Aging Tires

I saw this posted on another forum. Wanted to share it with all y'all. In my opinion, it's a "must watch". Could save somebody's life!!

http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=4826897

TC

Very interesting, thank you for passing along.

it looks like that link is no longer valid - here's what I got when I tried to go to it -

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J.

It just loaded for me. Very interesting video.

retired2 wrote:It just loaded for me. Very interesting video.

So, I tried again. On the third try, I got it to play. Things like this should be front page news on every paper in America. I will pass this on.
It's pretty scary info.

Thanks,
J.

Well, I finally got to inspecting the tires on the trailer. Went to storage today to check on it. Haven't used it much the past couple of months, been too hot here. I'm getting ready for winter camping.

My rig (see signature below for specifics) has :

POWERKING TOWMAX S/T - ST225/75R15 (BPR LRD)

The tires were made:

21st week of 2006 - (1)
22nd week of 2006 - (3)
25th week of 2006 - (1) = spare

So looks like I've got another two - three years before I should replace them. I watch them pretty close and make sure that the pressure is kept at the max 65 psi and that I don't go above 65 MPH.

They've got about 8,500 miles on them.

But still, I think that I'll replace them with some E range tires sometime in the late spring / early summer before we make that 4,000 mile road trip. It's just going to hurt the pocket book to get five new tires and rims!

"E range" and "rims"??? If you are stepping up to 16" I'd suggest some research first. I asked for 16" when I bought my rig and was told they wouldn't fit. And, somewhere on some forum, I remember reading a thread by someone who did put 16"er's on his rig, but, had to put some kind of 'risers' on the axels to lift the trailer higher so the tires would fit.

Regards,
J.

I put 215-85R16 load range E's on mine. They fit, but I sure couldn't go any bigger. I really like them.

Michelin XPS RIB 225/75R16E are one inch taller than the stock PowerKings. That means I only need another half inch of clearance on the top which I do and there is four inches between the current tires, so the axles are far enough apart.

But I see that Maxxis makes an E range 15" tire, and I haven't heard anything bad about them. Maxxis is a Taiwanese company, but that doesn't mean they don't contract out to the mainland.

There are several of us running Maxxis LRE tires on the Cats. I am one of them. I put mine on mid-summer as my factory tires were turning 4 years old. I did notice the less vibration/smoother operation when pulling the Cat. This could be due to the stiffer sidewalls of the LRE tires and that I got them balanced when they were mounted.

Only time will tell if this was a good move or not.

I just sent my Cat back to the factory for some major repairs. (see this thread - http://www.wildcatcamperforum.com/maintenance-repairs-trouble-shooting-service-warranty-f12/2001-year-model-front-cap-water-leak-problem-t695.htm ) but, I did keep my paperwork. I got new tires about a year ago - Maxxis ST225/72R-15/D1. I just made me a note to ask for E rated next time.
Thanks for the tip - didn't know that product existed.
J.

What is the current consensus on Carlyle tires?

I just received a quote for Carlyle 10 ply (load range E) tires 225 75 R 15 for $126 each plus $20 each to mount and balance (with metal valve stems.)

I am still not sure whether to put 16" wheels on the 'Cat or just replace the original tires with the same size ....

My current tires are the Power King Tow Max ones with a 4th week of 2005 date code. One is worn out in the inside of the tread, the others have a fair amount of wear (probably about 20K or so on them) and the valve stems are all going bad (they all cracked, one is leaking now ...)) Not sure I want to run these tires from Maryland to Florida and return in December even with new stems ....

Check out RV net and search tires, there are TONS of threads on tires. I had them on my old TT and had no problems with them, but I don't know where they manufacture their tires.

Just remember going from LRD tires to LRE tires to make sure that your rims can handle the pressure ~ 80 PSI. I don't think that the stock rims on the Cats can handle the pressure.

Carlise

mattebury wrote:Well, I finally got to inspecting the tires on the trailer. Went to storage today to check on it. Haven't used it much the past couple of months, been too hot here. I'm getting ready for winter camping.

My rig (see signature below for specifics) has :

POWERKING TOWMAX S/T - ST225/75R15 (BPR LRD)

The tires were made:

21st week of 2006 - (1)
22nd week of 2006 - (3)
25th week of 2006 - (1) = spare

So looks like I've got another two - three years before I should replace them. I watch them pretty close and make sure that the pressure is kept at the max 65 psi and that I don't go above 65 MPH.

They've got about 8,500 miles on them.

But still, I think that I'll replace them with some E range tires sometime in the late spring / early summer before we make that 4,000 mile road trip. It's just going to hurt the pocket book to get five new tires and rims!

Well shoot, went camping this weekend local and had a tire fail (of course it's one of the 2206 tires, so now I have two more tires that are suspect). Thank goodness it happened at the CG. It happened after I took a wide sweeping turn to get into the spot. Had everything at camp to replace the tire with the spare, EXCEPT a 13/16 socket! Called AAA and they had Pete's Tire Service come out. After he got the spare on, he pumped up the flat to see if he could fix the flat on the spot, but after he got 65 lbs in the tire, we found that the tread was separating from the sidewall on the inside of the tire.

I told him my concerns about replacing the tires under warranty since PowerKing would just give me another TowMax and he suggested tires by Titan, says that they are made in the U.S.A. Has anyone ever heard of them? I see that they have a 15" E range tire.

As an aside, the camping site was not very level and of course, I had to raise the side of the trailer that had the flat a good four inches, so I had to wait until 8:30 after getting the spare on to finally level out. My daughter said that it's the longest it's ever taken us to set up camp.

I'm just glad that this happened where it did and not on the highway. My daughter had brought a friend with her and I can imagine the possibilities of that ever happening again if the darn thing blew on the highway.

FYI, I made a complaint to the NHTSA about my tire failure.

According to http://www.harriger.com/tires.htm

My PowerKing TowMax tires were made by Triangle Tire Company Ltd., Weihai, China