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Tireman9

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About Tireman9

  • Birthday 01/30/1945

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    http://www.RVTireSafety.net
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    E of Akron, Ohio
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    Genealogy, RV tires

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  1. Well one reason for the different selections is that larger wheel sizes tend to be done for 'looks". Once you leave the "standard 16" sizes why not go up to 18" if you are just trying to make a visual impression. Adding more 17" just increases costs.
  2. I have seen people comment on TPMS and using IR guns for checking tires. IMO as an actual Tire Design Engineer, Checking air pressure only tells you you have air when you are doing the check. A Single air leak (nail, cut valve leak etc) can do $thousands of dollars) when the tire runs flat. Even running low will increase operating temperature and increased temperature will accelerate tire aging rate with the aging doubling every increase of 18°F. Have even seen air loss due to valve core leak because a plastic valve cap was used because metal cap was too expensive. TPMS is an investment as they can be moved to any other RV or even sold. This makes them better than Insurance as the one time purchase only requires replacement batteries (50 ¢ to $1 each at Amazon) once a year or so. Don't worry about IR for checking tires. Rubber is an insulator so IR does not give you the information you need regarding tire temperature. IR is fine for checking metal components (hubs & brakes) Of course you need to run the proper inflation (based on measured load plus a small Reserve Load) and you need to set your TPMS warning levels for your personal situation. Travel safe.
  3. Ray. There are USB to DB25 Serial RS232 Adapter Cables that may be what you need? If you don't want to deal with Amazon or eBay then I suggest checking with local "Computer Repair" store.
  4. Tires fail from two basic causes. Low air pressure and/or Long term degradation of the rubber usually from excess heat. Low pressure (active leak from puncture or loose valve stem or valve core are most common reasons) can lead to a Sidewall Flex failure or more commonly called a "Blowout". The sidewall cord can melt (polyester) or fatigue (steel). Many TT owners fail to realize that they will never "feel" the results of a tire losing air till it is too late and they are surprised when the sidewall lets go. The rapid air loss "bang", even when the tire only has about 10 to 20 psi in it, is a big surprise IF they even hear it. A TPMS can provide warning of air loss so is good insurance and can easily pay for itself with a single warning of air loss. The long term degradation of the rubber at the edges of the belts can lead to a belt and/or tread separation. Even if the tire keeps its air you can have this type of failure so a TPMS will not provide a warning. This degradation comes with age as rubber is always loosing flexibility. Just think of those rubber bands you found in the back of the desk drawer. Even in cool and dark they got brittle. HOWEVER running at or near or above the load capacity of a tire will result in increased heat generation. Increased heat actually can accelerate the aging process with a doubling of the rate each increase of 18F. Running a margin of at least 15% between capacity and measured load is a good first step. Running at high speed can also generate excess heat. (65mph max for ST type tires and &%mph max for all other RV applications. (Note, there even are a few tires out there with a 62 mph max) Realizing that over half of the RVs on the road have one or more tire or axle in overload is one main contributor to the high rate of tire failures. Simply thinking that a tire will fail because the tire plant building is painted blue rather than green is not logical. Buying the lowest cost "no-name" tires is IMO a major contributor to poor results. If the main objective is the lowest cost tire why would anyone be surprised with short tire life. Just paying more however is no guarantee of better quality. I believe the best tool available is comparing Warranty and service support. Can you get multi year warranty on the tires? Is it possible to get Road Hazard coverage? Is there a nationwide network of dealers who stock the brand & size & type you are considering? If you want to learn more from an actual Tire design Engineer check out one of my tire seminars or read my blog on RV Tire Safety.
  5. As an actual Tire Design Engineer w/40 years experience in Passenger, Truck, LT and even Indy tires I can confirm what Hot Rod said about tire quality. One task i had was to get tires made in China from a specific supplier and to run them through the complete battery of tests we would use on our own production. I got the tires out of the warehouse so they were regular production, not "specials". All the tires passed all tests. As I recall there were 20 or so tires from small Passenger to LR-E LT tires.
  6. DOT expects RV owners to not exceed the clearly stated load maximums or to run lower than the stated inflation level. Don't know how we can expect some extra margin above the stated max without people then loading to the max + the margin. Its like the stated max speed for ST tires was/is 65 mph but a majority of trailer owners simply want to ignore that limit then are surprised when tires fail.
  7. I published the info and Load/Inflation tables on the new GYE line on my blog back in May. They seem to want the RV trailer tire business. MAXXIS also seems to have a good rep so I would think either is OK.
  8. If the TT was used then the RV MFG may not have a responsibility but the selling dealer does have a responsibility to sell a safe vehicle. Having under-sized spare is not IMO a safe vehicle. What sizes are we talking about Freestoneangler?
  9. OK, Helpful information. Since your TPMS didn't provide any warning then the failure was probably a "Belt/tread separation". If I was able to inspect the tire I could provide an expert opinion with 99% confidence depending on how much damage was done to the tire after you learned of the failure. TPMS do not provide warning of that condition as that is not their purpose. It is however many times possible to discover an incipient belt separation by doing a "Free Spin" inspection as covered in detail with video on my RV tire blog. The 20 psi in your spare suggests that the air hadn't been checked in many months (years?). This can be a reminder that failing to check the air in any spare tire could leave you on the roadside with effectively no spare if the spare was at ZERO psi. In this case it just meant that you had done significant structural damage to the tire by driving on it with only 20 psi when you need 95. RE "Dounut" spare tires. You may not realize that they are specifically designed to provide almost equal steering and braking response asa your regular ground tires as long as they are inflated to their designed 60 psi. In fact I know that GM even did a test on a Corvette with 4 "dounut" tires and it provided almost 90% of the performance of the street tires except for max acceleration.
  10. E rated with 20 psi is essentially flat. Since it is the air that carries the load not the tire Your E wasn't a D. Wasn't a C, Wasn't a B and I doubt it would even match an "A" LR tire so you may have seriously damaged (zipper damage) that tire by running it. Adding 95 psi air to the tire you ran flat put you in serious danger of having the tire explode just by inflating it. You could have been seriously injured. Video of a damaged tire being inflated. Was the BO due to an air leak? What did your TPMS report just before the failure? " So any size/age spare is good to get you to the next tire store. " as long as it has air in it to start with....maybe
  11. If considering a change from ST to LT you CAN NOT simply change the type of tire as there is no LT of the same size and LR that carries the same load capacity as the ST type in that size and LR. A switch to LT might be OK but you may need to change wheels as it is possible to exceed the max inflation rating of the OE wheels as many RV makers supply the lowest cost (lowest strength) wheel capable of holding the OE inflation.
  12. Does your tire placard show the size of the spare? It should show the GAWR and the rated capacity of the supplied tires must, by law be able to support the stated GAWR. Even though you didn't state the tire sizes involved, I seriously doubt that a 14" can carry the same load as your OE 15". If your dealer wants to claim that everything is OK ask for a statement in writing on company letterhead that the supplied spare is capable of supporting at least 1/2 the GAWR. You also need to file a complaint with NHTSA as IMO this could result in a recall by Starcraft and free replacement wheel & tire.
  13. I can't answer your specific question but as a tire engineer there are some things I can comment on. First if considering the change you need to recognize that to get a comparable load capacity in LT type you will need to change size and this may even require a change in wheels. Larger LT may or may not fit in the wheel well of the TT You will need to confirm your actual loaded weight and collect many measurements to ensure proper clearance. I have read comments on some other RV forums where people have done the work and made the change and were pleased. There are some advantages to making some changes as it might give you many more choices of tire brands.
  14. In addition we really need to know the actual load on axle, There are some options in 14" but need to know loading.
  15. If you want some good information on care & feeding of tires and the special needs of trailer application you might review my blog.
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