Suggest Tire Monitoring System

regan

Regan
I have read alot of owners that have not been happy with the tires, however I want to give my 2 cents worth. I had an Alpha Gold fifth wheel before my Bighorn. I was climbing over Santiam Pass in Oregon. I looked in rear view mirror and thought the trailer was on fire! Yes I had a blown tire. I put on Pressure Pro tire monitoring after that experience. I transfered the system to the Big Horn. The system showed a slow leak in one tire. It was not a problem with a tire, but with the valve stem. My pressure monitoring system gave me the warning before any tire went into distress. It detects any 10% loss with an audible alarm, and you can scroll through every tire to see "how they are doing" as you go down the road. You can put the sensors on the tow rig also. I highly recomend this system, it gives you peace of mind. My tire dealer told me that tandem axles are very susceptable to blow outs, as the first tire "picks up" the debris, the second tire following right behind hits it, If it is the second tire that blows, it is usually not the fault of the tire, but a road hazard.
 

5erWonk

Well-known member
I installed the Pressure Pro on my '08 BH when I took delivery and it paid off immediately....On my way back to CA it detected a slow leak on one tire which also was a valve stem problem, without the Pressure Pro it would have gone down as another bad Chinese tire.
 

Forrest Fetherolf

Senior Member
Regan,
You stated: "My tire dealer told me that tandem axles are very susceptible to blow outs, as the first tire "picks up" the debris, the second tire following right behind hits it, If it is the second tire that blows, it is usually not the fault of the tire, but a road hazard."

I disagree with your dealer's theory, I would say that most rear axle tire blowouts are caused by excessive heat build up resulting from under inflation, overloading due to trailer not towing level, side forces created by crowned roads, and rear tires blocked from the wind cooling effect.
Tests have shown that the rear axle tires run hotter than front axle tires, passenger side hotter than drivers side, and tires exposed to sun hotter than shaded side. Add these conditions to poorly maintained or poorly built cheap tires and disaster will strike.
 

vangoes

Well-known member
After all the debates on this forum and others I am beginning to come to the conclusion that there aren't any tires that are adequate for todays weights of the units on the road. I came to the 5th wheel world from a Class A motorhome and I never worried about blowouts with our motorhome and the tires on them. Prior to motorhomes, I had pulled several TT's across the country and did not really worry about blowouts then either. If tires were maintained properly and replaced when worn down, blowouts just did not happen (of course these units were much lighter that our units are today). In the last year I have seen numerous 5th wheels on the side of the road with blowouts and serious damage........and several of these looked as if they were new and just off the dealers lot. I am seriously considering going back to the Class A world because sitting on the side of an interstate changing a tire seems inevitable with todays heavy units and inadequate tires. This is a shame because I really do enjoy my 5th wheel's comfort and livibility much more than the motorhome.
 

sidney dreyfus

Well-known member
tire problems

Also I think the sharper turns we are able to make with our fifth wheels are causing more problems with our tires. The sharp turns especially at slow speed while parking seems to put a tremendouse stress on the tires.
 

regan

Regan
Greetings Forrest, I do not disagree with what you are saying in fact to take it further this is what I have been told "Right side tires are subjected to more road debris than left." "Leading tire kicks up debris (nails screws etc.,) followed immediately by the trailing tire increases the chance of punctures from the road debris" "rear most tires take the brunt of the side scrubbing in a turn." "tires being scrubbed are most likely to pick up debris". I dont agree that we should all trade in our Fifth Wheels for Class A. Tire monitoring is a good economical way to give that extra protection. When I had the slow leak in my valve stem, I was traveling in rain and snow, going over a pass. I just monitored the slow leak, figured I was loosing about 1/2 pound per hour, and took care of the problem when I got home.
 

timk

Well-known member
This summer we personally saw about 8 right rear blowouts, or the damage caused by them. To me that supports the theory of kicking up stuff on the shoulder?
 
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