A Tired Tale of Three Tires

Ah, RV'ing...sitting around a campfire, reliving the travels of the day, or maybe eating s'mores, or perhaps just relaxing with your favorite libation. But, there are days when nothing satisfies. Not all RV'ing can be considered idyllic...today was one of those days.

Five days ago we left Holbrook, AZ and headed toward Petrified National Forest NP, towing our 33' trailer. The 18-mile trip was uneventful, until we turned into the park entrance. The headlights on a car behind us were frantically flashing and I pulled over and stopped. The man got out and approached, pointing to a tire. He had followed us after noticing white smoke billowing out of our trailer, unnoticed by us (probably because of the high winds). When I got out to inspect, I found that one of our Goodyear G614 trailer tires had failed, leaving a "road alligator" trailing behind us. The "alligator" was firmly stuck between the shock aborber and brake caliper on our trailer. (Our trailer is equipped with Mor-Ryde electric-over-hydraulic disc brakes and suspension). This photo shows me, trying to free the alligator.

It took over 2 hours to disentangle the alligator, involving some cuss words and the loss of not a little blood and flesh. At least the alligator ended up at a tire repair facility in Holbrook ("Future Tires"...nice guys. If you're in the area and have a problem, visit them), rather than on the road to snare someone else. The photo shows the tire, still holding air pressure, and the separated tread.

This was the second Goodyear G614 "G-rated" tire to fail in the last half year. The first was in Pennsylvania and I thought (silly me!) that one might be a one-of-a-kind failure. That one was replaced under warranty.

The Service Manager at Future Tires noted that the tires were four years old. He considered Goodyear tires at that age to be "old". We replaced that failed tire with a Chinese something-or-other, a "G" rated tire and moved on.

Fast forward four days. We left Canyon de Chelley on the Navajo Reservation (Chinle) and were driving north toward Farmington, NM, when suddenly the truck and  trailer shuddered. Yes, four days after the second tire failure, we experienced our third.  The highways on the Navajo Reservation are narrow and there are no pull-outs. We limped at 35 mph (flashers on) to a small town where we were able to pull off and find a paved area to change the tire. Luckily, the tire again held air pressure after the tread separation. We're actually getting very good at changing tires on the trailer. It only took us about 15 minutes to get back on the road. 

So, in less than one-half year, we've had three Goodyear G614's fail. Our trailer is not overweight, provable by the recent printouts from RVSEF. I also have had Pressure-Pro tire monitors installed on both the trailer and the tow truck, and keep the trailer pressures between 105 and 110 psi as recommended.

What could be the problem? Two different service managers tell me that four years is a "good" lifetime, and that if you store the trailer for a "couple" of months, a flat spot could develop which could lead to the failures we experienced. These tires have less than 20,000 miles on them and it would seem that they should certainly last longer.

We are now in Bloomfield, NM, waiting for two replacement tires. The first is to replace the one that separated today, the other to replace the only tire of the original four that has not failed, but is reaching that mystical "four-year" mark.

In a couple of days we'll continue our travels. Three of the tires will be Goodyear G614's, the other is a Chinese something-or-other. The cost difference between them is significant. The Goodyear's average about $280 per tire, the Chinese cost $129. Both are "G" rated; time will tell which performs better, and more cost-effectively. Time will tell, and we'll keep the trailer jack handy.

Comments

[Linda R. Moore]

Wow, bummer! I'm glad that you are both safe, though.

I love these western shots of yours, and the "interesting" roads (that would scare the willies out of me, as it happens). :)

[Jaime Hall-Bruzenak]

Thanks, Linda. It is scary losing a tire. We were lucky to find out about the lost tread before the whole tire blew.

Glad you are enjoying the photos. Jaimie

[Joei Carlton Hossack]

I never actually had a blowout but I did have 2 Goodyear truck tires that I purchased from Wal Mart develop huge bubbles and thankfully someone driving behind me spotted it and had me pull over. One bulge was the size of a grapefruit. I don't know if they were Chinese tires but I've had so many Chinese things fail that I'm really careful. I purchase NOTHING from China. Glad you are safe. Joei Carlton Hossack

[Jaimie Hall Bruzenak]

Thanks, Joei,
I'm not sure if the Goodyear tires were made in China, but on those, the whole tread came off. I don't know if it bubbled first or not. We've heard that it can happen when an RV sits for too long.

Jaimie