Towmax blowout 2 days ago

[BigGuy82]

I had read about all the towmax problems and put tire pressure monitors on the cyclone and doggone if I hadn't I would've blown one on I 495 last summer. We had just stopped because my granddaughter was crying and while in the rest area my pressure alarm went off, I thought it was screwed up but no. The tire had no visible signs on the outside however when I felt the backside the rubber was split and separated from the belts. We threw the spare on, got home and found the tire in front of that one had huge bubbles on the inside. Trailer had about 2500 miles on it at this point. Changed them all to continentals put my pressure gauges on them and haven't looked back. It's a sad thing when this continues to happen. Totally avoidable if heartland would just admit the tires suck,recall them, and replace. I hope no one has been injured by all this.


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Love my TPS on the fiver. I constantly monitor tire temp and pressure. Nothing guarantees that you'll se a failure coming, but this sure does help. Another tip: get an inexpensive IR temperature meter and read tire, wheel and hub temps when you stop. Only takes a couple of minutes.

 

[Hemi392]

Here are some pics

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[Doublegranch]

I think if anyone has read this thread and the others about Towmax tires and their other off brand names made by towmax, you would never consider this tire. I posted these pictures a while back but this was on my ranch trash trailer...sitting in front of the barn, proper inflation and look at the results. Remind you this was just sitting unloaded...

 

[Rollin_Free]

I find it interesting that Heartland is still using towmax tires with so many failures, our blowout of one included in the many. I couldn't find the Sailuns??sp?? We would hve had to mail order a set and needed tires asapand couldn't wait but did we find a decent tire for replacement, Westlakes, and since we are selling our fw because of warrenty issues with Heartland, we are looking at new rigs and noticed other mnufactures use the westlakes for stock tires as well, so far so good, the towmax we had fail had a buldge in the sidewall, two others did to and had i found a replacement set before the last trip we made with them.on our fw, we wouldn't hve had any troubles, hindsight..... Dealing with the warrenty company on them proved to be a pain in the rear, we had no dealers close by for me to take the tires to so i gave up, and had to pay a disposal fee for them, 5 new tires and pay for getting rid of the bad set, what a rip.......

I've been looking at other forums for SOB's and this is not just a Heartland issue. If you look at any other manufacture forums I'm betting you'll find the same complaints from other RV owners. I was window shopping a couple of weeks ago and found the same tires on just about every new trailer I looked at in the lot and they were not on the same brand of trailer.

I'm convinced until new owners insisted on not buying a trailer with these tires on them then the dealers wouldn't have any choice but to address this issue with the factory. Until buyers, in mass, actually put pressure on the dealers not to purchase any trailer until the tires are changed there's just not enough interest in our complaints. I agree they know about the problem but turning the other way when they hear about tire issues seems to be working well for them right now. Like others I have changed the tires on my last two 5th wheels from Tow Max brands so I'm just a guilty as others but at this point I have decided that I won't be buying another one that needs tires changed before or soon after I bring it home.

 

[danemayer]

You may notice that owners with newer trailers aren't reporting Towmax problems because Heartland previously changed to other brands on most, if not all trailers.

Yes, we're going to continue to see Towmax blowout reports on this forum. But it'll probably be on older trailers where the owners haven't heard about the Towmax reputation.

I saw an SOB owner of a new trailer last summer and told him about his Towmax tires. He blew off the warning. I'm guessing there's a bunch of owners across the industry who have heard, but are rolling the dice.

 

[Rollin_Free]

Love my TPS on the fiver. I constantly monitor tire temp and pressure. Nothing guarantees that you'll se a failure coming, but this sure does help. Another tip: get an inexpensive IR temperature meter and read tire, wheel and hub temps when you stop. Only takes a couple of minutes.

I've been interested in a comparison between what my TST507 says for temperature and what the IR would show. I really don't travel like a lot of you do so does anyone happen to have some comparison numbers you could share showing the TPMS temp is or is not an accurate way to monitor tire temperature? When I stop I usually do the hand feel on each wheel for similar wheel/hub temperatures but this IR meter would definitely be a better way. Where did you purchase yours?

I've talked to the TST company several times and was discussing switching to the internal tire sensors to monitor temperature better. I was told that the stem sensors actually do measure the tire temp accurately and provide comparable pressure/temperatures to the internal ones even though they are outside the tires.

 

[danemayer]

I've been interested in a comparison between what my TST507 says for temperature and what the IR would show. I really don't travel like a lot of you do so does anyone happen to have some comparison numbers you could share showing the TPMS temp is or is not an accurate way to monitor tire temperature? When I stop I usually do the hand feel on each wheel for similar wheel/hub temperatures but this IR meter would definitely be a better way. Where did you purchase yours?

I've talked to the TST company several times and was discussing switching to the internal tire sensors to monitor temperature better. I was told that the stem sensors actually do measure the tire temp accurately and provide comparable pressure/temperatures to the internal ones even though they are outside the tires.

The 507 sensor sits at the end of the valve stem, so it's only giving you an approximation of the temperature of tire and wheel. The primary value is when you're monitoring 4 or 6 tires and 1 of them starts reading significantly different from the others.

When I had my brake assembly meltdown, the TST display showed that wheel's temp climbing - maybe 20 degrees higher than the others. I stopped and nearly burned my hand on the wheel. The metal was way, way hotter. Some of that heat was migrating to the tire.

So the 507 didn't tell me exactly what was happening, but it did show a problem.

 

[MP_CS]

You may notice that owners with newer trailers aren't reporting Towmax problems because Heartland previously changed to other brands on most, if not all trailers.

Yes, we're going to continue to see Towmax blowout reports on this forum. But it'll probably be on older trailers where the owners haven't heard about the Towmax reputation.

I saw an SOB owner of a new trailer last summer and told him about his Towmax tires. He blew off the warning. I'm guessing there's a bunch of owners across the industry who have heard, but are rolling the dice.

Good friends of ours have a sob and towmax tires, ive tryed and tryed to tell him but he's convinced that they will be fine.

 

[JohnD]

Good friends of ours have a sob and towmax tires, ive tryed and tryed to tell him but he's convinced that they will be fine.

I quit trying to tell people about it . . . unless they ask.

 

[MP_CS]

I quit trying to tell people about it . . . unless they ask.

Yep, its like they think you work for a tire company and are just trying to give them a sales pitch, lol..

 

[1_oldgoat]

Tireman9, as per your request for a pic, i knew or had read about these tires failing, but we had to make a trip north for a family matter so didn't change them before we took off. I did get quite a few miles on the fw before we had this blowout, mostly cooler weather travel, not sure that makes much difference though, i think the tires are under rater for the weights of the trailers Heartland is putting them on, its been a few years now and i don't recall the weight rateing on the towmaxs now, but the westlakes we replaced them with is way higher. One thing i watch like a hawk is tire pressures, i know the pressure was correct when we had the blowout. I had towed at higher speeds than the towmax tires were rated for as well but i don't believe that was the cause of the failure......

Here is a picture of the tire we lost, i have more of the sidewalls on the others that were bad as well. I was worried when we took of this trip so was watching the trailer close, when the tire blew out i got off the road quick, no other damages happened so i was lucky compared to others. As far as fileing a complaint with the ntsca, i looked online and the forms they want filled out needed tire numbers, i didn't have them anymore so couldn't fill out paperwork unfortunatly......

 

[1_oldgoat]

Here is a pic of one of the other tires sidewall, the one that let go looked like this as well as 2 others of the 4 on the fw. The Westlake tires we replaced the towmaxs with are 14 plys, 4050 weight rating at 110psi, about the same specs as the Goodyear G614's, 75mph speed rating. If you go with Sailuns, Goodyears or whatever you decide on, you will notice how much heavier the new tires are compared to the towmaxs, the westlakes are close to 50 pounds a tire compared to 20.....One other thing that i have not seen mentioned on this thread, i know it is on others here about the tire issues, is to make sure your wheels and valve stems are good for 110 psi if you switch out to a tire that needs more than 80psi that the towmax tires used for pressure, the wheels should have the max pressures on the back side of them.

 

[rdfsnow]

Had a blow out on my bighorn 16000 lbs coming up from Memphis on easter to Nashville. Was able to change my tire with my spare and got to Nashville. Changed all my tires with Goodyear 16 ply for $1500.00 minor damage underneath that I was able to repair. Rule learned don't go with tires that are just rated for your dry load pay the money and get the good ones


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[tireman9]

Here are some pics

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Yup I would call that a Belt Separation. Tire should be replaced by the selling agent. You should record the full DOT (including date part) and file complaint with NHTSA.

 

[RamblinFever]

A set of Sailuns were cheaper than a set of Maxxis or GY. Just put them on my Elkridge.

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[tireman9]

I've been interested in a comparison between what my TST507 says for temperature and what the IR would show. I really don't travel like a lot of you do so does anyone happen to have some comparison numbers you could share showing the TPMS temp is or is not an accurate way to monitor tire temperature? When I stop I usually do the hand feel on each wheel for similar wheel/hub temperatures but this IR meter would definitely be a better way. Where did you purchase yours?

I've talked to the TST company several times and was discussing switching to the internal tire sensors to monitor temperature better. I was told that the stem sensors actually do measure the tire temp accurately and provide comparable pressure/temperatures to the internal ones even though they are outside the tires.

Yes you will probably get two different numbers. I bet if you shot a tire a few times around the tire sidewall you would also get different numbers. Same if ypou shot 5 or 6 places between tread and wheel.
Hottest is in the bottom of a shoulder slot byt the inexpensive guns don't have tight enough focus to just read the bottom of the slot.
TPMS numbers are basically giving the temperature of the metal valve stem. The small amount of air is not circulating up the stem and into the rest of the air chamber. We all know that air is a good insulator so the small amount internal to the stem isn't going to transfer much heat. The stem is whipping around in outside ambient air and getting cooled by the ambient air.

The location of importance is about 3/8" deep into the tire shoulder right at the edge of the steel belts. That is the location of highest temperature and highest stresss and is where separations start. Only way to get those temps is with a needle probe which takes some experience to manipulate so you don't puncture the tire as you try and get a temperature reading.
Timing is critical too as if you use an IR gun and mark a spot on a tire and shoot it from same distance every 15 seconds and have someone record the readings you may be surprised at how much they can change.

I know this stuff because at times in my career I was responsible to collect data on race tires and other times on passenger or truck tires. I have used a variety of units costing $300 to $10,000.

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View attachment 51737

Tireman9, as per your request for a pic, i knew or had read about these tires failing, but we had to make a trip north for a family matter so didn't change them before we took off. I did get quite a few miles on the fw before we had this blowout, mostly cooler weather travel, not sure that makes much difference though, i think the tires are under rater for the weights of the trailers Heartland is putting them on, its been a few years now and i don't recall the weight rateing on the towmaxs now, but the westlakes we replaced them with is way higher. One thing i watch like a hawk is tire pressures, i know the pressure was correct when we had the blowout. I had towed at higher speeds than the towmax tires were rated for as well but i don't believe that was the cause of the failure......

Here is a picture of the tire we lost, i have more of the sidewalls on the others that were bad as well. I was worried when we took of this trip so was watching the trailer close, when the tire blew out i got off the road quick, no other damages happened so i was lucky compared to others. As far as fileing a complaint with the ntsca, i looked online and the forms they want filled out needed tire numbers, i didn't have them anymore so couldn't fill out paperwork unfortunatly......

Ya you are not alone in not having a record of tire DOT serial which is important info for NHTSA as I outlined in a prior post.

- - - Updated - - -

View attachment 51739

Here is a pic of one of the other tires sidewall, the one that let go looked like this as well as 2 others of the 4 on the fw. The Westlake tires we replaced the towmaxs with are 14 plys, 4050 weight rating at 110psi, about the same specs as the Goodyear G614's, 75mph speed rating. If you go with Sailuns, Goodyears or whatever you decide on, you will notice how much heavier the new tires are compared to the towmaxs, the westlakes are close to 50 pounds a tire compared to 20.....One other thing that i have not seen mentioned on this thread, i know it is on others here about the tire issues, is to make sure your wheels and valve stems are good for 110 psi if you switch out to a tire that needs more than 80psi that the towmax tires used for pressure, the wheels should have the max pressures on the back side of them.

Can't be 100% certain but if that is a depression and not a bulge it is not a failure just an example of poor quality control. That is probably the location of a body ply splice. If you look closely you can see similar on almost all radial passenger and LT tires. Also more visible in higher Load Range LT and ST tires than in low (35 psi) passenger tires.

Most standard "snap-in" rubber valve stems are only rated for 65 psi max. There are some rubber stems rated higher but IMO when running TPMS or anything over 50 psi bolt in stems are good low cost insurance.

 

[tireman9]

View attachment 51737

Tireman9, as per your request for a pic, i knew or had read about these tires failing, but we had to make a trip north for a family matter so didn't change them before we took off. I did get quite a few miles on the fw before we had this blowout, mostly cooler weather travel, not sure that makes much difference though, i think the tires are under rater for the weights of the trailers Heartland is putting them on, its been a few years now and i don't recall the weight rateing on the towmaxs now, but the westlakes we replaced them with is way higher. One thing i watch like a hawk is tire pressures, i know the pressure was correct when we had the blowout. I had towed at higher speeds than the towmax tires were rated for as well but i don't believe that was the cause of the failure......

Here is a picture of the tire we lost, i have more of the sidewalls on the others that were bad as well. I was worried when we took of this trip so was watching the trailer close, when the tire blew out i got off the road quick, no other damages happened so i was lucky compared to others. As far as fileing a complaint with the ntsca, i looked online and the forms they want filled out needed tire numbers, i didn't have them anymore so couldn't fill out paperwork unfortunatly......

Sorry for slow response but the web site I use for Photo hosting so I can post on forums like Heartland has added so many pop-ups and advertising it crashed my internet connection.

Looking at the picture you emailed I see what might be melted body ply cord. This can occur when a tire is run significantly underinflated and highway speeds. It only takes a few minutes at these conditions so checking air in the AM is of no valus if you develop a leak after leaving the campground.
In this picture at Location A and possibly also at B & C the body cord appears melted.


You can review better close-up pictures of the condition on my blog post of Sept 1 2011

 

[rdfsnow]

Hows this one look

 

[1_oldgoat]

Tireman, thanks for the info, one thing i was very careful about was checking tire pressures and wheel bearings, before and during any traveling. One thing i was suprised by was how much pressure buildup there is when cold pressure shows 80psi and after 300 miles on the road pressures could climb as much as 15psi, and i never let air out of a hot tire to deflate back to 80psi, so not sure how the tire that blew would have been under inflated, like i stated though, i did roll above 65mph in some states, with posted speed limits of 80mph you would get ran over traveling 65, so i pushed the limits of these by rolling 70 to 75, i know, not safe with these tires, could that have caused the melted cords instead of underinflation?? Just curious, new tires are rated for 75mph like the g614's and several others are, and for the most part i don't travel at that speed, 65 is fine for me, but like i said a few places its not safe to drive at that speed, seriously.....

 

[RonTimmer]

When I bought my first Travel Trailer in May of 2012, a Wilderness, I did not get involved with the community so I had no idea of the issues with the Towmax tires I had on my unit. I spend three years driving all over the southwest with this trailer and never had an issue. If I had known I would have swapped them out as soon as possible, all I can say is I was lucky.