A tale of woe - how I saved a buck on tires and destroyed my sewer connection

dmreilly10000 · 11-25-2002, 12:34 PM

I took my 1991 34' Excella to the deer camp Friday. I was only going 100 miles on the Natchez Trace (U.S. Park Service road from Nashville, Tenn to Natchez, Miss.) where the speed limit is only 50 MPH.

The rear tire on the street side blew out, shredded, and took out half of the box containing the sewer outlet and the dump valve handles. The grey water dump valve handle was broken off inside the valve. Also did minor damage to the wheel well trim, and major damage to bottom of belly pan.

Has this happened to anyone else? How much to get this fixed?

Moral of the story: I saved a buck by not buying new tires, and now I have a repair bill that will probably cost more then 6 new tires.

Dbraw · 11-25-2002, 12:46 PM

You not only saved a buck on the tires, you probably saved a buck since you had to stop and deal with the damage instead of going deer hunting. Good luck with the repairs as well with the hunting. I just got back from our opening season here in Tennessee. Good time in the Airstream and the three of us got three bucks.
Dan

dmreilly10000 · 11-25-2002, 01:12 PM

I like that, "saved a buck".

This happened the day before opening of gun season. Later on in the day, I went back home to get my 4 wheeler on a utility trailer. It was after dark and a nice buck made a run for me trying to commit suicide. I sped up and it hit the side of the trailer denting the fender. Last year, I hit one head-on and it cost $3,000.00 to fix the front of the truck.

The deer bounced off and ran away into the woods.

Pahaska · 11-25-2002, 01:57 PM

I had similar damage on my previous SOB trailer, a TrailManor, when a tire blew near Akron, CO. The steel cord took off almost the entire sewer outlet. Th twisting of the sewer outlet put a hump in the floor and jarred my commode loose from the flange. The foam sandwich floor was permanently distorted and the commode never mounted properly after that.

It also buckled the seams of the square metal wheel well and by the time I limped home to Texas, the cabinets around the wheel well were full of black road dust. I never did get all the black dust cleaned up; it even permanently stained my plastic food containers that were in the bottom of the cabinets.

I now carry a roll of duct tape to seal off any damage that would possibly let in road dust.

InsideOut · 11-25-2002, 03:04 PM

It appears that a PO had a similar incident with Maxwell. We noticed the inside of the street side, fiberglass (?) wheel well was pretty mangled under our side gaucho...fortunately, no damage was done to any of the plumbing or other systems as most of them are located on the other side of the trailer.

There is a small section that was repaired on the outside around the wheel well. We were such novices when we got Maxwell that we didn't even notice at first; not that it would have made a difference. We do however, intend on doing a better repair job when we polish.

We have some WBCCI friends who just completed a restoration of their '63 GlobeTrotter. They were on their way to the Santa Maria Rally and had a blow out which did major damage to their plumbing, gas lines, cabinetry & exterior skin. I haven't seen the trailer, just pictures but it was a major warning to us to get new tires ASAP. Our tires have plenty of tread left, but are not new...they could have unseen rot...and the way you usually find out is with a blow-out!

The rule of thumb we've been told is to replace the tires at least every 5 years, tread left or not! Cheap insurance....

Shari

P.S. Here's a photo of the streetside of Maxwell...if you look close you will see an extra line of rivets above the wheel, between the access door & the water heater cover.

enduroryda · 04-10-2006, 06:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by InsideOut

We have some WBCCI friends who just completed a restoration of their '63 GlobeTrotter. They were on their way to the Santa Maria Rally and had a blow out which did major damage to their plumbing, gas lines, cabinetry & exterior skin. I haven't seen the trailer, just pictures but it was a major warning to us to get new tires ASAP. Our tires have plenty of tread left, but are not new...they could have unseen rot...and the way you usually find out is with a blow-out!

Shari

I know this is an old quote and thread but since someone got it going I have a ??

After hooking up and testing our gas lines yesterday my husband was questioning it's use during travel and I told him that you usually run the gas for the fridge while on the road....after reading this thread I am also a little concerned after hearing major damage was done to the gas lines during a blow out...that equals to me POOF

. I have new rubber so that's not a prob...but for others with old tires the question stands..is it safe to travel with you gas on??

I vaguely remember a thread about locking down your tanks with an alternative to the stock set up and forgot to take notes...if anyone can point me in that direction I'd appreciate it. Thanks!

**Chuck** · 04-10-2006, 12:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by enduroryda

...After hooking up and testing our gas lines yesterday my husband was questioning it's use during travel and I told him that you usually run the gas for the fridge while on the road....after reading this thread I am also a little concerned after hearing major damage was done to the gas lines during a blow out...that equals to me POOF

. I have new rubber so that's not a prob...but for others with old tires the question stands..is it safe to travel with you gas on??

the answer is....

"ask Andy's Grandmother".

seriously, you'll get as many opinions as there are answers.

personally, I don't have a problem with it. however, all my gas lines are forward of the wheels. In order for a blowout to do damage to my gas lines, I'd have to be going in reverse so fast that gas would be the least of my worries.

I know that units just a couple of years older than mine had the water heaters in the aft streetside corner. I don't know how the gas lines were configured, but it would seem to me to be prudent to have at least a shutoff valve in those lines that is located forward of the wheel wells, so that the LP system can be isolated from anything back there during travel, without affecting use of the fridge while under way.

also, modern OPD valves on the propane tanks are supposed to prevent a sudden discharge of gas. they allegedly shut off if a line is torn open, or any other occurance where too much gas is being expelled too quickly.

Pick · 11-25-2002, 03:09 PM

How old was the tire that blew? Any cracks in the sidewalls of the remaining tires? Radial or Bias Ply?

I am thinking about replacing mine, though they "seem" to be OK. The Goodyear website says they should be replace after 7 years, some folks say 5. They also say lack of use is the worse thing you can "not" do to them. Like Wally said "Better to wear out, than rust out!" Guess I'll hook her up and take her for a spin this week.

RoadKingMoe · 11-25-2002, 03:29 PM

Did you hear the tire blow and immediately try to get it off the road, and it was shredded by the time you did?

I've heard of people getting a flat with an Airstream and because of the axles, towed for 20 miles or more not knowing a tire was down (and beating the trailer to pieces).

Pahaska · 11-25-2002, 03:38 PM

All the tires that I have had blow on trailers in the past 20 years (6 on 4 different trailers) have been relatively new tires, loaded very near the published limit, but not overloaded.

I'm convinced that there trailer tires shouldn't be loaded more than maybe 80% of the published rating. I have never blown a tire that had plenty of safety factor. Tire ratings may be as fudged as tow ratings.

I always heard the tires blow.

dmreilly10000 · 11-25-2002, 03:38 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Pick
How old was the tire that blew? Any cracks in the sidewalls of the remaining tires? Radial or Bias Ply?

I don't know how old the tire was, or if it was even the same age as the rest of the tires. I bought the trailer used in July. This was its first major trip. The trailer is a 1991, so it may have been original.

Yes, there appears to be very small cracks on the rest of the tires.

It was a Goodyear radial.

dmreilly10000 · 11-25-2002, 03:45 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by RoadKingMoe
Did you hear the tire blow and immediately try to get it off the road, and it was shredded by the time you did?

I've heard of people getting a flat with an Airstream and because of the axles, towed for 20 miles or more not knowing a tire was down (and beating the trailer to pieces).

I didn't hear or feel anything. I looked in my mirror and it looked like smoke comming from the tire area. My first thought was that I had a bad bearing or a brake malfunctioning.

It was really my grey water tank emptying out in the wind. When the plastic shroud broke off, it yanked the grey water tank valve open. If it were not for this, I don't know how long I would have driven. (a scarry thought)

The tire was totally shredded with a big hunk of tread flapping and beating the heck out of everything back there. There was no damage to the inside of the wheel well though.

dmreilly10000 · 11-25-2002, 03:51 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by dmreilly10000

I didn't hear or feel anything. I looked in my mirror and it looked like smoke comming from the tire area. My first thought was that I had a bad bearing or a brake malfunctioning.

P.S. - I am only 46 years old and see and hear very well. I was being very cautious and aware since this is only the 3rd time I have towed this trailer or any trailer this big and heavy for that matter. The first two times I towed it were less than 15 miles each.

If I had the window open, I could have heard the tire flapping against the trailer. It was cold that morning, and I had it closed.

FrankR · 11-25-2002, 08:04 PM

Tire date code

The DOT number appears on the sidewall of all tires intended for sales in the U.S., and designates the location of manufacture, the week and year of production, and the specific tire. DOT codes prior to year 2000 were a 10 digit code: (Example - AD70449248) digits 1 & 2 indicated plant of manufacture code. Digits 3 & 4 were the tire size code. Digits 5, 6 & 7 were optional tire type codes. Digits 8, 9 & 10 were the production serial week code. (The example would have been produced in Mayfield (DOT plant code AD), the size code would be "70," the optional design code would be "449," and the serial week would be "118.") In the year 2000, the serial number went to an 11-digit number allowing for a four digit serial week code to identify new decade.