Tires; Again???

John Bennett

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Joined
Jul 24, 2023
Messages
11
Location
Indianapolis, IN
We took ownership of our 297RSTS in late July. I was happy about having Goodyear Endurance, 225/75R15, date code 1722, tires on the RV, as I had heard very good things about these tires. Since July we have put about 1,500 miles on the RV going on several weekend trips to get acclimated. Our first long trip started last Saturday, driving from Indianapolis to Pensacola Beach, about 770 miles with a stop in Callum, AL to break up the drive.

When we were about 20 miles shy of the Alabama border, a car pulled up next to us to let us know we had a smoking tire. I was not feeling a vibration, and I had been monitoring the Tire Linc and did not see a tire heating up or having pressure go unusually high. We pulled over and the Left Rear tire sidewall was shredded (I did not take a picture of that one). I changed the tire with the spare (not fun on the left side on I-65). Once we were back on the road, we got about 8 miles and I notice smoke coming from the Right Rear tire. See the attached picture.

It took a couple of hours, but we found a company in Huntsville that would come out and change the tire for us. They had 4 tires in stock, so I asked them to come change all 4 of them. The new tires are Carlisle Radial Trail HD Trailer Tire - ST225/75R15 LRE 10PLY Rated. So far, they have performed perfectly.

The treads on all 4 tires showed no unusual wear and all the running gear under the RV looks fine.

I also weighed at a CAT Scale to make sure we were not overloaded.
Steer Axle 3,980 lbs.
Drive Axle 4,700 lbs.
Trailer Axle 7,920 lbs.
With a GVWR of 9,995 lbs. for the trailer, it seems to be well within a reasonable range.

• Any thoughts on what may have happened?
• Did the Right tire get damaged when the Left went flat?
• Did Goodyear have a bad run of tires?
• I am tempted to go to a higher rated tire. Is that a good / bad idea?
 
I too thought Good Year Endurance tires wear great, and was happy they were on my 31MB when we purchased it. Last May, when I was looking at the tires before going camping for the first time, I saw big cracks in the tire at the base of the tread blocks. The tires still had plenty of tread on them, as we hadn't taken this trailer on any long trips. Yes, the camper was three years old. The tires were covered when the camper was stored for the season. One side of the camper never gets sun at home because of the tree cover. Tires on both sides were affected. This time I got a set of Towmax trailer tires. We will see how they do. If they don't last, I will get LT tires next time!
 
Please post if you find out the cause!
Seems weird that those tires would smoke like that and now all is well with a different set of tires.
May I offer, if this happen to me I would a deep dive on the following:
-Brake system: including your tow vehicle sending a bad signal to the brakes and the trailer brake system.
-Bearings: GD had a recall on the Grease zerts being loose and causing a problem similar to what you are reporting.
 

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