Another tire failure on the dually??

[johnrrogers]

I decided to post this here since the general forum gets more traffic, so aways here is the scoop. I had the inner, left side rear tire have tread failure yesterday and it mimiced the failure I had last month on the way to Phoenix which I mentioned in a earlier post. The tire still had air, 75# after limping home which was only a few miles and I was not towing the 5th wheel. I checked the tire when I pulled over and it did not seem hotter than the other rear tires so I am guessing it was age related failure? I bought the truck in May of 2006 and so far have put about 12K miles on it and there is lots of tread left. The tires are all Hankook brand and were new when I bought the truck. I plan to replace the other two rear tires also this weekend so all will be about the same age. I bought the replacement (Goodyear) at Wal-Mart which was a bunch cheaper that any other tire store, only they could not get the truck on their lift so I had to do the wheel swapping in their lot. For $50 per tire savings.

I figure that the swapping is okay with me. I find it strange that it is the inner tire so has anyone else experienced this sort of failure in similar situations?

 

[BIG JOE]

Just my .02 here but I would'nt think Age would be an issue. You did'nt say what the Wieght Rateing was and I've never heard of that Brand (Hankook), but I don't think a 2 year old tire should have come apart like that.

Glad you did'nt have the 5r on the back. Coulda been ugly.

I had an outside left (Cooper) separate a few years ago, 11.5', Lance Camper onboard, and a car in tow. Pucker Factor off the scale. Replaced it with another Cooper but when I got home, I talked with my Tire Guy.....

He recommended 6 Goodyear, E-rated, G-159 235/85/R16, All Steel Radials. A bit pricey but I'm on my 3rd set, on 2 F-350s and have gotten 70K+ Trouble Free miles out of'm.

I don't Rotate tires but do Swap them Left to Right. Run 60psi in the rears, 68psi in the fronts.



Joe

 

[johnrrogers]

Opps, the tires are(were) rated load range E so that was covered. When I had the failure in Dec the tire guy at the truck stop said to run the max pressure that was on the sidewall all the time (in this case 80#). He said that was what they did with the 18 wheelers and duallys should do the same thing. I have been running them between 75 and 80# ever since since he has been working on these things for 50 years or so and my experience is pretty limited. Does anyone agree/disagree with that notion?

 

[F350DRW1]

if you haven't been doing alot of towing then the tire could have been partially flat for a while and you didn't know it. They get eaten up quick that way.

 

[BIG JOE]

Opps, the tires are(were) rated load range E so that was covered. When I had the failure in Dec the tire guy at the truck stop said to run the max pressure that was on the sidewall all the time (in this case 80#). He said that was what they did with the 18 wheelers and duallys should do the same thing. I have been running them between 75 and 80# ever since since he has been working on these things for 50 years or so and my experience is pretty limited. Does anyone agree/disagree with that notion?

I, for one, beg to differ on running Max pressures. Tire pressures are a touchy subject.

IMO, Big Trucks, need/must run Max pressures because they run, at, or near, Max GVW (loaded) most all the time.

Again IMO, we need to run pressures that match our >routine< GVWs. Running Max press. ALL the time, un-loaded, wears-out the center of the tread, Low press. wears the edges of the tread. That also means the wieght is ALL on the center.. or ALL on the edges. Tire wear and Heat distribution issues.

When we hook up whatever we tow, or load whatever we carry.. the whole pressure thing changes.

Go to your Tire Company Web Site, they will have Graphs that show recommended tire pressure verses weight for the Specific tire you have.

I weighed my DRW & 5r on a Cat Scale. Read-out showed the front axle weight, rear axle weight, 5r axle weight and Total Gross weight, combined. Went to the graph. Graph said: 65 front, 55 rear (DRW) and 65 in the 5r.

Personally I like to run a bit more psi, for the heat issues 'round here in CenCal. (Cooler) 68, 60 and 68.

Your Call tho.

 

[bushpilot]

if anything 80# of air would make the tire crown in the middle (when
the truck was empty)....additionally the tire would wear faster in
the middle & it should run a bit cooler (since theres less contacting the
ground)...when empty at least.

w/ max psi (or close to it) your contact patch is smaller (not a good thing,
IMO) and certainly the ride would be MUCH stiffer.

 

[uloadit]

I use firestone trans force AT, killer tire!! i got 80000 out of the last set and thay all ran even. i run 70# up front and 60 out back loaded.If i am going on a long trip bob tail i run 50 out back ,never never had a problem. my last set i put on brand new when i got the truck in 2002 and sold the general tires.

 

[WD40]

I run Hankook Tires on my fifth wheel. They were all I could find in Texarkana TX. last Feb. on our trip to South Texas. I have the G rated 14 Ply tires and so far they look good and ride smooth on the trailer. Yes I know they are made in Korea.

 

[bushpilot]

never heard of 'em before...but they are OE'd by many....
including FORD --> Enjoy Driving Hankook Tire

 

[johnrrogers]

Thanks for the info everyone. I was checking the tire pressures at least monthly and since the failure in Dec I check them weekly now. I also have been measuring the tread depth and so far it is even across the width so the tire pressure has had little effect, at least in the amount of driving I do. I did go and drop the pressures down to 72# this afternoon so we'll see about the effects. I checked the door panel and it notes the original size tires as 215-85-R16 and I noted 70# front and 65# rear. It now has 235 size tires which are larger therefor it would need a bit more pressure. I did see some small cracking in the outside tire at the joint where the sidewall meets the molded tread but only on the left side. That side gets the most sun exposure where I park the truck. I get that in my Goodyear racing slicks for the vintage race car and the Goodyear tire rep said that the cracks are normal in the So Cal, AZ, TX area due to low humidity and lots of sun even with the tires covered. Anyways, I plan to replace the other two rear tires before the next trip the beginning of Feb to PIR in Phoenix.