On the road (interstate) today, the tire tread on the left front of my tandem dump trailer disintegrated.

I learned a couple things: Other drivers that know rubber bits are flying out and I’m slowing down are nuts. They honk and get po'd. Shredded tire leftovers are quite hot to the touch . The truck’s lug wrench worked on the trailer’s lugs, but was oversize. Not having a spare is not a great idea if you have a full load. I didn’t.

The trailer probably has only 1500 miles on it, but I purchased in 2004. Should I consider new rubber? Not for tread wear but for tire rot? I cover the sun side of the tires, these are on the "shade" side where I park the trailer.

 

Tire industry says 5-7 years is standard life on trailer tires, although with the crap from China, darn few seem to make it that long.

Personally I would replace em all. I just did that on my 08 trailer. I know they should last longer, but I had one blow out on the interstate and another one started to go flat, so I dumped em all. It is just too much stress to lose a tire on the road and can really eat up a lot of time depending on where you are when it happens. I do check my pressures before each trip, so it was not an issue of low pressure then no pressure.

My thoughts,

Steve

 

Mine are 5 years old and I plan on replacing next year. I hope to be able to find good ole American tires I do not want Chinese tires.....

 

My old storage Trailer has 4 tires on it dating from 1992. They don't look "that" bad, and never loose air no matter how long they sit!


But I wouldn't dare make a long trip on them.... especially since the trailer is pretty heavy.


If you use your trailer enough, I'd recommend new rubbers, or at least, some good used ones.

 

Thanks all. I'm seeing lots of things wrong with the China D-rated imports (Goodyear, Carlisle, etc.). I'm thinking of moving to four E-rated Michelin XTAs. I hope I don't need a second mortgage to get them!

Should have mentioned in the first post that I cover the tires, but don't raise the trailer, and I check the pressure before every trip. Also, it's a 10,000# GVWR and see where the D-rated tires are meant for just a tad over 2,500# each. I think that's cutting things way too close.

 

Once one tire blows, it probably won't be long before the next. As noted above, 5-6 years and it's about time.
Just try going to the Colorado River or it's lake's over Memorial day weekend. You see all the boaters out for the first time after sitting all winter long, sitting on the side of the road with blow outs. Last time I counted 8 in all.
Two years ago, coming back at the rest area near Barstow, one guy had his boat on a tow truck with a blown out right rear rear tire and massive fender damage.
He said he had seven year old tires on his boat, blew one tire out going, used his spare but didn't want to pay the high price of a tire in Bullhead City, so took a chance and drove back without a spare to "save money."
He had his buddies driving up to the rest area from L.A. to bring him another tire to avoid further towing costs.
So much for saving money!
The old saying "pay me now or pay me later."