Trailer Tire blow outs ???

[Kevin Seward]

For those who use a trailer to haul your T to out of town events, I have a question. What brand of tires are on your trailer and how well are they holding up? How close is the weight limit rating of the tires to the total weight limit of the trailer rating? Example is my trailer is rated to 7,000 pounds and the tire the manufacturer put on it is rated to 7,280. it seems to me this is too close and would be very easy to over load the trailer on one particular tire if not careful. My trailer with the T in it is about 5,800 pounds or so, but I don't have an individual weight on each wheel. I always thought the difference between 5,800 and 7000 was plenty of margin, but now am not so sure.

I know trailer tires can be too old and still look ok, but I'm wondering how much advantage there would be to step up one size in load rating to have a little more safety buffer; would the tires hold up better??? I have blown out 4 or 5 tires over the years and none of them looked bad before they blew out. I always keep an eye on the tire pressure also. Any ideas ????

Thanks, HiTec

[Lugnut]

Kev,

Good day to you sir. Regarding the trailer tires, I realize this is going to seem like a ridiculous question to you, BUT....I have known people who do this...the tires you have on your trailer...ARE they actually tires rated for a trailer? Reason I ask is I have known people to use "regular" truck/passenger car tires on trailers and these tires are a HUGE NO-NO!

Trailer tires are just that...tires that have thicker side walls to handle the extra loads....I have no idea why you have had so many blow outs....in all the years that I owned that red trailer...which has been gone now for about 4 years....I never had a blow out. And I had that trailer new since 2001. I always watched the tire pressure and the tires were TRAILER tires.

What tires came with the trailer? My suggestion is that you do one of two things...call the manufacture of the trailer and discuss your issues with them and then call a reputable tire dealer in your neck of the woods and discuss the issues with them also.

I realize you are looking for a quick answer to your questions, but there can be no greater source than that which the trailer was manufactured.

Hope this "helps" some what.

Jerry

[Lugnut]

Speaking further on the tires.....side wall rot is another damaging factor for the tires....I don't know if you store your trailer inside out of the elements or outside. I have always covered my tires up when the trailer is sitting idle as the heat of the sun will dry those tires out big time. If your tires are over 5 years old, you might want to consider replacing them because tires sitting out in the elements and ON the ground will cause them to age rapidly. In all the time that I had that red trailer,I replaced the tires only once...and this was because of age.

One further note....and I KNOW this to be fact. when you buy tires, BEFORE you have them mounted or even pay for them, check the manufactures "born on date." Sounds crazy I know, but there are many tire manufactures that send their tires out and they are already 3-4 years old. Case in point, friend Wally up here bought tires for his Model A from a tire manufacturer that you ALL know well a few years ago...and after mounting them discovered they were already SIX years old when he received them. He quickly sold off those tires to another hot rodder friend who just needed tires...and and Wally went with the same company that I dealt with...Diamond Back.

So ALWAYS check the manufacturers date and when not in use..air up the tires, get them off the ground ( place a slab of 2" x 8" board under each tire) an cover the tires up.

Lugnut

[Kevin Seward]

Speaking further on the tires.....side wall rot is another damaging factor for the tires....I don't know if you store your trailer inside out of the elements or outside. I have always covered my tires up when the trailer is sitting idle as the heat of the sun will dry those tires out big time. If your tires are over 5 years old, you might want to consider replacing them because tires sitting out in the elements and ON the ground will cause them to age rapidly. In all the time that I had that red trailer,I replaced the tires only once...and this was because of age.

One further note....and I KNOW this to be fact. when you buy tires, BEFORE you have them mounted or even pay for them, check the manufactures "born on date." Sounds crazy I know, but there are many tire manufactures that send their tires out and they are already 3-4 years old. Case in point, friend Wally up here bought tires for his Model A from a tire manufacturer that you ALL know well a few years ago...and after mounting them discovered they were already SIX years old when he received them. He quickly sold off those tires to another hot rodder friend who just needed tires...and and Wally went with the same company that I dealt with...Diamond Back.

So ALWAYS check the manufacturers date and when not in use..air up the tires, get them off the ground ( place a slab of 2" x 8" board under each tire) an cover the tires up.

Lugnut

Some good information Luggy,

Yes the tires are ST = for trailer service. it is the same brand and size as was originally supplied on the trailer new. A few years ago I did start covering the tires with a cover to protect them from the sun. I do park it outdoors on a concrete drive, but the trailer has shade on it about 50 - 60 % of the daylight hours and again for probably the past +/- 4 years there have been white tire covers on them when parked for more than a couple of days except while traveling.

I do know a local trailer parts supplier and will pick their brain some as well.

I appreciate your input and look for other thoughts as well.

Thanks, Hitec

[Lugnut]

Kevin,

I FOUND the magazine I was looking for this morning. Even though this is mainly a magazine for RVs."Trailer Life", there is a darn good article on just what you are looking for...

This is from the June 2013 issue of Trailer Life and the article is aptly titled: "Rolling Along Safely" Line items discussed: ST vs LT; "oh and though you were close...ST stands for SPECIAL Trailer tires"; Bias-ply or radial?; Blow UP or Blow out?; Tire Lifespan; Tips for storage; speed;

You might try accessing it online or stop by your local news stand and read the magazine right there...being as cheap as I am, I often just read the magazines at the stands.

Jerry

[Kevin Seward]

Thanks Luggy,

I will try to get a copy and check it out. I appreciate your feedback.

Kevin

[mike wade]

Kevin I really hate to appear to agree with the LugNut but You should only use Trailer Service Tires for sure and I don't think that a larger size will do much for you. I use at least 10 ply rated tires on my trailer and I did not blow out any of the four in about 40 thousand miles.

When I swapped those tires out with new ones this year we did find a couple that were going to throw the cap. But I had used them about as long as I should have...........Keep them tires pumped up and they will last a long time.............

Mike

[Big Bill]

Mike you just mentioned the critical thing When you said 10 ply rated or in todays world E rated. Like you I have pulled trailers thousands of miles over the last 50 years and have never experence a blow out, but I run tires with at least one ply rating higher than what is called for and two is better. Lug Nuts advice about the boards to keep off the ground and sun sheilds when parked is critical to good tire life. Guys remember the couple of dollars you save going to lighter tires at your local store when you have time to shop is nothing to what it will cost you to blow a couple of tires out of state on Sunday afternoon, even if the blow out doesn't cause an accident. One last thing is never trust a tire guage I always check a guage against at least one other and two is better. I use a premium guage from Snap on and over the years I have discovered it to be off as much as 30 lbs. I assume that it is cause by moisture or tire sealant being pushed into it or being dropped or me just being mean to it, but if I didn't catch it and repair or replace it who knows.

[Lugnut]

The other item of concern Kevin is SPEED! Myself, I'm not a huge fan of exceeding the speed limit when pulling a trailer...too many variables can take place in too short a time span. Remember, the FASTER you travel, the HOTTER those tires become and bad things over time and then too in a short matter of time WILL occur...such as BLOW OUTS!!! The very LAST thing you want to happen is have a blowout with your bucket in the back and your family in the front...going at excessive speed, the out come will NOT be a pretty one.

Jer

[Kevin Seward]

Thanks to all who have responded. I took the failed tire yesterday, to a trailer dealer in the area who also sells tires. They looked the the tire and were surprised it looked so good considering its age. turns out it is 10 years old. I actually mounted it on the trailer while at the nationals in Omaha back in 2004. So now I just need to decide how big of a tire to replace it with and plan to change them out in 7 or 8 years if I still have the trailer by then.
Thanks

Hitec