my first Kumho blew, I also bought a 14" tire. After 100 miles, the other Kumho blew.(EDIT: I stand corrected - it was a few hundred miles and 2 days later) I pulled into a tire shop on a Saturday, and they bought back (at full price) the 14" tire I had just bought from a different place 100 miles prior the day before. He also gave me a competitive price on the new tires, so it wasn't a trade-in trick. Even if you have decent mileage on the new 14"er, you can probably get a shop to buy it back for a good portion of what you bought it for. And frankly, if it only costs you $100 to buy yourself out of another blowout, would you do it?

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Honestly, i looked closely at the spect of the 15" tires and although they are rated at 2500 lbs why should I uses these when I'm not intending to overload the TM. the 14"ers are rated for 1850 lbs. which are within the rating for the axles weight. people put the 15" tires and think that everything is great and now I don't have to worry about weight since my tires can support more which in thelong run is even more dangerouse.
The problem here is the tires are failing. And in my case, they were 3.5-year old Kumhos rated for ~2,200 lbs each. Just because I put 15" tires on does not mean I load my TM with rocks. In fact, I don't carry anything more than what I used to pre-blowouts. There are more reasons, but for one, the axle is only rated for 3500 lbs, so you can't go crazy with weight just because your tires can support it. The 15"ers simply give you a wider safety margin.

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Old 07-17-2011, 12:19 AM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ShrimpBurrito View Post
With tires made in 2004, I would have been willing to bet money that you would have at least 1-2 blowouts over a few thousand miles, especially being that you are traveling in the summer (higher temps). As my signature implies, I had 2 Kumhos blowout at ~3.5 years of age within 100 miles of each other, on both sides. It was on this trip cross-country that I upgraded to 15" wheels. I've also had a 6-year old Marathon blow.

You didn't say what you replaced the tires with, but assuming they are 14" 205 Marathons, and they are less than 1.5-2 years old, you will probably be fine for the rest of your trip. Check the date code in the sidewall of the tire (a 4-digit number).

Unfortunately, loaded TM's really push the envelope on the weight capacity of 14" tires. So once you add other deleterious factors like high heat and tire age, the chance that you have a blowout goes up substantially. That's why several of us have upgraded to 15" wheels (and tires), as they have a higher weight rating, and thus a wider safety margin.

When you pull off the road after riding at speed for an hour or two, touch the hubs. If you can't keep your hand across them for more than a few seconds, you are definitely running on the hot side of normal. That could mean faulty wheel bearings, inadequate grease/lubrication on the bearings, an overweight trailer, and under-inflated tires, among other things.
well I hear what you are saying and I agree to an extent. however, if the tires are rated for 1850 and the axle is rated at 3500 than putting on tires rated at 2500 each could mask a potentially bigger and more hazerdouse problem. the last blow out did cause some damage to the wheel well. nothing that I can't fix but its getting rediculouse. I bought this thing to enjoy the outdoors and yeah I like working on it to an extent but every day no, every trip... no during the trip... absolutly not. Its not a perfect world but there is a pattern here and I'm not only refering to the current tire issue. its one thing after another. just ranting... i'll feel better in the morning lol.


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Originally Posted by ShrimpBurrito View Post
You say you weighed your TM but didn't say what the weight is. What is it? (both the axle and tongue weight)
off the top of my head 7580 total TV and TM but dont remember what the independent weights were but I assure you well within limits on both. I tried to get toungue weight done but could not for the life of me find a place willing to do it in my area.

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Originally Posted by ShrimpBurrito View Post
Did inspect and repack your wheel bearings before your trip?
I did it myself yes andyes repacked greese and switched out new dexter break. greese as per manufacture specs...

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Originally Posted by ShrimpBurrito View Post
What exact tires do you have on there now? What pressure are you running (checked with the tires cold)?
goodyear marathons 14" cold pressure at 50 psi

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Originally Posted by ShrimpBurrito View Post
What was the ambient (outside) temp during your blowouts?
75-86 deg

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Originally Posted by ShrimpBurrito View Post
My advice: don't turn back home -- you will still have to deal with this problem, and it will ruin your vacation in the process. I was in your shoes last summer.
its ruining my vacation now. the stress alone is enough. so anyway I plan on going to the finishline as long as I don't blow another tire now that I'm riding on new rubber. if that happens I'll be making a u-turn.

See this thread for more details: http://www.trailmanorowners.com/foru...ad.php?t=10265

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Old 07-17-2011, 12:24 AM   #7
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Did the blowouts damage the TM? If not, you are very lucky.
nope not that lucky, I guess... I not only had to replace all three tires but also 2 rims and I would bet the third one is also bent but it didn't make it to to the tire place. I also had damage to the wheel cover and the wheel well. CRAZY!
all this cost me $500 and thats without the wheel well damage. I had no choice as I was in deep country and needed tires no competion to price the tires as no one in the area for miles had them except one place and that took me 300 miles off course to get to and last blown tire.
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Old 07-17-2011, 12:38 AM   #8
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From what I have read, trailer tires typically do not last as long as you would expect with a car tire because they are not used nearly as often. When the tire sits, the rubber starts to rot. When it's used, the heat, flexing, etc activate the compounds in the rubber that keep the tire 'young'. If we only drove our cars a couple of times a month, we'd likely be reading a lot more about car tire failures.

I still have the original 14" Marathons on our TM and have put over 20,000 miles on them in all sorts of conditons and just returned from a 4,000 mile trip to the NorthWest, Glacier NP, Yellowstone, Salt Lake and Las Vegas and went from near freezing temps to days over 105...and knock on wood had no problems. From my experience, I think properly inflated and loaded tires can handle the mileage and heat....the age is the key factor.

I did replace the original rubber stems with metal stems and believe many of the early failures of Marathons could have been stem failure related and I also have a tire pressure monitoring system to monitor the temp and tire pressure of all 3 tires, so I'm never running under-inflated.

I don't want to be spending money on new tires all time, but don't want to push my luck to far either. I will likely replace my tires in the next 12 months or so.

If it were me, I would continue on the vacation and try to put the stress behind me and salvage what you can. You should have 3 new tires now, so chances of another failure should be greatly reduced.

As Dave mentioned, feel the hubs and tires from time to time when you stop. They should be warm too mildly hot but not burining hot.

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Old 07-17-2011, 06:46 AM   #9
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The bottom line is that any tires have a life span of six years whether you use them or not. The spare getting the free ride on back is drying out as fast as those on the ground.

A new tire in dealer stock is toast after six years which is why everyone should ask your dealer to record the DOT number on your invoice and write down the manufacture date of each tire as indicated in the DOT number. If they will not do that for you, move on to the next dealer.

Six years is the maximum. I would never buy a tire which is over one year from date of manufacture. Trailer tires over four years old are probably an accident waiting to happen.

I am sorry that your vacation has been so stressful. I had the brakes on my Class A go to the floor while approaching gas pumps. Missed the pumps by about a foot while going about 20 MPG. I saw my life flash before my eyes. Thank goodness that I had unhooked the tow and my wife was driving behind me. Ruined my whole vacation.
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Old 07-17-2011, 07:06 AM   #10
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From what I have read, trailer tires typically do not last as long as you would expect with a car tire because they are not used nearly as often. When the tire sits, the rubber starts to rot. When it's used, the heat, flexing, etc activate the compounds in the rubber that keep the tire 'young'. If we only drove our cars a couple of times a month, we'd likely be reading a lot more about car tire failures.

I still have the original 14" Marathons on our TM and have put over 20,000 miles on them in all sorts of conditons and just returned from a 4,000 mile trip to the NorthWest, Glacier NP, Yellowstone, Salt Lake and Las Vegas and went from near freezing temps to days over 105...and knock on wood had no problems. From my experience, I think properly inflated and loaded tires can handle the mileage and heat....the age is the key factor.

I did replace the original rubber stems with metal stems and believe many of the early failures of Marathons could have been stem failure related and I also have a tire pressure monitoring system to monitor the temp and tire pressure of all 3 tires, so I'm never running under-inflated.

I don't want to be spending money on new tires all time, but don't want to push my luck to far either. I will likely replace my tires in the next 12 months or so.

If it were me, I would continue on the vacation and try to put the stress behind me and salvage what you can. You should have 3 new tires now, so chances of another failure should be greatly reduced.

As Dave mentioned, feel the hubs and tires from time to time when you stop. They should be warm too mildly hot but not burining hot.

--jim

Thanks mud dog and shrimp... I appreciate the support. been through alot but its a new morning and the sun is shining and i'm at a campground for the next two so I'm going to try and make the best of it. By the sounds of what you guys are saying its probably the age. it probably explains why it was the wheels on the right that kept blowing. all the old tires. THING IS WHY IN THE WORLD WOULD TRAILMANOR DESIGN THIS VEHICLE WITH 14" TIRES IF IT NEEDS THE 15". Obviously they went to the 15" tires on the new models. could it be that they realize that 14" tires create a failure point? a weak link? Thats rediculopuse if you ask me... seems to me that many people on here expierience this same issue. TM told me that its the age of the tire. But now I realize this could be a poor excuse for a design flaw. This kind of thing really pisses me off. Why didn't TM do a recall on 14" tires on older models? at the least send free lift kits???? ok soooooo pissed.

Ok I got a question... will 15" tires/rims work without the lift kit for the remaining leg of my trip? about 1500 miles or so??? I'm going to assume that there is no way that I could get the lift kit until I get home since I'm in Northern Michigan right now and planning to head west to Yellowstone. I know that the goodyear guy told me the size of the 15" tires and it looks to me that they will fit in the wheel well but with closer clearance to the top of the wheel well (about 3" or so) However, I would imagine that the reason for the lift kit is so you don't bottom out the top of the wheel well. If there is a way I can go back to the guy who installed the 14" tires and have him switch them out befor I leave the area. please let me know if you think this is a possability.
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