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Old 05-23-2007, 10:24 PM   #1
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SUN #115
emam
Tire Kicking and Dumb Luck

Sometimes things happen for a reason. We had been driving across Southern Missouri on some crazy back roads that seemed more like a rollercoaster then a country road, when we decided to pull over and fuel up.

Upon pulling over, I was doing a walk around the camper to stretch out the legs, and noticed one of the tires looked like it was low. I got down to inspect the tire closer, and noticed a large chunk of rubber was hanging off the side wall. NOT GOOD!! The tire wasnt punctured, but it looked like I must have caught the edge of a curb or maybe a big rock as the rim was a little scrapped up too. Who knows with the crazy roads we've been on while in Arkansas.


I pulled into a Wally World (Nearest Store we came to) to see if they had a replacement, which they dont, and asked if I could use one of their 10 ton floor jacks to lift up the trailer. Here is where everyone should pay attention. The flimsy Four-Way tire iron I had in my road side kit couldnt loosen the lugs? I'm sure who ever installed them used an impact, and I literally bent the tire iron trying to remove the lugs. A young man from the service department came out with one of their heavy duty tire irons and almost busted his wrist when the lug finally let loose and the tire iron went flying to the ground.


After getting the spare changed out, we thanked him and gave him a $20 for the use of his tools, and were back on the road.

Moral to the story, check those tires closely with every stop. Luckily we spoted that when we did, or that $20 could have been really expensive when the tire would have blown while driving down some narrow country roads with no shoulders to speak of. Cindy looked at me and said "Luckily we had to stop for gas, or we would probably be making an insurance claim right now" Every thing happens for a reason.

You should probably make sure you have the heaviest duty tire iron on the market. And a Jack that'll lift the trailer off the ground. The stock scissor jack in my truck would have never done it.

Happy Trails

Pat & Cindy
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Old 05-24-2007, 05:16 AM   #2
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Pat,

Do you have the Mission tires? I think I've heard of problems with those and it may not totally be from hitting something.

I think we've all had our share of tire problems. I can think of two unusual cases myself, and then of course the random nail-in-tread situation.

Jon

P.S. I've used Goodyear Marathon's for years and would buy more in a heart beat. I've heard of trouble with these too, but that seems true for all brands these days.
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Old 05-24-2007, 07:14 AM   #3
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Folks....

Our Que has the Mission tires, and aluminum wheels. On the shakedown to FL in March, we noted that one of the two tires lost about 2 lbs of pressure per day -- and the other held pressure perfectly.

So far, we've eliminated the valve core & stem as potential sources of the leak, and the bead seems to be holding air. But I still have to keep pumping up that tire! Other than that....no problems with the (2) Mission tires.

We're leaving in a little over 2 weeks for a trip to the west coast..... so I'm determined to solve the problem. It's been suggested that the aluminum wheel may be the leak source. I'm arranging for a full evaluation at a local tire dealer.

Frank
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Old 05-24-2007, 10:51 AM   #4
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I do have the mission tires, and I've heard of many problems with these tires also. I can honestly say up to this point, we have had none.

I know it was my stupidity of hitting something as the rim had a mark on it in the exact same spot as the tire had the large gash taken out of it.

Frank, I used to have a set of Aluminum Rims on a truck of mine and had many problems with one of the rims not holding air properly. I finally had to replace the rim as the local shop told me the bead was bent and they couldnt bend back aluminum??

Might want to check that out as I wouldnt want to have any problems on a East to West Coast journey.

Has anyone else ever used a tube in their tires? The tire that has the gash out of the side isnt puntured all the way through the tire, and the tread is still in good condition (Only 9000 miles). I was thinking maybe I could use it as the spare and just throw a tube in it?
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Old 05-24-2007, 06:59 PM   #5
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Pat, you might want to locate a tire dealer who does a lot of repairs on tractor and farm equipment tires. When you spend over $500/tire for your tractor, you become quite resourceful when they need repaired. They sometimes put a "boot" inside the tire to reinforce the weak area and use a tube along with it. Granted a tractor tire does not achieve highway speeds, but it may be suitable for a spare in an emergency if you watch your speed and only use it until you reach the nearest repair facility.
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Old 05-24-2007, 08:11 PM   #6
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This thread right here is all the reason a person needs to join a group like this. I just checked the tires on our new 276SR and they are Mission. I now know to keep a close watch on them. But.....

There was an article about tires in the Good Sam's magazine a while back.
Two things were emphasized. Damaged tires are unsafe tires, and old tires are unsafe tires. I'll dig that article out and post the highlights here. The force exerted on a tire casing hitting a pot hole at 60 or 70 mph is tremendous.

Ever since we had a trailer brake drum assembly self destruct in Nebraska, every time I stop I walk around the trailer and check the hitch and tires. I also feel the rim next to the hub. Both brake and bearing problems will normally make that area very hot. My failed brake caused the white wheel paint to scorch and turn brown. It also melted the hubcap and lug nut covers which were gone at the time of discovery.

Having grown up on a farm, and having owned and restored old cars most of my life I have learned well how to fix stuff and I do almost all of my trailer maintenance.

On my cars, my truck and my trailer, I let no one tighten a lug nut unless they are using a torque wrench. Tightening lug nuts without torquing them on a wheel with disc brakes will cause the rotor to warp over time as it heats and cools. Without torquing lug nuts, the mechanic, or you, has no clue if they are close to stripping and falling off, or not sufficiently tight and may fall off. I am an avid believer in torquing. If a shop doesn't have a good torue wrench, they should not be doing that kind of work.

That's my wheel and tire two cents.

Paul
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Old 05-24-2007, 10:00 PM   #7
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Eman

A friendly heads up in case you do not know. Now that you have changed your tire, watch the lugs nuts and keep retorquing them until they stop moving.

Dexter says at first 10 miles then 25 then 50 and check until they stop moving torque. See here for more http://dexteraxle.com/i/u/1080235/f/...-07_72_res.pdf

These lug centric mounted rims are differnt than hub centric auto tires and will work the lugs loose until they have finally set.

Even if you get a $20 torque wrench at Harbor Freight it is better than not using one.

For my T2499 it is 120 ft lb.

Safe travels.

John

PS the spare with the buldge. Something to ponder on. When you find a new one, it has merit to replace it. If your out in the boonies with a flat, and it is 100 miles to the next gas station for a fix, that is a ways on that questionable tire. Once you have a blow out at highway speeds with duals, the other tire get's strained in an over load if you ride a ways and soon it too will go. It is common for the other tire that takes all the load to soon go too. Again just something to think through.
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Old 05-25-2007, 04:19 PM   #8
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I checked my tires just now in the daylight since we are leaving in a few minutes for our first official trip with our new Solaris.

Those mission tires are made in china. I have yet to see a tire or for that matter most anything rubber, especially tires, that is made in china that is not, shall we say, very substandard in quality. They will be replaced soon and I will sell the missions to a local farmer for a hay wagon.

Everyone have a great holiday.

Paul
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Old 05-25-2007, 09:54 PM   #9
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Paul,

What do you plan on replacing the Missions with? I've used the Goodyear Marathon on all my trailers (except the 1550) and really recommend them, as I said in a previous post. I'm a huge fan of products made in America, but I can't remember if the Goodyears are made here or not. Anyway, at least I know where they're headquartered. If my memory serves me correctly, I think they might be made in Canada.

Jon
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Old 06-05-2007, 08:44 AM   #10
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Folks....
To be fair to the manufacturer of Mission tires, I must report that the cause of my (see May 24 post) loss of tire pressure has finally been found.... and it wasn't the construction of the tire or wheel, after all.

After all the examinations, etc., I found a helpful local tire dealer who ran the pressure up to 65 lbs & submerged the tire & wheel in a water tank. Hidden in a crevice (one of the tire sipes, not grooves!)
was a 1" long needle bearing-which penetrated the tire belts & casing.
The end of the bearing on the outside had corroded black-and it was invisible down in the tire sipe.

The dealer said it had been years since he had a customer who was actually happy to find metal penetrating his tire! I pointed out that nobody makes inner tubes for that size tire... and that I sure wasn't looking forward to the cost of replacing a tire or wheel if a construction flaw had been the problem.

Frank
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Old 06-05-2007, 12:56 PM   #11
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I woud like to agree with Frank, I know for a fact that my tire failure wasnt in anyway due to the tire manufacture.

Due to my own stupidity, I know for sure from where the mark was on the tire and another mark on the rim, that I hit something? Curb, Block of Wood, Cat, Dog, Rock....etc

We've gone ahead and replaced the tire completely after so many posts said to not even try and use a tube. I agree with all of you who said "What's a few hundred dollars of security?"

I'd really beat myself up if a few thousand miles later that tire that had a tube or make-shift repair blew out and caused thousands of damage, or worse yet, injury to us or a passing motorist.

Thanks to all who made us realize our all to thin wallets dont always see that fat into the future.

Pat & Cindy
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Old 06-05-2007, 04:33 PM   #12
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I too had Mission tires on my Coach and getting it ready to go I was checking the tires and all Looked good till I thought I saw something between the treads and that is when I noticed the cracks, a blow out waiting to happen.
I replaced the tires, so heads up don't just look at the side walls but look between the treads.
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Old 06-27-2007, 05:09 PM   #13
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Mission Tires update.....

Folks...

Just an update....to my June 5 Comments (we're on the road & in a great campground with a free internet room)

Central PA to Colorado Springs, CO (with lots of side trips)...2300 miles. So far the Mission tires are now holding tire pressure perfectly. No cracks (re: Irish Guy 101's comments on what may have been an old set of Missions).

Understand....I'm not a Mission tire fan.... I'm just giving this set a chance to prove itself.

In a related note: Today (the newspaper) this morning listed the brands of Chinese tires being potentially recalled. So far...no mention of Missions.

Frank
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Old 07-11-2007, 10:56 AM   #14
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Thanks for the update Frank. We've been keeping a close eye on the tire pressure. Start a new thread & let us know how your trip is going! I'm loading up for 10 days in the QUE and she's getting pretty full. I can't imagine an extended trip to CO and back.
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