Blown Out Tires

[jarvo9]

What a way to start off our 2007 camping season.............We had beautiful weather, a great trip planned with tons of hikes etc and this is how we got started.  No sooner had we left home (about 10 minutes into our 3 1/2 hour ride) we have a blow out on the PUP.  No problem.  We pull over change the tire in 90 degree weather and we are off again.  We wind up about an hour or so later sitting at a almost dead stop for close to an hour.  We are off again and 10 minutes later...BAM...other PUP tire blows!  Now what,  it's 5:30pm on a Friday evening of a holiday weekend and we have already used our spare.  Two small kids in our towing vehicle on the side of busy highway in extremely warm weather.  Perfect!!!

Long story short, after 17 phone calls we finally found someone willing to help us.  We had the tire replaced and bought several extras, just for my piece of mind.  A 3 1/2 hour ride took us 7 hours, but the rest of the weekend was terrific!

Now for my question,  has anyone ever heard of this happening?  We have only been out in our PUP 3-4 times.  What could have caused this?  Our tire pressure was around 80.  Should it be something else?

Needless to say,  we were very fortunate to find that there are still some really great people out there willing to help those in need.  Everyone was safe and it turned out to be an awesome trip.  We will forever carry at least 2 if not more spares from here on out.


Jarvo9

[aerohead34]

What a way to start off our 2007 camping season.............We had beautiful weather, a great trip planned with tons of hikes etc and this is how we got started.  No sooner had we left home (about 10 minutes into our 3 1/2 hour ride) we have a blow out on the PUP.  No problem.  We pull over change the tire in 90 degree weather and we are off again.  We wind up about an hour or so later sitting at a almost dead stop for close to an hour.  We are off again and 10 minutes later...BAM...other PUP tire blows!  Now what,  it's 5:30pm on a Friday evening of a holiday weekend and we have already used our spare.  Two small kids in our towing vehicle on the side of busy highway in extremely warm weather.  Perfect!!!

Long story short, after 17 phone calls we finally found someone willing to help us.  We had the tire replaced and bought several extras, just for my piece of mind.  A 3 1/2 hour ride took us 7 hours, but the rest of the weekend was terrific!

Now for my question,  has anyone ever heard of this happening?  We have only been out in our PUP 3-4 times.  What could have caused this?  Our tire pressure was around 80.  Should it be something else?

Needless to say,  we were very fortunate to find that there are still some really great people out there willing to help those in need.  Everyone was safe and it turned out to be an awesome trip.  We will forever carry at least 2 if not more spares from here on out.

Jarvo9

Did the tires have any visible cracks on the sides? I try to keep my tires covered when the popup is not in use. I have read where the tires degrade in direct sunlight. I will eventually get tire covers but for now I use cardboard. I also put the tires on wood boards to keep them off the ground which I have also heard will degrade tires. I replaced one tire last year that had cracks on the side before I started covering the tires. It seems to help protect the tires.

[flyfisherman]

Now for my question,  has anyone ever heard of this happening?  We have only been out in our PUP 3-4 times.  What could have caused this?  Our tire pressure was around 80.  Should it be something else?

Needless to say,  we were very fortunate to find that there are still some really great people out there willing to help those in need.  Everyone was safe and it turned out to be an awesome trip.  We will forever carry at least 2 if not more spares from here on out.


Jarvo9

Your not giving much info on the tires ... since your saying the pressure "was around 80" I'm assumming they are 5.30 X 12 tires.

The number one factor for tire failure, especially with those 12 inchers, is tire pressure. With bias trailer tires if your carrying less then what it says to carry on the sidewall of the tire ... expect trouble!  They heat up fast when under inflated and a blow-out is very common.

The next thing that goes amiss with trailer tires is dry rot. You may not travel great distances with them and they show great tread, but these type of tires  don't age so good. Especially if your storing the trailer where the tires set on the bare ground. Better for them to have something under them, like a slab of wood or concrete ... you know, one of those patio stone slabs.

The other caution, again, especially with the 5.30 X 12 tires, is to make sure you have the right ones. There's a 5.30 X 12 (Load Range "B") tire, usually used for boat trailers, but it can only carry something like 740 lbs, with 50 psi. The 5.30 X 12 (Load Range "C") tires are more for the popup campers and they can carry 1045 lbs at 80 psi.  ~ put a load range "B" tire where it calls for the load range "C" and you can expect a tire failure down the road and very shortly! And this brings up another point ... overloading the camper beyond it's tire carrying capacity! Of courese, the board here knows you would'nt do anything like that (LOL), but it's a point to keep in mind for the future when there seems to be more and more gear getting put aboard!

My little Starcraft has the 5.30 X 12 tires (load range "C") and I have two spares. However, my carrying two was because at the time we were going into some far back in the woods places and the trailer tires were just not that common to buy off the beaten path. Bad feeling having a flat, using your spare and you still have another 35 miles to travel back into the boonies! One spare is mounted on the rear at the regular place and the other is mounted on the trailer tounge. And, another thing this brings to mind ... make sure when you're airing up that the spares are up to snuff, too!  Also, I carry one of those 12 volt inflaters that plug into the cigar lighter of the TV and is capable of inflating to 80 psi (mine says it will go up to 150 psi) ~  bought the little compressor at Wally-Marts some time ago for less than twenty bucks and has that thing ever saved my bacon on many occassions!



Fly

[AustinBoston]

I too first thought of inflation pressure.  80 PSI is only OK if they are supposed to have 80 PSI.  I would not go below the max pressure unless you have a severe problem with the trailer bouncing on ordinary bumps.

Like others, I also thought "dry rot."  I'm the only person I can think of that replaced trailer tires because they wore out.  Our tires were 5 years old and had more than 25,000 miles on them, and would have been replaced at that point anyway because of their age.  They just happened to be worn out as well.

One other thing that I don't see anyone else saying is keep the speed down.  If you tow at 70 or 80 miles per hour, it puts a lot of stress on those little tires.

Austin

[wavery]

One other thing that I don't see anyone else saying is keep the speed down.  If you tow at 70 or 80 miles per hour, it puts a lot of stress on those little tires.

Austin

I was thinking the same thing........80 may be the tire pressure but it's sure way above the speed limit for those tires.......(I'm not saying, that's what he was doing)

[dthurk]

I would have to agree. I would think most tire failures are due to overloading and/or going too fast. ST (trailer) tires are only rated for 65 mpg. Going faster may be risking an eventual blowout, especially if you're also overloaded. Not saying this is what the OP was doing, but it's a place to start checking.
 
How old is the camper? Did you buy it new or used? What do you know of the maintenance of the camper?
 
Oh, another thing...we belong to Good Sam Emergency Road Service.  Not recommending you join this service, but check it out along with other similar.  Membership in a service of this nature may help reduce your 17 phone calls to 1, and they will respond on nights and weekends, quite possibly saving you considerable time.

[jarvo9]

To answer of few of your questions.....the tires are 5.3 x 12 "C" tires and they were filled to 80 psi.  We were traveling at about 60 miles per hour MAX (heavy traffic).  Definately not overloaded, we had actually been weighed on a prior trip with the exact items stored in the PUP.  Odd items we tend to store in the TV (that way we don't forgot to pack any of the necessities into the PUP).

We had purchased the PUP used last August.  It was stored on plywood then, cement patio blocks underneath both tires and the entire area was enclosed so no sun.

Based on all of your replies,  I guess I can assume that althougth the tires looked "new" they were probably old enough to have had unseen dry rot.  Is that a reasonable assumption?  If so,  how often do you recommend replacing the tires along with any spares?

TIA...
Jarvo9

[jarvo9]

[
Oh, another thing...we belong to Good Sam Emergency Road Service.  Not recommending you join this service, but check it out along with other similar.  Membership in a service of this nature may help reduce your 17 phone calls to 1, and they will respond on nights and weekends, quite possibly saving you considerable time.[/QUOTE]


Oh forgot one thing......Our first call was to the NH State Police which was very disturbing.  Dispatcher was not very helpful and basically told us there was nothing she could do.  My second call was to AAA as we are a member and they told me that while they could come out to change a tire they did not have a the type tire we needed (neither did we because we had already used our spare, nor would they tow a camper/trailer.  They suggested I call a tire repair place such as Sullivan etc, which again was a dead end after dead end because many don't stock trailer tires and all RV/Marine places I tried were already closed for the holiday weekend.  So result was AAA was not the road side service we need for towing.  Would Good Sam be a better option??

[AustinBoston]

Based on all of your replies, I guess I can assume that althougth the tires looked "new" they were probably old enough to have had unseen dry rot. Is that a reasonable assumption? If so, how often do you recommend replacing the tires along with any spares?

You should be able to get 3 years from trailer tires at a minimum.  It seems the more they are used, the longer they last, so if you use your trailer every weekend, there is no reson your trailer tires should not last 5 years or more.

So result was AAA was not the road side service we need for towing.  Would Good Sam be a better option??

You might find out if your AAA has "AAA+" or "AAA RV" towing.  Not all states have that.  Upgrading your AAA (if you can) will be cheaper than having both AAA and Good Sam's.  If not, you would need AAA and Good Sam's, because Good Sam's does not cover your car/tow vehicle uless you are towing an RV.

Austin

[jarvo9]

You should be able to get 3 years from trailer tires at a minimum.  It seems the more they are used, the longer they last, so if you use your trailer every weekend, there is no reson your trailer tires should not last 5 years or more.



You might find out if your AAA has "AAA+" or "AAA RV" towing.  Not all states have that.  Upgrading your AAA (if you can) will be cheaper than having both AAA and Good Sam's.  If not, you would need AAA and Good Sam's, because Good Sam's does not cover your car/tow vehicle uless you are towing an RV.

Austin

Thanks Austin!  We'll definately investigate the AAA options available to us.  This season we are planning on using our PUP at least every other weekend.  So I'll look to replace our tires in 3 years or so, that is without any unforeseen disasters like the one we just had!

Thanks again for all your info and help!  Knowledge is certainly power.

[flyfisherman]

Based on all of your replies,  I guess I can assume that althougth the tires looked "new" they were probably old enough to have had unseen dry rot.  Is that a reasonable assumption?  If so,  how often do you recommend replacing the tires along with any spares?

TIA...
Jarvo9

I'm inclined to think they were beyond the point of no return, i.e., deteriorated. I've replaced my 5.30 X 12's annually when I've driven them a lot of miles; 9,000 miles is a lot of miles for them. Otherwise, it's been every two years, although it looks like with the gas prices it will three years this time.

The good thing about the 12's is that they do cost less to replace than the 13's (I know, but they don't go as far!) ~ But above all things ... watch that air pressure. They were engineered for 80 psi and whenever you go less, look for trouble.



Fly

[chasd60]

Thanks Austin! We'll definately investigate the AAA options available to us. This season we are planning on using our PUP at least every other weekend. So I'll look to replace our tires in 3 years or so, that is without any unforeseen disasters like the one we just had!
 
Thanks again for all your info and help! Knowledge is certainly power.

I figure every 4-5 years should be good. For roadside assistance I use RV Roadhelp through Allstate. You can also buy it through KOA at a little lower price. I had one of my rear brakes on my truck lockup. They sent a truck to tow my hybrid camper and a flatbed to put my truck on.

[brainpause]

You should be able to get 3 years from trailer tires at a minimum.  It seems the more they are used, the longer they last, so if you use your trailer every weekend, there is no reson your trailer tires should not last 5 years or more.

Austin

I have a theory about this. I've thought about it a lot, and wondered about it, and this theory must be true, because I thunk it up .

I theorize that if the tires are driven periodically, they heat up and "vulcanize" just a little, helping to "melt" (?) the cracks and other defects just a tiny bit, molding them back together a smidgin.

There. Now we all know why.

Larry

For those that can't sense humor, the above post is not fact. It is only a hypothesis, although a serious hypothesis.

[AustinBoston]

I have a theory about this. I've thought about it a lot, and wondered about it, and this theory must be true, because I thunk it up .

I theorize that if the tires are driven periodically, they heat up and "vulcanize" just a little, helping to "melt" (?) the cracks and other defects just a tiny bit, molding them back together a smidgin.

There. Now we all know why.

Larry

For those that can't sense humor, the above post is not fact. It is only a hypothesis, although a serious hypothesis.

I think differently.  I think the Vulcans are aliens from space (see signature).  Whether they are friend or foe remains to be seen.

In any case, my own idea is that the tire gremlins get lazy and atrophy.  When the tire is run on the road, those tire gremlins get some excercise and gain strength, making the tire stronger.


I had someone explain it as oils in the tire "drying out," and that when the tire is used, those oils are moved about slightly in the rubber, which is all that is needed.

I dunno.

Austin

[mike4947]

Austin;  Good Sam ERS covers everything AAA+ does. You do not have to be towing. It's just another road service company.
and JMHO it is a better deal than AAA+ because at least it is nation wide. If you end up in an area that doesn't offer AAA+ (AAA gold) (AAA RV) you are on your own as far as the trailer is concerned and then you have to try and get reimbursed from your local AAA.