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Old 12-14-2012, 03:54 PM   #1
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Bubbles on trailer sidewalls

On our last trip when we left it was 30 degrees when we stopped an hour later for gas I noticed 1 of the trailer tires had a couple of bubbles on the sidewall, drove on to the campground checked tire again and it was fine. Drove home checked after and hour no bubbles, I only saw this once. Should we start planning on new tires and if so any brand reccomendations. We have 14" should we go to 15"? We know nothing about tires. We always ck tire pressure night before we leave on trip and before coming home seems like they are always 2 pds down. Thoughts?
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Old 12-14-2012, 04:10 PM   #2
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We probably have about 6000 miles on them.
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Old 12-14-2012, 05:26 PM   #3
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How big were these bubbles, and where exactly were they located on the tires sidewall?

Are you sure it wasn't more of a bulge than a bubble?
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Old 12-14-2012, 05:35 PM   #4
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About the size of a dime and about midway between tread and the hub they may have been indents instead of bubbles i should have taken a picture.
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Old 12-14-2012, 07:13 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by iluvlcy View Post
they may have been indents instead of bubbles i should have taken a picture.
I kind of had a feeling that's what it was going to be. If they were indents, it's called undulation, and they are normal for radial tires (we need to make sure you have radials though).

An undulation in simple terms is just where the tires body plies overlap each other, and this was done in the manufacturing process. It's purely a cosmetic thing and doesn't hurt the performance or life of a tire.

The easiest way to see if it's undulation and not a broke ply cord(s) (which would bulge outwards) is that wherever you see the undulation (indention), it will also be on the opposite side of the tire in the same place. Just reach around the tire to the opposite sidewall and you should feel the indention there too.

If you have broke cords (a bulge), it will just be at the place of the damage...and not on the opposite side too.

Just about all radial tires have undulation, but on some it shows up more than others.......and you may have it in more than one spot too. I've seen some tires that had seven undulation spots on them. Two to three is the more norm though.

I have to explain undulation many times a week to customers who think their tires are going bad.

Edit: Here is a Rubber Manufacturers Association file about undulation

http://www.rma.org/tire_care_info/ti...al%20tires.pdf
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