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Old 06-09-2014, 05:41 PM   #1
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Second Blow Out, Gremlins? Chinese Tires?

Hi All,

Well today was fun, I changed a tire on I-26 in South Carolina, on a hill in a small culvert with tractor trailers flying by so close the trailer shook each time they passed. And it was 95 degrees.

Here is the tricky part: We had a blow out 6 months ago, Right Rear tire, it was completely shredded. A good samaritan honked and told us, no coach damage. The tires were 5 years old so I replaced all four and kept the best one for a spare.

Today, on the way back from a 200 mile drive, the same tire blew again, right rear tire, same position as last time, same shred pattern, same highway speed(As a matter of fact, the same highway).

Here are some details,
2005 International, 28 Foot, Double Axle
Axel service done at the factory one year ago.
GOOD YEAR MARATHONS (That gets a lot of attention).
Air pressure checked 5 days ago.

I would like to think it is a tire problem but mathematically, having the same tire (position) blow and shred twice is 25% times 25%, is 6.25%, a 1 in 16 chance, pretty slim.

We made it home safe and all is well, I will bring the blown up blow out to the dealer tomorrow and enter the warranty gladiator games.

Does anybody have any theories, conspiracy or otherwise?
Do you think there could be some amiss in the right rear tire universe?

Please share and thank you for your expertise, getting kind of of tire shy of traveling again.

John
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Old 06-09-2014, 06:00 PM   #2
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you answered your own question.. Goodyear marathons.


but not to dwell on that, was the tire showing any signs of abnormal wear as in that axle may not be tracking straight causing the tire to generate more heat for some reason.

one quick way to tell is run a tape measure from front of each front tire to a point on hitch where the ball mount is located.. try to find the center of the ball mount and mark it. do that on both sides. you are trying to see if the front tires are the same distance from the hitch. (this takes two people and you pull the tape good and tight)

then if the front tires seem in alignment take a framing square or anything long enough and flat on one edge, and place along wheels from front to back tire to see if they seem square to each other.

if they seem to be inline with each other and the front seem to be the same distance from the ball, then the problem most likely is the tire(s)

surly you have read where the folks that switch to Michelin tires and the blowout problem went away.
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Old 06-09-2014, 06:35 PM   #3
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Hot weather+long drives at freeway speeds+ST tires=serial blowouts, count on it. The problem is with ST. tires not solely GYMs.
Many, many threads on this subject. Myself and most others who drive regularly in the South or SW in the summer months have changed to appropriate load range P or LT tires. My trailer is smaller so I changed to 15 inch Michelins 4 years ago. End of tire problems and a smoother softer ride.
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Old 06-09-2014, 06:57 PM   #4
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It was warm today in the deep south. Saw another trailer (not an airstream) pulled over on the side of I-10 today with a blown tire too. Looks like they were using a Trailer Ease to change the tire on their double axle trailer. It looked like the good tire was on a small ramp and the flat tire was off the ground being changed. A very quick look before passing them by. Has anyone used a trailer ease to change a tire on an airstream?
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Old 06-09-2014, 07:37 PM   #5
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Why would you think a Chinese tire shouldn't blow out?
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Old 06-09-2014, 07:51 PM   #6
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Do not think your math is right. I think there is about a 25% chance of having the second blowout on the same tire as the first blowout, since the first blowout could have been in any of the 4 positions.
I think the problem is 2 bad tires. The first set was pretty old at 5 years. Sounds like one of the replacement tires was just bad. You could check the trailer for alignment, but I would expect a lot of scuffing before a blowout. You could check to see if that wheel is carrying a lot more load. But I bet it is just bad tires.
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Old 06-09-2014, 08:09 PM   #7
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You also mention checking tire pressure 5 days ago. Not good, should of been checked that day before taking off. Pressure might of been low, causing heat build up.
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Old 06-09-2014, 08:23 PM   #8
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Based upon some very tiny research, both my 2013 25FB International Serenity and the 2014 Classic model 30 carry several hundred more pounds on that rear curb side tire than the other three. Another friend in Texas has replaced that tire position nearly twice as often as the other three.

I would take the trailer to a set of scales that can generate weights per tire. You may find that the trailer needs to be reloaded to try and put additional weight street side.

In fact, one might find that the rear curb side tire could be overloaded.

If you are running GYM ST tires, the sidewall speed rating is 65mph at standard conditions which is much cooler than hot summer air. Your speed may need to be dropped to 55 mph to preclude tire failures of the GYM ST tire.

After reading this forum, both of our trailers were upgraded to Michelin tires as soon as I got them home. I installed Michelin LTX (P) 235/75R15 XL tires on the factory rims for the 25FB and Michelin LT225/75R16/E LTX M/S2 tires on SenDel T03-66655T rims on the Classic. Both trailers had Centramatic wheel balancers in addition to the standard wheel balancer machine treatment at installation time.

Not many blowouts reported with the Michelins. The 16" Michelins can be installed at the factory on most trailers that have 15" wheels and are finally standard on the 2015 Classic 30 and the Eddie Bauer models.

Good luck.
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Old 06-09-2014, 08:25 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by r carl View Post
Why would you think a Chinese tire shouldn't blow out?
Goodyear's were made in the US for a while and then switched over to a manufacturer in China. There was a big spike is problems, too big to be a coincidence.
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Old 06-09-2014, 08:39 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jnerges View Post
Hi All,

The tires were 5 years old so I replaced all four and kept the best one for a spare.

same highway speed
Air pressure checked 5 days ago.
5 years old is a strong possibility. How were the tires stored when not traveling? Were they properly inflated while in storage?

What was the highway speed on both occasions?

What was the air pressure?

I keep hearing this thing about GYM but if you Google other brands you will hear similar stories. I've run GYM on my boat trailer since 1994 and I've had 1 blow out on a 13 year old tire. I keep them inflated to the maximum of 50 lbs. and I travel no faster than 70. I put the trailer up on jack stands if it's going to sit longer than a month. The PO of my trailer put 5 new GYM on the trailer before he sold it to me, pulled for 2+ years and never had an issue with them.

As for them being made in China or anywhere else, I don't worry about that. As long as I get a quality product and good service I'm happy. So far, GYM have been a good purchase for me.
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Old 06-09-2014, 09:27 PM   #11
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5 years old is a strong possibility. How were the tires stored when not traveling? Were they properly inflated while in storage?

What was the highway speed on both occasions?

What was the air pressure?

I keep hearing this thing about GYM but if you Google other brands you will hear similar stories. I've run GYM on my boat trailer since 1994 and I've had 1 blow out on a 13 year old tire. I keep them inflated to the maximum of 50 lbs. and I travel no faster than 70. I put the trailer up on jack stands if it's going to sit longer than a month. The PO of my trailer put 5 new GYM on the trailer before he sold it to me, pulled for 2+ years and never had an issue with them.
t
As for them being made in China or anywhere else, I don't worry about that. As long as I get a quality product and good service I'm happy. So far, GYM have been a good purchase for me.
My GYMs were made in america and I pushed my luck with them for 10 years without any problems.I would never attempt that with the current crop of Chineese st's.I think your luck with off shore tires is atypical from reading on many differen sites
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Old 06-09-2014, 10:16 PM   #12
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Hi, so far I haven't had any problems with my Chinese Marathons, but all of my Canadian Marathons developed problems and had to be replaced. I also find it hard to believe a huge difference in weight of two tires on the same side with the wheels only inches apart from each other. This makes me think that one end of one axle may be weak and the tire next to it is carrying most of the weight.
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Old 06-10-2014, 05:20 AM   #13
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Some thoughts:

First A better description would help sort out things - "Shredded" could mean quite a few things are wrong and it would be nice to narrow this down a bit. So:

Was the tread and top belt missing in whole or in part?

What the sidewall just threads?

Photos would be awesome.

Ya' see, there is always the possibility that you had a road debris problem. While the odds are pretty slim, they aren't zero and the right rear is the most likely position to have this problem - and "shredded" would be one of the results.

Second, I would definitely weigh the trailer. Get it down to each wheel position. Weigh the trailer absolutely loaded to the max. You want the worst possible condition. Let us know what you find.

Tires? Size and Load Range please. Then once you have the weights, choose the worst loading and compare it to load carrying capacity of the tires. I recommend the tires not be loaded more than 85% of the rated capacity.
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Old 06-10-2014, 05:53 AM   #14
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Yep, as Capri said, a tire store owner told me one time the right rear is the most often tire to get a flat. His reasoning was, the right side of the lane is more likely to have the junk like nails, screws and other debris, the front tire rolls over it, but kicks it it up, and the rear tire ends up simply more likely to get punctured. It's all about the odds and resulting statistics.
Lot's of gremlins out there.
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Old 06-10-2014, 06:48 AM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by CapriRacer View Post
Some thoughts:

First A better description would help sort out things - "Shredded" could mean quite a few things are wrong and it would be nice to narrow this down a bit. So:

Was the tread and top belt missing in whole or in part?

What the sidewall just threads?

Photos would be awesome.

Ya' see, there is always the possibility that you had a road debris problem. While the odds are pretty slim, they aren't zero and the right rear is the most likely position to have this problem - and "shredded" would be one of the results.

Second, I would definitely weigh the trailer. Get it down to each wheel position. Weigh the trailer absolutely loaded to the max. You want the worst possible condition. Let us know what you find.

Tires? Size and Load Range please. Then once you have the weights, choose the worst loading and compare it to load carrying capacity of the tires. I recommend the tires not be loaded more than 85% of the rated capacity.
Here is the first photo. I really appreciate all your support.

I am leaning toward a defect. I will certainly pay more attention to air pressure, I am usually pretty good but I can always get better.

The last picture shows what I think is a separation.
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Old 06-10-2014, 07:45 AM   #16
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Do not think your math is right. I think there is about a 25% chance of having the second blowout on the same tire as the first blowout, since the first blowout could have been in any of the 4 positions.....
His math was spot on because of the way he stated his concern. What are the chances that he would have two blowouts at the same location on the trailer? Assuming each tire had the same probability of blowing, to have the right rear position experience back to back fatalities is indeed a 6.25 percent chance.

The problem is that there are way too many variables involved as have been mentioned above. There is something amiss here and that is why looking into this is a good thing. Bad tire, overloading, high speed, high temperatures, and so on and so on. The LT option is starting to look better all the time.
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Old 06-10-2014, 09:09 AM   #17
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The 6.25% is correct for 2 failures on the right rear specified from the start. But the question really is what is the chance of 2 consecutive failures on the same tire on the trailer. That chance is 25% since the first one can be on any wheel. He did not know the right rear was going to be the one to blow the first time.

I think to ignore that possibility of it being a bad tire would be a mistake.

For that trailer I would be looking at some load range D LT tires (Goodyear and others still sell them) or a switch to 16" wheels.
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Old 06-10-2014, 11:03 AM   #18
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you have a 99.9% chance of blowout running a Goodyear Marathon. - Worst tires ever. On a tri axle Pace American car hauler i was blowing out 4-6 Marathons a year for 3 years. We only put +/- 5,000 KM per year max.
I had the axles checked, the brakes checked, wheel alignment. - Everything on the trailer was good.
Switched to 6 Hercules tires, 4 years later... same tires

The goodyears I had on my Ram weren't much better.
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Old 06-10-2014, 11:21 AM   #19
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Although you mentioned that you bought "new" tires always check the date on the tires. New on the vehicle doesn't always mean the tires are fresh. Don't know if that was a contributing factor but worth checking.

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Old 06-10-2014, 12:29 PM   #20
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First picture was a D rated Goodyear Marathon. Apparently threw a piece of tread on the highway. Belt broke as I was backing into the drive. Tire was almost 5 years old.

Second and third pictures are of E rated Maxxis ST tires. Both on the front axle. The tire that is taller shows evidence of belt slippage. The smaller tire is the rear axle tire from the same side of the trailer. In this case both tires from the front axles showed evidence of belt slippage. Found both tires in trouble after backing into the drive upon return from a 225 mile trip. Tires did not show this when leaving from my destination. Tires were at the beginning of season 4 of use.

I replaced tires and wheels with 16" Michelin LTX tires 2 seasons ago. I'll never put an ST tire on my Airstream again. Note that I'm a stickler for tire pressure and have a pretty good handle on the load that my trailer is carrying. The Goodyear tire had been carrying 65 psi cold, and the Maxxis tires were inflated to 80 psi cold.

Towing speed is between 55 and 65 mph depending upon road surface and traffic.

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