Trailer Tire Question

[Aqua Puttana]

We towed the boat back from sunny Cleveland without issue and backed her into the normal storage location. This morning as I walked the dog I noticed the trailer was not level. At first I thought that maybe I was off the cement, but it turned out to be a flat tire. I had checked the tires at 50 psi before we left. I mentioned it to my wife and commented that we were lucky it was a slow leak that probably went flat after it was parked.

Man, was I wrong. Removed the tire today and found steel belts showing and chunks of tread missing. I see what looks like a nail end. It was 98% freeway towing. I didn't noticed any poor handling, but clearly we drove for a while while flat/extremely low to tear up the tire so badly. The rim is undamaged.

The spare is on now so we're good to go.

My question is this...
Does anyone have experience as to how long it takes for a flat trailer tire to lose chunks of tread at 60 mph or so? Is it miles, hundreds of yards, hundreds of feet, minutes? I imagine how quickly the air escapes during failure figures into the equation so maybe there is no answer. My guess is that it was very low and not completely flat for some period of time. I generally look at the trailer tire profiles in my side mirrors pretty regularly. I didn't notice anything unusual the times I checked. I'll be watching closer from now on. Maybe we need a TPMS system for trailer tires more than for the vehicle? I know that I have noticed vehicle flats/low tires in short order. vic

[sailquik]

Vic,
Depending on how loaded the tire is, it can happen very quickly.
I was coming up I-75 in Fla with the tandem axle cargo trailer.
Looke back and saw that the left rear trailer tire looked almost flat.
I decided to drive to the next off ramp (maybe 2 miles), but when the
tire started smoking (very overheated) I pulled over and changed it
on the side of the interstate.
Based on that experience, I mow run Micelin XPS Rib tires on my trailer.
Lots of miles, only one flat in 1.5 sets of tires on that trailer. Probably 175
K miles so far.
Roger

[Aqua Puttana]

Originally Posted by sailquik

...Based on that experience, I now run Micelin XPS Rib tires on my trailer.
Lots of miles, only one flat in 1.5 sets of tires on that trailer. Probably 175
K miles so far.
Roger

Thanks Roger. It must have had some air in it then because there wasn't any smoking I noticed.

The tire is/was a Goodyear Marathon radial. Now that I think about it I've been running those tires since about 1998 with no issues so I can't complain about the service. No sidewall cracks of any consequence, but even with decent tread left I was considering replacement. So now I'll just get two new ones for the coming years of racing. Time flies. Another 10 years puts me in my 70's so time will tell with J/22 racing. vic

[bc339]

Glad you made it home safely. Sounds like another mile would have been too far. I had a utility trailer bearing seize while on I-95. Fortunately it was on the left side - I managed to see the sparks flying - and I was able to stop before it came off. It happened very quickly. We had just stopped for fuel, did a walk around, checked tire and hubs for heat, hit the road, and it failed in about 10 miles. Managed to limp it to a truck stop a mile away. Took about 4 hours working in a parking lot to get the bearing knocked off the axle, replace the bearings and tire and back on the road.

Would duct tape have helped?

Bruce

[larry8061]

I am very glad you had no bad out come with the boat trailer tires! I tihnk the 1998 part may have been what saved you. Google: Goodyear Marathons now (Chinese) and see what comes up!

I was doing trailer tire research and one of the most poignant posts was: all 14" trailer tires suck, it's just a matter of which one sucks the least. Another "rule of thumb", for what it is worth, is that RV tires need replaced after 6-7 years because of UV deterioration.

Tires can go VERY fast and cause all manner of damage.

Good luck,

Larry

[RIMSPOKE]

I HAD THE MIDDLE OF A TIRE DISINTEGRATE WHEN I WAS BRINGING MY
DAUGHTER's STUFF BACK FROM COLLEGE .

I LIKE TO BE ABLE TO SEE THE TIRES IN MY MIRRORS . I HADN'T LOOKED AT THEM IN AWHILE
AND NOTICED THAT I COULD SEE THROUGH ONE OF THEM !

I NEVER FELT ANYTHING THAT SUGGESTED WE HAD A PROBLEM BUT WHEN I PULLED OVER
& CHECKED THE TIRE , THE EDGE OF THE TIRE GONE AND IT WAS RUNNING ON THE TWO SIDEWALLS !

I HAD SPARE & TOOLS SO WE WERE BACK ON THE ROAD PRETTY QUICKLY .
I CAN'T GET OVER HOW STIFF THE SIDEWALLS WERE AND HOW WELL THE BEAD HELD THEM
ON THE RIM .

THE RIM WAS FINE BUT IT WAS A BEAR TO GET THE REMAINS OF THE OLD TIRE OFF OF IT .

[Old Crows]

FWIW..... GY Marathon trailer tires are max speed rated @ 65MPH. I not sure but aren't all tires designated for trailers rated 65 mph max? Old tires (>5 yr) are at greater risk for failure....but pushing over 65 is inviting a failure on old donuts. Folk do that a lot here in Texas..... Amusing to see a gigantic 5th wheel with tiny tires being drug along at 70+ on a 100F day with the driver so insulated as to what's going on behind them...and clueless about the risk. I stay waaaay far away from them.