Another near miss

Bern Hanreck · 20 August 2012, 20:15

Clearly plenty of tread left , but I'm guessing that baby is seven years old or more ? ( or maybe left constantly exposed to weather & UV )

Caravan Club says never use any tyre of that vintage on the road .

We read a lot on this forum about wheel bearings & brakes , but I guess some of us have neglected the rubber over the years ? I know I have in the past.

mick · 20 August 2012, 20:20

It was new last year but I was 5 miles from the end of a 800 m trip in 35 C heat

m chappelow · 20 August 2012, 20:23

could it be a remould tyre .
having said that it could be just the angle of the photo looks like it has uneven wear on the tread compared to the top part that has a deep tread the lower tread looks like its worn more ,any chance that the wheels have locked up whilst braking at sometime causing a flat spot thats started to wear with usage,

either that or someones made a sole for a flip flop shoe

mick · 20 August 2012, 20:27

Quote:

Originally Posted by m chappelow

could it be a remould tyre .

No wont touch remoulds it could have had a slow puncture before I set off

jyasaki · 21 August 2012, 00:02

Don't go by tread wear as an indicator of trailer tire life. They don't typically squirm as much as vehicle tires, and rarely will survive to the point where tread wear is an issue. If you're running vehicle tires on the trailer, you can probably disregard this. I think.

info fact sheet (admittedly, from a retailer):
Trailer Tire Facts - Discount Tire

jky

kerny · 21 August 2012, 07:53

Quote:

Originally Posted by jyasaki

Don't go by tread wear as an indicator of trailer tire life. They don't typically squirm as much as vehicle tires, and rarely will survive to the point where tread wear is an issue. If you're running vehicle tires on the trailer, you can probably disregard this. I think.

info fact sheet (admittedly, from a retailer):
Trailer Tire Facts - Discount Tire

jky

Thanks for that jyasaki, some good sound advice in that link especially about inflating the tyre to maximum as stated on the tyre wall.

There was a thread on here recently and some posters advised to put less pressure in than stated on the tyre wall

Tino · 21 August 2012, 08:35

Were you running fast? I think that trailer tyres are designed and manufactured to run at only 80kph or 40mph.

Leapy · 21 August 2012, 08:53

Quote:

Originally Posted by kerny

There was a thread on here recently and some posters advised to put less pressure in than stated on the tyre wall

Tyre manufacturers do not stipulate runniing pressures for individual vehicles. Rather, vehicle manufacturers recommend pressures based on safety, durability, braking, ride comfort, fuel economy, tyre wear etc.

Tyre manufacturers stipulate a safe maximum pressure for structural integrity of the tyre.

9D280 · 21 August 2012, 09:01

Quote:

Originally Posted by kerny

There was a thread on here recently and some posters advised to put less pressure in than stated on the tyre wall

That might have been me, but I was referring to a Laser Dinghy trailer, which was rated to carry a boat of 120 KG and was in fact carrying a boat that clocked in at 58Kg. The whole assembly clocked in at about 200KG. - If a 3 point turn looked awkward, I could get out, pick the whole lot up by the transom, swivcvel it sideways on the hitch & put the stern where it needed to be.

I am not by any means saying that lower pressure tyres are the way to go in all situations, but "go max" - how do you explain the different tyre pressures as reccommended by car manufacturers when a Dunlop / Michelin / random make 15x195 will fit a couple of Vauxhalls, Fords, Fiats etc ..... and have different inflation pressures for each car, varying again when loaded?

Max means Max. The actual vaue is another discussion entirely!

m chappelow · 21 August 2012, 11:28

Mick ,just out of interest what size wheel /tyre is it and what load is it carrying .

doggypaddle · 21 August 2012, 14:47

I had a trailer with those little wheels and tyres. They would be too hot to touch in the winter after a 200 mile trip at 55mph and well within their load range.
I think they're just too small for most applications and cant dissipate the heat well enough. hence the low highway speed rating?.
I must admit i don't like the old 10inch mini size much either for the same reason. Had a few of those fail on a micro-plus 502 trailer.
is there any speed rating on them??

Leapy · 21 August 2012, 18:27

Quote:

Originally Posted by 9D280

That might have been me

Me too. As you say, max means max not recommended.

mick · 21 August 2012, 21:15

Quote:

Originally Posted by m chappelow

Mick ,just out of interest what size wheel /tyre is it and what load is it carrying .

5.00 x 10 8 ply at 60 psi on a twin axle

bazza · 21 August 2012, 21:17

I had that happen to me but not near as bad. When I went to the trailer garage they said it was because the tyre was 2 ply and should be 4 ply. My boat and trailer is 1000kgs.

Was that tyre 2 ply?

Ah.... wrote before you posted....

9D280 · 22 August 2012, 07:52

When I got my current rib it was at on a set of 8" "dinghy" wheels. Probably fine for the 200 yds it used to do per year at about 20 mph, but when I checked out, to get an 8" tyre rated to carry 3/4 ton per axle was about £100 / tyre!

I have 10" wheels on my trailer, primarily to reduce the likliehood of nav light removal on entry to the garage (and it makes launching soo much easier - I canlt remember the last time I had to unhitch to get the boat on or off). Got the higher rated tyres. More expensive to buy, but in the long run probably cheaper!

Simon Hodder · 22 August 2012, 11:13

After seeing the photo in Mick's post and reading the rest of the comments and good advice here I've just been out and got a new set of tyres for my Rollercoaster 1 trailer. They were nearly 10 years old so clearly an unknown quantity! The originals were only 2-ply but I've upgraded to a heavier duty tyre with 2-plies in the walls and 4 plies across the tread. I always thought the originals looked a bit soft, even when inflated to the max, but these look much better.

BogMonster · 22 August 2012, 22:02

As above max is max, but in the absence of manufacturer guidelines, it's better to overinflate tyres than underinflate them as sidewall heat is the silent tyre-killer which is why most "blowouts" are actually a slow puncture which became a very hot tyre which became a loud bang which became some dirty underwear.

As also suggested the problem is most trailer wheels (not just boat trailers) are stupid little pram wheels which then need the tyres to be over-engineered and over-inflated to carry the required heavy weight, which means the tyres are expensive and the ride is awful. The difference in the way my boat trailer rides between 195/50R13s at about 60psi and the current 235/70R16 at about 30psi is incredible. You now barely notice potholes that would bottom out the suspension before.

hobbit555 · 24 August 2012, 14:50

Not sure of the circumstances but I would say it may be due to the rubber being weakened by the trailer sitting in one place for a period of time. The damage is the same footprint as I would expect if an under inflated tyre was sitting on the ground.

mick · 28 August 2012, 21:21

Well what do you now popped another tyre on the way back from Oban so will be going for 13"