Help! In a tire quandry...

[dripley]

Well headed to the tire store today to get my trailer tire fixed and I come up on a lady at her mailbox on the left side of the road. Just as I get there she makes a hard left turn and came right across the road in front of me. I almost missed her by sliding up her drive way. No major damaged though and every one is unhurt. Her bumper caught my tire and ripped open. Got a little fender damage and my new taillight is broken. Anyway, my tires are about shot. I was waiting to buy some new ones when i got home, but now I have to do something. I have got my spare, it is the oe and almost new. How bad is it to run on new tire and 3 old ones. I have heard running differant diameter tires is not good on the diff. The tires are the same size. one is like new and the others are about gone. I have 1000 mile trip ahead of me with the 5th wheel. Any input would be appreciated.

[fire176969]

It would be best to put the new one on the front. It might cause a little pull in the steering but it will save the wear on your clutches in the differential. Normally, in an open differential, the spider gears cam compensate for a 10% difference in tire height side to side continuously without accelerating the wear. On big rigs they actually recommend to put 4 new drive tires on the same side and the 4 used tires on the same side so the main differentials take the speed difference and not the inter-axle differential like would happen if you put 4 new tires on one axle and left the old tires on the other axle. With putting the one new tire on the front, you could play with the air pressure in the steer tires to almost eliminate the pull it might cause. Sent from my DROID BIONIC using Tapatalk 2

[walsey]

Glad everyone's ok. I haven't done it personally but I've seen people running very similar to what you described. Don't know how long they ran it though. I do know I asked the tire shop I deal with in town a.year or two ago the that question out of curosity and they told me nothing would be hurt. I'm sure if you were cruising around town you'd be fine but pulling a fifth wheel on a 1000 mile trip . Sorry I couldn't be more helpful

[Rogan]

It would be best to put the new one on the front. It might cause a little pull in the steering but it will save the wear on your clutches in the differential. Normally, in an open differential, the spider gears cam compensate for a 10% difference in tire height side to side continuously without accelerating the wear. On big rigs they actually recommend to put 4 new drive tires on the same side and the 4 used tires on the same side so the main differentials take the speed difference and not the inter-axle differential like would happen if you put 4 new tires on one axle and left the old tires on the other axle. With putting the one new tire on the front, you could play with the air pressure in the steer tires to almost eliminate the pull it might cause. Sent from my DROID BIONIC using Tapatalk 2

This...

[dripley]

Thanks for the info. I just went ahead and bought a new tire to get home on. Maybe the insurance company will pay for part of it. Now I am sitting ina rest area outside of Bloomington IL with 1 shreaded trailer tire, one with the tread slung off, and another with the tread starting to seperate. Sunday aint a good day to buy tires.

[fire176969]

Thanks for the info. I just went ahead and bought a new tire to get home on. Maybe the insurance company will pay for part of it. Now I am sitting ina rest area outside of Bloomington IL with 1 shreaded trailer tire, one with the tread slung off, and another with the tread starting to seperate. Sunday aint a good day to buy tires.

Wow, that is luck that sounds like mine. Sent from my DROID BIONIC using Tapatalk 2

[JAG1]

Thanks for the info. I just went ahead and bought a new tire to get home on. Maybe the insurance company will pay for part of it. Now I am sitting ina rest area outside of Bloomington IL with 1 shreaded trailer tire, one with the tread slung off, and another with the tread starting to seperate. Sunday aint a good day to buy tires.

Like the tittle on your post..... 'ENTIRE QUANDARY'. Sorry about your problem tires. Are you close enough to a tire shop where you can make it in on the shreds? Do you have two blocks of wood to support the trailer while you take just the rims in? How you gonna' do that? Wish I was close to help.

[dripley]

Like the tittle on your post..... 'ENTIRE QUANDARY'. Sorry about your problem tires. Are you close enough to a tire shop where you can make it in on the shreds? Do you have two blocks of wood to support the trailer while you take just the rims in? How you gonna' do that? Wish I was close to help.

I'll let yall be the judge on the shreads.and its neighbor. One tire o the opposite side already is seperating and i am sure the 4th is not far behid. Closest tire store that is open is 90 miles north and they dont have G rated tires,only E's. I could jack it it up, but dont have enough of anything to block them up and be able to take all 4 in one trip. I did find someone that is bringing some tires to get me moving again untill i can find something tomorrow. This is probably gonna hurt.

[flagmanruss]

Some people think I'm OCD... I travel with jacks, wheel chocks & what ever blocks I used to park the trailer... I have had to drop the trailer some places. A few come to mind... One, to get an angle to turn around. One, a vendor blew the transmission in his F brand truck, had the truck towed out of camp & I had the only other gooseneck hitch in camp. (Interestingly, he'd blew out 4 NEW radial tires on his trailer this trip. A very costly trip!) I stopped behind a horse trailer, not far from the Horse Camp... They had enough help so I just waited to make sure they didn't need anything. Nice NEW 2012 Dodge Cummins 3500 dually. They used a ramp and then a jack to get the trailer high enough to put the trailer spare on. I retraced the mile to the camp... tried to see what got the tire. It was hard to see but I'm pretty sure I saw a tire track n the grass... I think the driver cut the corner leaving camp (new truck, first trip of the year). Remember, the trailer always turns inside the tow vehicle. I think he clipped the last boulder on the tumble down stone wall. I looked to me like the tires went over this 12" x 12" x 24" rock. As they were changing the tire, they had to baling wire a loose 2 x 2 L bracket under the trailer, dangerously close to the front trailer rite. I figure they dragged the trailer floor over the rock, busting loose the frame bracket... before the tires lifted & rolled the loaded trailer over the rock. (Must have been some ride for the horses!) Eventually... just a mile down the road.. the bracket flopped over & took out the inside sidewall... BANG!! When I pull Right out of our street... both roads narrow 2 lane... I go way over on my wrong side and then swing onto the wrong side of the road I'm going onto. Once the trailer axles clear the telephone pole I cut back in...

[JAG1]

Man.... what brand are they? That's bad.If you can get the heavier load rated and this ever happens again you could maybe make it the 90 miles running slower on one wheel ea. side.You said you have someone bringing you some tires and rims for temporary was he a guy that just happen to pull in the rest stop?Dang it I wish I could help...

[flagmanruss]

Nice wheels... It sucks man. I'm wondering why the trailer tires are craping out like that.

[mrtowman4u]

If you were closer. I would come help! Need anything let me know. I can find just about anything you need in a few minutes! Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

[dripley]

Man.... what brand are they? That's bad.

If you can get the heavier load rated and this ever happens again you could maybe make it the 90 miles running slower on one wheel ea. side.

You said you have someone bringing you some tires and rims for temporary was he a guy that just happen to pull in the rest stop?

Dang it I wish I could help...

Well I had 14 ply on it, but they are 4 years old. Thats why I did not try to go any where on them. The tread was seperatomg on a third one. Who knows when the fourth one would have gone. I stopped twice in the first 150 miles just to check all my tires to see how they were doing. All of them were warm to the touch on the tread and the side walls. Nothing odd about any of them, figured I was good to go.

I found someone who brought me some tires and mounted them on my rims. He was not a good samaritan but a buisness man. 2 cooper 235 85r 16's, load range E and the total on that was $650.

I would still be in the rest area with out them.

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Nice wheels... It sucks man. I'm wondering why the trailer tires are craping out like that.

It seems my trailer tires last about 3.5 to 4 years and they start failing. I noticed something on the third tire that the tread was seperating on. I could feel the seperation near the bottom of the tire and upon closer inspection I also noticed some cracking in the side wall, a lot of small cracks. When I pulled the truck up alittle the cracking was not visible. My trailer does not move alot and it appeared the cracking was where it sat parked. I usually move mine about every 4 months. I thinking that has to have something to do with it. Next time I park I might just jack up the traler and get the weight off the tires. I also believe a set of wheel covers are in my future. This is the first time I ever had them to crap out all at once. In the past when one went bad the others were not far behind and I would buy a whole set. Never had them all go at once.

How long to most of yall get out of a set of trailer tires? I did not realize when I bought the last set that they were LT and not trailer tires, they still lasted about as long as any others so I am not sure that made any diffearance.

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If you were closer. I would come help! Need anything let me know. I can find just about anything you need in a few minutes!

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

I really appreciate the offer of help from you and every one else. If the state of Illinois would not have cared I would have borrowed some of their wood and blocked the whole thing up and taken all four rims to a tire store. The few places that were open had no 14 ply tires, only 10 ply.

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I want to thank all of yall offering to help. It just prooves again how great a site this is. Thanks to Mike for having this site and Thanks to all the member who make it what it is.

I did manage to find some tires. They are 12 ply, but the tires are rated at 3900#, The 14 ply I that explode were rated at 3700#. They will be here tomorrow and I will be on my way.

THANKS TO ALL!!!!!!!

[JAG1]

Save those shreads for me I'll put them on my truck when I want a place to camp for free. He heAnyhow, I hope the new tires do right by you. That's a bit of money there.

[dripley]

The tires were $230 apiece. thats alot for a couple of coopers. Labor was $75 an hour to get them and put them on. It sucked but what do you do.

[Rogan]

My enclosed trailer is rated at 7000#. I know damned well I carry around 9000 in it, most of the time. I run the Tractor Supply 15" wheel/tire combo (215/75-15 I believe) at $130/ea. I get roughly 2 seasons out of them, and one that is still on the trailer, is about 4 yrs old, at least. I also usually jack/block the trailer in winter/off-season, where the tires are off the ground. From April to ~October, it's rolling every weekend, just about.Coopers (at least around here) are expensive, for whatever reason. I know the 235/85-16 E-rated I was gonna put on my truck were around 200-220 a piece. I went with Federals @ $125/ea. Of course, you were in quite a pickle, so that makes for necessity..Hope you're luck turns around, and soon! I'd damned-sure brought you something if it werent 600mi out..

[dripley]

necessity will empty the wallet sometimes. I have been wanting to try a differant size tire on my truck and I guess I will now. So maybe some good will come of it. I surely wont be tire poor after all of this.

[dripley]

Well Imade it home about 3am tuesday morning with no more issues. Something I donnot understand is why my trailer tires gave put after near 4 years on the trailer with very few miles and my 12 year old spare made the whole trip with no problem mounted on the rear axle of my truck?

[JAG1]

Sort of the same here. I bought two new Michelins that cracked inside of two years.

[hd99fxr3]

Well Imade it home about 3am tuesday morning with no more issues. Something I donnot understand is why my trailer tires gave put after near 4 years on the trailer with very few miles and my 12 year old spare made the whole trip with no problem mounted on the rear axle of my truck?

you can't have your cake and eat it too. You made it home, without further damage to the billifold, be happy. If that would have been my trip, I would have likely been plagued with blowouts all the way home. Glad you got home, without further problems.