Unexpected tire wear--anyone see this before?

TexasCamper · 08-01-2012, 07:49 PM

While on my trip to SD and ND, I regularly checked my tires. I didn't see anything unusual on the leg from Custer State Park (SD) to Little Missouri State Park in western ND.

Entering the state park involved maybe one mile on a dirt road. When I arrived at the campsite, I saw that the TM's right tire (passenger side) was stripped bare at one spot. I suspect the right brake siezed and I dragged the tire a bit.

The tires are 15" Goodyear Marathon, 3.5 years old with 15,000 miles on them at this point. And the TM left tire (driver side) still looks great. I use a tekonsha brake controller.

Now since this was the first time I drove on a dirt road (actually, probably limestone gravel), I am suspicious that the brakes siezed somewhere here.

So what do you think would cause this?

-John

hillbillyhotel · 08-01-2012, 07:54 PM

seems like if it was the brake, would it not be all the way across, like a flat spot, not just on one side, but i have not seen anything like that ,

**B_and_D** · 08-01-2012, 08:19 PM

Hopefully wmtire will chime in here, he's a tire expert.

TexasCamper · 08-01-2012, 08:48 PM

Hillbilly-
The flat wear is on both edges with decent tread in the middle. But even the middle has less tread depth than the rest of the tire. So I was thinking maybe it siezed in a rut or pothole?

It was the outer edge that wore done more. The wear on the inside is less pronounced.

Tire pressure was good at 50 psi.

ELM-JLM · 08-01-2012, 08:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hillbillyhotel

seems like if it was the brake, would it not be all the way across, like a flat spot, not just on one side, but i have not seen anything like that ,

The belt has seperated from the casing! You are very lucky it didn't fly apart! Time to replace both tires and praise God that it was found sooner than later!

TexasCamper · 08-02-2012, 07:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ELM-JLM

Time to replace both tires and praise God that it was found sooner than later!

Why do you say replace both tires? The other one looks great with deep treads.

I placed the unused spare tire on at the campsite. I plan to replace the bad tire with an identical replacement. Then I'll put the new replacement onto the other side, and retire the 15,000-mile used tire as the spare tire. Any problems with that?

John

p.s., and yes, we were all very thankful the tire held instead of blowing out!

ELM-JLM · 08-02-2012, 08:14 PM

The tires are 15" Goodyear Marathon, 3.5 years old!

The caution is aimed at the age of the spare tire!

Keep a close eye on the new, older, tire for unusual wear as you go! A telltale sign of a tire beginning to seperate is a slight wobble or side to side motion of the trailer at very slow speeds or on take off!

08-03-2012, 09:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ELM-JLM

The belt has seperated from the casing! You are very lucky it didn't fly apart!

Yep. It looks like it is separated, and is about to peel. The steel belts are trying to lift off at the edges (common occurance), which is why you got the wear you did. Even the middle should be a little raised, and that's why it wore some there too compared to the rest of the tire.

You are lucky, that you didn't have the tread peel off and do some damage to your trailer.

Time to get a pair of new ones.

P.S. I just got back from South Dakota in June. Really liked Custer (Sylvan Lake area especially). Were ya able to camp there?

T and C · 08-03-2012, 10:13 AM

I agree with Earl about the issue being the age of the tires. I bought my 15" Marathons in July of 2010. I plan on replacing them in July of 2013. So far, after around 15K miles they do not show wear.

I realize the odds are that they would last longer. But I just do not want the worry about my tires deteriorating over time. I also REALLY do not want the hassle of a blowout. I am not a handyman so I have not built a cage to protect my plumbing. Replacing the tires at 3 years old is a form of insurance, at least for me.

Better safe than sorry, IMHO.

Tom

MudDog · 08-04-2012, 04:36 PM

Until today I had Goodyear 215/75 R14's made in China in January 2008.

We probably put 25000-30,000 miles on them since we bought the trailer in November 2008.

I try to check the tires fairly often and even though the tread looked good I had planned to replace them in the next couple of months (or before the next big trip, whichever came first).

Last week I had the trailer out for some maintenance and checked the tires.

The passenger side tire had a somewhat diagonal wear/bulge across the width of the tire. In some places it was raised, in some places it was pretty worn. I've attached a picture, though you can see the wear more than the slight bulge.

I'm assuming it's a similar failure to John's.

Like John, I'm glad I caught it before the tire blew out.

I replaced and upgraded to Maxxis M8008 225/75R15 8 ply Load Range D's with a weight rating of 2540.

Thankfully, there was no need for a lift kit or skirt adjustment. Will have to mod the spare tire carrier though.

Just another reminder to check your tires often and examine the whole tire (inside, outside and all the way around). Other than this slight diagonal area across the tread, the rest of the tire looked OK.

--jim