Trailer tire rant/advice

[JasonW]

Trailer tire rant.

So I recently picked up a used KX040 and made a decent road trip to get it. I took my 14k trailer and had two tires blow out about 45 minutes apart while on the way back. Complete instant tread separation/failure. Speed was around 65mph during both events.

The tires that blew were about 2.5 years old. 12ply load rating of 3750lbs each. Running 95psi(max cold pressure). Probably less than 5k miles on them. Speed rating N (87MPH). 235/80R16 12ply.


The other 2 tires, one replaced back on February of this year due to the tread starting to separate. And the other made it all the way back home.

It seems all the tire shops I’ve called around and absolutely stunned I got over 2 years out of trailer tires. I’m not going to replace trailer tires every two years as I have 8 trailers total.

I’ve always seen information about running truck tires on trailers. What’s some first hand experience with this?

Thankfully I brought two spares with me on this trip but it’s not a good feeling when the only tire shops still open do not carry trailer tires and your 6 hours from home and have to go into work the next morning. Definitely rethinking options on trailer tires.

 

[jimh406]

I don't have heavy trailers, but I use trailer tires on my utility trailers and car tires on my drift boat trailer.

I don't know about your tire pressure, but running a level trailer and full pressure can make a big difference. That is, if it isn't level, one tire is carrying more than its fair share of weight.

On the RV forums, some trailer tires are highly recommended while some aren't. Apparently, the quality varies a lot. The same goes for truck tires vs trailer tires.

 

[Poohbear]

I have Cooper trailer tires now on my 20000 lb RV (6) and they are going on 5 years and never a problem. I had Sailuns on my previous RV and that's what I will go back to if the Coopers are way overpriced.

 

[Runs With Scissors]

Funny you should bring this up.

I just noticed 2 of my utility trailer tires wearing funny….(Not funny, like a clown funny either)

Going to have to find some soon.

I have had the trailer for 5’ish years, and no problems so far.

I have been paying attention to the size and load rating when looking though, not if it is “trailer rated” or not.

 

[BAP]

Did your trailer have “China Bombs” on it? Most trailers and RVs come with the cheapest, junk tires on them that the manufacturer can buy. Put on a good quality name brand tire. If you need help finding a good brand, go onto RV forums because there is a lot of good information on there.

 

[JasonW]

Did your trailer have “China Bombs” on it? Most trailers and RVs come with the cheapest, junk tires on them that the manufacturer can buy. Put on a good quality name brand tire. If you need help finding a good brand, go onto RV forums because there is a lot of good information on there.

They have already been replaced. Not factory tires. Definitely not the cheapest as they are around 175-200 per tire. This is the 3rd set of tires on this particular trailer that I bought new in 2020.

The issue with most RV forums is they travel all the time and most change tires at 3 or 4 years regardless.

Having complete tire failure with 2-2.5 year old tires with less than 5k miles on them is ridiculous. I’m well aware of speed ratings, load ratings, and proper inflation.

I ended up upgrading to a dual tandem gooseneck last year after constant issues with tires on a single tandem gooseneck with 14ply tires.

 

[Old Machinist]

I don't tow all that often. I replace my car trailer tires 5 at the time every 9 or 10 years whether they need it or not. I keep all 5 tires covered with those silver sun shield things when it's not being used. My spare has never come off the mount until time to replace them all.

 

[johnjk]

I’m in the market for a couple trailer tires. Amazon is cheap but you get what you pay for. Thinking about etrailer.com to pick up a pair. My trailer is 9yrs old, oe tires and some wall rot since it sits outside. Had to rent a U-Haul trailer to move some furniture from NW Oh back to the house last weekend. Didn’t trust them for 4 hrs of highway

 

[lynnmor]

The only trailer tire that I would buy is Goodyear Endurance. On those trailers that I can fit a truck tire, I use Goodyear Wrangler HT tires. Stay away from any and all China Bombs.

 

[L35]

I run Goodyear endurance along with most of the rv community. I got rid of the Chinese tires after one year just to be safe. They should be illegal.

 

[JasonW]

I agree with the Goodyear endurance but they don’t have enough load rating for this application.
They would be fine for my 7k and under trailers though.

 

[GeoHorn]

They have already been replaced. Not factory tires. Definitely not the cheapest as they are around 175-200 per tire. This is the 3rd set of tires on this particular trailer that I bought new in 2020.

The issue with most RV forums is they travel all the time and most change tires at 3 or 4 years regardless.

Having complete tire failure with 2-2.5 year old tires with less than 5k miles on them is ridiculous. I’m well aware of speed ratings, load ratings, and proper inflation.

I ended up upgrading to a dual tandem gooseneck last year after constant issues with tires on a single tandem gooseneck with 14ply tires.

Firstly, it is True…that trailer tires are different than other vehicle tires….because of their SideWall construction. P rated and LT rated tires are not the same. While LT tires are sturdier / stiffer than P tires..they are not the best for trailers….especially tandem axle trailers which impart high “twisting” loads on tire sidewalls.

Secondly: YOUR particular useage might be an issue. You don’t mention the Brand or Model of tire...which May have a history of such failures …(and therefore not applicable to trailer tires categorically.)
YOU might have a unique usage situation which other trailer owners do not: You might park your tandem trailers in places that require sharp manuevering…which impart heavier “twisting” to your tires…which others do not experience (and may be the actual cause of short-lived-tread separation.)

There are other possible causes besides Brand/Model/Lot and Useage/Storage issues that have contributed to the short tire-life you’ve experienced.

I personally own Six trailers and an RV. I use ”ST” rated tires on All of them and have never suffered a trailer tire failure (at least not one that wasn’t expected* .…. I ignored one defective tire and ran it anyway and it separated and ran-flat… In that case, I was lucky…next morning I noticed it was flat after arriving at night and storing it overnight in my yard.)

I use “Carlisle” brand ST rated tires on All my utility and RV wheels. I use a completely different proprietary brand on my 10K Dump Trailer. (it came with those 8 yrs ago and are still in fine shape. I no longer use that trailer on public roads so will run them on the ranch until they rot.)
While Carlisle is historically a U.S. (PA) brand…like many other tire mfr’s these days, many of their tires are now produced in S.E. Asia. I have cont’d to use them with complete satisfaction.

My Airstream RV has had Three Sets of Carlisle ST tires on it. They routinely run 6-7 years before I change them. That trailer is stored indoors 6-mos at a time between trips. Those trips run 2K-5K miles each. The Airstream club members are “nervous Nellie’s” about tires, wheel bearing greasing, and brake replacements. I’m a retired guy who paid it way thru college as an auto and aircraft mechanic and I inspect and grease those bearings every 3-5 years or 20K miles… when I check the elect-brake linings for wear. I use common waterproof, marine boat-trailer grease on them.
Airstream shipped these out on Goodyear Marathons…which all the owners universally condemn. My Goodyear Marathon SPARE sat unused under that trailer for 18 years …NEVER on the ground until I had an expected* blow-out in Grand Junction enroute to a tire store. *(that Carlisle tire had a “flat spot” on its tread from a panic-stop in which the elect-brake had locked that tire up and skidded/scorched the flat spot. I drove on it another 400 miles to get to a Discount Tire in Grand Junction…and was about a mile from the store when it blew. (dang!)
The POINT is: Don’t give much credence to RV owners on tire advice. That 18-yr old Goodyear Marathon went on the ground for the First Time…to get to the tire store. That‘s not bad. The other two Marathons…. which had been on the trailer for it’s first 6 yrs of life….is on a rarely-used homemade utility trailer out here on the ranch. They’re still fine…but never given a hard workout…mostly just sit.

Back to the OP’s rant/tire problem: 1-Your use of your trailer might be causative. 2- the failed tires could have been on a known “recall” which you were unaware, 3- Stay with ST-rated, genuine Trailer Tires for trailers, and leave LT tires for trucks, and P tires for passenger cars.

FINALLY, you mention this trailer has had Three sets of (poor) tires on it. Besides the operational useage habits of that trailer (and in comparison to your other trailers) …have you had the tandem-axle alignment, wheels, and suspension inspected ? Such common and similar failures make suspicious the usage and mechanical condistion.

I hope this helps.

 

[JasonW]

The tires in question are trailer master ST pro which are in fact made in china but all have good reviews. They seem to go great until they suddenly let go about 2.5 years in with no warning. All hold air and support loads just fine.

To the above I’m aware of scrub radius and go out of my way when towing to not make sharp turns. But you can’t drive straight everywhere.

Trailers do not run off the road into potholes etc. Nothing laying in the road that was hit by the tires.

This particular trailer has been aligned when the second set of tires were installed. Most of these don’t stay on long enough to show a wear pattern. I was being very generous with them having 5k miles on them. Probably less than 2k miles or even less than 1k miles.

A misalignment will not cause tires to fail without warning like these have blown out. Think of all the misaligned vehicles all over the roads that wear the edges of the tires until the cord is showing yet doesn’t blow out.