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Adam Bish

wheel horse carnage.......wrecked tractors

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smoreau

Light truck tires are ok for the use on trailers, but were not designed for the 2-3 axle trailers that get a lot of side wall flex when making tight turns with a heavy load. A good tire distributor will lead you in the right direction for the correct tires for your trailer and what you plan on hauling. Heavy trailers like travel trailers need there tires replaced every 3 years, even if they look like new. Travel trailers do not fair well to a blow out on the E way. Every holiday we would bet on how many travel trailers would be in the yard on Monday that have flipped due to a blow out. Wheel bearing repack once a year is a MUST.  I do not mean putting a grease gun to the grease zero and greasing it to the point you push out all the old grease,  but pulling it apart and inspecting all the bearing and brakes if you have them. Trailers do a lot of sitting and rust pits can form in the bearings due to ccondensation.Inspection of these parts yearly will prevent you from being one of those guys on the side of the highway dragging there trailer to the side of the road with no tire on it.   Most of the public do not maintain there trailer the way it should be maintained. Some states are making all trailers inspected before they can renew there plates for the year. This is a great idea for the ones that have a shop do all that kind of work, but a extra expense for those of us that do it ourselves, but nessary for safety.  In my state we have permanent plates and do not have to renew them every year for trailers. 

 

 

 

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AMC RULES

:jaw:  Even empty...

they can be a handful. 

 

 

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JAinVA

The trailer in the video seemed empty.Am I missing something?I have had a 16 foot Hudson equipment trailer since 2002.I have towed all over the East Coast.One thing I do is stay within the weight rating of the tow rig and trailer.That doesn't always work.Early on I realized that although the trailer was rated at 10,000lb gross weight in order to not overload the stock tires there would need to be at least 3000 lb tongue weight.Don't know if this is common problem but it may be something you need to check before you tow.JAinVA

Edited by JAinVA

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lynnmor

LT tires are fine for trailers, some of the heavy toy hauler trailers come with them.  The idea of ST tires having better sidewalls I find to be not true.  My Goodyear Wrangler HT's are made in USA, have a 99 MPH speed rating and are serving me well.

 

I used Chinese wheel bearings last year and they failed in 11,000 miles.  Replaced with USA Timken.  

 

Currently camped with poor wifi or I could write a book on trailer junk.

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Forest Road

I see people all the time traveling with a guardian angel hovering over their unsecured load. Either that or they're placing wagers on whether or not they'll get to the chosen destination. 

 

Theres ZERO room for ignorance at highway speeds. I'll never understand how anyone can take an overloaded or worn out trailer up to 55mph or faster. 

 

As for placing any blame on Chinese tires. I'd prefer to see the condition of this mans trailer and straps before placing blame elsewhere. There are millions of these tires on the road and most of them are holding up just fine. When any tire is worn out it time to go. Trailer tires and LT tires are two different animals. Consult a tire dealer before you buy. 

 

Accidents happen everyday. Don't be a statistic. 

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shallowwatersailor
14 hours ago, AMC RULES said:

:jaw:  Even empty...

they can be a handful. 

 

 

 

It looks like the trailer was empty but the driver was towing it with the ramps down (?), or something low that was too long for the trailer. Probably to lessen wind resistance. There appears to be a lot of trailer behind the wheels compared to the front. Not enough tongue weight for sure.

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TDF5G
21 minutes ago, shallowwatersailor said:

 

It looks like the trailer was empty but the driver was towing it with the ramps down (?), or something low that was too long for the trailer. Probably to lessen wind resistance. There appears to be a lot of trailer behind the wheels compared to the front. Not enough tongue weight for sure.

:text-yeahthat:  The front of the trailer is way too low compared to the front.

13 hours ago, lynnmor said:

 I could write a book on trailer junk.

:text-yeahthat: Me too.  I've had campers for over 20 years now, and have many friends with campers also (one friend just got her first one last weekend, she doesn't know what she's in for).  There is always something that needs repairing or replacing.  I think it's like the saying about boats,  "You're only happy twice.  The day you buy it and the day you sell it!" :D

Edited by TDF5G
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clueless

UHaul, is the largest trailer renting company in the world. Every thing about their trailers are designed for safety, a large number of people who rent these have never pulled a trailer before. They are very heavy, couplings are the best, they have more tie downs than a married man with a job, and they only use ST tires. Two reasons for all this safety. first and foremost is personal and property safety (LAWSUITS)!! The second, these are their trailers, they make money with them they want to rent them for years. They are not in the business to sell you a trailer that was build as cheap as possible, then sell it to you and it becomes you problem. Yes, tongue weight, and the RIGHT tires do matter! They also keep them maintained, probably the biggest short coming of most of us trailer owners.      

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TDF5G

I did research on ST tires about 3-4 years ago.  You can learn a lot on RV forums for example.   From the collective info and research from several different resources that I found, blowouts are usually caused by heat in the tire.  Heat is caused by one or more of 3 things;  under inflation, loaded over the tire's weight rating, or driving faster than the speed rating of the tire.  I've also read that ST tires are more UV resistant than car and truck tires.  

 

Now tire separations are different story.    


I just don't understand why some tire manufacturer doesn't build a high quality, dependable, long lasting ST tire, the way Wheel Horse built their tractors! :mellow:

Edited by TDF5G
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ebinmaine
On 10/9/2016 at 8:39 AM, T-Mo said:

 Plus most states make it illegal to transport anything on a trailer unless it's secure with binding of some type, straps, chains, etc.  Still straps can come loose, so it's a good idea to stop and check your load from time to time, especially over a longer distance.

 

 

Folks, I know this is an older thread but I wanted to put in a few words... I'm a CDL trucker here in Maine.

 

ALL STATES have requirements set by the DOT we all have to follow.... Defaulted to the Federal Regs.

 

There are a few common sense but also required things I can add here.

 

Rope and bungies or stretch fasteners of any type are NOT LEGAL to use to tie town cargo in ANY STATE.

 

All portions of equipment loads (here in Maine) MUST use a minimum of 2 appropriate straps or chains PER piece of equipment. Working Load Limit Shall be visibly imprinted on a tag or the strap/chain itself.

 

You Must stop and check/tighten all straps/chains once within the first 50 miles and then at certain intervals throughout your trip. ( mileage varies per state )

 

If you ever think about whether or not you need another strap... Put it on. No DOT cop would be to awfully upset you did that.

 

Please be safe and take your time...

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tunahead72

Eric, thanks for reviving this thread and giving us your thoughts.  This is an excellent topic, with several different points of view.  I just read the whole thing again, which reinforced everything I learned from reading it all last fall.  Thanks to everyone who's contributed, and especially to those who answered some of my questions.

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Dakota8338

On the way home one afternoon, we came upon an Chevrolet Avalanche with what appeared to be a new refrigerator, although it was not in a box, which did not have anything holding it in the bed of the truck.  It was getting off work traffic so all lanes were full, but I began backing off fulling expecting the refrigerator to come out and bounce down the interstate a couple of times.  Fortunately for us it didn't, but it did fall over on to the tailgate because of the wind force, and the freezer door swung open.  A bent tailgate and damaged refrigerator freezer could all have been prevented with a strap or two.  Had it came out of the truck and bounced down the interstate a couple of times there is no telling how many wrecks and possibly deaths it could have caused.  But the driver would have been one in a million in this day and age to stop and admit he or she caused the problem and damage.  

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JAinVA

Is it just me or has the us dot changed up how they post securement info?Their website now directs you to the FMCSA website.The information there is good but in my mind subject to interpretation. Since I haul tractors for my own use( much bigger than any GT) I try to make sure I do what is required to be legal.It now seems that grade 70 transport chain isn't required as long as any unmarked chain will secure the load with a grade 30 rating.Less than 5 feet in length and less than 1100 lbs one binder strap is all that is required.I don't think so.I know the idea is to keep the load secured and this is beneficial for all concerned but it can get confusing.I entered a safety stop on I95 in PA as required in 08 and got the third degree about no DOT numbers on the truck.When I explained to the inspector that the truck the trailer and their loads were personally owned he seemed satisfied but said that the questions were based on the fact that the loads met DOT regs.I must be hauling commercially was his opinion at first.So much for being careful.

Edited by JAinVA
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Mill Rat

Seeing Dakota 8338"s story about the 'fridge reminded me of my experience almost 2 decades ago. Had to replace a home water heater. Took the top off and rear seat out of my Jeep Wrangler, loaded the 75 gallon heater in a box in the back and tied it to the "sport" bar with nylon ratchet straps. As I got near 50 mph on a local arterial, the steering started to feel disturbingly light. The box was right over the rear axle, so the "sail area" of the box was enough to transfer a good bit of weight off the front axle. Had to drop a few mph to keep better control. At least I was only a bit over a mile away from home.

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ebinmaine
On 7/12/2017 at 10:29 PM, JAinVA said:

Is it just me or has the us dot changed up how they post securement info?Their website now directs you to the FMCSA website.The information there is good but in my mind subject to interpretation. Since I haul tractors for my own use( much bigger than any GT) I try to make sure I do what is required to be legal.It now seems that grade 70 transport chain isn't required as long as any unmarked chain will secure the load with a grade 30 rating.Less than 5 feet in length and less than 1100 lbs one binder strap is all that is required.I don't think so.I know the idea is to keep the load secured and this is beneficial for all concerned but it can get confusing.I entered a safety stop on I95 in PA as required in 08 and got the third degree about no DOT numbers on the truck.When I explained to the inspector that the truck the trailer and their loads were personally owned he seemed satisfied but said that the questions were based on the fact that the loads met DOT regs.I must be hauling commercially was his opinion at first.So much for being careful.

 

 

Yes, since 2008 or so it's been shuffled around a bit as where the info is.

 

I've been very lucky in 15+ years of CDL driving to deal with the courteous and cordial DOT officials here in VT, NH and Maine.

I have heard of Many others who've had similar experiences to yours.

 

I don't have a way to answer what your specific state has for Actual regs, but I'll say this:

 

:twocents-02cents:

 

ALWAYS go heavier than you think is needed.

 

If you need medium chain/straps, get heavy. If you need one chain, use 2.... ETC...

 

At least up here in Northern New England, loads DO Need to meet/ exceed DOT regs, even if privately owned and no DOT numbers are needed.

 

Keep being careful.

You have the right mind-set.

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