TIRE FALIURES - Montana Owners Club

jackel1959 · 08-27-2005, 02:28 PM

We have a 2004 325FKBS which was purchased in May 04. Since then we have put 11500 miles on the trailer. We had our first complete tire failure/separation at about 9000 miles. The tires were inflated properly (65PSI), showed no unusual signs of wear and we re-weighed the trailer at the next available scale. Each axle was weighed individually and was under GAWR (5040) by approximately 500lbs and total weight was under GVWR by about 1000 lbs. I just returned from a 2100 mile trip and had 2 more tires where the tread had begun to separate from the tire. Fortunately this time we caught it before complete tire failure and had 5 new tires mounted before we continued home. The tires were original to the new rig and are MISSION brand 225/75R15 Load Range D (2540lbs at 65 psi).

Here are my questions:
1. Has anyone else experienced failures like this with this brand/size of tire?
2. Should I be looking at anything else other than weight, inflation pressure and wear patterns? I had thought of maybe an axle alignment problem but the tires showed no unusual wear patterns.

I have been working with the company that distributes the tires and they have been pretty good about covering my damages. But now I am concerned that I may be overlooking some other cause for the problem other than a defect in the manufacturing process. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Jack

jars · 08-28-2005, 06:51 AM

Tire failure
Steel belted tires even if you are within weight limits last at most 12,000 miles give or take has been my experience. I went to all steel tires on my 3670 they have 36,000 on them now with no problems. We have travled in desert 110 degrees I have been lucky not even a flat. They cost a little more but are well worth it I think.

jars Richard E. Smith

sreigle · 08-28-2005, 08:38 AM

Jack, we've never had Mission tires but have had this same problem with Goodyear Marathons. And I know others have the same story about Michelin trailer tires and other brands I don't recall. I don't think it's unique to Mission. But I have no idea why it happens when there's no overload and the pressure is correct. Speed is another possibility. I read recently where these tires are rated for only something like 65 mph. I wish I could remember where I read that.

Jars, can you tell me more about the tires you got. You mentioned replacing the steel belted radial tires but I'm not sure what you got as a replacement. Thanks.

Thunderman · 08-28-2005, 09:55 AM

Jack,
I look on the side of the tire to determine the psi needed. On my E rated tires it is 80 psi, which is what I inflate to.
What is the inflation indicated on the side of your tire? The tires I lost the tread on were not inflated properly, too low.
Weldon

jackel1959 · 08-29-2005, 12:05 PM

Thanks for the info although it seems like they should last longer than that. I will keep an eye on these new tires and see what happens.

Tire failure
Steel belted tires even if you are within weight limits last at most 12,000 miles give or take has been my experience. I went to all steel tires on my 3670 they have 36,000 on them now with no problems. We have travled in desert 110 degrees I have been lucky not even a flat. They cost a little more but are well worth it I think.

jars Richard E. Smith
[/quote]

jackel1959 · 08-29-2005, 12:11 PM

Weldon,
My tires are Load Range D and call for 65 PSI at the max load (2540 lbs) and that is what I have been running them at. I'm very good about checking the tire pressures before my trip and before starting out in the mornings.
Jack,
I look on the side of the tire to determine the psi needed. On my E rated tires it is 80 psi, which is what I inflate to.
What is the inflation indicated on the side of your tire? The tires I lost the tread on were not inflated properly, too low.
Weldon
[/quote]

jars · 08-31-2005, 04:25 AM

The tires I have on my trailer are Michelin XPS all steel radials. Good Year has one and others are available I am sure.They are a commerical truck tire but you have to have 16" rims they don't come in 15"
Richard E. Smith

315RLS · 09-06-2005, 08:25 AM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by jackel1959

We have a 2004 325FKBS which was purchased in May 04. Since then we have put 11500 miles on the trailer. We had our first complete tire failure/separation at about 9000 miles. The tires were inflated properly (65PSI), showed no unusual signs of wear and we re-weighed the trailer at the next available scale. Each axle was weighed individually and was under GAWR (5040) by approximately 500lbs and total weight was under GVWR by about 1000 lbs. I just returned from a 2100 mile trip and had 2 more tires where the tread had begun to separate from the tire. Fortunately this time we caught it before complete tire failure and had 5 new tires mounted before we continued home. The tires were original to the new rig and are MISSION brand 225/75R15 Load Range D (2540lbs at 65 psi).

Here are my questions:
1. Has anyone else experienced failures like this with this brand/size of tire?
2. Should I be looking at anything else other than weight, inflation pressure and wear patterns? I had thought of maybe an axle alignment problem but the tires showed no unusual wear patterns.

I have been working with the company that distributes the tires and they have been pretty good about covering my damages. But now I am concerned that I may be overlooking some other cause for the problem other than a defect in the manufacturing process. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Jack

MISSION brand 225/75R15 Load Range D (2540lbs at 65 psi) are the tires that came on our 2004 315RLS. We've got about 6-7k on our trailer at this time. The thought of a blow-out is pretty scary. In this thread the comment was made that these type of tires are only good for 12k. Without going to a 16" (changing rims), what tires have been used to replace these? Are other people finding they get better wear on the MISSION brand 225/75R15 Load Range Ds than stated here?
TIA.

jackel1959 · 09-06-2005, 12:19 PM

TIA,
I replaced the MISSION Tires with "SUPER TRAIL" 225/75R15 LOAD RANGE D trailer tires from Les Schawab Tire Center. When I talked to a service tech at a local RV center he told me that you should be able to get 30,000-40,000 miles out of the tires ragardless of if they were readials or not. Keep a close eye on your tires while you are traveling. The tread on the 2 that didn't blow out acctually started to bubble and buldge. The tread surface that contacted the ground was no longer flat like it should be and just did not look right. I would be interested to see if you have any of the same indications that I did.

Jack
Originally posted by 315RLS[/i]

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by jackel1959

We have a 2004 325FKBS which was purchased in May 04. Since then we have put 11500 miles on the trailer. We had our first complete tire failure/separation at about 9000 miles. The tires were inflated properly (65PSI), showed no unusual signs of wear and we re-weighed the trailer at the next available scale. Each axle was weighed individually and was under GAWR (5040) by approximately 500lbs and total weight was under GVWR by about 1000 lbs. I just returned from a 2100 mile trip and had 2 more tires where the tread had begun to separate from the tire. Fortunately this time we caught it before complete tire failure and had 5 new tires mounted before we continued home. The tires were original to the new rig and are MISSION brand 225/75R15 Load Range D (2540lbs at 65 psi).

Here are my questions:
1. Has anyone else experienced failures like this with this brand/size of tire?
2. Should I be looking at anything else other than weight, inflation pressure and wear patterns? I had thought of maybe an axle alignment problem but the tires showed no unusual wear patterns.

I have been working with the company that distributes the tires and they have been pretty good about covering my damages. But now I am concerned that I may be overlooking some other cause for the problem other than a defect in the manufacturing process. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Jack

MISSION brand 225/75R15 Load Range D (2540lbs at 65 psi) are the tires that came on our 2004 315RLS. We've got about 6-7k on our trailer at this time. The thought of a blow-out is pretty scary. In this thread the comment was made that these type of tires are only good for 12k. Without going to a 16" (changing rims), what tires have been used to replace these? Are other people finding they get better wear on the MISSION brand 225/75R15 Load Range Ds than stated here?
TIA.
[/quote]

sreigle · 09-08-2005, 07:48 AM

Just to set some minds at ease --- When we've had blown tires at speed we've never seen any sign of anything wrong until someone pulled alongside and signaled us. There was no fishtailing or other sign of a problem. There is still the possibility of damage to the fender skirt or other expensive parts but we've experience nothing that threatened the stability of the rig. Just didn't want someone worrying about losing control when a tire blows. I suppose it might be possible but I no longer worry about that. If we had a single axle I'd feel differently.

315RLS · 09-08-2005, 11:40 AM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by sreigle

Just to set some minds at ease --- When we've had blown tires at speed we've never seen any sign of anything wrong until someone pulled alongside and signaled us. There was no fishtailing or other sign of a problem. There is still the possibility of damage to the fender skirt or other expensive parts but we've experience nothing that threatened the stability of the rig. Just didn't want someone worrying about losing control when a tire blows. I suppose it might be possible but I no longer worry about that. If we had a single axle I'd feel differently.

Thanks Steve, Losing control was my primary concern. You've set my mind at ease..

jerryb · 09-08-2005, 01:43 PM

I think a lot of the tire problems are from being parked for long periods at almost full load, this must put a strain on the belts if not flat spot the tire. It's probably hard on the bearings too, it would be better to jack it up to get the weight off, but who wants to do that.

HamRad · 09-08-2005, 10:00 PM

315RLS,
Well I can set your mind at ease from first hand experience earned just today! We were on our way from Bishop to Reno and we were taking the scenic route.... hwy 6 to SR 360. About half way on this road..... the driver's side rear trailer tire blew! No warning whatsoever! Just BANG and see in rear view the tire flopping and of course the fender skirt was broken but still hanging on in parts.

We had no loss of control whatsoever! Just slowed down and looked for a wide spot to pull over. We did not have very much shoulder to work with but did manage to get the rig off the road.

I did mention that this was the scenic route..... No cell phone service. Even my ham radio did not make a connection. We started trying to figure out how we were going to change the tire. We were about ready to attempt the feat ourselves when a phone employee happened by. He managed to get the tire changed and we were soon on our way. We wanted to thank him by offering him something but he would not take a thing.

He had recommended a tire store in the next town and we did buy a new tire there. Scotty's in Hawthorne is a fast and efficient operation. We will also be forwarding a "thank you" to Brian's supervisor at SBC Global. He went above and beyond the call of duty.

Another adventure under our belt!

HamRad

315RLS · 09-09-2005, 07:07 AM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by HamRad

315RLS,
Well I can set your mind at ease from first hand experience earned just today! We were on our way from Bishop to Reno and we were taking the scenic route.... hwy 6 to SR 360. About half way on this road..... the driver's side rear trailer tire blew! No warning whatsoever! Just BANG and see in rear view the tire flopping and of course the fender skirt was broken but still hanging on in parts.

We had no loss of control whatsoever! Just slowed down and looked for a wide spot to pull over. We did not have very much shoulder to work with but did manage to get the rig off the road.

I did mention that this was the scenic route..... No cell phone service. Even my ham radio did not make a connection. We started trying to figure out how we were going to change the tire. We were about ready to attempt the feat ourselves when a phone employee happened by. He managed to get the tire changed and we were soon on our way. We wanted to thank him by offering him something but he would not take a thing.

He had recommended a tire store in the next town and we did buy a new tire there. Scotty's in Hawthorne is a fast and efficient operation. We will also be forwarding a "thank you" to Brian's supervisor at SBC Global. He went above and beyond the call of duty.

Another adventure under our belt!

HamRad

Thanks HamRad, Glad to hear you got things worked out.

Dave Anderson · 09-09-2005, 05:39 PM

Dennis; I CAN REALLY RELATE!!!!! REMEMBER MY RIG AT LAKE SYSKIU ???? DAVE

Bill DeMeulle · 09-10-2005, 06:54 AM

I also had a delaminating/blowout august 27th coming home from Denver,front passenger side (General) tire blew out. No loss of control,speed 60 mph, 50 miles east of Las Vegas,New Mexico. Good Sam Road Service repair was there in 45 minutes changed tire with spare. Stayed at las Vegas,NM Elks lodge ($10.) that night members went home and got shears to cut away excess hanging material, and got us to tire dealership the next day for a new spare tire. Did about $3000 damage to Montana, and insurance Co. is subrogating against General Tire. Alls well that ends well.

Bill

Montana_4558 · 09-10-2005, 11:34 AM

When we bought our Montana 3280RL in March 2002 it came with 5
General tires. In 2003 we were going across SD on I-90 just west
of Mitchel when a tire on passenger side front slung the cap. The
tire DID NOT deflate. It was setting there as bald as could be. The
next morning we went to Walmart in Mitchel. The man there examined
the other 4 Generals and all were defective. I bought all the Liberators he had in the size I needed, which is 235/85/R16 E. These are wearing good. The 5th tire was put on after we got back Victoria, Texas. It was a Continental tire, because they had no Liberator in the size and load range I needed. That is the one that tore up last month. The tire pressure had been checked 2 days before and the load was approx. the same.
The General and Continental tires are both made by:
CONTINENTAL TIRE NORTH AMERICA, INC.
1950 Continental Blvd.
Charlotte, NC. 28273

Charles Ringer

HamRad · 09-10-2005, 03:11 PM

Hello Dave and Kelly,
Good to hear from you. I sure do remember! Did the fender work for you? I think it was the right size. Now I've got to order one for my rig! Hope they can find one. I'll put a picture up of the damaged tire. I'll put it in my PictureTrail site.

See you soon.

Dennis and Mary Kay

DHenry · 09-10-2005, 03:39 PM

Looks like we all have tire problems now and then. Glad you and MaryKay are fine and what a nice thing to have help stop when you really need it.

richfaa · 09-11-2005, 07:08 AM

Went to the Fall RV show here in Northern , Ohio yesterday.Paid particular note to tires. There were four models of Montana there with 4 different tire brands,,Tacoma, Goodyear Marathon, Mission, Uniroyal.The 3670 had Tacoma load range D. Looked At several other fifth wheel brands and noted those same brands and several others I never heard of.I would say the the tire brand you get will be whoever had the low bid that month. Also noted the "entertainment center" The same units were in most of the other brands also. So if you are lucky you will get one that works and sounds good or if you are like me it don't make much difference because I can't hear much anyhow. There is always Wallmart..

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