Some real good tire advice....

[cpaharley2008]

RV.Net Open Roads Forum: Why do tires fail? A Tire Engineers Response

[thoer]

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

RV.Net Open Roads Forum: Why do tires fail? A Tire Engineers Response

Great info Jim -- thanks!

[Dave D.]

I agree, its very useful information. Thanks for positing this Jim

Dave

[Dave D.]

Probably irrelevant for most trailer owners but it nicely illustrates what happens with unusual excess heat and tires. You can skip the first minute or so. It's very creepy what happens. Wheels of Fire Training Video - YouTube

Dave

[escape artist]

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

RV.Net Open Roads Forum: Why do tires fail? A Tire Engineers Response

Hi: cpaharley2008... Great info. One thing not mentioned that we got caught in, is bad valve stems. I always subscribe to the weakest link theory. Cost me $30. to change out the 3 stems... once I was aware of the problem. No blowouts!!! New chrome rims came with brass stems.
Ya gotta love the interweb. Alf
escape artist N.S. of Lake Erie

[Donna D.]

I've been following the all molded forums for a very long time. Tires are always a good topic, sometimes amusing. There's seems to be more blow outs reported on the Casita forums. A new thread of "what tire should we buy this week," crops up often. In all that reading, it appears that blow outs are generally because of under/over inflation, overloaded axle weights or improper weight distribution inside... or HOT asphalt combined with speed. Of course, there are a bunch more Casitas in Texas than just about anywhere else and it is HOT a lot of the time plus the highway speed limits are higher than probably elsewhere in most of the country. At the speed I travel when towing, I'd probably be run off the road.

Thanks for the link Jim.

[Dave&Kathie]

Don't forget the age of the tire. On most of our cars the tread wears down before the tire ages. Not so on a trailer. Many now recommend that tires be replaced after 6 years from the production date regardless of the condition of the tread.
How Old - and Dangerous - Are Your Tires?

Kathie

[gbaglo]

I think a lot depends on where you live ( hot, sunny south or cool, wet north ). The Marathons carry a six year warranty, yet on some forums, people advocate replacement at five years.
Goodyear has a PDF on tire care and maintenance at: http://www.goodyearrvtires.com/pdfs/tire-care-guide.pdf

It was pointed out to me, BTW, that I DO have a spare tire

[Dave Walter]

Originally Posted by gbaglo

I think a lot depends on where you live ( hot, sunny south or cool, wet north ). The Marathons carry a six year warranty, yet on some forums, people advocate replacement at five years.
Goodyear has a PDF on tire care and maintenance at: http://www.goodyearrvtires.com/pdfs/tire-care-guide.pdf

It was pointed out to me, BTW, that I DO have a spare tire

To help preserve and extend the life of my trailer tires, I keep them out of direct sunlight and in sub-zero temperatures for six months of the year. In fact, I will be winterizing my trailer in the next week or two.

[amirie]

We took our trailer out to the factory last week--tires are original (trailer was built in July 2007)

The previous owners took the trailer across Canada and we have done a couple nice longish trips with it too.

Reace could see "flat" spots on the tires and a couple spots where the tread looked like it was lifting a bit.

So we are getting them replaced while out there--better safe than sorry...

We always have the tire covers on at home. (saves from the darn neighborhood cats spraying them too!!)