Trailer tire failure

Geo-TH,In

Well-known Member
I have a 10 year old trailer series E tire failure on a 14k trailer
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Mt biggest load is the L3560 Kubota, which loader, cab and 6 ft mower.
Trailer weighs a little more than 3k.

Don't think I ever overloaded the trailer. Air pressure is 58. Rated at 80 psi.

Heading to Tire barn and buy same Series e, $360 out the door. Next upgrade is $560.

I think my tire failure had more to do with age and turning tends to scrub the tread off.

How many years do you get out of trailer tires? I got fewer years out of my dump trailer. Of course it gets more use. Turning scrubby the edges of dump trailer.

So what do you think caused tire failure?

George
 
My tire guy says the tight turns cause the radials to delaminate. I used to replace at least 1 tire every year on the trailers I own. I switched to bias belted tires 5 years ago. Not one failed tire since then. Plus with the higher air pressure they seem to carry a load better.
 
If you've ever really watched a tandem or triple axle trailer during a tight turn, especially with a heavy load on it, it's amazing the flexing going on with the rim, and the deflection of a tire scrubbing sideways. Try to avoid tight turns, especially on pavement.
 
I refuse to buy ST tires of any kind!

Had them fail within 100 miles on an empty trailer!

Being ST, they must be exempt from DOT regulations, because they sure have shown to be all around terrible tires.

My best experiences with trailer tires is to buy over the load rating, bias ply truck tires.
 
I used to get 10 plus years out of trailer/car/pickup tires, the tire folks did not like that one bit, they have since went to using all synthetic oil when making them,, this allows them to put a "time life" in them,, these days tires are not covered for more than 5 years,, in places like AZ even less,, I had my 14 ply HanKook trailer tires all fail within a few months of each other,, half while I was using them the other half did it sitting still,
 
My tire guy said this is typical. Turning is the main cause. I've been a costomers at the tire place since they opened 28 years ago. They gave me a discount $306 out the door.

Happy to pay and not worry about tire failure when I have a load.
George
 
I have a dual tandem (8 tires) goose neck trailer with 10k axles and I have overloaded it. It probably has 35k miles on it and its a 2004 year model. Only one tire failure so far. Trailer is always shed stored.
 
I use only a trailer tire for the reasons your tire guy spoke of,, I also have hundreds of thousands of miles hauling equipment,, and more than a million miles in a semi,, might have a clue whats going on,, been at this a long time,,
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I haul a heck of a lot heavier loads than you are talking,, just a couple of loads,, the 4whl drive tractors I hauled up to 600 miles one way to get them home,, what you are hauling would not even make my truck open the governor,,, but like normal you already know it all or at least think you do,, I try to be nice and give you factual info and you come back with your normal "I know" do not worry there smart boy this will be the last time I offer any useful info to you,,
 
(quoted from post at 11:02:54 02/26/21) what is ST?

I believe it stands for Special Trailer.

They are supposed to have stiffer sidewalls to better handle the forces on the tires during turns.

Unfortunately there are a lot of low quality ST rated tires on the market.
 
Yup, see folks all over the internet beating the pro ST drum. Its basically a rating for cheap lower quality tires that only see trailer service at low speed. In my experience they are usually garbage.

Get the highest load rated LT tires and keep them checked for pressure / inflated. You get into the F and G rated tires, the old eyeball is not adequate pressure check, pull out the tire gauge. 10 or more psi low on a heavy load can ruin the tire in a single trip from heat build up/casing flex.
 
Tight turns scrubs tread. Underinflation / over loading causing excess casing flex causes delamination. The heat build up is pretty amazing.
 
(quoted from post at 12:28:08 02/26/21) I have a 10 year old trailer series E tire failure on a 14k trailer.....
Mt biggest load is the L3560 Kubota, which loader, cab and 6 ft mower.
Trailer weighs a little more than 3k

So Tractor and attachments, are what 5k give or take, plus 3k for trailer = 8k

Don't think I ever overloaded the trailer. Air pressure is 58. Rated at 80 psi

Sounds Under Inflated. This could cause heat, which in turn can lead to tire failure.
 
In my state of Pa. when you go for the yearly state inspection and if the tires are 10 or more years old , it won't pass our inspection. The amount of tread even if good doesn't matter. It's strictly age of tire.
 
Last year I needed tires for my Honda Element....go to the doctor (get in the parking spaces) car. Shopped around and settled on Hankook, made in S. Korea. Seem to have plenty of plasticizers so the rubber should last a long time doing a lot of sitting around since it is seldom used. Very happy with them.
 
down here if you don't cover your trailer tires or park under cover a year or 2 is real good. UV light kills them
 
I worked in a tire store while going to college.
You can take the guess work out under inflated tires by looking at the
condition of the inside of the tire. The inside will be coming apart.
Side walls will show signs of cracking. Usually the tire won't hold air.

These tires were not under inflated. The inside of my tires looked new.

Tire barn guy said it from turning, scrubbin tire.
George
 
My tire man said LT tires won't hole up on my 14k trailer, need minimum Series E tires. They gave me a price break $306 out the door. Another tire place $460 for series E.

I think I read somewhere that new tires are warranteed up 5 years or mileage on tire if under 5 years. Will someone please fact check that.

I used 70,000 miles LT tires on my truck. They lasted 85k.

My XT5 cadillac came with LT tires. Go figure.

I'm happy with my decision to replace. New tire are smoother riding than old tires. Bad tire must have been out of round big time.
George
 
STANDARD LIMITED WARRANTY All BFGoodrich tires have a Standard Manufacturer's Limited Warranty, which covers defects in workmanship and materials for the life of the original usable tread, or for 6 years from date of purchase, whichever occurs first. See warranty for details. Owner Manual

Mileage warranty (also known as tread life warranty) Generally, these warranties cover tires for four, five, or six years from the date of purchase, depending on the manufacturer. This type of warranty essentially guarantees that youll get a certain number of miles of use out of your tires before they wear out.

So if I got 10 years that's 4 years better than the best warranty I could find, 6 years.
george
 
(quoted from post at 13:28:08 02/26/21) I have a 10 year old trailer series E tire failure on a 14k trailer
<img src="https://www.yesterdaystractors.com/cvphotos/cvphoto79741.jpg">


I think my tire failure had more to do with age and turning tends to scrub the tread off.

George

That picture makes it look like all of the wear is on one side of the tire.
Did the trailer always turn to the left or always turn to the right?
 

Down here in the heat....

I am lucky to get 5 to 6 years. At 6 years they are cracking on the sidewalls and start failing while hauling... Which is a huge pain in the kazoo. And I probably have too many trailers and too many tires!!!
If someone has the magic button, now's the time...
 
Under inflated will cause tires to overheat and fail. Turning is also worse on an under inflated tire. Whatever the max psi, I try to keep them within 5 lbs of that loaded or empty. No problems.
 

I always fill tires to their max rating, 80, 60, 40, etc. If they lose pressure with the cold or whatever it won't be too much. The rear tires on a tandem have more trouble on turns because the trailer tends to swivel on the front set of tires and the rear axle slides around putting pressure on the sidewalls. Can't hurt to rotate them every so often. It worse with a triple axle trailer on the turns and some people won't run them because of that. Always try to take wide turns pulling a tandem and to pull forward from a stop before turning because of swivel effect on the second axle.

Had a dump truck driver come up to a 4 way stop for a turn and picked up his third axle. Trooper/weight officer saw him turning with the axle up and stopped him. Wrote him up for overweight on 2 axles even though he said he had just pick the axle up for the turn. He put the axle back down after the corner but the trooper made him pick it up to weigh it. Kinda ticky tack but it is harder on the intersections where turns are made but they usually make pavement thicker at intersections because of the turning stresses.

OTR truckers always told me that the slope of the crown of the road put just a little more weight on the right side and they wear out quicker than the left. Some that own their own trailer will swap them sometimes and also try to run in the left lane when they can get away with it to put more weight on the left to balance them out.

I try to keep trailers parked on solid surfaces like a 2x6 or whatever to keep them out of the dirt when sitting a long time. Need 8 footers for a tandem.
 
Tires will last much longer with the full air pressure in them. As for lifting to turn and tickets . IF they did that crap here nobody would turn with a semi. they would either not be able to turn or pry the axles out from under the trailer turning with as many as 5 lift axles in a row. Most have some on the front and some in back. If it is a set of trains then they will lift some all through the set, on both lead and pup.
 

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