Safe on 3 wheels????

[Lode]

Was at a camground this weekend and witnessed something I really never thought I would. A Sunline came in on 3 wheels!... ON 3 WHEELS!!!!

I can't really think of anything that might make me believe that a 4 wheeled dual axle trailer is safe with 3 tires under travel. It was quite a gouge in the stone road through the campground from the side with one tire on the trailer.

I snuck up and took a picture after they got set up and then took off in their TV, probably to go buy a new tire and parts to get the thing fixed.

Take care,
Lode

 

[JohnGB]

Running on 3 tires. Some times we are forced to do this to get out of the way of getting hit. However hopefully that is a very short distance.

If you travel a fair amount in this condition the other one tire on that flat side is in an overload along with the actual spring. If the distance was very far, that one tire get’s strain inside and soon it too will fail. Many even here on SOC have confirmed this, when one goes the next is soon to follow.

The best you can do is get the trailer off the road to safety and change to your spare.

As far as the spring, this one creates a real problem. The spring may be more forgiving to the overload then the tire, but it is still a concern. At the M & G this year, Art and Jan with his T264SR already broke 2 springs which was shocking actually to hear. Art then pulled out a custom sort of 4 x 4 and angle iron clips on the side that fits his I beam frame. He would jack up the TT, slide the block in and then be able to at least pull the trailer off to a safer location to deal with the spring. If he did not do the block spacer between the axle and the frame the tire would drag and rip up the wheel well.

Since he had 2 springs go out already, he now carries a spare spring with him as Sunline used shorter then standard springs on many trailers. Mine being one as well as when I was doing my axle work the springs did not measure out to where all the normal catalog listed by Dexter or Alko. He gave me the name of the place that sold them to Sunline and which he bought from. I’ll have to dig up the company name and post it here. Since the spring is a special and if you are out west or something, getting one may be a few days wait. That tip is just one good new thing I learned from the M & G this year and soon I too will have a spare on order. His spare spring was only like $25.

Hope this helps

John

 

[Lode]

I had a flat once pulling my boat on the turnpike in a work area... never want to do that again.


I guess I failed to mention that there wasn't a wheel or tire on the trailer when they came through. They must have stopped and pulled the wheel and flat and then decided they were close enough and headed off. The lane alone into the CG is rough stone path probably 3/4 mile to the office, and then to check in and go to your site... I guess some are more brazen than others.

Take care,
Lode

 

[JohnGB]

I had a flat once pulling my boat on the turnpike in a work area... never want to do that again.


I guess I failed to mention that there wasn't a wheel or tire on the trailer when they came through. They must have stopped and pulled the wheel and flat and then decided they were close enough and headed off. The lane alone into the CG is rough stone path probably 3/4 mile to the office, and then to check in and go to your site... I guess some are more brazen than others.

Take care,
Lode

WOW!!! I suspect a 2nd tire is soon to come. I also suspect they may not have had a spare to put on.

 

[SteveC7010]

I think this may have been a "lesser of two evils" situation.  If the owner had any distance to travel after getting the flat, leaving the bad tire on the TT would have been a real problem as it would have begun to disintegrate.  That means the pieces would have flailed away at the flimsy plastic wheelwell casing and other stuff.  Damage to the TT could have been considerable.

Taking the wheel and tire off is a big risk, but if the remaining tire goes flat due to overload, the driver would likely know it right way and be able to stop (hopefully) before much, if any, damage would occur.  Hopefully he was able to limp it to the campground without risking higher speeds on on tire.

We blew a tire several years ago in Old Forge, NY.  It was about 3 miles to the campground, and due to the uphill grade and low speed, I didn't realize it was flat until we got out at the campground entrance.  Not having a spare at the time, I limped it to the campsite.  Luckily, there was a snowmobile/utility trailer shop in town that had the right size tire already mounted on a new wheel which they happily sold to me just a few minutes before they closed for the weekend.

If ever there was a good reason for Santa to bring a tire pressue monitoring kit, that was it.

 

[purplesuebug]

Believe it or not, Sue & I witnessed a couple guys hauling a cargo trailer on the PA Turnpike traveling about 55 MPH on three tires and a rim. You talk about loud :!: We stopped for gas and while we were there, they pulled in, took a look and back on the road again. We passed them again and prayed they didn't kill someone further down the road.