Tales of Trailex Trailer Tire Troubles, Tribulations and Tears

Xcentric · Aug 31, 2015

I posted elsewhere about two blowouts in two days. After talking with other Trailex owners, and especially after hearing of Chip's blowouts and broken leaf spring, I began to suspect trailer trouble. Both blowouts were right front. Fender wells have tire scuff marks. I was thinking maybe weak springs.

After an uneventful 1,250 mile drive home, I took the trailer with GT inside to The Trailer Guy. http://www.chuckthetrailerguy.com/ He checked it out and gave it a clean bill of health. Springs are good. Tire/wheel well clearance is good. Axles are straight. Load is well balanced.

So, it's back to crap tires. Six failures in 21,500 miles. Two non-repairable punctures (ok, this happens), one tread belt separation (bad tire), one sidewall bubble (bad tire), and two explosions (bad tires). The oldest tire is less than three years old. All others are 1114 or newer. Load Range C, with about 2,000 lbs extra capacity over my loaded weight. Cruise control set at 65 mph. wtf?

68Rcodeman · Aug 31, 2015

I have a 2007 Trailex. No tire troubles ever. I did just purchase new tires. I thought with them being a small 205 x 14 I would buy a better set of tires. I purchased load range D tires and took it to Carlilse in June with no troubles. It was hard to find a D range but they make them. Feel safer with a heavyer range tire with such cargo. Hope this helps.
David

gtinmyblood · Aug 31, 2015

It is especially important with Trailers to make sure the tire are not out of date and not out of round.Trailers that sit only to be occasionally used often suffer tire failures. Tires may look good visually but have developed issues.

BIGFOOT · Aug 31, 2015

My 2c
Do you know if you had correct tire pressure the morning of the blowouts?
That is incredibly important as low inflation will guarantee a blowout.
I've had plenty of people tell me they never check tire pressure on trailer tires.
I check them before the drive to the track each time.
You need at least 40/50 psi for most applications.
On the truck towing too.
Next
Just buy a good set of Goodyears.
That's what I did after I blew a tire on the way to VIR at almost midnight.
On a dark highway
With a crappy breakdown lane.
With 70mph traffic
"Classic"

Xcentric · Aug 31, 2015

I'm so paranoid, I check the trailer tires daily, cold and hot. Thinking maybe I'll catch one overheated. 50 psi cold, max for Load Range C. Hot pressure never more than 55.

The tires that failed were Goodyear Marathons. Replacement I bought in Dearborn is a Carlisle. The Discount Tire guy said it is better than Goodyear. I asked him, "better how?" He just looked at me. "Better" as in more expensive I guess.

I will look for Load Range D for the next set.

THamonGT · Sep 1, 2015

Any advantage to,using Nitrogen in trailer tires. I use nitrogen in my Expedition, 2006 Ford GT and my wife's Lincoln and have no loss of pressure although I check often. During winter months when fluctuation in tempetures sets off low pressure light in my Expedition with Nitrogen I have no problem. Any thoughts on trailer tires?

Xcentric · Sep 1, 2015

Air is 78% nitrogen and 21% oxygen, plus some trace stuff.

Rubber compounds in tires are permeable to some extent, which is why tires lose pressure over time.

Oxygen is a smaller molecule than nitrogen, so it seeps out faster. Pure nitrogen holds pressure longer, so it is better for people who don't check their tire pressure regularly. Other than that, no advantage to nitrogen over the air we breathe.

BIGFOOT · Sep 1, 2015

I will check the load rating on mine.
I always carry 3-4 spares which is overkill,....but u never know.
Always important to know the spares have good psi as well.

ChipBeck · Sep 2, 2015

Gentlemen,

My trailer does sit for months at a time without being used but I check tire pressure before every trip and had pretty new load range C tires. To be fair I tow at 80-85 mph and all trailer tires are rated for 65mph according to Trailex. My toung weight is correct and everything else is in order so perhaps I'm just going too fast. The speed limit here is 80 mph so I go at least that. FlorIdaho Chris has never had a tire problem with his Trailex and his is older than mine. Trailex has my trailer now and I'll report back here on what they found. Carl Carbon at Trailex is a great guy and I'm confident they will figure it out. Cheers.

Chip

Xcentric · Sep 2, 2015

Info from the Tire Rack:

Special Trailer (ST) Tire Speed Ratings

Industry standards dictate tires with the ST designation are speed rated to 65 MPH (104 km/h) under normal inflation and load conditions.

However Goodyear Marathon and Power King Towmax STR tires featuring the ST size designation may be used at speeds between 66 and 75 mph (106 and 121 km/h) by increasing their cold inflation pressure by 10 psi (69 kPa) above the recommended pressure for the rated maximum load.

Do not exceed the wheel's maximum rated pressure. If the maximum pressure for the wheel prohibits the increase of air pressure, then maximum speed must be restricted to 65 mph (104 km/h).

The cold inflation pressure must not exceed 10 psi (69 kPa) beyond the inflation specified for the maximum load of the tire.

Increasing the inflation pressure by 10 psi (69 kPa) does not provide any additional load carrying capacity.

And this from Discount Tire: http://www.discounttire.com/dtcs/infoTrailerTireFacts.dos

Time

•Time and the elements weaken a trailer tire.
•In approximately three years, roughly one-third of the tire's strength is gone.
•Three to five years is the projected life of a normal trailer tire.
•It is suggested that trailer tires be replaced after three to four years of service regardless of tread depth or tire appearance.

Mileage

•Trailer tires are not designed to wear out.
•The life of a trailer tire is limited by time and duty cycles.
•The mileage expectation of a trailer tire is 5,000 to 12,000 miles.

Xcentric · Sep 3, 2015

I questioned the source of the advice to run the Goodyear Marathons at 60 psi cold.

Tire Rack responded:

You can run the ST205/75R14 GY MARATHON RAD C at 60 psi cold pressure to effectively raise the speed rating. *Goodyear released a tech bulletin to their dealers on this.

I asked Goodyear for confirmation, but no response yet.

Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk

BIGFOOT · Sep 3, 2015

I think mine (Marathons) say 65 PSI max on the side which I assume has gotta be cold PSI.
I forgot to check the "letter" rating.
I'm happy to check I just keep forgetting.

spineracer · Sep 3, 2015

Goodyear Marathons have failed on me while trailering at speed at least six times in the last ten years. The Marathons come in Load Rating C and D. D is the strongest and that may not be enough. I have always maintained proper pressure (near max). There are other brands that have an E load rating (xtra HD). That is what I use now. The Goodyears inner side wall next to the bead fails. A blister first appears and then it blows. I will try to attach a Picture.

BIGFOOT · Sep 3, 2015

I just went out with a flashlight because I was curious.
Mine say Load Range D, 65 PSI Cold.
Those are the Goodyears
I have a few Spares that say 80 PSI.
Can't recall the brand but for sure trailer tires.

Xcentric · Sep 3, 2015

Trailex tires are 205 75/14s. Goodyears are Load Range C in that size. 50 psi.

There is no option for larger size tires or wheels. There are a couple of LR Ds in that size, but they are hard to find.

Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk

Xcentric · Sep 3, 2015

It's official. :thumbsup

Indy GT · Sep 3, 2015

Thanks Gary for posting the Goodyear PSB. Good information straight from the manufacturer.

Goodyear's suggestion of increasing the tire pressure at higher speeds does family with the same information (Ford/Goodyear) on the driver side door frame placard on our GT's. Higher internal tire pressure helps speed but does not affect load capability per sub-bullet one in the PSB.

One other nugget of information, while all this trailer tire blow-out topic was being discussed among our ownership, and we had rally access to various Ford ride/handling/suspension engineers I asked why not just use a high "speed rated" automobile tire on the trailer. The paraphrased answer is that is not good. You WANT the trailer tires to "give up" capability prior to that which the tow vehicle inherently has due to it's tires. So you really do want to use "trailer" tires (ST) on the trailer, not automotive tires.

Xcentric said:
Air is 78% nitrogen and 21% oxygen, plus some trace stuff.

Rubber compounds in tires are permeable to some extent, which is why tires lose pressure over time.

Oxygen is a smaller molecule than nitrogen, so it seeps out faster. Pure nitrogen holds pressure longer, so it is better for people who don't check their tire pressure regularly. Other than that, no advantage to nitrogen over the air we breathe.

Gary is absolutely correct on all points.
IMO, Nitrogen is a sales gimmick intended to make you "feel" better about how you take care of your tires.
Check your hot and cold tire pressures frequently, just as Gary says and you have no need or value added that Nitrogen believers claim.

ChipBeck · Sep 3, 2015

Indy GT said:
.......while all this trailer tire blow-out topic was being discussed among our ownership, and we had rally access to various Ford ride/handling/suspension engineers I asked why not just use a high "speed rated" automobile tire on the trailer. The paraphrased answer is that is not good. You WANT the trailer tires to "give up" capability prior to that which the tow vehicle inherently has due to it's tires. So you really do want to use "trailer" tires (ST) on the trailer, not automotive tires.

Gentlemen,

I asked Trailex this same question and they told me that auto tires would be a really bad idea on a trailer because the sidewalls are too thin and weak. I guess that the sidewalls are stressed a lot more on a trailer than a car or truck especially when turning sharply in a parking lot. I did not know prior to these last three blowouts that my trailer tires were speed limited to 65 MPH. I was routinely pulling that trailer above 80 MPH so the whole problem may have been my speed. I can't imagine going cross country 15 MPH below the speed limit however. As far as my broken leaf spring, it was probably broken when the tire blew instead of the other way around but I'll never know that for sure. Cheers.

Chip

BIGFOOT · Sep 3, 2015

Xcentric. Perhaps it makes sense to upgrade to a 15".
Normally the trailer places have deals on wheel tire cOmbibations.
In fact,..one time trying to buy a wheel (only) they told me they come as a package,... Had to get the tire.
That's the one rated to/at 80psi

KMCBOSS · Sep 3, 2015

I bought my trailer tires at a local Discount Tire store here in Washington. The store did not recommend Goodyear - they recommended Carlisle (load range C and speed rated to 87 MPH). I trailered my GT to the rally on these tires, driving 14 hours a day usually at 70 to 80 MPH and temperatures up to 95 degrees. I also carry two spares and a full size floor jack (3 ton) - just in case.

Tales of Trailex Trailer Tire Troubles, Tribulations and Tears

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