Flat Tire :(

jbeletti

Well-known member
Went out to the trailer today to replace the dishes with lighter ones and get fabric samples in order to pick fabric and order 2 new chairs - and saw that I had a door-side, rear axle flat.

Found this:
//heartlandowners.org/images/flat_tire_inline_image.jpg

Caused by this:
//heartlandowners.org/images/nail_in_tire_inline_image.jpg

Now we're looking like this (spare rim is white painted steel):
//heartlandowners.org/images/spare_tire_inline_image.jpg

Not sure if these tires can be repaired from a small diameter puncture between the tread. I'll find out Monday.

Just a month ago, for the first time in 2 years of RVing, I signed up for Good Sam's ERS (emergency roadside service). Good thing too. I called them and they sent out a towing company to remove the tire and put on the spare. I didn't have the truck at the trailer today in order to pull it onto blocks and no jack heavy duty enough to lift up the trailer.

Once the tech finally arrived, he made quick work of changing the tire. My ERS paid off already this year!

Once I get the tire repaired, I think I'll have all 4 tires rotated. Anyone do this? I am thinking I need to go left to right, straight across although I suppose I can cross corners too.

Not sure how many miles we've pulled so far. Less than 10,000 I suppose. I am surprised at how little tread I have left on this flat tire. Maybe I have uneven wear. I'll have to look at all 4 tires in a couple weeks.

Well, lucky for us we made it home from the rally without losing air on the way home. From the looks of the nail, we picked well before we got home. Could have been anywhere I guess (Fairgrounds, gas station, rest stop etc.).

For those interested, in a bit, I will upload to this post, some pictures of the inside of the tire rim so you can see all the codes and stuff stamped in it. They are made by MS in China. Not sure who MS is. They are rated at 110 PSI and 3,960 pounds loading.

Jim


13-Jun-2006

As a a postscript to this matter, today, I asked National Tire and battery (NTB) if my tire could be repaired. They felt that it could. So for about $20 plus tax, they removed the nail and patched the hold from the inside of the tire with a Patch-N-Plug repair. The plug is pushed through the tire until the patch rests firmly against the inside of the tire. It is glued in, then glue applied over it. The rubber plug protrusion is cut off at tread depth.

Lended them the tire gauge I bought from Stacey and Gail Frank from Weigh-It so they could fill to 110 PSI as their gauges were not quite that high.

I'll keep checking the pressure over the next few days. If it holds, I put it back on the trailer this weekend. We'll see over time, if those fancy patch/plugs can withstand 110 PSI and the weight we put on them with the trailer.

If anyone has any feedback on the viability of this repair system on a trailer tire, please let me know as I don't want to set myself up for a failure down the road.
 

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Last edited:

jpmorgan37

Well-known member
Jim:
I make it a practice of rotating my tires once a year which is about 8 to 10,000 miles. Since there is no difference in the driving pressure on the tires, I rotate front to back, not cross rotation. This way, the steel belts are maintaining the same flex pattern. It also gives me a good look at the tread wear for alignment and balance problems.
John
 

fireflipper

EX-Travel Bug
Fireflipper

Hi Jim
I can't tell by the pictures what brand tires you have. If they are the Goodyears that came on my GC, the outside edge really has no tread. They are designed this way to allow for the tire to slide during tight turns, you can have a dealer measure the tread depth and check it against what the manufacuter stats that the depth is when new. This will tell you how much wear and tear the tire is taking. As for the nail, you should be able to have it patched from the inside. do not let htem put a plug in the tire like we did in the old days. This seperates the steel wires inside the rubber and starts the seperation process. Also I rotate my tires about every 5 to 8 thousand miles, going from front to back one time and then cross rotate the next. The wife keeps a log of maint. and mileage on the trailer. This way it is easy to keep track of what has been done. It also gives her something to do while traveling, not that I am doing much of that right now.
 

jbeletti

Well-known member
John and Glenn,

Thank you for the input. I need to inspect the other tires for tread depth to see if I have even wear. Hope so. If not, I may have an axle alingment issue. Hate to jump too far ahead in assumptions though.

Jim
 

BigBlue

BigBlue
I had to replace a tire this week. The driver side front tire on the trailer had all of it's tread scrubbed off. This has happended withing the last 1000 miles traveling from Issaquah, WA to Sheridan, WY. The tire dealer said it's probably a camber problem. I called AL KO and they said they would send a new axle out right away. Since we'll be back at our dealer by the end of June, I'm having it sent there. The other tires also have much less tread depth compared to the new tire I purchased so I'm taking the trailer into the tire dealer here in Sheridan, WY to have the alignment checked on all the tires.
 

cdbMidland

Past Michigan Chapter Leader
Jim, how is the air pressure holding in the repaired tire? Also, with the rim stamped 110 psi, is this cold pressure or max pressure? My tires state that they should be inflated to 110 psi cold.
 

jpmorgan37

Well-known member
Chuck;
I don't mean to butt in but I think this will answer your question on inflation. Jeff posted it in the forum some time ago. Have a great weekend. //heartlandowners.org/showthread.php?t=30

John
 

cdbMidland

Past Michigan Chapter Leader
Thanks, John. That does answer the question about the rim psi - it is the cold psi.

Still wonder how Jim's tire pressure is holding after the repair.
 

jbeletti

Well-known member
Hi Chuck and John,

So far so good! I carried the tire in the back of my truck for a week and the pressure held solid at 110 PSI. Then I put replaced the spare with the repaired tire.

A week later (yesterday), the pressure was holding fast. We pulled out this morning and traveled 350 miles on it. We're at Indian Springs CG in North Bend, OH. I'll check all the tires in the morning. I am hopeful but will keep a close eye on it.

Jim
 
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