Wheel Wells and Tire Failure

At our latest camp out  the Mile High TrailBlazers took on a project of retrofitting our wheel wells.  It is no secret to most owners of TrailManors, that there are far too many tire failures with the several types of recreational vehicles.  Tire failure is somewhat common with the TrailManor.  There are many causes of tire failure amongwhich are improper tire pressure, the brand and class of tire used  and overloading the trailer.  Many rvs have already reached the maximum weight before a single shoe lace, pillow case or piece of bread is placed in them.  If you envy the many doors that line the “basement” area of the huge Rvs, think again.  It is my understanding that many are already overweight, without even allowing fresh air go fill those cavities.  

Now, back to the retrofitting our wheel wells.  At our campout we were able to apply the principles of the Wetherbee Wheel Well as a project to seven of our TrailManors.  Many of our members had already made the retrofit.  This system requires the relining of the wheel well with flashing metal and hardened foam, thus converting flat ends of the square box to a cavity in which the ends are curved to match the curve of the tires.  This retrofit will not prevent tire blow outs.  It is not even guaranteed  to prevent the damage done when the tire fails and a strip of hard rubber beats its way through a wheel well and begins to rip the side and plumbing out of your trailer.  Just like having insurance does not protect one from an accident,  it does give a sense of security.  Our faith in this retrofit comes from those who have applied it and then some time later experienced a tire failure.  Instead of tremendous damage,  in many cases only a few black marks have resulted.  

My purpose in presenting this information is to bring it to your mind.  Evaluate the procedure for your own conclusion.  It takes about two hours (one hour per fender) to retrofit.  The plans that I used for my 2720 were direct from the person who devised it.  All went well in the installation.  For a total cost of about $25.00, it brings a great deal of comfort to me knowing I am not going to see my trailer totaled by a  blow-out.  As a word of warning, in the seven trailers that our group worked on, there were no two trailers in which the wheel wells were identical.   There were a variety of differences, such as in the length of the wheel well or in obstructions, such as drains that were routed through them.   If you begin this project, please be sure to adust for these differences.  The dimensions in the directions that were given to me were correct for my trailer.  The originator of this design must have had wells of the same length as mine  (29 1/2”)  It is suggested that wheel wells that are longer than this  may require  a longer piece of flashing. I would guess that a good formula would be to begin with the recommended 48” strip of flashing (for trailers with 29 “ wheel wells) and add to its length according to the additional length above the 29”.  Members in our group were advised to purchase three cans of spray foam one for each wheel well and one in case of emergency.All went according to plan as everyone used one can per wheel well.  They all saved their receipt  and will return the third unused can to the store from which they purchased it.  Those of us who have had their wheels retrofitted in this manner feel we have made an effect on the results should our tires fail.  Possibly time and tire failure will prove us right or wrong.

Hal

Hal,

Your advice is consistently good.

Prevention of blowouts is foremost:

0) Know your tire history.  If the tire has run underinflated or overloaded it may be already damaged.
1) Maintain max. rated tire pressure for max. tire capacity:  50 psi for most.
2) Run as light as possible in the trailer.  Tow dry, and think about every pound you put into the trailer.  If you can carry an weighty article in the vehicle then do it.  Bulky but light stuff is ideal for the trailer, heavier in the vehicle.  I go so far as to carry the spare tire in the tow vehicle which some of you may consider extreme.  But with the propensity for blowouts, some precaution here might be wise.

Being a non-TM owner (at least for now), I'm perplexed by the seeming propensity for blowouts on these trailers.  Are other trailers having this trouble too?

There are definitely many factors in why blowouts happen.  Most importantly would be tire capabilities, inflation and load management.

I remember speaking with Michael Hulsey (the designer's son), when we shared an office (years ago), about the unique weight distribution for sway control (their website also mentions this).  Do you think TM inadvertantly sacraficed tire reliability for better sway control?

Or do the owners seem to find the tires over-loaded for this application?  I'm just guessing, but if there are only two tires, wouldn't a tire rated for at least 60% of the gross trailer weight (wet weight) be strong enough?  Does Load Range D make much difference?

Oilspot asked:
>Being a non-TM owner (at least for now), I'm perplexed by the >seeming propensity for blowouts on these trailers. Are other >trailers having this trouble too?

I think that tire blowouts may occur just as frequently on other trailers and RVs. For example, my neighbor sustained a blowout this past year in his Class B motorhome. The reason why TM owners discuss blowouts so much may be that the "Road alligator" that can come off a blowout has a propensity to tear out one of the square corners of the sheet metal wheel well/fender. This usually results in damage to a cabinet above it and introduces all kinds of dirt and debris into the trailer. The solution to this is modifying the wheel wells to a rounded shape, and, many TM owners have been doing this since someone thought up a way to do it (Irwin or Fox?). 2002 TMs (?) have the rounded wheel wells but all older models have the square-cornered ones. I just completed a more extensive than usual modification of my TM's wheel wells and may have some photos to show - if they turn out!

We had a blowout of our curbside tire last year. Fortunately, it occurred while traveling at low speed and the wheel well sustained no damage. The tire that blew out was a Carlisle Range C (4-ply) tire that was the TM factory's standard tire at that time - until 1999 when the factory switched to Goodyear Marathons, a Range D (6-ply) tire. After our blowout I had 2 Marathons put on our TM. In a conversation a year ago with Jimmy Davis, he told me that they had not had word of any blowouts since the Marathons became standard equipment. This may have been due to equipping the TMs with the heavier ply tires. Regardless of the manufacture of a trailer, however, tire failures seem to be a fact of life if you tow one.

Hey Larry, how much were yours? I priced the goodyear marathons at about 100 bucks apiece installed, but dunno if they were load "D" or not. I was just curious.

Happytrails, I don't have the receipt handy but recall that it cost us around $240 - 250 for 2 Goodyear Marathon, 6 ply tires. This price included balancing, installation and Calif. sales tax of 7%+.

Hal -
I know I have seen instructions for retrofitting the wheel wells somewhere, but can't find it now.  Can you tell me where I might locate the instructions?

I hear from people weekly that are still having tire failure and damage to their trailer.  This retrofit will not prevent tire failure but should curtail the damage done.
Please contact my email address ([email protected])  I will give you my snail mail address.  You can then send me an sase.  I will have the instructions in the mail the same day.
Hal

I don't know what "Bogwan" membership status is....my best guess is "chatty" lol...heck, I'm not even out of my driveway yet with my TM.........sure, I know a lot about tm's construction and all that, but I'd have to take my hat off to guys like Hal whose been around for a while, and willing to go that extra mile and send ya something in the mail. If it weren't for people like him, as well as the other helpful people, I can't say my efforts would have ever been! My hat's off to ya Hal, as well to the others that have helped me so much! Sorry, just wanted to give kudo's where their due! Thank you Hal so much over the months.....been looking for an excuse to say that for a while now, but my hat's off to Hal, and all the others that have helped me so much.......

Happytrails......

Ditto on Kudos to Hal!  He has been very helpful.  The 2002 TMs   DO have the rounded wheel wells...