Blowouts suck!

I went with some tire and wheel combo deal I found on ebay. They are bias ply tires so if they blow out they still hold together and shouldn't damage to much stuff like when a radial blows out. I have been super happy with them so far!

I think the tires are an odd brand like road star or something. I will have to look again.

 

14" or 15"?

 

Found it.

This is the place I got my wheels and tires from: ST225/75R15 Radial Boat Trailer Tire on a Aluminum Split Spoke 6 bolt Wheel


Down in the middle of the page here is the wheels and tires mounted. My trailer had 13" originally and I went with 15" wheels and a high load capacity tire.

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...tenance-9.html

 

Well, my spare blew on the way home today. I find it odd that the same tire location blew twice. Would it have something to do with the axles alignment that I read about? I did pick me up another tire the first time it blew. It's a duratrail st load E tire. Anybody heard of these ?

 

It was a dynatrail + tire that I bought

 

I haven't heard of Dynatrail.

I replaced my 9 year old G/Y Marathons with Maxis 8008's 2 years ago. I've been happy with them so far. Maxis seams to have been the ST tire of choice on rv.net for a few years.

How old was your spare? Did you check the tire pressure on the spare? I would think a bent axle would wear a tire out before causing a tire to just blow out.

 

I don't know how old the spare is. I will have to look. Tires were manufactured in 09 so probably the same. I knew the tires were time to be replaced. It sucks the spare went out and still had the sticker on it. I probably got 150 miles out of it. We had a blast camping tho ! Now I have to repair the damage. I will look into the maxxis and try to catch them on sale or something . I may be done for the year because my boy starts school next month . I may hold off and buy them next year so they will not sit there and dry rot

 

So all of a sudden I am worried about the rear bumper on my TT and the bumper hitch I have on it to pull the boat behind. I was looking for a spot to stick the bikes or kayaks and in my search for ideas I see a few pics of rear bumpers that have fallen off TT's because of extra weight.

Many mention the weight limit on the rear bumper is only 100 pounds. Today I will be looking at the deal, drawing up some plans, and reinforcing it to take the load of the trailer hitch/boat. I have been watching the bumper and its joints all the time and have not seen any ill effects yet but I am still worried. I have a feeling there will be no signs of something about to happen. I feel once the welds start to rip it ill only be a matter of minutes before the whole bumper comes off. Lots of work for me before the next camping trip.

 

Just got back from a 2800 mile trip from Houston, TX up to Gatlinburg, TN down to Gulf Shores, AL and then home. First tow for us with the Ex over 400 miles and I must say the Ex did great!!. What other vehicle can you take 5 people, two large dogs and 7,500# travel trailer on a 3,000 mile trip comfortably .

 

I would get it taken off and a heavier walled one installed and reinforced from center to the frame in a triangle maybe mount your safety chains back to the frame.
I looked into towing like that in Ontario and the Law says the first trailer has to be a fifth wheel and the driver needs an A class license I still see them pulled like that every trip

 

Already got the work done this morning. The rear tube on my camper is well thick enough for the boat I pull. I added in 4 gussets to the main frame today and a second V square tube to meet at the hitch and welded to the frame rails about 10" forward of the rear bumper. The gussets are 10x5" each.

If it held up this long on just the crappy factory butt welds I will be worry free of it from now on. I always kept an eye on the welds and bumper while towing but honestly after now getting into the factory welds and cleaning the paint off things I am surprised it held up and can see why people have problems.


Now I'm off to see if I have the material to make up a bike/kayak rack for the front tongue area.

 

I bought an older Hensley early last year and spent the Spring taking it apart, painting it, and repacking the bearings. Unfortunately, I never got a chance to try it out last year. After a less than impressive 100mi trip early this month I decided to get my ball joints replaced. The EX drove fine, but the front tires were showing the wear. After having them replaced and making a minor tweak to the Hensley (tightening some very minor play) we took off for a 800 mile round trip. I couldn't be more happy with the way the EX pulls now. No trailer sway whatsoever and the 6.0 with the 5speed in tow/haul mode is awesome. Can't wait for the next haul!

 

My trip is going well. Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, South Dakota, Wyoming, Montana, Alberta. 2400 miles down 4000 to go.

Blew my radiator in Kimball SD. Overweg repair treated me well even came in on Saturday to get me back on the road.

I have to say that out stay in Kimball has been the highlight of our trip. They had bull riding on Friday night and a ton of kids activities on Saturday, and a rib competition for me.

 

That is quite the trip! Did you go threw WI already?

 

Glad to see another happy Hensley owner! We love ours.


WOW John, That's some trip! How long are you on the road for? How's that Hensley treating you?