Trailer Tires

LBarr2002

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#1
As a lot of you already know, we had 3 blowouts in the last 150 miles of our trip home from OSCAR 3. I have a 24 foot gooseneck with dual 6,000 pound axles. The tires are 1.5 year old Tow Master ST235/80R16, properly inflated, no visual wear, less than 2,000 miles on them, and not overloaded. We have towed with the same load to Harlan, Uwharrie, and Gulches multiple times.

We lost the left rear just north of Canton, NC. Replaced it with my spare, an LT235/85R16, and kept rolling. Near Woodruff, SC, we lost the right front. We found a tire shop that had two well used LT235/85R16 and could mount them for us, so we bought both (and two more wheels off a truck they had behind the ahop so that I can carry extra spares next time) put one of used tires on and were rolling again. Between Newberry and Chapin we lost the right rear. Put the second used tire on and took back roads to Brooks' house. We unloaded Brooks' Jeepmoved the Sami back, and I headed home. The trailer was bouncing and jerking on my way home, but I haven't checked yet if the last tire was coming apart or maybe one of the spares is bad...

My brother had 3 of his 4 Tow Masters (1 year old, from the same distributor, but a different size) come apart also, but not on this trip. His have much less mileage on them than mine do.

So, I started this thread to get some opinions. What's the advantage of ST tires over LT? What brands of trailer tires have you had good or bad luck with? I'm going to give the distributor a chance, but I will definitely not go back with the same tire.
 
#3
I would take a tape measure and see if everything is square on the trailer with the axles. I am wondering if something get bent or out of alingment and causing it to wear oddly to the point of destruction. It would be something to get a bit piece of mind.
 

LBarr2002

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#4
There's no indication of any wear on the tires. Even the completely separated one the tread looks like New, but I'll make sure things are square.
 
#5
I had carlisle tires on my old trailer. they seemed to work just fine. I got them new from a local trailer place in florida and they lasted multiple trips from south florida to NC mountains and our move up. The big difference was i had a single vehicle trailer and didnt have the weight you had but they were e rated and worked for me.
 
#6
Dad has had a ton of problems with trailer tires. I know he has called the manufacturers and gotten them to warranty them. He had lost 3 out of 4 tires on a camper on a trip and it totaled it.
 

LBarr2002

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#7
Luckily the only damage was a board broken on the deck behind the fender and a brake that's not working, but yeah they'll do some damage to thin metal or fiberglass when the come apart.
 
#8
The only tire I've had come apart like that was on my gooseneck. It was the last of the tires that were original to the trailer. Any indication of dry-rot between the tread of the remaining tire that didn't blow? All the tires I've seen come apart like that were older and while the sidewalls looked great, and good tread, there was a lot of cracking and dry-rot in the tread on the tires.

Ryan lost 3 or 4 tires on his RV heading to Dixie Run this year. Turned a 6hr trip into about 13hrs.
 
#9
i prefer a LT over a ST, have had to many problems with the st, they done the same thing tread came apart. i think the LT has a stiffer side wall ply, just my person preference
 

LBarr2002

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#10
I looked when I got home tonight and the 4th is separating too. Lucky I made it home without loosing that one. This last one looks just like Dj's bad ones.
 
#11
How many ply(s) are y'all talking about? A lot of times you can look at a tire and tell if it just looks like a heavier made tire. I'd suggest calling Featherlite and see what kind of tires they put on their trailers. They sell high quality and high dollar trailers so I would assume they have insight.
 

LBarr2002

LIFETIME
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#12
How many ply(s) are y'all talking about? A lot of times you can look at a tire and tell if it just looks like a heavier made tire. I'd suggest calling Featherlite and see what kind of tires they put on their trailers. They sell high quality and high dollar trailers so I would assume they have insight.
E rated is 10-ply. I'm going to see what the distributor says... Depending on how that goes Friday will depend on where I go from here.
 

LBarr2002

LIFETIME
SUPPORTER
#15
I took the two tires I had and pictures of the first two by today and the dealer is going to make it right. The supplier is going to refund the cost to the retailer, and that refund will come straight to me. So, now I have to decide what to get. The dealer actually suggested LT tires, but my options are:

1) They no longer sell Tow Master, and have changed to Commodore. So, I could get a set of Commodores from them (which have free roadside assistance).
2) A different trailer tire brand, most likely Maxxis.
3) LT tires.
 
#17
After going thru a couple tires headed out west last year and the very next trip loosing one in Harlan I bought good name tires. I'd look at some commercial t/A like mentioned before. They maybe pricey but so are 2 built rigs it's hauling. So relatively tires are cheap.


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