Flat tire experience with a Bambi?

[Theojo]

We have a new Bambi and since it has only 2 tires, I was wondering what a flat tire will feel like? Doesn't the trailer lean quite a bit and did you lose control?

[idroba]

I have had many single axle trailers, most of them Airstreams. When you get a flat, believe me, you know it. The trailer will lean to one side and the "oops, something is really wrong" feeling will hit you fast. If you are fortunate, you will get stopped fast enough so no metal damage to the trailer will happen. I have never lost control even when it happened to me and I was in the far left lane of a CA freeway, doing the speed limit. The main problem was getting to the right shoulder as the other drivers would not let me change lanes even though they could see the trailer had a problem. But that is another issue.

With a dual axle trailer it is not uncommon not to notice that you have a flat tire, and you continue to go on your merry way, while the bad tire flaps around and tears out the metal side of the trailer and damages the wheel well. I had that happen in North Dakota once.

Honest, I prefer singles axle trailers in that respect.

Keep good tires on your trailer and you will have very little chance of ever getting a flat of any kind. The ones mentioned I have had were in the old days with bias ply tires and probably overage. We didn't know as much about tires then. I have not had a flat in 20 years now.

[PaulG_4307]

We added the TireMinder. It monitors all 3 tires pressure and sounds an alarm in our 4runner if pressure drops 5lbs. We go 60 to 65 and get new tires every 3rd year. No flats or problems.

[Theojo]

Thank you for all the replies so far. This is such a great forum. I have never heard of a TireMinder. Will look for that and also always try to keep newer tires on the Bambi! Thanks again and safe travels!

[lcurrie]

It's hard to describe the feeling, other than saying you'll know that something is happening.

Think of it this way, when you're pulling a trailer, it just tracks behind you. You know it's there, but it's largely because the engine is working harder. When the tire blows, you feel the trailer back there. It's like it quadruples in weight.

Protip: always make sure there is air in your spare. Roadside assistance may be able to change your tire, but they may not have air on board.

Protip #2: People that live in the country often own air compressors. This will come in handy when your roadside assistance doesn't have air on board and you're in the middle of nowhere,

Lynn


Sent from my iPad using Airstream Forums

[kscherzi]

Twice had blowouts on a single axle popup. You know immediately. Trailer wobbling all over the road, bouncing, tilting, making noise The tow vehicle trying to turn. Impossible to ignore.

[RyeL]

I've had flat tires on my Bambi and before that on a 16' fiberglass trailer. Both times what I noticed first was a vibration. As someone else said, all of a sudden you just sense that something is happening, something isn't right. Both times I was at 55+ speeds and no loss of control and was able to easily pull over to the side of the road.

The only problem I had with the Bambi was with one side off the pavement, and the flat tire on the road side, it was so low I couldn't get my bottle jack under it. I had to call a tow truck and he couldn't get his rolling floor jack under it either. It took a few baby steps to get it up enough for a block of wood then we were able to get a better angle and get it off the ground.

This happened in Oregon, and by the time we got the spare on the trailer, which had a sidewall that didn't look good, it was pretty late. We drove into The Dalles Oregon and all the tire shops were closed. So we spent the along the Columbia River and got to Les Schwab Tires when they opened. Well they don't carry Goodyear tires which is what was on the trailer, so I couldn't match the good tire I had. So I bought two of their brand with the correct rating for the Bambi, and moved the one Goodyear to the spare.

But wait, there's more. With the new tires mounted on the rims, they couldn't get them past the fenders to bolt them on. What the? They said they could put a narrower tire on the rims, but that rating wasn't as good as the Goodyear tires that came on the trailer, and I'd rather have an over rated tire then one just good enough. Light bulb came on and I told the guy to let the air out of the tires. Bingo, that did it. New tire but no air in it, made it past the fenders no problem. I figure the next time I need to take it off is when I have a flat tire, so shouldn't be a problem. Fingers crossed.

Take away is to double check the jack you have with your tow vehicle to make sure it will work. Luckily the lug net wrench in my Toyota Tacoma also fit the Bambi, but that's something you should check too. Also double check the condition of your spare. Side wall had a bulge in it and some cracks in the tread. Was good enough for the 60 miles to The Dalles, but I didn't know it was so bad until I needed it.

[AndyW]

Thank you!!! I’ve been struggling all morning trying to get both new tires on! I’ve change a lot of tires before but this 2007 Bambi Airstream has been killing me trying to get these tires on especially on a dirt road of Texas with its disgusting 100 degree weather on top of everything else. I seriously do not know or see any either way to have gotten these tires on without letting most of the air back out??!!

[AlinCal]

Originally Posted by AndyW

Thank you!!! I’ve been struggling all morning trying to get both new tires on! I’ve change a lot of tires before but this 2007 Bambi Airstream has been killing me trying to get these tires on especially on a dirt road of Texas with its disgusting 100 degree weather on top of everything else. I seriously do not know or see any either way to have gotten these tires on without letting most of the air back out??!!

Sounds like your axles are taking a loaded set? and not returning to the normal 22* down angle. I changed tires no problem on our 2011 bambi 19.
100 degree weather is never fun to work in.

[AndyW]

As of yesterday both tires were still factory 2007 but had sidewall cracking, the Airstream has not moved more than 30 miles it’s entire life. I took off both tires 225 75 15’s had the Tire shop replace them with the exact same Goodyears and same size 225 75 15. Putting them back on I had the entire back end lifted with floor jacks in each side but the tires would absolutely not fit between the hub and fend wall, neither side. I supposed I could if used a big pry bar and pry against the fender but that would of caused major damage. 2 hours of struggling and cussing out Airstream and Texas, I gave up and hit the forum and bingo bangi, letting the air all the way out down to 15 psi was the solution. But like I said, this Airstream is in absolute mint condition and not a ding on it, no undercarriage damage or mods ever done to it, bought it in Bernie Texas and has been parked in Austin ever since. It’s the 75th anniversary special, maybe they over looked this model in the drawing room? It seems completely asinine that Airstream would do such a thing when they are such brilliant engineers?

[Action]

Originally Posted by AndyW

But like I said, this Airstream is in absolute mint condition and not a ding on it, no undercarriage damage or mods ever done to it, bought it in Bernie Texas and has been parked in Austin ever since.

Well sort of mint condition.

The axle is likley shot as mentioned one post up. The axle contains the suspension or springs. Which are rubber torsion rods. Used to give a very smooth ride to the coach. The worst thing one can do for those type of springs is not use the trailer and store it on the tires. The rubber in the axles will take a set and stop supporting the trailer. The trailer will sink a little on the suspension and take that set.

With the trailer in that position, removing or installing tires will be as you experienced, frustrating because the end of the axle will be higher in the wheel well than normal.
And the ride will no longer be smooth, it will be harsh. Such that the contents of the trailer may not stay in place and at worse case rivits will pop.

The only fix for that condition is axle replacement. There is no repair.

>>>>>>>>>>>Action

[waninae39]

we use the EEZTire-TPMS Real Time/24x7 Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS4)
Anti-Theft Sensors, incl. 3-Year Warranty

we use it with 6 senors,

4 for the TV
2 for the as22FB

without the tool, you cant remove the sensors, good for risky areas

[BigSxyWhtGuy]

We have that too. It’s caught one nail in a tire before it became an issue. Called roadside assistance and they came to our camp site. We were in Banff heading to Jasper the next day and the guy said that it’s $600 minimum for them to change a flat if they have to drive towards jasper, not to mention it’s two hours of no cell service between the two spots.

This system has already saved us and it’s a great peace of mind!