Yeah, I should've known it was coming. Same thing as last year: First camping trip of the season and the most weather-checked tire blew out. Put the spare on and made it to a nearby Big-O just as they were closing for the night. Had them replace the one that blew out and another on that side that was looking weather-checked as well.

Replaced them with Commodores, thankfully they had load-range E in-stock, but not the metal valve stems nor a road-hazard warranty .

I share this because when you're on the road you can't be too picky. If I'd just pried open the wallet BEFORE the trip I could have gone to Les Schwab (for example) and got the Towmax brand with a road hazard warranty and metal valve stems for the same price. Live and learn I guess....except for this is at least the third time around I've "learned" this lesson .

(I'm not saying Towmax is better than Commodore , I have no such information, just that they would've matched the ones on the other side.

 

I had to change 2 on my 5th wheel towing to Arizona and back this year, put E rated on, going to do the other 2 this summer, nothing worse than trying to get off the highway with a blow out, cheer`s

 

Yeah, I was lucky this time and was able to get off the highway and into somebody's drive-way/turn-out to do the deed. As a plus, I'm getting pretty good at putting on the spare . I called Big-O at 5:45pm, they said they close at 6:00, but they'd stay open for me if I got there by then. I said "no problem" even though I was at least a 10 minute drive away.

They could hardly believe it when I rolled in at 5:59.

 

Make sure you check the torc. on the wheels especially if they are aluminum, after 100 miles or so, mine snugged up a bit, a couple of times and they seemed okay, cheer`s

 

A couple years ago I sprung for a set of load range G's on mine.

Originals still looked pretty good, but I've learned that when a trailer tire fails it could easily cost you a lot more than a tire.

Good reminder on rechecking lug torque at the next stop.

 

In 2011 I had a new PowerKing tire fail in NE, tire had less than 500 miles on it. I always check my air pressure and wheel lug nut torque ever morning before setting out for that days travel. 10 min’s after checking just getting onto interstate 80; the tire has a catastrophic failure caused over $3k in damage to the trailer.

When we got back from our trip out west I replaced all 5 tires with Michelin XPS Ribs tires. Only tires I will use now on my trailers. These tires like my other trailer tires are always stored on wooden boards and covered when the trailer is in storage. Tires are air to the max pressure for the weight of the trailer per Michelin air inflation charts.

Last summer when traveling thru some road work one of my trailer tires picked up a nail. The tire was fixed with no issue to the tire what so ever; if this had been a ST tire I would have had another catastrophic failure as the nail was a sixteen penny double head nail.

Jim W.

 

I was working a job last year welding. The field below caught fire and the fire watch was in the truck snoozing. Fire caught my new Cummins mud flap on fire, burned my airbag, airbag lines and torched both right rear wheels before this guy got the fire put out.


Many miles away from home, tiny po dunk town, cost me almost $600 for two Yokohama E rated tires, 16".


I think they jack the price up if your tags are out of state!

 

Lost the last remaining tire that was on the trailer when I bought it. Happened Sunday on a trip home from Yellowstone. Was only an hour from home, so I made it back on the spare.

I didn't bother replacing that tire last time because is looked really good (not weather-checked, lots of tread). Tread peeled off though. Took out the fender trim piece but I can reattach with washers under the heads of the screws.

At least the two new tires will match now. Sigh....

 

What were the date codes on the tires? 4 digits, usually in an oval by themselves. First 2 digits are week (01-52) and last 2 digits are year. On the RV site I'm also on, they recommend replacing tires at 6 years old REGARDLESS of tread. I just replaced all 5 (4 and spare) this year (expensive) and the old tires were 05 & 06. That made them 8 & 9 years old! I felt I was pushing my luck with them this spring even though my trips are only 2 hours away. I had load range D and upgraded to load range E for a load cushion since it is a toy hauler. The ONLY reason I let them go that long is that the trailer was stored INSIDE for 4 - 5 years when not used. Less UV on tires to age them.

Another thing to mention here is that trailer tires are only rated to 65 MPH! Speed tears them apart. Had belts separate on my bike trailer tires coming back from Sturgis SD last August during a higher speed run (75+) and thank GOD and my friend that spotted it before it shredded and took off my trailer fender.

 

"1107" & "Made in China" so I guess it was over-due, despite how good it looked.

 

Fixed it for ya.

 

Do tell before I go buy another one tomorrow!

 

The statement about ST rated tire speed rating is why I only run LT truck tires on my trailer. I typically tow at 70 mph on AZ's 75 mph highways. My OEM ST trailer tires only lasted 3 years and maybe 2500 miles of towing before three of four had major tread separations on one trip.

 

LT tires for me too on the 5er.. I put on some Cooper SRM II's which are a hybrid Rib tire designed for commercial use.. I think they're called HT3's now.

driven several thousand miles all over the west, and especially in the Arizona heat.. great tire!

 

LT tires here too(michelin). Gone through tooo many blow-outs with ST tires. If you have to run at 65 mph-no problem with LT`s.
"friends don`t let friends put ST tires on their RV"
Sorry not trying to offend anyone...............