First Blow Out!

[Wgsouth]

Had my first blow out (3 months in to owning!). Will get back on here soon to discuss details. Right now just quick question

Can I just take wheel to local tire store, buy the same type tire, have them put it on wheel and balance? I can then put back on trailer myself?

I’m taking it to dealer Sat for initial tune ups (and now damage repair from blow out) so I need to get the tire done quickly to tow it there?

Thanks,
Wgsouth

[CRH]

Yes, you can pull the wheel and carry it in for a tire swap. That is how I would do it to ensure the trailer was jacked up properly.

[pmclemore]

Blowouts of new tires is not normal. Can you think of any conditions that may have caused the problem? Road hazard, low tire pressure, anything like that?

Pat

[moosetags]

To answer your question, yes you can remove the tire yourself, have a new one mounted and replace it. I would not jack the trailer. I would use legos or similar to get the bad wheel off the ground. I would also have the blown tire carefully examined for the cause of the blow out. I believe that Classics come OEM with 16" Michelin LT tires. It is extremely rare for one of these tires to fail when new.

Brian

[OTRA15]

You could put the spare on yourself, properly inflated of course, and take the "blowout" tire to be replaced. You might consider holding off until the dealer inspects the tire and all the others. They may need to replace more than one if the entire lot of tires was bad. It happens. If found to be defective, your costs should be covered by warranty IMO.

Be sure to check the DOT date of mfg. stamp on all five tires:

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiret....jsp?techid=11

If you need info on changing a tire, check your owner's manual. You can drive the trailer's remaining good tire on that side up onto a block of wood, thereby freeing the bad tire. Make sure the block is thick enough that you can get the new inflated tire on. Of course you can always jack that side up using the marked jack location [manual again as needed].

BTW the new search function above in the blue box works great, so many questions you can answer yourself.

Good luck,

Peter

PS -- The Running Gear forum is a good place to look for further info:

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f40/

. . . as is the Tires sub-forum:

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f438/

[Wgsouth]

Great responses as always. Good points.
The AS is in indoor storage with tire up on legos. Don’t have it jacked on anything
Will Call dealer to discuss new tire problem
No bad conditions. Checked all tires for pressure (83 psi) right before we left
Raining and windy, so did not feel the blow out. Just saw when we got to storage.
No major damage. Just wheel well bent up.
It looks like whole side wall blew out. Still have round tread wrapped around wheel. Pictures when I figure out how to post.

[Al and Missy]

I'd be surprised if the dealer does anything about the tire. Typically most equipment warranties are with the manufacturer of the equipment. Assuming your trailer is equipped with 16" Michelins, your recourse is probably with Michelin. There is a thread on here about a Michelin blowout and Michelin paid to repair the damage and replaced the tire. That is interesting because other threads have said that Michelin does not back tires on trailers. I suggest you find that thread and read it for any pointers on how to take this up with Michelin. Try your dealer first, but be prepared for the answer that you need to contact Michelin (or whoever the manufacturer is). By the way, isn't the maximum sidewall pressure 80 psi?

Check the tread for a puncture. That sounds like a sidewall flex failure due to low air pressure. A TPMS is good protection against these kinds of incidents.

Al

[moosetags]

Originally Posted by Wgsouth

Great responses as always. Good points.
The AS is in indoor storage with tire up on legos. Don’t have it jacked on anything
Will Call dealer to discuss new tire problem
No bad conditions. Checked all tires for pressure (83 psi) right before we left
Raining and windy, so did not feel the blow out. Just saw when we got to storage.
No major damage. Just wheel well bent up.
It looks like whole side wall blew out. Still have round tread wrapped around wheel. Pictures when I figure out how to post.

Please keep us posted on the outcome of your situation. That is important information for all of us to have.

Brian

[RamRider]

Local tire store like Discount tire will help you with warranty issues. Good year will almost always replace tires like yours, even if they have a non reparable nail (like in the sidewall) causing the problem.

[Adventure.AS]

If you were running Goodyear Endurance ST tires they may be severely overinflated at 83 PSI even if your trailer was at maximum gross weight of 10,000. According to the Load Table for ST235/80R16 your cold inflation for that weight should be around 50 PSI.

[boondockdad]

Sorry to hear. I feel your pain.

Very unusual for a new Michelin to blow.

Might want to check the plastic wheel well for damage, too. On one of my blowouts there’s was literally no visible damage; but, the plastic wheel well was shredded. Had to caulk it up in the field to keep the water out of the interior.

[hickory]

You mentioned the wheel bent up. I have never seen a tire blowing out cause a bent rim. Might be that you hit something that bent the rim and damaged the tire at the same time. Just another thought. YMMV.
Hickory

[tjdonahoe]

Originally Posted by hickory

You mentioned the wheel bent up. I have never seen a tire blowing out cause a bent rim. Might be that you hit something that bent the rim and damaged the tire at the same time. Just another thought. YMMV.
Hickory

Driving on a flat will bend a rim, and ruin it

[moosetags]

The OP said, "No major damage. Just wheel well bent up." I have not seen anywhere that the wheel was bent or damaged.

Brian

[Firedog1]

Picked up my new classic 3 weeks ago, On delivery the pressure ranged from 83 to 87 PSI. I called Airstream to check and they advised me to inflate to 75 PSI. The max is 80

[hickory]

Moosetags you are correct I miss read the part about the wheel well. Gotta slow down and pay more attention.
Hickory

[Wgsouth]

Thanks again for all responses. Dealer was indeed no help. Suggested I call Michelin! I called Airstream. Very helpful, but arms length. Gave me number to distributor they use for all tires. Suggested I get blow out and other tires inspected by tire store before calling distributor. Plan to do that tomorrow. Been on road for business. More info as I get it.