Welcome to the wonderful(!@#$%) world of, what is likely, OEM trailer tires. From my many readings on here it's not necessarily what you are doing wrong but it could be.  Most RVs, it seems use inferior(read lowest cost) tires on their rigs. You are likely a victim of this. How often did you stop and actually check tire pressures and condition?  How fast were you driving? (honestly) You don't mention the tire brand, but many RV mfrs use tires made in China that seem to have poor records.  Hate to be the bearer of bad news but a serious upgrade of your tires and possibly your rims may be in order.  Having spent that money, you should experience a far lower failure rate and therefore lower overall expense and inconvenience. Many experienced folks on here will likely testify that not skimping on tires will bring you higher satisfaction and less white knuckle moments. You might also want to check into a tire pressure monitoring system.

FWIW, Brian

before you look into the lippert system......if you feel weight is the problem, you have answered your problem....weigh your coach and axles..shed the excess ...balance the load.

I’ll open the can of worms – Replace “E” and “G” tires and replace them with Goodyear G114 “H” tires.  These G114 “H” tires are true commercial grade tires.

The problem is with the side wall strength, actually lack thereof, with the sidewalls on “RV type” tires such as many of the “E” and “G” tires.  The tire load ratings are based on a vertical load – not lateral where the side walls fail. You most likely have no idea the different loads a trailer puts on tires as compared to a truck even if it is the same tire.

I know these “H” tires, and the required wheel (rim) replacements, are expensive.  However, compared to “G” tires (assuming the “G’s” don’t blow out) you will get almost 3 times the mileage due to how thick / deep  (15/16”) the tread is on the G114’s to start with.  Compare that to a new “G” tire.  

I will spare you the war stories where the “H” tires have “saved our bacon” many, many times. But if you travel, and want peace of mind your tires are not going to blow out, this is the way to go.  I have a lot of miles on both types to back this up.

Trailer Tire and Wheel - www.trailertiresandwheels.com  Ask for Scott and tell him what you need.  They come mounted, balanced and ready to install.  Shipping is not as expensive as you think.  (No need, IMO, for an “H” spare.  Just use the one you have.  Unlikely you will ever need it.)

As to the correct track system – if you want aligned axles then the MOR/ryde IS system is the way to go.  It can be aligned in the first place just like your car or truck suspension in all three axis.  Like the “H” tires, not-inexpensive, but it works and has for a very long time and the ride of the rig is seriously improved.

While I don't qualify as an expert on tires, I do know that DRV Suites puts 17.5-inch wheels and tires on anything that they make that is over 36-feet long.  At least that is how it was back in 2010 when we bought our Mobile Suites.  Folks with the 36-footers were also having blow-out issues and many have already changed over to the bigger and stronger tires.

Definitely stay away from the Chinese tires and learn to read the "date-code" on the tires.  They are a four-digit number where the first two numbers refer to the week in the year they were built and the last two digits are for the year.  Even some "new" tires have been found to be 3 years old from sitting in warehouses after being manufactured.

Terry

Terry reminds me of a good point.  All 17.5” tires are not rated the same.  For example, the Michelin “J” tires are 17.5” but don’t have the same specifications as G114 “H” tires.  Those “J’s” are speed limited, as are some other tires, to a max of 65 MPH.  G114’s “H” tires are rated to 75 MPH.  While driving that fast is not recommend, having that extra speed limit capacity is another reason to select the safer tire.

Crazy70red wrote:

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Wow, you guys are good. I remember reading on this forum before we bought the coach about tires, and after the first blow out last year I tried to find that post again with no luck. I'm going to try to find a place that can do the weighing, as I understand it it has to be each tire independently? We are currently in brooksville, fl, so I'm sue I will have better luck here than back in LA. And I will contact Scott at the tire place. Will have to do some more research on the alignment system to better understand how it works, but that's still an option. I gotta tell ya though, I was amazed at how I didn't feel any difference without the tires. My truck handled it like a pro. Very pleased. Thanks everyone.

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I’m pretty sure your trailer’s axles have a GAWR of 6750# ea. Even maxed out that’s a pretty light load for the big heavy G114 tires rated at 4805# at 125 psi.

Maybe you should research the Heartland owners forum. There are a lot of tire threads about replacement tires such as yours. The popular selection for your axle ratings are the LRG 16” tires.

http://www.heartlandowners.org/forumdisplay.php/58-Tires-and-Wheels-(For-RV-s

FastEagle

Crazy70red wrote:

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Will have to do some more research on the alignment system to better understand how it works, but that's still an option.

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These links maybe helpful:

http://www.morryde.com/uploads/products/files/37/MORryde_IS_System.pdf

http://www.morryde.com/aftermarket/suspension/independent-suspension-system-37.html

http://www.morryde.com/uploads/products/files/37/IS_Alignment_Guide.pdf

This system has been proven for a long time and isn’t a new idea hatched by the RV industry.  It's a very good implementation of the same type of system used by many high-end biz jet aircraft landing gear suspension systems.  They need a lot of vertical travel to deal with landings.  Not a surprising design as the guy who designed it was a former aircraft engineer.

Hope this helps.  Let me know if you want contact info at the factory in Elkhart. Very easy people to work with and they have 50amp parking at the plant for their customers.

Ok everyone has mentioned the likely culprits weight and tire quality.  But if you tend to drive far and fast meaning 8-10 hours and over 65mph towing a fifth wheel dont expect much improvement from any available 16 inch tire.  Just read the ratings on the tire and you will see that the max rated speed is 65.  Hate to say it be you can get by for a while but not long.  New axles, wheels, to get larger and higher rated tires helps but you still better stay withing the speed rating most of the time.

Been there and done that.

Larry

FastEagle wrote:

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I’m pretty sure your trailer’s axles have a GAWR of 6750# ea. Even maxed out that’s a pretty light load for the big heavy G114 tires rated at 4805# at 125 psi.

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Actually you don’t want to inflate the G114’s to 125 psi if you’re not loading them to their max capacity.  Goodyear provides the proper inflation chart based on tire load and they can be run down as low as 90 psi for lighter loads as per the manufacture's charts. (90 psi = 3,695lbs in a single tire application) They are definitely not too big or heavy for a 6,750lb rated axle.  Our axles are rated at 7,000lbs each and have G114’s supplied as standard equipment by the trailer OEM. We run about 100 psi which came out nicely when H & L weighed us.  Good headroom and the ride is fine along with the nice 75 MPH lots of headroom speed limit.  Naturally the proper inflation can only be determined by weighing each wheel individually and using the heaviest tire weight as the standard for all the other’s inflation levels.

 

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Actually when an owner decides to increase the size and load capacity from what was provided as Original Equipment (OE) tires there are industry procedures to follow for a smooth, safe transition.

The tire placard/certification label is reviewed by the tire installer to determine the load capacity the OE tires provided with the vehicle manufacturers recommended air pressures. That load capacity is the target for the recommended tire pressures for the “plus sized” tires. Once established a notation should be made in the vehicle owners manual identifying the plus sized tires and the recommended air pressure for them. An auxiliary tire information placard -home made - should be placed adjacent to the original tire placard - also for proper identification.

After installation, tire pressures can be increased as high as the maximum load capacity of the rims. Decreasing air pressures below recommended tire pressures is NEVER recommended.

On another note. Recommended air pressures for your OE tires are set by the vehicle manufacturer. They are not arbitrary, they are calculated to meet DOT regulations. Tire manufacturers will not knowingly use anything less than what has been set by vehicle manufacturers. I’m referring to vehicles that must abide by the safety regulations 571.110 & 571.120. That’s our RV trailers and RV motor homes.

FastEagle