tire failure

I think a lot depends on what axle the tire failure occurs. We usually if not replacing all four tires, put the new tires on the steering axle. Out east this last winter has made for roads that look like something from an Afghanistan war movie. This has caused a boom time for wheel and tires sales. As in most situations it's best to use the steering wheel with an even throttle till go get things settled down and avoid any panic breaking. Trailers want to be pulled and having your complete towing package set up properly with a tow vehicle sized accordingly and proper tongue weight etc. Anything that is marginal can cause things to go from bad to worse in a heart beat. Just get to the shoulder of the road while keeping an eye out for a good safe place to replace the tire and wheel with your spare and come to a gradual stop. Just me, but we are a real fan of Michelin tires for our vehicles.
D.D. :D
 
Need to point out that they are talking about a many ton vehicle that is slow to start going and slow to get stopped. Mashing on the throttle with any blow out on our typical pickup trucks and relatively light CD's would have a different effect than what is show in the video. Rapid acceleration would occur with my 2500 dodge diesel if I "mashed" the accelerator. Not something I'd want when having a blow out on any tire. Also, with our cars, they are most commonly now, front wheel drive and a blow out on either front corner would not have me stomping the pedal.

I believe current driver training says to concentrate on keeping the vehicle going straight down the road in-lane. With no rapid movement of the accelerator or hitting the brake. Let off the accelerator slowly and only use brake to fully stop.

Really big trucks are the subject of the video. I've had only 3 rolling blow outs in 55 years of driving cars and trucks. They were all non-events because I'm a 70 mph max driver in a car and a 60 mph driver in a truck towing.

So, just a word of caution if trying to translate the meaning of the video to our light trucks and loads and cars.
 
What is taught in large RV tire blow out, is to keep the foot on the accelerator, and be sure that the vehicle is traveling in a straight line. The idea is not to gain speed, but to gradually slow down; Not to hit the brakes hard immediately, which will worsen the tendency to pull the vehicle to the side of the blow out. Most of these large vehicles have dual rears, so this is not as critical--but they still have to maintain control.

With a trailer blowout--it is about the same--a lot depends on the ratio of truck weight to trailer weight, and if single or dual axle.

Basically, avoid panic, and hitting the brakes hard, which may cause loss of control of the vehicle.
 
Also, these days it is rare for tires that are used on personal cars, trailers, RVs, and such to experience rapid "blowouts". The tires are a lot tougher than they used to be and are designed to fail in a more graceful manner.

The worst case I experienced was a rear tire on a minivan failing on the interstate going around a curve due to dry rot of the tire. It was pretty much a non event as far as controlability was concerned.
 
I had some Goodyear trailer tires (original). They were 8 years old. One had "tread seperation" and lost half its air last week. Took it to Schwab and they said two things. I should replace both and that it maybe simply age and not usage that causes tires to go bad. I had plenty of visible tread and not that many miles. Thisaway/Thataway Bob any input?
 
The problem is that most of the tires are made in China. I would agree about car tires--maybe in comparison to the 40's and 50's. However, in RV's the tire failure is still fairly frequent. One issue there is that the tire is loaded near capacity--that is often true of boat trailers too. It involves all brands, including Michelin. I had a 3/4 ton van, with Michelin's which had less than 6,000 miles on it, and was less than 12 months from date of manufacture.--6 months on the vehicle. with a side wall blow out. I had checked the pressure about 50 miles before the blow out--which occurred at 50 mph. Michelin would not stand behind the product. I think this can happen with any tire today. I don't keep mine more than 5 to 6 years from date of manufacture. Sometimes this means only 3 or 4 years of useful life. I used to like Goodyear Marathons--but we hear of more frequent blow outs with these now, since made in China. Maybe my exposure is greater being on RV forums.
 
I think it's a fairly universal "truth" nowadays that RV and tailer tires should be replaced at a certain age, whether they have 100 miles on them or 100,000. Good tread is no longer an indicator. Apparently age kills the rubber no matter what (although certain things can accelerate it, such as sitting in place [rubber chemicals not getting moved around, IIUC] and UV exposure. As was mentioned above, there is a manufacturing date code on all modern tires (right after the DOT area on one side of the tire, four-digit code signifying week/year). So the thing to look at is that date code, not tread or "they are like new," or whatever. The date code rules.

I'm not sure if car tires have the same guidelines (and I've always put enough miles on them to be getting new tires inside of 6 years anyway). Given how hard it is to find "decent" trailer tires these days (I would like to find radials made in the US, but cannot), I will likely put new tires on the boat trailer in 3-4 years, not even 6.
 
thataway":157e18pt said:
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With a trailer blowout--it is about the same--a lot depends on the ratio of truck weight to trailer weight, and if single or dual axle.
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Which is one of many reasons why I much prefer a tandem (dual) axle trailer for a boat of 18-20 feet, and especially for larger ones!

Losing one of 4 tires in a blowout is generally not catastrophic (at reasonable speeds), and the tow vehicle and trailer can, if necessary, limp along slowly to the next turnout or freeway exit.

However, having a blowout on a single axle trailer brings us back to critical emergency maneuvering, especially at high speeds.

So now we know why jumbo jets don't have just one big tire on each landing gear strut………….!

landing-gear.jpg
And you thought boat trailer tires were expensive!

Joe. :teeth :thup
 
Sea Wolf":3h2yfoir said:
However, having a blowout on a single axle trailer brings us back to critical emergency maneuvering, especially at high speeds.
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I find this interesting, because the times I've read about someone (mainly here) having a blowout or flat on a single-axle trailer, they described it much as folks with a tandem do: It happens, they pull over, they change the tire, they roll on. In other words, no special drama as compared to a tandem. Are these rare exceptions? I'm curious.

It sounds like it would be nice to have that second tire to "limp along" on to get to a better place to change a tire, but I wonder if a super-overloaded second tire is really much better than just limping along on the blown out single. Then too, you would have a really stressed-beyond-load-rating second tire (with no second spare for most people) vs. a healthy single spare. I also imagine there would be a better selection of tires for the larger (single axle) tires.

Anyway, just curious if the "non-event" single-axle tire failure events I've read about are odd exceptions. I know I would have expected a single failure to be worse, but after reading about the "non event" ones I started to wonder if it's one of those things that's "known" and seems logical but is not actually the case in real life.
 
Sunbeam,
Blowing a single tire on a dual axle trailer is not as much as event as on a single axle trailer. If you blow a tire on a dual axle trailer the basic move would be to slow down and get to a safe place and put our spare on. I would doubt the instant the first tire blows on a dual axle trailer the second would instantly blow under the new load. In either case continuing along with a flat tire is not recommended as the heat build up can catch the tire on fire as evidenced by burned out hulks of tractor trailers whose drivers were so pilled (drugged up) up they had no idea there was a problem until the flames started and people starting pulling up along side blowing their horns and pointing wildly. Dual axle trailers usually ride better and do not seem to transmit bumps in the road back on the tow vehicle as much. People who run into and over curbs and hit lots of holes would have a much better chance of blowing out sidewalls and thread separations. A Look at their rims usually all scrapped and dented up can give you an idea of what the tire has been through. .
D.D.
 
I have to agree with potter. Driving a large truck, commercial , and driving your basic pick up is a lot different. You do not want to hit the brakes in your pick up while towing or even RV , but release the gas and roll to a stop on the side of the road if you can. Steering is the most important objective while dealing with a blow out and that is where you should paying attention.

I has a full blow out on my scion xb last month. front tire and front wheel drive. Happened in heavy traffic on I-5. Pretty much a non event. Let off the gas and across two lane's to roll to a stop. Having a blow out in my old concrete truck would have been a lot more interesting, which is why a checked pressure everyday.
 
Will-C":1fbnnfwi said:
Sunbeam,
Blowing a single tire on a dual axle trailer is not as much as event as on a single axle trailer.
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This is exactly what I was wondering about, because you "always" hear that tandems will be much better with a tire failure, and it seems to make sense; but then when I have read actual accounts from people with single-axle trailers who had a tire failure enroute, they describe it much the same as those with tandems: i.e. they stay under control, relatively easily, as they pull over and deal with it. Maybe those accounts (read here) are flukes?

Will-C":1fbnnfwi said:
I would doubt the instant the first tire blows on a dual axle trailer the second would instantly blow under the new load.
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I probably didn't say what I meant, which is that you might end up with a damaged second tire, due to excessive loading (not that it would instantly blow). Of course that would only be if driving a while on the "newly single" wheel/tire. I didn't mean it as a big negative for a tandem, only just that there are things to think about with either style.

Will-C":1fbnnfwi said:
Dual axle trailers usually ride better and do not seem to transmit bumps in the road back on the tow vehicle as much.
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I only have one direct comparison, which is towing my 22 with its tandem trailer, and towing a Marinaut 21 with a single-axle trailer. I didn't notice much difference in towing/ride (things in the boat were as I left them on both, etc.) I was towing my 22 with a 3/4 ton van and the Marinaut with an F-350 dualie, so the tow vehicles were slightly different and it's only a sample size of one so not conclusive (I've towed my boat many thousands of miles, but the Marinaut only around 2,500). I will say that the big, beefy 15" wheels and tires on the single inspired just as much confidence as my smaller (but more numerous) tandem wheels/tires. But that's just me. And I do like my trailer and am happy with how it tows.
 
I'm not sure of the max weight capabilities for a single axle trailer. I remember having one under a 19' center console that was rated for 3900 pounds. Our current boat loaded on a scale with trailer weighs in about 6000 pounds. So I'm thinking a single axle trailer is not what I want. I wonder how many 22' cruisers on single axle trailers are pushing the weight spec's on their trailers? Oh and as for single axle trailers blowing tires. I would think that once the tire blows on a single axle the trailer one side has to drop down as the diameter of the tire has changed. That would not happen with a dual axle. thinking about that aspect in certain situations it could make for more excitement. It's not a problem for me, if people think the dual axle trailers offer no advantage have a nice life. I think some dealers put boats on single trailers to be able to make a price point. I think another big factor is that if you are just staying local and need a trailer to get to the boat ramp from home. I know for some it comes down to money. I think you would be hard put to find a knowledgeable person who would think that a dual axle trailer with brakes would not be safer than a single axle trailer if a boat was in the 4 to 5 thousand pound range.
D.D.
 
years back I was traveling through WY on the freeway and a pickup towing a single axle utility trailer went flying past us doing about 90. About a 100 miles down the road we passed him as he sat at the edge of the road with a flat tire & though, that's a good place for him. About 100 miles later down the road I see the rig in my mirror and gaining fast, we laughed our arses off as he went flying by us again with a shower of sparks from a half ground down wheel/skid....that dude was in a hurry & wasn't going to get slowed down by some damn flat.

For me, I like a single axle. It's rated for the load and I keep good tires on it. A single axle is one less set of bearings, brakes and tires to mess with plus, I believe less apt to have blowouts with the larger rolling radius & no tire scrubbing forces when cornering, the tire has a much easier life.

I run a single axle on my pickup with no worries.....if a single axle is good enough for a $70,000 22' airstream travel trailer, it's good enough for me.....but that's just me, everybody has a different risk comfort level

I thought the video was interesting, ya, we aint driving class 8 rigs but physics is physics and the vectors will not be denied
 
Will-C":2tdnysbf said:
I'm not sure of the max weight capabilities for a single axle trailer.
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My earlier comments were all made presuming both types of trailers would be properly rated and set up for the load. So while a single-axle trailer could be purchased just in order to "skimp" on price, I don't see why it would have to be, with heavy duty components rated for the load. I should think there would be axles rated for 6,000#...?

B~C":2tdnysbf said:
For me, I like a single axle. It's rated for the load and I keep good tires on it. A single axle is one less set of bearings, brakes and tires to mess with plus, I believe less apt to have blowouts with the larger rolling radius & no tire scrubbing forces when cornering, the tire has a much easier life.
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B~C: Thanks for the additional info.
 
I don't see any Single axle trailers rated for more than 4400 pounds from the three brands I looked at. Most seem to be less than 4000 pounds. For some reason it seems tandem axles are more the norm for boats over 4000. I'm thinking for the extra weight someone thinks brakes on two axles and a couple more tires might be safer with boat weights above 4000 pounds. I don't have a 22' so I have no idea what one actually weighs rigged for cruising. If a single axle trailer makes you happy, I'm happy. I've owned both and for us the tandem with the with two axles four tires and four wheel disc brakes seems to make sense for the places we have traveled.
D.D.
 
Will-C":2uo3k0wr said:
I don't have a 22' so I have no idea what one actually weighs rigged for cruising.
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Mine weighs in at around 4600#, including the trailer, and with the boat fairly loaded (tools, gear, etc.). I've seen others weigh in at something over 5,000#.

I was originally mostly curious about the idea that a single-axle trailer will be uncontrollable in the event of a tire failure vs. a tandem. I have read that caveat many times as "common knowledge," but then when I have read accounts from people who have actually had such an event with a (properly rated) single they have described it about the same as those with tandems; i.e. not as dramatic as you'd think. Anyway, I have a tandem and no immediate plans to change that, but I'm always curious about such things.
 
I've had 2 blowouts on single axel trailers. First one with my 19 ft Carolina Skiff. Second one with my CD 22. Both at highway speeds....60 mph. No big deal....straight down the road. I NOW change my tires every 4 years and check air pressure every time I go out. Live and Learn!

Tom Schulke Out2C 2004 22 Commuter
 
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