20 replies to this topic

[Chickadee]

For those who have the 15 inch D or E rated tires, how many of you have ever needed to use your spare tire?  How many of you have had the occasion to change a tire?  And...how many of you change your own tires vs calling a tow truck (or AAA or whatever)?

Thanks!

[midemd]

Chickadee, on 09 August 2012 - 05:50 AM, said:

For those who have the 15 inch D or E rated tires, how many of you have ever needed to use your spare tire?  How many of you have had the occasion to change a tire?  And...how many of you change your own tires vs calling a tow truck (or AAA or whatever)?

Thanks!

Our Casita was picked up May 2010 and we've never had to be towed or use the spare.   We check it to make sure it  has enough air if we do need to use it (knock on wood).


Marsha

Edited by Ed and Marsha, 09 August 2012 - 08:27 AM.

[Tom&Joyce]

Since putting the 15 inch D tires on last fall, we have had no occasion to change tires.  We have over 7000 miles on the "new" 15's.  About time to rotate them, however.

All 3 times I had to change one of the 14's I did it myself.  It is not hard to do, but you need to do it safely.  I am only 68, as I age it may become necessary to call roadside assistance.

Tom

[baron100]

Never had to change my 15" load range "E" tires in three years.

I believe we have been seeing a positive trend in tire failure reduction as many have migrated to load range "D" Marathons or other brand "D" and "E" tires.

Leads me to believe the issue is not so much ST or LT type tires but having a properly inflated tire with sufficient load range margin over the trailers measured weight.

[Eggshell jr]

I'm curious, ... what is a properly inflated tire for 15" load range "E" tires?

                     Thanks,
                              Eggshell

[KandJ]

I never had to change a 14" tire when I had them. I did have to change a 15" tire. I was in the mountains on a dirt/gravel road and took a corner too sharp and dropped the right wheel into a culvert. It took a chunk of rubber out of the tire down to the belt. Never lost any air from the tire but decided to replace the thing. Changing it was not hard as I have a small hydraulic bottle jack. with more than 70,000 miles on the Casita that has been only the second tire problem. The first one was when we had the original 14" Goodyear Marathon. We were at a gas station in Utah and a man came by and said we should look at one of our tires. The street side tire had a bulge in it the size of a baseball. Replaced that thing two blocks down the street at a tire store very quickly.

Keith

[Chickadee]

I'll tell you why I asked:  we're considering not taking a spare tire at all.  The rear bumper is going to hold a rack for a DeeVee storage box for a Honda generator and gas can.  The spare tire is just in the way of the whole set up, and was rubbing off the fibreglass where it was mounted.  

Hubby has neck issues from a car crash so won't be changing tires himself; if we have a flat or whatever, we'll just call roadside assistance and buy a new tire.  

That's our current thinking anyway...

[baron100]

Eggshell jr, on 09 August 2012 - 11:26 AM, said:

I'm curious, ... what is a properly inflated tire for 15" load range "E" tires?

Thanks,
                              Eggshell

Depends on who you talk to.

Manufacturers have recommended inflation charts for the actual load on the trailer.

Discount Tire has been the largest independent tire distributor since 1960, as such they should have some insight into tires for trailer use, here is what they say.
"Always inflate trailer tires to the maximum inflation indicated on the sidewall. (They say this twice to get your attention.)
"In approximately three years, roughly one-third of the tire's strength is gone.

Goodyear Tire Company says this:
"For trailer tires, inflating near the max pressure indicated on the tire sidewall is a good option for cooler running lower rolling resistance and load-carrying capacity. If the load the tire is carrying isn't near its capacity, lower-than-maximum psi can be used (see load and inflation tables for proper inflation) and this may give a slightly better ride, but never allow the tires to be under-inflated (lower than what the trailer manufacturer recommends)."  

"Industry standards dictate that ST tires are restricted to a speed of 65 mph unless a different speed restriction is indicated on the tire sidewall. If speeds from 66 to 75 mph are used, the tire cold inflation pressure can be increased by 10 psi without any increase in load." (Same thing Maxxis told me, wheel pressure maximum rating must be considered if over inflating the tires to run at higher speed).

Gary RV Forum Staff:
" As with many RVs, trailer tires are often underinflated for the load. Yeah, I know, YOU always check yours and never run under-inflated (and your dog never barks in the campground either), but weight checks by the RVSafety Foundation show that a substantial percentage of RVs have one or more tires under-inflated for the actual load. An under-inflated tire flexes more than it should and gets much hotter than when properly inflated. That greatly increases the likelihood of tread separation or sidewall failure, i.e. a "blow out".

The personal decision that I reached was that I inflate my tires at near maximum (75psi to 80 psi) I don't ride in my trailer so a "slightly better ride" is not a consideration. I want the cooler tire temp and maximum load carrying capability.

Edited by baron100, 09 August 2012 - 01:08 PM.

[wool]

We've had three blowouts on our 2004 Casita's tires, all of which were caused by nails or other road hazards. All three were a little scary--on busy freeways where the shoulders were narrow and the cars were whizzing by us. Each time we called AAA, and they came to our rescue.  We had the spare put on which allowed us to get to a repair station where the offending tire was either repaired or replaced.

[Dutchman]

Chickadee, on 09 August 2012 - 12:16 PM, said:

I'll tell you why I asked:  we're considering not taking a spare tire at all.  The rear bumper is going to hold a rack for a DeeVee storage box for a Honda generator and gas can.  The spare tire is just in the way of the whole set up, and was rubbing off the fibreglass where it was mounted.  

Hubby has neck issues from a car crash so won't be changing tires himself; if we have a flat or whatever, we'll just call roadside assistance and buy a new tire.  

That's our current thinking anyway...

I can't imagine roadside assistance just happening to carry spare trailer tires for sale, or even bringing one along. Then again, maybe they do.  There is a definite distance between your flat tire and the nearest tire shop.  I would not be without a spare, IMHO.

Dutchman

[grapevine]

Another thing to think about is getting a spare wheel that will fit your tow & the Casita. You will carry it on your tow as a spare for the two units. I did this & was very happy to get rid of the fiberglass rubbing Casita spare. You just need the correct offset wheel that will fit your tow & the Casita. I was lucky as my tow had 5 hole on 4 1/2 wheels.

[Robin]

Dutchman, on 09 August 2012 - 03:59 PM, said:

I cn't imagine roadside assistance just happening to carry spare trailer tires for sale, or even bringing one along. Then again, maybe they do.  There is a definite distance between your flat tire and the nearest tire shop.  I would not be without a spare, IMHO.

Dutchman

I agree! Road service isn't gonna go looking for a tire for you. Road side service is wonderful, but don't remember hearing of them becoming personal shoppers!  


I have had one blow out (the middle of no=where WY, no cell service, no nothing!) Can't imagine how much longer it would have taken with out a spare.

I had one stem failure, again in WY (different trip threw WY) and though I was close to town, I almost didn't make it to the tire repair.

Not only not having a tire available but what if you bent a rim? They aren't always easy to find. Least not in my area. It would take some hunting to find the correct fit. Personaly travel without a spare doesn't work for me.........

Edited by Robin, 09 August 2012 - 04:40 PM.

[Chickadee]

Just thinking about it...our '83 31ft Airstream didn't even have a spare tire!

Maybe we're pushing the odds, but we've only had to change 2 tires on cars in 30 years (and one was a rental car)!  And a tire service truck will bring a tire if you tell them you need one; they do this for trucks all the time.

Interesting idea about sharing a spare...

[Don in OKC]

Chickadee, on 09 August 2012 - 04:46 PM, said:

Maybe we're pushing the odds,

Before you decide, you might be interested in some of the owners comments which have been moved to their own 'tire forum'.

http://www.casitaclu...2-tire-reports/

....or if you don't have the time for that much reading......

Don't leave home without a spare!  

[weavejd]

I had to use the spare last October, had a slow leak in the street side tire on a trip back home from CO. I changed the tire along side the road. Took the leaker to Discount Tire where the tech found a nail. Since the repair - put the tire back on - we've put about 6000 miles on it without a problem.