Flat tire safety bars

[vanster]

Our Caravel has these odd ( to me) curved spring bars that are attached to the leaf spring perch. My assumption is that they are to provide stability in the advent of a blow out. I wonder if this could be a problem in the making or truly a unique safety device
Any thoughts?

[Canlib]

Check the photos of the frame damage they caused in my thread on the restoration of my 68 Globetrotter. My advice is to remove them ASAP!

[vanster]

After getting this message from Canlib I took off the goofy looking axle
tire safety springs or whatever someone wants to call them.
It's easy to see that they could do more damage than prevent damage .
Van

I could find others with pictures of these odd creatures

[Alumaholic]

... Can't tell which is the front and which is the rear of your Airstream in these photos. Installed backwards,( and it appears yours are) they would indeed cause great damage. Properly installed, they might actually help maintain control of your rig in those initial moments following a blow-out at highway speeds.

[vanster]

The were facing backwards and correctly mounted. We got stopped by the California Highway Patrol and they thought we had a broken axel or spring.

[Alumaholic]

Originally Posted by vanster

The were facing backwards and correctly mounted. We got stopped by the California Highway Patrol and they thought we had a broken axel or spring.

A tandem axle trailer will automatically mitigate some of the worst effects of catastrophic tire failure; i.e. fishtailing, tail-wagging-the-dog, and loss of control.
Your devices appear to be intended to offer those same benefits to the driver of a single-axle rig.
Yes, I know they may cause some damage to the trailer, but if they allow the driver to maintain control and save his rig, who cares?
I would consider then a bonus and keep them if it was my Airstream.

[perryg114]

It is hooked to the axel tube so it should not damage the frame. It may damage the axel though.

Perry

[vanster]

Are blowouts common on well maintained single axle trailers with fresh rubber and correct tire pressures?

[Canlib]

Tubeless tires are much less prone to blowouts than the old tube type. I don't see much difference in dragging the tailer on the rim than on these silly bars. The frame damage on my trailer seems to have been caused by the bars twisting the axle which cracked the frame.

[Alumaholic]

We can maintain our Airstreams well,
And we may never run on tires more than 5 years old,
We can keep them properly inflated,
We can keep the tires covered when we are parked or in storage,
In storage, we can put a plywood or plastic composite board between our tires and the ground,
But we can never predict the next blowout.

My most recent blowout was on a nearly-new, 1-year old set of tires just checked in conjunction with wheel bearing maintenance at an Airstream dealer.
The tech, overtightened the wheel bearings on one wheel. The tire overheated and popped within 60 miles of leaving the dealership.

[perryg114]

Blowouts are all too common with ST trailer tires. Many of us are running XL rated car and truck tires and I have not heard of any failures of these. What is the weight of your trailer and are they 15" tires. The most common size is 225/75-15.

Perry

Originally Posted by vanster

Are blowouts common on well maintained single axle trailers with fresh rubber and correct tire pressures?

[vanster]

Good conversation and comments. No one wants a flat regardless of the what type of safety measures we take.
Regarding tires, I have the Goodyear standard trailer spec tires that are about 4 years old. No cracks and they maintain proper psi. I keep the tires off of the pavement so not to get their life sucked out of them. I raced sports cars
for 30 years so I have some idea of tire technology, but there is always more to learn.
What is the very best tire>

[mefly2]

I think that given the weight of your unit and with them installed properly on the axle, they would be a good idea - for all of the reasons above.