Trailer tires blowing! Please help

[rcnuts]

OK the issue is with a family member who due to shyness hasn't joined yet. Im trying to help them and really appreciate anyones input to their hazardous situation.
The trailer is a "2017- 28.5' KZ Sportsman" 2 wheels on each side. The tires are "Trailer King ST20574R14" Heres what's happening- Last trip, about 1 hr from home they blew a trailer tire. Dang, but it happens. On the way home the same trip they blew another tire. ??????? The next trip, 3 weeks later they blew another tire on the opposite side. Thats 2 short trips and 3 original tires blown. The last trip home they made it without issue. I climbed under their unit with a tape measure and flashlight the last trip. The axels are parallel and I saw no obvious problems. Leif springs looked good, shackle bolts in place, ubolts tight. So, anyone else ever have something like this happen? Seems unlikely if the tires are bad 3 would blow in that short timeframe. Any input would be greatly appreciated!! Thanks in advance.

[Nlambert]

Originally Posted by rcnuts

OK the issue is with a family member who due to shyness hasn't joined yet. Im trying to help them and really appreciate anyones input to their hazardous situation.
The trailer is a "2017- 28.5' KZ Sportsman" 2 wheels on each side. The tires are "Trailer King ST20574R14" Heres what's happening- Last trip, about 1 hr from home they blew a trailer tire. Dang, but it happens. On the way home the same trip they blew another tire. ??????? The next trip, 3 weeks later they blew another tire on the opposite side. Thats 2 short trips and 3 original tires blown. The last trip home they made it without issue. I climbed under their unit with a tape measure and flashlight the last trip. The axels are parallel and I saw no obvious problems. Leif springs looked good, shackle bolts in place, ubolts tight. So, anyone else ever have something like this happen? Seems unlikely if the tires are bad 3 would blow in that short timeframe. Any input would be greatly appreciated!! Thanks in advance.

Yep, this is more common than you might think since RV manufacturers tend to use really cheap tires. They're about as durable as a pair of rubber gloves.

One of the first things I always do is upgrade my tires. On a fifth wheel, many go with the Sailun S637s, but there are other durable options available.

On their rig, I might suggest the Goodyear Endurance as I don't have any experience with Sailun in that size.

[mistercee]

Originally Posted by rcnuts

OK the issue is with a family member who due to shyness hasn't joined yet. Im trying to help them and really appreciate anyones input to their hazardous situation.
The trailer is a "2017- 28.5' KZ Sportsman" 2 wheels on each side. The tires are "Trailer King ST20574R14" Heres what's happening- Last trip, about 1 hr from home they blew a trailer tire. Dang, but it happens. On the way home the same trip they blew another tire. ??????? The next trip, 3 weeks later they blew another tire on the opposite side. Thats 2 short trips and 3 original tires blown. The last trip home they made it without issue. I climbed under their unit with a tape measure and flashlight the last trip. The axels are parallel and I saw no obvious problems. Leif springs looked good, shackle bolts in place, ubolts tight. So, anyone else ever have something like this happen? Seems unlikely if the tires are bad 3 would blow in that short timeframe. Any input would be greatly appreciated!! Thanks in advance.

Trailer Kings aren't exactly held in high esteem here and on other forums as they have a history of blowouts. These are also getting pretty old.

If not simply a 'Trailer King' issue, do you see any evidence of damage to the wheel well above the tires? Any wear? Perhaps the axle(s) is/are bent and is causing the tires to bounce up against the well, eventually causing the blowout.

For replacement of the tires, Goodyear Endurance and Carlisle HDs are both very popular.

[Duster73]

This is just my opinion...My friend has a 25ft enclosed trailer dual axle that we use to haul stuff around. Went up north twice and ended up going through 3 tires. Took it to the local trailer place and found one axle bracket was 1 inch off from the other side.

They cut and rewelded the axle and its been fine for 8 years. Same tires and no issues anymore.

I know you mentioned them being parallel, so maybe its simply the cheaper tires. That would be the easiest fix. Once you figure it out, maybe post back on this thread so others can learn.

Good Luck!

[glwinger]

One thing not mentioned is tire pressure. The 205-75-14 are load range D tires. Tire pressure should be 65psi cold.

No model number of the trailer given to check GVW.

[glwinger]

One thing not mentioned is tire pressure. The ST205-75-14 are load range D tires. Tire pressure should be 65psi cold.

No model number of the trailer given to check GVW.

Plus the fact that the tires are 5 years old and should be replaced. Check the date codes.
If they are the original tires, it's time to replace them with 4 matching tires. Goodyear or Sailun.

[Glennabbott1]

Speed may be a factor ad well as the possibilty of being overloaded. I'm fairly certain that those tires have a speed rating of 65mph

[Persistent]

5 year old tires are normally at the end of their high reliable life. So, many people replace all 4 at 5 years.

On the other hand three in such a short time points to a common problem, maybe random aging out is less likely.

One common problem with travel trailers is under capacity or marginal capacity tires installed by the manufacturer. Actual weight of the TT can be very helpful in diagnosing the problem.

Load it up like is was when traveling. Take it to a commercial truck scale and weigh it. Divide by 4 for each tire's load. Check tire capacity specifications.

If tires were operating near maximum or above, that would explain the multiple failures. The 4th tire is likely to die soon, and even a spare will probably not last many more miles. End of life comes sooner on heavily loaded tires. Disused tires also age faster than light loaded tire in use.

Now that you have trailer weight, look for tires that have significantly higher capacity than the measured weight. Dual axles de-rate capacity but I don't remember by how much.

You may be able to get wider tires with higher capacity or even larger diameter wheels and tires if necessary.

[hippopapamus]

Originally Posted by Nlambert

Yep, this is more common than you might think since RV manufacturers tend to use really cheap tires. They're about as durable as a pair of rubber gloves.

One of the first things I always do is upgrade my tires. On a fifth wheel, many go with the Sailun S637s, but there are other durable options available.

On their rig, I might suggest the Goodyear Endurance as I don't have any experience with Sailun in that size.

Sad, but true. Had issues on our old fifth wheel’s tires as well. Bit the bullet and replaced them all after less than 1,000 miles. Wouldn’t cost the manufacturers much and and would save a lot of trouble for the customer. Same with using Eternabond on the roof seams and intrusions instead of just Dicor. Unfortunately, profit not durability is the name of the game.

Good luck to OP’s family member.

[twogypsies]

Overloaded trailer
Tire pressure
Speed
Age of Tires
Quality of Tires

Do an elimination.......

[Skip426]

65 psi , is the limit of the standard rubber valve that trailer wheels come with , when replacing tires install metal valves .
I've seen the rubber valves pop right out of the wheel , under load.
Metal valves are rated to 200 psi .

[Old-Biscuit]

Tires are 5-6 yrs old (older?) check the DOT tire date on the last original tire (4 digit number---1st 2 are week/last 2 are year)

Inflation....what psi was your 'friend' using?
Did he check/adjust PSI on travel day?

1st tire blew...that overloaded the other tire
2nd tire blew
3rd tire opposite side blew
All original tires......
So OLD/under inflated-over loaded tires

WHat about the spare...how old is it?

[jondrew55]

It's always a good thing to learn how to read tire date codes. What's the condition of the remaining tire? Cracked? What does the tread wear pattern look like? Tire pressure? Does it match the sticker on the trailer? I'd look around to see if there is a local trailer shop that can actually check the alignment of the axels. It seems odd they'd start blowing at the same time coincidently.

Pretty much what everyone else has said here

[jergle]

Well the good new is they've already replaced 3 of the 4 tires! I wouldn't move it again until the 4th tire is replaced, and I would replace the spare also. Hopefully, they replaced the 3 blown tires with a better quality tire.