First Blowout

[N9GUX]

I had my first tire blowout this past weekend. I was real lucky and had no damage other than the tire. I have been told that if one tire blows I should replace them all. I believe this is due to the extra forces applied to the other tires when one tire blows. My TT is a dual axle trailer that is two years old with at most 3000 miles on it. Should I replace all four tires? Thank you!

[drdarrin]

Assuming you were diligent in checking your pressures and a road hazard was not the cause of the blow out, then heck yes, replace them all. One of them has just told you it has reached the end of its useful life. I'd listen.

[Mr_D]

I've been RV'ing since 1957 and had my first TT in 1967. I have yet to have blowout on any RV. Had one on a Jeep with Goodyear tires.

[coldfusion]

I honestly would just replace the one tire and inspect the other ones. If they look fine why dish out all that money for nothing. 3000 miles isn't alot for a trailer tire life.

[jlb27537]

Your trailer came with tires made in China. They are ST tires. Question: have you ever weighed your trailer? If not, weigh it fully loaded, full of water, etc.

Now remove all 4 ST tries and buy a set of LT tires with the proper load carrying capacity to match your loaded weights.

ST tires are speed rated @ 65 mph. Have no reserve, and are basically the least expensive tire the trailer mfg. can put on a trailer.

Welcome to the world of made in China ST tires.

[MtnTrek]

Originally Posted by drdarrin

Assuming you were diligent in checking your pressures and a road hazard was not the cause of the blow out, then heck yes, replace them all. One of them has just told you it has reached the end of its useful life. I'd listen.

Based only on the info you've provided here, most would probably error on the side of caution. Yes you were lucky. The next one could cost you more than a set of tires.
A catastrophic failure of a basic component should have a reasonable explanation.
Improper inflation
Overloaded
Over speed
Improper quality / application
Damage

Best of luck.

[jason_sos]

Originally Posted by jlb27537

Your trailer came with tires made in China. They are ST tires. Question: have you ever weighed your trailer? If not, weigh it fully loaded, full of water, etc.

Now remove all 4 ST tries and buy a set of LT tires with the proper load carrying capacity to match your loaded weights.

ST tires are speed rated @ 65 mph. Have no reserve, and are basically the least expensive tire the trailer mfg. can put on a trailer.

Welcome to the world of made in China ST tires.

While this is a great idea, I have had zero luck finding anything other than Chinese ST tires for my trailer, which takes 205/75R14. LT tires don't seem to come in this size. Short of buying new wheels and tires, what would you recommend?

[Ray,IN]

Always run ST tires and the sidewall maximum pressure. Tandem tires take a beating, plus being loaded to/or near maximum load rating continually. ST tires have heavier and stiffer sidewalls than LT tires to counter the side forces tandem axles place on them. This also means running less than maximum air pressure forces that heavier, stiffer sidewall to flex more, which builds up excessive heat. Excessive heat is the major destroyer of tires, which comes from under-inflation/overloading.
Also, most ST tire mfgrs recommend replacing them between 3-5 years service regardless of mileage.

[FastEagle]

Originally Posted by jason_sos

While this is a great idea, I have had zero luck finding anything other than Chinese ST tires for my trailer, which takes 205/75R14. LT tires don't seem to come in this size. Short of buying new wheels and tires, what would you recommend?

These are commercial grade European designed tires suitable for trailer service. Check their technical data in this reference.

RADIAL 857 - Kumho Tire USA, Inc.

[V3600]

The only ST tire I would use is a Maxxis M8008, which comes in your size. It is not made in China, which is a definite plus.

Problem with the Chinese made ST tire is that it's a terribly made tire and it doesn't the brand. They are so poorly made that they have been know to fail without ever having been used. That's right, I saw one that was mounted on a TT bumper as a spare, with a vinyl over over it and the tire blew out through the cover. Others have complained their spares blew up while mounted as a spare and having never touched a road.

[lynnmor]

Originally Posted by jason_sos

While this is a great idea, I have had zero luck finding anything other than Chinese ST tires for my trailer, which takes 205/75R14. LT tires don't seem to come in this size. Short of buying new wheels and tires, what would you recommend?

I bought new wheels and tires and sold the Chinese stuff on Craigslist. Just bypass all the controversy and move on.

[Highway 4x4]

Your Wind River came with good quality Goodyear Marathon tires. Mine has the same stock tires on it with no issues, yet. I now have 10K miles on them. Your trailer is one of the heaviest and longest. I would upgrade to Maxxis load range E at this time, install a TPMS and enjoy life again.

[timetogo]

Many folks running 14" are using the Kumho 857 tires. They seem to be happy with them.
If you upgrade rims, I would go to 16" because there are so many more tire choices and ply ratings available.
Overkill with tires works for me.

[SmokeyWren]

Originally Posted by jason_sos

While this is a great idea, I have had zero luck finding anything other than Chinese ST tires for my trailer, which takes 205/75R14. LT tires don't seem to come in this size. Short of buying new wheels and tires, what would you recommend?

If you had a blowout for no reason, your tires were probably either overloaded or underinflated. And you haven't looked far enough to find good 14" ST tires that are not made in China.

I've had excellent service from Maxxis ST tires. For your trailer, go up one size to ST215/75R14, and be certain they are always inflated to 50 PSI cold. That word "cold" is important. Check the PSI in the tires the first thing before you move the trailer. If it's not 50 PSI, then you know you are underinflated. I have an air compressor mainly to check trailer tires the first thing in the morning. I park the trailer within reach of the air hose at night, then check the PSI the first thing the next morning. If the PSI is less than 50, I pump up the trailer tires.

I haven't had a blowout on a trailer tire since 1999, when my brand new fifth wheel trailer with Goodyear trailer tires had two blow outs on one long trip. For that trailer I upsized the 5 trailer tires from ST205/75R15C to ST225/75R15D with new wheels to reach the 6" wide minimum for the new tires. No more trailer tire problems, and I put about 100,000 miles on that trailer.

My 2012 TT also came with ST205/75R14C Goodyear tires. I was nervous dragging that trailer with those tires, so on a road trip I stopped in Charleston, South Carolina, and had them replaced with ST215/75R14C.

That size has weight capacity of 1,870 pounds per tire, or 3,740 per axle, or 7,480 per tandem axles. With a 25% fudge factor, that means you could have up to 5,610 trailer axle weight on a CAT scale without loading the trailer tires too heavy.
ST Radial M8008 | Maxxis Tires USA

Discount Tire has Maxxis tires. They probably won't have your size in stock, but they can order them and get them in a day or so. So plan ahead.
http://www.discounttire.com/dtcs/tir...T%7Cpc%7C79782

ST tires are limited to 65 MPH, so if you are one of those speed demons legally cruising at the speed limit of 75 or 80 on I-10 or I-20 in west Texas, then don't be surprised if you have a blow out on a trailer tire, even with oversized and properly-inflated trailer tires.

My Maxxis trailer tires are made in Thailand. Still the "far east", but not China.