Life is short

[Farmwithjunk]

And I almost made it shorter this afternoon. /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

If there's a moral to this story, it's "When something just doesn't seem right, go with your instincts".

I had to load up the 2440 Deere on my gooseneck trailer, then haul it across town to do some pasture clipping. I hit the interstate, and let 'er roll. At 65 MPH, there was a strange vibration. It seemed "odd". Just couldn't put my finger on it, but something wasn't right.

2 miles from my exit ramp, with traffic tight on my tail, and the lane next to me jammed with home-bound traffic (4:30PM) the unexpected happened.

BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBANG!

One of the trailer tires blew out. The trailer hooked sideways about 5 feet. As I started to correct, it whipped the other direction. I HAD to get it out of traffic. I cut the wheel to the right, directing the truck and trailer off the highway. I hit grass at about 50 MPH.

Apparently, it was my lucky day. Almost the entire distance this road runs, it's lined withrock out-croppings, ditches, and guardrails. I found a wide grass run-off. It took about 200 yards to get stopped without loosing it in the grass.

6400 LBS of tractor, 5600 lbs of truck, and 3300 LBS of trailer was FINALLY at rest.

And then my heart about jumped out of my chest.

The tire that blew was almost completely shredded. It blew a chunk out of the tire next to it.

I had one spare, a jack, a lug wrench, and just barely enough composure to deal with changing the blown tire. I SLOWLY drove on to a tire dealer I do business with that's less than 5 miles from where I was at.

"CHANGE ALL FOUR"

4 Load range E, 265/16R radial trailer tires..... Mounted, balanced, and SAFE. $487.09

4 hours later, my heart rate is about back to normal.


The tech at the tire dealer said the 2 remaining tires were starting to "seperate" (Tread coming off carcas) They didn't look right either.

Next time something doesn't seem right, I'm stopped and outta the truck to examine the situation a little closer. /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

 

[gmsssi]

Glad your safe and safer now! Be careful..........

 

[wksinatl]

Wow! I bet the folks around you were alittle shook too. Glad everthing is OK.

P.S. sorry about your wallet (LOL)

 

[YanmarFever]

Wow that brings back shivers to me !!
That happened to me at 70 mph but mine was an exploxion in the trailer tire.
I had to change the tire with traffic 3ft. away at 70 mph.
I didnt need any coffee for 2 days after that one

Im glad it all went ok for you /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
Ernie

 

[NIXON]

Great to hear your alright . Must have been one of those " my life went in front of my eyes " experiences . Do You have any idea as to why that tire let go ? John

 

[MikePA]

<font color="blue"> The tech at the tire dealer said the 2 remaining tires were starting to "seperate" (Tread coming off carcas) They didn't look right either. </font>
Why were they beginning to separate? Age? Under inflated?

 

[Farmwithjunk]

All we can do is guess at this point, as to why they started to come apart. They did get a few miles at low pressure one time, but that was last summer. MANY miles since then. (Had a nieghbor kid that was letting air out of everyones tires. I left the house one morning without knowing the tires were half deflated. Took a few miles before it became evident)

I've been using the trailer to haul lumber here of late. The company I work for is moving their storage yard. They gave me the contents of several sheds on the property. They were full of good lumber. To get in and out of the yard, I have to turn the truck 90* to the trailer, and literally drag the trailer around in the turn. The front pair of tires are sliding sideways. The sidewalls are stretched to their limits during this manuever. I've thought they were going to pull off the rim while turning. This has happened 5, maybe 6 times. It has taken a noticable toll on the sidewalls and tread near the edge of the tire. I'm thinking this has more to do with the problem than anything else.

Trailer tires take a thrashing. I've owned it long enough to completely wear out one set of brakes. It just might have been long enough to ruin a set of tires. The center of each tire still had plenty of tread, but the inner and outer edges were well worn.

The old tires, and the new ones, both call for 75 to 90 PSI (min. and max) For the weight rating, they call for 85 PSI. That's what I run in them normally. SOMETIMES, I let them down to 80 when out on the highway a lot. They build some heat, then the pressure goes up to 85 after a few miles.

The long and short of it is, I'm going to be changing tires whenever they look like they're STARTING to wear from now on. This wasn't any fun at all.

 

[KAB]

Just a reminder...
Check tires when they are COLD. Pressure will change even with a mile of driving. IF you check pressure after a drive, wait at least 2-3 hours.

Also, If the middle of the tire had good tread and the inside and outside were worn down, the tire was either overloaded or underpressured.

Do you remember to switch between summer and winter air /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif, oops.. check air pressure in the summer and winter. In winter it is not unusual for the tires to show a pressure loss, that it is actually due to temperature. So in the summer they will be overinflated again.

Kurt

 

[Mike_C]

You know, the tires on my trailer are showing signs of dry rot. Perhaps I should replace them before this happens to me. I have no idea how old they are as I bought the trailer used and it came with the tires...

 

[MotorSeven]

While driving a motorhome, the same thing happened....First was a very light vibration which had me thinking, "road surface", but it slowly got worse. I told my buddy riding shotgun, "Somethings not right" and started to attempt to move to the shoulder(3 lanes over). Well, several of these real considerate S FL motorists, just kept changing lanes and passing me on the right even though i was crowding that lane with a (frantic) turn signal on. The RF blew and it sounded like a bomb went off right as one of those "considerate" guys was even with that tire. We made it to the shoulder as the remnants of the tire tried it's best to rip the fender off. Later we had quite a chuckle and figure that the motorists had to go home and change his shorts /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif.
Couple of years later, when that "vibration started again, i pulled right over, and yep, had a rear tire separating from the tread. If you are lucky enough to get a warning....TAKE IT, and get to the shoulder asap!
Trailer tires and motorhome tires take alot of abuse(time,weather,weight,neglect). On a small trailer a blow out is no big deal, but when you are talking several tons, it is a whole different ball game.
Stay safe!

RD

 

[dmccarty]

RD,

I can't believe that you don't think South Florida has considerate drivers. /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Years ago, in South Florida ironically, a semi hauling cars was passing me. I was driving a Camaro Z28 that was nice and low. My head/ear was pretty close to the same level as his tires. One of his trailer tires blew out right beside me. I dang near flew out of that car like an unwanted passenger in James Bonds car! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Scared the scat out of me to be sure. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Later,
Dan

 

[wushaw]

Glad your OK.
Trailer tire age is something we tend to forget since we don't use them like our daily driver. Five years is a decent time frame for trailer tires.
I've had dry rot on my Jeep tires in as little as four years, so sometimes tire life has no magic number but is the most overlooked and important part of a trailer.

 

[Farmwithjunk]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Glad your OK.
Trailer tire age is something we tend to forget since we don't use them like our daily driver. Five years is a decent time frame for trailer tires.
I've had dry rot on my Jeep tires in as little as four years, so sometimes tire life has no magic number but is the most overlooked and important part of a trailer.
)</font>

These tires were less than 2-1/2 years old, had about 8000 miles on them, and LOOKED OK.

The trailer in question is a 20'+5' gooseneck, 14,000 GVWR. It goes behind a 3500 Dodge Ram. I NORMALLY haul about 7500 lbs worth of tractor, but on occasion, it'll see a 10,000 0r 11,000 lb load. And on occasion, like one of my earlier post's mentioned, it'll get turned around in tight places. That causes the trailer tires to get dragged side-ways, putting un-due torture on the sidewalls.

The long and short of it? Trailer tires get hammered. They don't hold up like the truck tires on the tow vehicle. Gotta keep that in mind from now on.

(In the past, I've always ran used truck tires on my trailers. They were half wornout when they went ON the trailer. They got replaced because of lack of tread before they were too battered and bruised to go on. The trailer is just over 2 years old, and had new tires on it when I got it. The plan is to keep GOOD tires on it from now on. It sees a LOT of highway miles nowdays.)

 

[JimMorrissey]

Scary....Good thing you made the grassy part of the road. Certainly could have been uglier. Don't be too hard on yourself, there's no telling you would have noticed anything was wrong with the tires with a road side inspection. Also, good thing you had the machine bound well to the trailer. Can you imagine if it left the trailer and was boucning down the Interstate at 65mph!

An in-law of mine was hauling drywall with a goose neck trailer and he had a similar situation except he crashed and almost burned. His truck and trailer were totaled and he had two teenagers with him. He and kids made the wreck out with their lives. An on-coming tractor-trailer saw it about to happen and slowed down before they crossed the median into his lane.

Heavy loads on non-commercial trucks at Interstate speeds are questionable in my mind. I guess the maintenance is key, but if I guy sees nothing wrong with his tires as far as surface wear goes, then why is he going to change them out, unless they're really old and the rubber is rotting....which I hope wasn't the case /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif The key is to buy the best rubber you can find when you buy tires. Saving $100 could cost your or another persons life.

 

[Farmwithjunk]

For whatever it's worth, this IS a commercial vehicle. DOT #, recent inspection, and all that goes with it.

And I do tend to go over-board when chaining down a load. This experience made me glad I do that. Tractor never budged.

Tires were top-of-the-line Michelins.

.....and sometimes the bear gets you........ /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

 

[ejtaylor822]

Junk,
Glad you are alright. I remember bringing my tractor home and the trailer went sideways on me the first time, yanking the backend all over the road - One the scariest things I have experienced in a long time.

Your experience made me go check my tires on both trailers. I never look that close at them or pay that much attention as they are used maybe couple of times a month. My oldest, a 10' trailer has some wear, but, a closer look and I am starting to see some cracks forming on the sidewalls. They are now about 5 yrs old. Probably need to go get them looked at.

DMCCARTY,
Had an experience like yours once. Was going down the highway and on the verge of passing a tractor-trailer in my T-bird. I was right at the back of the trailer when the outside back axle tire blew apart. It was like sticks of dynamite going off in front of the right fender. Fortunately two things happened: No one was around us and I was able to stop quicky and do some swirving to avoid the "road gators" and (2) leather seats are easy to wipe off and clean /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif That was over 6 years ago and still do not like passing trucks.

-Eddie

 

[wushaw]

Farmwithjunk, have you thought about upgrading to commercial 17.5 tires? I have these on my 24,000GVW fifthwheel.
They have a great weight rating, you will overload an axle before overloading these and granted they are a little overkill but safety is the name of the game.


Goodyear tire

 

[JimMorrissey]

Humm. Nice job with the chains. If nothing else, it may have saved you a big insurance nightmare if the machine left the trailer. Good to hear you and your vehicles are OK.

 

[Av8r3400]

Glad you and the rig survived okay from your ordeal.

I'm sure you are happy you had FOUR tires on the trailer rather than two. People that haul equipment like this on two tire trailers should read this string and take it to heart!

EJ: you probably shouldn't refer to Farmwithjunk as "Junk" though, it could cause a problem. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

 

[Taylortractornut]

I ve had that happen in a big truck not a peice of the tire be over 3 inches. I had a flat in transit and it rubbed the dual next to it. Made the group of crotch rockets that were on my tail drop way back to a safer distance. Had 120 psi per tire that morning when i left out. I think i might have lost a plug or patch. You could save the other 2 tires for a farm trailer or spares, we reuse all our old tires one way or another. I had a tire blow out on a scraper one tim at about 30 mph loaded in a tun made me bite a hole in the seat. plus the sudden stop wanst fun either.