Tires & Wheels

[kcdelan]

All the discussions pertaining to tire failures (China Bombs) I thought I would like to point out a deficiency by virtually all Fiver and TT manufacturers. We have yet to own a trailer that came from the factory with the tire/wheel assemblies properly balanced or mostly even balanced at all. Many years ago we noted one of our tires (a U.S. made Goodyear Marathon) beginning to show some odd signs of wear and was very slowly loosing air. The tire shop we took it to for repair advised that they saw a lot like this on trailers and that they thought it was mainly due to the tire/wheels not being balanced. Thinking about this and knowing just what it feels like in a vehicle driving on a severely unbalanced tire, I have never towed a unit since that time without getting a full balance done. Even most of our "China Bombs" have stood up pretty well.
Just pointing out that maybe the excessive problems with tire blowouts could be due, at least in part, to improper balancing.
On the last new FR trailer we got, a 2017 Flagstaff 24FBDS, I took all the wheels in to have them done and found that they all required some pretty major balancing!
While driving and passing, or being passed, by 5th's and TT's I always note there right side wheels and see many bouncing up/down like crazy. This surely can't be very good for either the tire of the suspension? Just thought I would put this one out there. Happy to be proven wrong.

[MarkyB]

I balanced my China Bombs before we left for Utah last summer.
Still lost 2 of them before we got there.
But I agree, can't be good for the trailer to run out of balance.

I will also be rotating my tires before our next trip. Based on my TPMS temps, the rear axle seems to be carrying more weight than the front..
(Rear tires consistently run warmer than the front.)

[kcdelan]

Originally Posted by MarkyB

I balanced my China Bombs before we left for Utah last summer.
Still lost 2 of them before we got there.
But I agree, can't be good for the trailer to run out of balance.

I will also be rotating my tires before our next trip. Based on my TPMS temps, the rear axle seems to be carrying more weight than the front..
(Rear tires consistently run warmer than the front.)

In responce to your rear axle perhaps carrying more weight...... I see this as quite a common issue. For what it is worth, my opinion is that, for this to occur a trailer has to be not level and therefore, in your case, nose high. I see this a lot on the highways and byways of North America. I do try to keep our TT as level as possible, but in our case this is difficult to fine tune as we use a "Hensley Arrow" hitch. One of the things I like about most Forest River products is that they keep the axles nice and tight together, unlike most other manufacturers, so this gives one a little bit more wriggle-room for being slightly out of level while towing. For those with the axles wide apart you have to be far more cognizant of the level of the TT in relationship to the TV. Hope this helps.

[MarkyB]

Opposing slides in the bunkhouse makes the rear end heavy. Trailer looks level when towing, but I've thought about that. It might be happier a little nose down.

[doulos]

Thanks for the "heads up"! I for one want to do everything possible to avoid unnessary problems!