Dodged a Bullet

PapaGlenn · 08-04-2023, 10:23 AM

Heading home from an awesome week in Sequoia/Kings Canyon National Park, we heard the dreaded “BANG” of a blowout on our T12RB. I got safely off to the side expecting the worst. Fortunately, though the tire was shredded, there was no damage at all to the wheel well. The alloy wheel survived unscathed as well. Got the spare on and continued on our way.

Tire pressure was fine when we left and the tires are a bit under 3 1/2 years old per the date stamp so chalking it up to “China-bomb” attack. Got some Carlisles on order. Hoping they will prove to be a better tire.

GoingNoWhereFast · 08-04-2023, 11:07 AM

When I hear this I really want to see the entire tire specs and see what the make, date, load range, and speed specs are. It is wrong to say "China bomb" as I know 90% of all the tractor trailers are running the "NEW" single tires (instead of two side by side, just one large fat tire) and they all come from china! The incredible heat wave has a lot to add to the wear on tires on California's 90mph highways.

Bob K4TAX · 08-04-2023, 11:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PapaGlenn

Heading home from an awesome week in Sequoia/Kings Canyon National Park, we heard the dreaded “BANG” of a blowout on our T12RB. I got safely off to the side expecting the worst. Fortunately, though the tire was shredded, there was no damage at all to the wheel well. The alloy wheel survived unscathed as well. Got the spare on and continued on our way.

Tire pressure was fine when we left and the tires are a bit under 3 1/2 years old per the date stamp so chalking it up to “China-bomb” attack. Got some Carlisles on order. Hoping they will prove to be a better tire.

A LOT of factors affect tire life and tire failure. Correct inflation, not overloaded, not exceeding rated speed, protection from the sun, age, etc. Potholes and curbs are tire killers. Proper braking thus not encountering lock-ups.

All tires, regardless of brand, are subject to failure at one time or another. Using good quality, reasonably fresh, and proper inflation and not exceeding load or speed ratings goes a long way to tire longevity.

We put 5 new Carlisles on our trailer and spare.

Bob

PopFla · 08-04-2023, 12:27 PM

I had a Castle Rock spare tire on a boat trailer a few years ago. It had never touched the road surface, was only a few months old, was mounted on the tongue of the trailer, parked in a shady area, was inflated to the proper psi, and temps were in the 70's when it blew the entire tread off the carcass about 1/3 of the way around the diameter, and the carcass never lost air pressure. Sorry I didn't think to take a picture of it.

Convince me that it wasn't due to the lousy initial quality of the tire.

PapaGlenn · 08-04-2023, 04:04 PM

Details:

It was a Castle Rock tire made in China (a brand with a less than stellar history - my plan was to replace with a better brand the end of this year when they reached 4 years old).

Tire specs: ST185/80R13 - Speed Rating “L” (75MPH) - Weight Rating 1,710 lb. Single Axle - Date Code 5019

Trailer weight under 3,000 lb.with 500 on the tongue leaving less than 2,500 on the axle fully loaded (We run under 3,000 lb. loaded for a trip but we were heading home so fresh tank was basically empty and we’d used up most of our food so would definitely be less than that).

We had been running 55 - 65 MPH (California speed limit for trailers is 55 MPH so I keep it close to 60) with temps in the low 90s for an hour before hitting a moderate grade where we dropped to 50 - 55 MPH for half an hour or so. The blow out happened just after we crested and were back up a little over 60 MPH.

Pressure was checked before heading out and was right at 65 PSI on both sides. The trailer has been stored in our attached garage since new with tires resting on steel tire dollys when we’re not camping. No signs of any uneven/excessive wear or damage visible during pretrip check the week before.

Not much I can think of doing differently other than replacing with better quality tires earlier.

GoingNoWhereFast · 08-05-2023, 08:31 AM

Thanks!! Good Information. Those little 13 inch tires do spin awfully fast going 60mph. Sometimes I think that "Speed rating" on a tire is for just one time?!?

I have some safety engineer friends at Goodyear. They tell me Not they really know) that tires are impregnated with chemicals that get massaged into the belts and main rubber to keep it flexible and strong. So running the tires actually adds life to them as it keep those products moving through the materials. Not sure its true, but I had a 12 year tire on a honda that was a cheap "China Bomb" Spare tire originally. It went 55,000 miles over 6years before I moved and decided to replace all my tires. YMMV

RangeMaggotBob · 08-05-2023, 08:38 AM

13" tires?!? Good Lord!

pgandw · 08-08-2023, 12:16 PM

Lack of quality control does not mean all tires of a given batch are bad. Lack of quality control could mean several things:
- rejects that don't meet tire specs aren't rejected, and get passed off as good tires
- the specs weren't tight enough for the expected quality of the tire

What this means in the real world is that the percentage of quality problems will be higher than a more tightly controlled manufacturing process. Does anybody remember the early '90s when a 25% defective rate at the retail level was common for electronics?

I have been running my OEM Castle Rocks on my A-frame for 5 years without issue (about 10K miles total). I have babied them because of their reputation. I will replace them with Carlisles next year at the 6 year point.

Fred W
2019 Flagstaff T21TBHW A-frame
2022 Hyundai Palisade

PapaGlenn · 08-08-2023, 12:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RangeMaggotBob

13" tires?!? Good Lord!

My first car had 10” wheels with 145SR10 tires. Never had an issue and it spent a lot of time over 70.

JimM2109S · 08-08-2023, 03:11 PM

This is NOT to discredit the OP or others who have had blowouts...

When a tire hits a pot hole, runs on/off a curb, or similar non-smooth object, it can damage the internal belts of the tire. The owner forgets what happened and continues driving. The tire may not show any issues for many, many miles after the incident as the damage slowly spreads. Then without warning, the tire will blow out for no apparent cause on a perfectly smooth road.

My dad sold both passenger and commercial truck tires for over 40 years. I learned quite a bit from him. I'm sure wmtire and others who are currently in the business would concur with the above.

PapaGlenn · 08-08-2023, 04:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JimM2109S

This is NOT to discredit the OP or others who have had blowouts...

When a tire hits a pot hole, runs on/off a curb, or similar non-smooth object, it can damage the internal belts of the tire. The owner forgets what happened and continues driving. The tire may not show any issues for many, many miles after the incident as the damage slowly spreads. Then without warning, the tire will blow out for no apparent cause on a perfectly smooth road.

My dad sold both passenger and commercial truck tires for over 40 years. I learned quite a bit from him. I'm sure wmtire and others who are currently in the business would concur with the above.

I totally agree “stone bruises” and other damage to belts, casing, wheels and valve stems can all lead to issues hours, days or more later.

Castle Rock tires made in China seem to have a high failure rate. The failure rate vs cost savings are obviously within he trailer manufacturers’ comfort zone (i.e. profit margin) so they keep using them. Maybe it is the sheer quantity of this brand being used as oem that leads to a high number of failures. I can’t say.

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