Tireman9
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Posts posted by Tireman9
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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On 6/6/2017 at 8:57 AM, freestoneangler said:
The rims on our StarCraft are aluminum and I was not able to locate any stamped information on maximum psi rating (looked on both sides). I did see that Power King offers my size tires in both 'D' and 'E' rating. It appears a couple of the other most common ST brands also offer these higher ratings. For the added capacity and, hopefully some improved road survival, I plan to buy the highest capacity available.
It's odd that the DOT does not require load capacity reserve be built into RV tires. It's more likely that loads would be exceeded on RV's than cars IMHO.
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.
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26 minutes ago, rm.w/aview said:
I'm wondering which tire you chose as I too need the same size. I found Goodyear and Maxxis close by, but not Carlisle. I lean toward Maxxis on it's reputation with the ST line, but Goodyear wants our business so what do they have in that Endurance model.
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.
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2 hours ago, trailertraveler said:
Tireman9 and Kirk,
If this post by freestoneangler is about the same trailer:
The manufacturer may not have had anything to do with the difference in size of the tires on the trailer and the size of the spare.
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?
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11 hours ago, gjhunter01 said:
I didn't get any warning on the TireGuard system at all. In fact, we had stopped at a rest area 20 miles back and as usual, I walked around and checked each tire by running my hands over the tread and all the tires were fine. I agree running a tire with 20 psi is not good, but getting off the I-40 shoulder was a higher priority for me at the time, and I stand by that decision as the best made at the time. I had also planned that if the spare tire were to blow, that I would just drag the camper on the cheap spare steel rim to the tire shop anyway. I treat a spare tire as a means to get me to the next tire shop, same as most donut car tires.
Greg
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.
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14 minutes ago, gjhunter01 said:
We had our first blow out last week on I-40 in AR. Our Fifth wheel has G rated tires and they were all different manufactures brands. I'm just not that particular about tires and after 5 years was way over due for the BO. My point is I used the spare tire which is 9 years old, E rated and only had 20 PSI to get me going. The next exit was 4 miles before I could get the tire aired to 95 PSI and it was another 20 miles to the next tire shop to get a new G rated tire back on the trailer. So any size/age spare is good to get you to the next tire store.
Greg
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
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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.
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21 minutes ago, freestoneangler said:
Our StarCraft cam with Power King Tow Max STR II radials. I just noticed the spare, same brand/model is a 14" instead of the 15" on the axles. I missed this at the purchase/delivery. Speaking with the RV outfit, they said it was not uncommon to have a smaller spare... what... does this sound correct to you? I said that concerned me and they offered to replace it, but we're almost 4 hours drive away. Still need to work this out.
I'm not seeing much good or bad press about these tires. If I end up buying another rim and tire, I feel like it should be the same brand/series... but perhaps buy a better tire and match the eventual replacements to that....thoughts?
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.
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3 minutes ago, freestoneangler said:
I just did a search on both the TT and General forums about the topic of using LT vs. ST tires and did not find any threads. This seems to be a very hot topic/debate with no clear, irrefutable answer. Certainly many opinions - such as this one from another site.
"This LT vs ST tire argument will go on forever. Those who promote using ST tires have probably never tried a set of the "others". I haven't had any problems with or because of my LT tires. How many stories have you read about major damage or the infamous "2 blowouts" in one day from someone using LT tires? I will never have anything but LT tires on my rig. You can choose whatever you want...That's my story and I'm sticking to it..Don"
Has anyone else on the forum opted to change to LT series tires that meet the load rating requirements of the OEM ST tires? If so, what has been your experience with them? Also, does anyone know of any TT or 5th wheel mfg.'s that use LT tires as original equipment?
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.
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On 4/25/2017 at 10:32 PM, Kirk Wood said:
Our travel trailer is due for a new pair of shoes. Anyone have tire brand, model suggestions or ones to avoid?
In addition we really need to know the actual load on axle, There are some options in 14" but need to know loading.
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If you want some good information on care & feeding of tires and the special needs of trailer application you might review my blog.
TPMS & IR gun needed for checking tires?
in Technical Tips and Tricks
Posted
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.