Blowout Poll

Hello friends,
I have read your posts about tires and blowouts with great interest, but I really didn't feel the need to apply them to my personal Trailmanor life before now. You see, I had a blowout this past weekend on my 3124KS with Goodyear Marathons. It was on the driver's side.
I'm just curious if one of the tires is more prone to blowout because of the weight above it. If so, I'll adjust how I load my TM. But I won't know unless you all give me your feedback on the poll.
Thanks for your information. I'll post the poll results so everyone can have the information.

Well friends, after posting the poll, I see that the format is quite different from what I thought it was. I'll rework it and present it to you later. Please don't respond to this poll now.
Thanks again.
LATM

[Bill]

We had our first blowout last week, on our annual trip from Maine to Arizona. It happened on I-80 in Iowa City, Iowa. My wife was driving, and did a superb job of handling it. I heard the pop and the rumble, and by the time I figured out what was going on, she was halfway up the exit ramp we just happened to be passing. We parked at the top of the ramp, well out of traffic, for repairs.

Specifics: It was the OEM Goodyear Marathon, passenger side. I had checked the tire pressure about 40 hours previously, and had no reason to think it was low. I had checked the tire temp with Ray's sophisticated instrument, the back of my hand, less than an hour previously at a gas stop. Not even warm. We had spent most of the day at 65-70 mph - the tires are rated for 65 mph, so were a bit over, but not castastrophically. The TM was heavy - we were moving our household for 6 months - but I don't think it exceeded the tire rating of 1850 pounds. My best guess as to the problem? Somewhere in New York state, the car ahead of us hit a chunk of wood in the road - a splintered 2X4 - and kicked it over into our lane. I couldn't dodge it. Our tow vehicle hit it, and it clonked up against the undercarriage. The TM tire may have hit it, and been damaged.

The good news?
o The TM didn't even think about swaying or lurching or wobbling. Even at 65 mph, with a shredded tire and brakes applied, it was straight and true. I love this design.
o The round wheel wells held. Nothing penetrated to the inside of the TM. There was damage, but it was cosmetic and limited to the outside of the TM. We mounted the spare, drove to a campground, and camped that night with no impairment.
o The undercarriage spare tire rack is slick. Getting the spare out of the rack, and then putting the shredded tire onto the rack, was simple. I love that design, too.

The bad news? Well, it all comes down on my head, not TM's. Wise man that I am, I had made provision for this problem. I had a hydraulic bottle jack ready for action, and a lug wrench and a square-head screwdriver to remove the wheel cover. And I stored them right there under the floor of the wayback of the tow vehicle - under the 600 pounds of stuff we were taking to Arizona, which I could have removed except that I was carrying two bicycles on their rack which covered the tailgate. Hmm, I may have to rethink this cargo distribution. So I called the guy from Good Sam and let him handle it.

Moral? A blowout is not fun. But on a TM, it is not a horror show, either.

Now, who can recommend the best solvent for getting lots of black tire marks off the whitework of the TM exterior?

Bill

[Frenchy]

Unless you actually weighed the TM, I bet you exceeded the 1850 pounds on the tires. I weigh my 3023 TM every time I leave on a long trip and am always amazed how little I can load in my TM without exceeding either the axle rating or the tire rating. I started weighing after I had two blowouts on one trip about four years ago. I also had no handling problems each time when the tire blew.

[Bill]

Leon -

I bought the TM new in the fall of 2001, so the tires are 3 years old. They haven't seen much sun - the TM is stored in the garage in Arizona, and in a shady nook in Maine. They do have a fair number of miles - maybe 20-25K.

In the end, I'm embarassed to say that Frenchy may be right. When the TM was a year old, I loaded it up for a trip (no water, but food, clothes, etc), and weighed it at about 3350 pounds. But that was a "local" trip. Coming across country this time, we added two cases of champagne for our daughter's upcoming wedding, three or four boxes of canned and bottled food that couldn't stay in Maine (it would freeze when we shut the house down), two solar panels and carrying cases, a TE cooler full of food, and maybe 75 pounds of raw glass and tools for my wife's beadmaking hobby. I wasn't really thinking about the weight of all this stuff, but it might have pushed the limit.

I'm sure looking forward to our next TM, with the 15" tire / heavy duty axle option.

Bill

[RockyMtnRay]

Originally Posted by Bill

Leon -

I bought the TM new in the fall of 2001, so the tires are 3 years old. They haven't seen much sun - the TM is stored in the garage in Arizona, and in a shady nook in Maine. They do have a fair number of miles - maybe 20-25K.

In the end, I'm embarassed to say that Frenchy may be right. When the TM was a year old, I loaded it up for a trip (no water, but food, clothes, etc), and weighed it at about 3350 pounds. But that was a "local" trip. Coming across country this time, we added two cases of champagne for our daughter's upcoming wedding, three or four boxes of canned and bottled food that couldn't stay in Maine (it would freeze when we shut the house down), two solar panels and carrying cases, a TE cooler full of food, and maybe 75 pounds of raw glass and tools for my wife's beadmaking hobby. I wasn't really thinking about the weight of all this stuff, but it might have pushed the limit.

I'm sure looking forward to our next TM, with the 15" tire / heavy duty axle option.

Bill

That all sounds like a pretty heavy load to me. My guess is you've been doing these cross-country moves each year with heavy loads (though maybe not quite this heavy) so you've put a lot of sustained fully loaded miles on your tires.

My recommendation is you replace both tires this winter with new Marathons...if one tire blew the other one probably doesn't have a lot of life left in it either. Especially since it was the passenger side that blew and the driver side is the one (on my trailer anyway) that carries a heavier load due to all the tanks and refer being on that side.

I just checked for Marathons on Tire Rack and see they have the 225/75R15 Load Range D models for only $85 (Load Range C at $78). That's not a whole lot to pay for peace of mind.

[Bill]

You're right, Ray, it is probably a good idea to replace the remaining "good" tire, too, using it as a spare.

FWIW, we paid about $70 for a new Marathon, mounted and balanced, in Iowa City.

I just checked for Marathons on Tire Rack and see they have the 225/75R15 Load Range D models for only $85 (Load Range C at $78).

The 15" Load Range D tire won't fit on this trailer, will it? Not that it really matters - if I was overstressing the tires (3750 pounds rated), I was overstressing the axle (3500 pounds rated) even more.

Bill

[RockyMtnRay]

Originally Posted by Bill

The 15" Load Range D tire won't fit on this trailer, will it? Not that it really matters - if I was overstressing the tires (3750 pounds rated), I was overstressing the axle (3500 pounds rated) even more.

Bill

Ooops...my bad...I had only one cup of coffee when I wrote that yesterday morning and didn't notice I was looking at the 15 inch size. No, the 14 inchers are not available in the D load range, only C range. Grrrr.

As for fitting a 15 incher on the trailer, that's a good question. My gut feeling is those of us with the lift kit may very well be able to squeeze an inch larger tire under there. (For one thing, I kinda doubt that TM redid the cabinetry and installed a larger wheel well when they made the 15 inch tires available on the newer models).

If there is room, my view is it probably would be worthwhile to go to the larger tire if 15 inch rims with the right bolt pattern are available at a tolerable price. While it's true that the max rating of the C range 14 inch tires is already the same as the axle (or over it...depending on whether you use Dexter's 3500 lb or TM's 3700 lb rating for the axle), I'm a believer that if you can get some spare capacity in a critical component at a tolerable price, it's probably worth doing so. Fundamentally I'm thinking that a sudden tire failure could be a lot more catastrophic than a saggy, collapsed suspension. AFAIK, we have had zero reports of a failed axle/suspension...but we've had a boatload of reports about failed tires.

Come spring (when my TM comes off the blocks it's currently sitting on), I'll do some measuring of clearance around the tire in wheel well. If it looks like there's room for a bigger tire, I'll call TM (and some local RV dealers) about the fitment of larger rims on this axle. If it'll work, I'll report back with my findings and prices.

Hi all,

I previously posted the following info on the tires I bought after our blowout in September, and thought I would provide it here for those looking for replacement 14 inchers. The dealer was in Fayetteville, NC.

Monday contacted Goodyear dealer, he couldn't get Marathon tires till Tuesday. Asked him if he had D rated tires which would fit, & he did. Bought two Goodyear ST205/75D14, Model HMG2020, had them mounted & balanced. Total $164. These tires say Property of Uhaul on the side, but dealer says he buys their overproductions. He sells a lot of these to the local Army units. These tires are used by Uhaul on their heavy trailers & car carriers. They are rated for 2040 lbs at 65 psi. They sure do look heavy duty. I'm not sure if Goodyear sells these retail or not.

[Frenchy]

I bought Cooper tires last time. The dealer said they were commercial type. They were 195R14C, Load Range D 106/104Q with a load rating of 2095 lbs at 65 PSIG. They fit and worked very well on my trip to Grand Teton NP from southern Indiana.