Tow Dolly Tires Cracking

[c92vette]

I have a EZTow Acme dolly with the Ford Edge on it. There are some minor issues with the dolly but I'm working those to satisfaction with Acme. They have been very helpful.

We went on our summer trip and near the end I noticed several cracks developing between the treads on the tires. I contacted Kenda the maker of the tires and haven't gotten a response yet but thought I would post here and see if anyone has had similar issues. So the story goes like this:

Attached are pictures of the cracks in the tires. In the first pic of the LH tire you can see a 3" crack developing. The second pic shows a small screwdriver down into the 3" crack.




This pic is of the RH tire that has several 1" cracks in it. This is the tire that leaks down through the cracks.


These are 2 pics after I sprayed soapy water on the leaking tire. The white areas are where air is bubbling up through the cracks.






If I remember correctly we traveled about 3000 miles on the original set of tires that came with the dolly with the pressure at around 70psi because I wasn't comfortable with 90psi as recommended. I wasn't sure if they were wearing correctly so I went ahead and boosted them up to 90psi. 2000 miles later I noticed cracks in those tires as well as the leaking seal. I then bought a new tire and installed it along with the spare, pressure set to 90psi. and ran them, the ones you see in the pics, 3000 miles. There you have it. So my questions are:

1. Is 90psi indeed to much pressure? (Acme seems to think so and recommends 75psi)
2. Would the higher pressure resulting in stronger transfer of the road surface cause the wear on the spindle resulting in the seal leaking?
3. Is the Ford Edge to heavy for the dolly and tires?

I have to rule out question 3, unless I am missing something, as the sticker on the Edge door says the GAWR (Gross Axle Weight Rating) is 2860 Lbs on the front and the tires are Load Range E at 1600 plus Lbs. (1600 x 2 = 3200 - 2860 is a margin of 340 Lbs)

Anybody have any ideas?

[allegro1x]

sounds like you need new tires, before you head out again. And have a new spare with you. not sure about tire pressure, but check tire sidewall info. Dave

[purrin along]

The tire thing is definitely my concern.I had eight inch tires
on a motorcycle trailer,and couldn't get any mileage. After
changing them to twelve inch tires no problems.

[jondrew55]

Not sure I followed you. Did you get 3000 miles or 5000 miles out of a set of tires? I blew a tire on my EZ Tow with around 1000 miles on it. Did not notice any cracking or other damage but it seemed I had to add air to the tire that blew much more often than the one that didn't. There wasn't much left to inspect after I lost the tire.

Originally Posted by c92vette

I have a EZTow Acme dolly with the Ford Edge on it. There are some minor issues with the dolly but I'm working those to satisfaction with Acme. They have been very helpful.

We went on our summer trip and near the end I noticed several cracks developing between the treads on the tires. I contacted Kenda the maker of the tires and haven't gotten a response yet but thought I would post here and see if anyone has had similar issues. So the story goes like this:

Attached are pictures of the cracks in the tires. In the first pic of the LH tire you can see a 3" crack developing. The second pic shows a small screwdriver down into the 3" crack.
Attachment 118016

Attachment 118015

This pic is of the RH tire that has several 1" cracks in it. This is the tire that leaks down through the cracks.
Attachment 118014

These are 2 pics after I sprayed soapy water on the leaking tire. The white areas are where air is bubbling up through the cracks.

Attachment 118017

Attachment 118018


If I remember correctly we traveled about 3000 miles on the original set of tires that came with the dolly with the pressure at around 70psi because I wasn't comfortable with 90psi as recommended. I wasn't sure if they were wearing correctly so I went ahead and boosted them up to 90psi. 2000 miles later I noticed cracks in those tires as well as the leaking seal. I then bought a new tire and installed it along with the spare, pressure set to 90psi. and ran them, the ones you see in the pics, 3000 miles. There you have it. So my questions are:

1. Is 90psi indeed to much pressure? (Acme seems to think so and recommends 75psi)
2. Would the higher pressure resulting in stronger transfer of the road surface cause the wear on the spindle resulting in the seal leaking?
3. Is the Ford Edge to heavy for the dolly and tires?

I have to rule out question 3, unless I am missing something, as the sticker on the Edge door says the GAWR (Gross Axle Weight Rating) is 2860 Lbs on the front and the tires are Load Range E at 1600 plus Lbs. (1600 x 2 = 3200 - 2860 is a margin of 340 Lbs)

Anybody have any ideas?

[twinboat]

Originally Posted by jondrew

Not sure I followed you. Did you get 3000 miles or 5000 miles out of a set of tires? I blew a tire on my EZ Tow with around 1000 miles on it. Did not notice any cracking or other damage but it seemed I had to add air to the tire that blew much more often than the one that didn't. There wasn't much left to inspect after I lost the tire.

I read that he got 3000 miles each, on two different sets of tires.

[Hikerdogs]

You didn't mention the brand or load rating of the tires. Most tire manufacturers have a load and inflation table available either online or at the dealer. Since your load is near the maximum of the tire's capacity I would expect that the inflation pressure should also be near the max.


It's best to consult the tire manufacturer's website for inflation recommendations. There have been incidences over the years where manufacturing processes of the same brand and size have changed enough to require different inflation pressures for the same load.

[harleyjt]

He said Kenda tires in the OP.
jt

[Hikerdogs]

Originally Posted by harleyjt

He said Kenda tires in the OP.
jt

I guess I should have read the post a little closer.

Looking at the tire profile this is the closest I could come up with on the Kenda tire website.
Kenda Tire | Turf - Trailer - Golf Car - Specialty | Loadstar K399

It may not be your exact size, but there is a load and inflation table for a range of sizes and load capacities.

[vettenuts]

Tires and weight appear to be OK. Any date codes on the tires? I didn't notice cracks in mine but will take a closer look tomorrow. If there are cracks, they aren't that noticeable on mine.

Also, are all four tires cracked or only two?

[harleyjt]

Originally Posted by vettenuts

Tires and weight appear to be OK. Any date codes on the tires? I didn't notice cracks in mine but will take a closer look tomorrow. If there are cracks, they aren't that noticeable on mine.

Also, are all four tires cracked or only two?

Four?
jt

[vettenuts]

Originally Posted by harleyjt

Four?
jt

Yes, unless I misunderstood. I thought the OP had an original set that he used and then replaced on his trip with a new tire and his spare. I believe he has a total of four tires.

[harleyjt]

Originally Posted by vettenuts

Yes, unless I misunderstood. I thought the OP had an original set that he used and then replaced on his trip with a new tire and his spare. I believe he has a total of four tires.

Oops. My bad.
jt

[c92vette]

First I will clarify some points.

1. There are 4 tires involved with this issue. All are cracked between the treads.
2. One of the tires is the spare I bought with the original purchase of the dolly accounting for 3 of the tires.
3. The date codes of the 3 tires that came with the dolly are 0914. I will reference these as Original Date Code 0914 (OC0914) and Spare Date Code (SDC0914)
4. The date code of the 1 tire I purchased during our summer trip is 2715 referenced as SDC2715.
5. I put 3000 miles on the ODC0914 tires at about 70 psi before noticing some wear issues on the treads. It the outer edges of the tread were wearing as if they might be under inflated. (see attached chart below) I raised the pressure to the recommended pressure of 90 psi and put an additional 2000 miles on them when I noticed the cracks between the treads.
6. I changed the OC0914 tires to the SDC0914 and the SDC2715 tire and put 3000 miles on them inflated to 90 PSI.
7. The SDC2715 tire is the one pictured with the air leaking through the cracks.
8. The tires in question are Kenda Loadstar 205/65-10 Load Range E.

EZE Tow Acme took action immediately and intervened on my behalf with Americana Tire & Wheel who makes the Kenda tires. I have been contacted by the Americana Sales Manager and he has requested I send them the defective tires. Americana is sending me 2 replacements free of charge. I have been assured by both EZE Tow and Americana that the Ford Edge is good to go on the dolly. One interesting note is that during my conversation with the Sales Manager he indicated this isn't the only case of tire failure of this type they are looking at. They have another case with the same type of condition I have experienced. If all goes well I should get a correct solution to this issue. I'll keep everyone posted. In the mean time I suggest monitoring your dolly tires regularly to insure you don't have a failure.

Finally, Kudos to EZE Tow Acme and Americana for jumping on this right away. It's customer service like this that makes me recommend the products with high regard.

[hdzcar]

Your tires were still under the manufacture warranty.