Low Tire Pressure: A Cautionary Tale

How old was your tire? Which brand?

Agreed, very fortunate that the wheel well didn't get torn up and destroy the interior.

ScottG said:

An unfortunate event, but I don't think you can blame tire pressure...or yourself. Per the most recent owner's manual, LG recommends 35psi--much lower than the pressure indicated on the trailer or the tire. Either way, it seems you weren't too far out of spec.

You might want to weigh in on this recent thread: http://tab-rv.vanillaforums.com/discussion/comment/39457/#Comment_39457.

This is a Dutchmen T@B which recommends a 44 PSI for the low profile 16" car tires.

Have we ever received an official answer on what PSI to use for the Outback? 

We can banter this one around until the cows come in but there are many factors that have already been discussed (on the forum via other discussions) that can lead to a catastrophic tire failure and blowout.  The above incident should be a a good wake-up call for everyone here who pulls a trailer and thank God no one was seriously injured, nor did a rollover accident occur.  I see a lot of this in my travels and many of these blowouts could be avoided with some forethought.

 Whenever I am hauling these trailers along the interstate system I am very aware of my speed as I know that the sidewalls will heat up at speeds in excess of 65 mph and obviously there is still heating that takes place regardless.  Given the size of these trailers and accessories/gear we cram into them the added weight also comes into play, as do bad roads, road hazards, etc.  Who's to say that this particular blowout wasn't a result of a shard of metal along the road or a jagged piece of concrete from the road?  With the crumbling roads across the US it can happen at any moment and in any weather conditions.  

I am not posting this to create an argument, nor to berate the unfortunate owner above, but believe that owners do need to read and heed the tire requirements listed on the sidewall of the tires (maximum inflation, etc.) and inflate accordingly.  My tires are rated at 50 PSI (cold) and I inflated them to around 45 PSI prior to leaving on my recent trip out to Colorado in Mid-May.  I noticed that the trailer seemed to start bouncing along an uneven stretch of the interstate down in Southern Michigan so I pulled off into a rest area, reduced the tire air pressures down to 40 PSI which took out the bounce and things calmed down and went well both to and from Colorado.  

My point in the above is that inasmuch as the factory or Little Guy might recommend 35 PSI, the onus is on you as an owner to read/heed the tire rating listed on the sidewall, maintain your air pressure accordingly and if necessary, replace the stock tires as needed.  This is no different than your personal vehicle and how you maintain it as conditions do change, tires do lose air pressure over the course of winter/season and it's important to keep your travel speed down too (trailer tires are rated at around 65 mph max)  as we all want to get to and from our destinations safely and without endangering our personal safety, nor that of other motorists around us.  If you are clipping along at 70 mph and above you are rolling the dice and could compromise the integrity of the tires...  Face it, we've all done it, looked suddenly down at the odometer and felt that surge of fear/shock, knowing good and well we were traveling too fast and well above the rated 65 mph rating of the trailer tire.  

Think about it next time out and do what needs to be done!  

jkjenn said:

@ChanW  and @Michigan_Mike we can banter on this but it seems as though PV really should be providing some more clarification on this. The information in the manual is very unclear and makes me wonder if it even applies to our T@bs. I am wondering if Outback owners are given any guidance that is different since they are not ST tires. 

Yeah, it's not like "which is better, clamshell or non-clamshell?" This is something that should have a definitive answer. 

As I told someone on the LG forum, don't be surprised if the factory is on vacation ths week, as they do tend to take vacation on holiday weeks. I'm sure they'll be back all refreshed next week if that is the case.

@bigskybound, sorry you had to go through this experience.  Thanks for sharing. Glad you all are safe. I was wondering just today as I towed my t@b home from a fantastic 5 night escape, what it would feel like to blow a tire, and imagined a huge and instant yank followed by feeling of drag, but it sounds like you barely felt anything. 

ScottG said:

It's not completely clear that this was a true catastrophic blowout, as opposed to an "ordinary" flat that went undiscovered until the tire shredded. That's no criticism of bigskybound--with such a substantial tow vehicle, I wonder how long it would take to notice that a trailer tire was going flat.

Picking up on what gulfarea said, now I'm curious... For those of you who have experienced a flat on your T@B, how and when did you determine it was flat?

Not my T@B, but a blowout on my 1200 lb LG Silver Shadow teardrop. I had a very near accident where I had to swerve drastically and the teardrop went up on one tire. Correcting that maneuver, the right tire slammed down, more correcting before finally under control. Whew! All is well, I thought, silently cursing the idiot who was backing up in the right lane to his missed exit. A low rumble noise then told me something was wrong. The tire had blown, shredded, but had not damaged the actual fiberglass fender, although the rubberized trim on the edge of the fender was melted. 

So, no thumping, no loud noises, just a rumble that you wouldn't hear if the radio was turned up.  I've had a flat in a car or a truck and I would have expected the thump, thump, but it was just a low rumble. 

Good reason to keep the load low, in the Tab. Going up on one wheel in the Tab might be more difficult to recover from.

Nice driving Verna.

I think keeping your cool is key in that kind of situation (and a lot of luck). 

I'm always amazed when something like that goes down and I've felt I'd just gone into 'autopilot' mode, and succeeded, thank goodness.

There's no time to think about what to do, you just do it.

 When I got my first camper, my sister gave me my first gift-a Tire Pressure Gauge. Bear in mind, she is  a horse drill team veteran who has pulled a gooseneck with horses all over the country. She said use it every time you pull out, on your first gas stop, and when you park.  Me being the older sister internally said yeah, right. but time and time again, I am reminded of how important tire pressure is, and how much we can all take our tires for granted.

I have always followed her instructions religiously. Do you think I let her know that?  Of course not, I am still the older sister.