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Old 10-14-2017, 02:06 PM   #1
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San Ant , Arkansas
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1 Axle / Blow Out

Hi
Think of buying a 19’, and the dealer advised against it. He logic seemed sound.

“Being newbies to towing, a blowout tire while driving could be a concern”.

Anyone have a blowout while towing a single axle? Or any thoughts?

Thanks.
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Old 10-14-2017, 02:10 PM   #2
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We have also never towed, and almost bought a 20', but decided against it. Got too paranoid about the single axle. Was also told that it's actually easier to back up a double axle.
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Old 10-14-2017, 02:12 PM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ASCM86 View Post
Hi
Think of buying a 19’, and the dealer advised against it. He logic seemed sound.

“Being newbies to towing, a blowout tire while driving could be a concern”.

Anyone have a blowout while towing a single axle? Or any thoughts?

Thanks.
Had Michelins put on mine, and quit worrying.

Also there's not much easier to tow than a 19'. Mine was great. Towed good with my 6 cyl Grand Cherokee Overland. I went to a 27' and a one ton truck. No problems but I had a lot of previous towing experience.

19' is a good trailer for a newbie. Remember most tire problems are caused by underinflation.
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Old 10-14-2017, 02:26 PM   #4
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new tires, good new tires and I don’t see a problem other than the 19 and 20 seemed just too small, at least for me.
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Old 10-14-2017, 03:00 PM   #5
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In 20 years I have had 2 blowouts on a single axle trailer. Never a problem, trailer goes straight and you know immediately that there is a flat. With 2 axles you might not know there is a blowout till the tire tears up the trailer.
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Old 10-15-2017, 09:49 AM   #6
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I agree with Shacksman and countryboy .
I replace my tires with top quality and do it a little early and have never had any issues.

Check you air pressure before each move and I also "feel" the tires and centre wheel hub at every gas/food stop.
You could also add tire pressure monitors to the trailer...im thinking about it but haven't done it yet ..... I haul about 10-14,000km per year.
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Old 10-15-2017, 09:57 AM   #7
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So...I have been towing a single axle (two of them) for a little over 10 years. I check the tire pressure frequently and am especially aware of doing so when camping/traveling. I change the tires before they get old. Never had a flat or blowout. Now, I hope this doesn't happen in the future but there a lots and lots of single axle Airstreams on the road. There are blowouts on single and double axle trailers....just a fact of life. I think the more important thing to consider is the size of trailer that matches your needs.
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Old 10-15-2017, 10:03 AM   #8
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Hi

It's not anything that would stop me from getting a single axle. Changing a flat on a two axle can be done by "cheating" (blocks under the good tire) rather than a jack. Make sure you have a jack and that one is off the list ....

Bob
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Old 10-15-2017, 10:20 AM   #9
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One additional consideration - a nail or screw that creates a slow leak can go un-detected. The leak can be easily identified with a TMPS which is not terribly expensive to install and saves checking tire pressure manually. Installing quality tires helps to make your rig less likely to have a blow out/tread separation, but those pesky sharp objects can still be a problem on the best tires.

The reason to purchase a dual axle coach is the additional stability of that configuration. However, lots of folks tow single axle trash, utility, boat, and travel trailers with no effective issues. Everyone makes a whole series of compromise decisions in their RV purchase. Make sure you are making the best ones for your RV lifestyle. Do it once and do it right. It will give your a lifetime of enjoyment. Pat
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Old 10-15-2017, 10:57 AM   #10
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My AS is a dual axle and no blowouts. I have had blowouts on single axle boat trailers. The last was on my Ranger Trail (~2,300 lbs. rig), 75 mph, BLAM. Pulled off on the shoulder and put the spare on; no problems. Many years ago I had a smaller boat/trailer and kept blowing tires at 65 to 75 mph. It was never a problem steering and the trailer just followed along. I don't understand the salesman's concern for single axle trailers and blowouts.

If you've had a blowout in your car, you know what that's like and how to deal with it, same for trailers. If you have never experienced a blowout:
  • Stay as calm as you can
  • Don't slam on the brakes
  • Lightly apply brakes to slow down
  • When slowed enough, go to the right shoulder
(stay in your lane as long as you can before getting onto the shoulder. You'll have better control of your tow vehicle.)

Personally, other than the lack of vision on the AS when backing up, I didn't find it any easier/tougher to back it up than my boat. A single axle is more responsive to your steering wheel turns, so easier to make mistakes, easier to recover. Maybe that was what the salesman was referring to.

My 23' is the longest, heaviest personal trailer I've ever towed but I have had many years of experience towing, including a few runs in a 65' tractor trailer. (Oddly enough, the 65' rig was easier to back up than my boat. )
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Old 10-15-2017, 11:25 AM   #11
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I share the same concerns about towing a single axle AS. I own a 2016 19FC and have been thinking about going to a 25'. But what I've decided for the time being is to just replace the GY Marathon tires which I hear horror stories about and also invest in a TST TPMS.
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Old 10-15-2017, 01:00 PM   #12
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We have had one blowout on our 19', changed the tire to the spare at the side of the road in not the best circumstances ... and survived. We were back on the road in less than an hour. It is no fun, for sure, but I would not let that stop me from buying the trailer I wanted. We now carry a small floor jack after using a bottle jack to lift the trailer...that was the worst part.

We also use TPMs (Tire Pressure Monitor), which will not prevent a catastrophic event like a blowed from a tread separation, but will detect loss of pressure in time to get off the road and see what's happening. That's happened to us a couple of times as well.
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Old 10-15-2017, 08:07 PM   #13
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With others above, I concur on the TPMS.

I went for over ten years towing without a tire problem. Then..........
Reading these forums, I bit the bullet and bought a 'Tire Minder' this Spring.
Installed it during preparations for a Rally trip this Spring.
About ONE HOUR on the road, it was telling me of a tire leak.
I had picked up a screw on the 401.
Made it to an "On Route" roadside stop, and had it changed within the hour, and was on my way.
THAT $400+ gizmo just saved me several thousand in damages.
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Old 10-15-2017, 08:30 PM   #14
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We didn't want to go longer than 20', in order to fit into the smaller sites at a lot of western public CGs that were designed before big rigs became so common.

We were newbies to towing 10 years ago. Backing was a big challenge, but you improve with practice.

Since then we put on thousands of miles annually (currently in Moab, UT) and have never had a blow-out. We now travel with a small air compressor to keep the tires at full pressure and inspect them periodically, but if you think about it-- how many disabled single-axle trailers have you seen along the side of the road?

But good advice on tire pressure monitors-- we'll probably get one.

Hmmm.... why would your dealer even sell an RV he didn't think was safe??
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Old 10-15-2017, 09:07 PM   #15
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Originally Posted by Len n Jeanne View Post

Hmmm.... why would your dealer even sell an RV he didn't think was safe??


Hm, could it be a strong interest in nothing other than making a PROFIT???
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Old 10-15-2017, 09:28 PM   #16
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I have had two single axle blowouts on the interstate
. Neither time did the trailer do alarming. One time, the entire was totally and the wheel was running on the pavement, too.
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Old 10-15-2017, 09:32 PM   #17
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Have had 2 flats on separate single-axle campers, both on Interstate highways. Wasn't a wild ride, just slowed quickly & carefully pulled over.
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Old 10-16-2017, 07:43 PM   #18
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We put 26000 miles on a single axle Flying Cloud 20 in two years before we got a larger trailer with a bigger bed. No tire issues. I ran them at the max 65 and checked them co sistently. Still carried a good bottle jack in case. Trailer was great for small campsites.
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Old 10-16-2017, 08:06 PM   #19
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We purchased a 19' last year and have been quite pleased with it. We originally wanted a 25 for a number of reasons, one of them being the dual axles. Our boat trailer has dual axles and it does track, especially backing, quite well and easily. We decided that the 19' was the trailer best suited for us and I compromised with having a single axle. It didn't take long to get used to tracking with the single axle and we've really enjoyed the trailer and not had any issue with having a single axle.

Our boat trailer did have bad tires; we went thru 3 tires on the way from the Keys to Orlando one trip and we got quite good at changing them. We've put probaby 12,000+ miles on the trailer in the year we've had it, just over 10,000 in one trip this Spring. I was nervous about tire failure with one axle, but it's not been an issue so far. Could it be? Could be. We check our tires often, keep them inflated properly, and drive within their ratings. You can have issues with single axle failures and dual axle failures.

I think you should go with the trailer that best suites your need, learn to maintain it, learn the limits of your trailer, tow vehicle and tires, and enjoy the trip.
Richard
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Old 10-24-2017, 09:03 AM   #20
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Angry GYM's

I don't understand that with all the reported problems the GYM's produce, why airstream continues their use on their trailers. We pay alot for the privelege of owning a new airstream TT. The least that they can do is put a high quality tire on it as a stock item.
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