Blowout...

[johnwen]

We've been at altitude with cool temperatures for the past 3 months between Montana and Colorado.  2022 Oliver with 27000 miles on it and the original tires.  We had a blowout on the aft driver's side.  I travel at 61 or 62 mph but have very seldom approached 70 mph when descending on the back side of a mountain. I'm only posting this because I did not realize we had a blowout until I heeded a following motorist's flashing headlights, signaling me to pull over.  He probably followed me for 5 or so miles and I thought he just wanted to know more about the trailer.  We inspected what we could view from the side view mirrors and could not see anything wrong or out of place.  I could only see the front tire with my standard sized Silverado side view mirror.  We finally pulled over when we came to a place where the road became wider.  We did not notice any odd noises, vibrations, or any visual clues that anything was wrong.  Our normal 60-62 psi was indicated that morning via our ProSmart, smart tire pressure sensors with our smart phone app.  We have no way of checking pressure while we're driving as the bluetooth range is very limited.  So, lesson for me.....I will install internal pressure/temp sensors that can be read through Chevrolet's "driver information center".  Again, I had no idea anything was wrong until someone notified me to pull over.  The aluminum wheel was also damaged beyond repair and while I found the correct sized tire, Discount Tire had to install it on, what appears to be, a trailer rim.

[topgun2]

I assume from your post that other than the wheel rim there was no damage to the Oliver - wheel well, tire fairing, brake lines, brake wires, etc.?

If that be the case then consider yourself to be very fortunate.  Certainly there is a margin of safety in having two axles versus only one.  And, a big thanks to that driver who alerted you to the problem.

When purchasing my 2023 F-150 I too considered getting Ford's trailer TPMS.  But even though it would be nice not to have yet another of these screens in the cockpit of the truck, the price was much higher than simply getting a stand alone TPMS.  Also, I've found that having the stand alone TPMS I tend to monitor it more often.  There are numerous brands on the market that do a great job of monitoring both pressure and temperature for the trailer and the spare tires on the truck and Oliver.  I simply went to YouTube and Amazon, looked at features, size, reviews and price to get the one I liked best.

Glad that you are OK.

Bill

[MAX Burner]

We had almost the exact same encounter with a blowout about 12 years ago in FL traveling on a secondary road at about 45mph.  At the time we didn't own a standalone TPMS.  We didn't realize the right side rear tire blew until we pulled over at a convenience store for a pee - walking back to the rig we saw what looked like a "ghost tire" (formerly a Goodyear Marathon) with only the radial material left on the rim.

With a TPMS (which we've had ever since), at least would have known when it blew and proceeded accordingly rather than driving for an unknown distance on 3 good wheels/tires.

Glad no injuries ensued....

[mountainoliver]

johnwen what brand/style tires are on your Oliver? For example my older 2017 hull 208 came with Michelin LT tires.

[SeaDawg]

Well, that was a PITA. So sorry., but really glad for the persistent motorist who alerted you to the flat tire.

We have the TST tpms system.  Though we haven't needed the repeater, there is one available to boost the signal forward to the display unit if needed.

I think a few other brands sell a booster or repeater,  as well.

[Steph and Dud B]

TPMS is the first thing we install on every trailer. Learned the hard way with trailer #1.

[John Welte]

11 minutes ago, SeaDawg said:

Well, that was a PITA. So sorry., but really glad for the persistent motorist who alerted you to the flat tire.

We have the TST tpms system.  Though we haven't needed the repeater, there is one available to boost the signal forward to the display unit if needed.

I think a few other brands sell a booster or repeater,  as well.

I have the TST also and monitor all eight tires.  Four on the TV and the four on the trailer.  It came with the repeater, but it hasn't been necessary.  It does take about five minutes to start registering on the display, but after it does, it cycles through all the tires.  It gives great peace of mind.

John

[johnwen]

33 minutes ago, mountainoliver said:

johnwen what brand/style tires are on your Oliver? For example my older 2017 hull 208 came with Michelin LT tires.

16 inch Cooper Discovery HT3

LT 225/75R16 M+S  6 bolt pattern

[johnwen]

3 hours ago, topgun2 said:

I assume from your post that other than the wheel rim there was no damage to the Oliver - wheel well, tire fairing, brake lines, brake wires, etc.?

If that be the case then consider yourself to be very fortunate.  Certainly there is a margin of safety in have two axles versus only one.  And, a big thanks to that driver who alerted you to the problem.

When purchasing my 2023 F-150 I too considered getting Ford's trailer TPMS.  But even though it would be nice not to have yet  of these screens in the cockpit of the truck, the price was much higher than simply getting a stand alone TPMS.  Also, I've found that having the stand alone TPMS I tend to monitor it more often.  There are numerous brands on the market that do a great job of monitoring both pressure and temperature for the trailer and the spare tires on the truck and Oliver.  I simply went to YouTube and Amazon, looked at features, size, reviews and price to get the one I liked best.

Glad that you are OK.

Bill

Just a few rubber marks on the outside of the fender, and yes to "very fortunate" :)

[mossemi]

 @johnwen  I’m glad your tire failure only resulted in a dented wallet and y'all are safe!  Hope your remaining vacation and return trip home is safe and uneventful.

Mossey

[dhaig]

@johnwen, glad to hear your experience ended without injury or serious damage.

We also installed a standalone TPMS for our LEII (Hull 990), the TireMinder i10, with 6 transmitters (TPMS), four for the trailer and the other two for our spares. See: https://technorv.com/products/tireminder-i10-rv-tpms-with-4-to-10-sensors?_pos=1&_sid=585f6a851&_ss=r

I installed the signal booster under the dinette rear seat.  I have tested the range by walking over 300 feet from the trailer with the monitor, without loss of signal.  Our TV does not have the option for adding trailer sensors.

Don

[ScubaRx]

11 hours ago, johnwen said:

...I will install internal pressure/temp sensors that can be read through Chevrolet's "driver information center".  Again, I had no idea anything was wrong until someone notified me to pull over.  The aluminum wheel was also damaged beyond repair and while I found the correct sized tire, Discount Tire had to install it on, what appears to be, a trailer rim.

When I ordered our Silverado 3500, I also ordered the trailer tire sensors and the rear camera that goes on the rear of the trailer. They were delivered with the truck from the factory. If you have a tire problem with one of the truck or trailer tires, it will pop up on your DIC. You do not have to actively monitor a separate screen to check the tires. It's all integrated into the truck.

[topgun2]

19 hours ago, topgun2 said:

Also, I've found that having the stand alone TPMS I tend to monitor it more often. 

In order to clarify this statement - 

Most (if not all) TPMS systems will alert you to "issues" with a tire - such as sudden loss of pressure, or pressures or temperatures that are outside of a predetermined range that you set.  And, the TPMS system that integrates with the Ford system and screen will do this too as I assume that the other truck makers do. 

However, I've found an unexpected plus to having the stand alone monitor is that I'll watch it keeping an eye on the relative differences between tire temp and tire pressure under varying road and climate conditions.  All things being equal - tires running on a concrete road will have a lower temperature and pressure than those running on a black asphalt road on a sunny day. smooth road. Generally, the same statement is true for a rough surfaced road versus a smooth road.  So, how does one decide on what tire pressure is correct for their particular trailer?  

In the pages of this Forum there have been many posts that flat out state that one should NEVER have tire pressures under "X" or above "Y".  These statements may or may not be correct for the particular trailer the poster is referring to under the conditions that they normally drive - or even those conditions that may be encountered from time to time.  Trailer weight, the roads that are normally driven or even specifically driven, the speeds at which they drive, the weather, etc., etc. all influence the decision as what tire pressures are appropriate for any given situation.  Indeed, many of these posters will "admit" to "airing down" for those times when they travel on rough (dirt) roads.  This is done for basically two reasons: 1 - for better traction; 2 - softer ride.  Interestingly, this is one of the same problems that we are all trying to solve when deciding what our "normal" or "regular" tire pressure will be.  We don't want to have such a high pressure in the tires such that they are like (to borrow an oft used statement) rocks.  Nor do we want a tire with such low tire pressure as to cause it to heat up too much in "normal" driving.

By keeping an eye on my tire pressures while also seeing the tire's temperature I can make a rough judgement as to when or why a tire is reacting to any particular situation.  For instance (for my Ollie loaded for a "normal" camping trip), I will set my tire pressures at 60psi.  But, the weather changes and/or one of the main roads I'm traveling has been repaved from concrete to fresh black asphalt and I note that my tires are increasing more than about 1 psi for every 10 degrees increase in air temp.  Depending on how long or how severe this situation might continue, I might decide to add 3 or 4 psi.  This is a bit counter intuitive but note that a harder tire (more psi) will have less rolling resistance and therefore run cooler than a softer tire.  Another way of thinking about this is that a softer tire (less psi) will have more surface of the tire on the road and will "squirm" or "flex" more thus causing more friction and thus more heat.

Over time I have been able to predict (generally speaking) what tire pressures are about right for me and my Ollie.  But, just because I chose to run my tires at a certain pressure does not mean that this is the correct pressure for your Ollie in any given situation.  We all want as soft a ride as possible while at the same time we want good traction, high tire mileage and most of all safety.

By having the information provided by a TPMS we not only increase our immediate safety but we also obtain information from which we can make informed decisions as to satisfying some of the other conditions present when operating in a constantly changing environment.

Bill

 

[Galway Girl]

I mounted our TST transmitter on the side of the front jack case.  Been working well for 4 years.

 

[Steph and Dud B]

4 hours ago, topgun2 said:

I'll watch it keeping an eye on the relative differences between tire temp and tire pressure under varying road and climate conditions

This is how I discovered a brake failure on a previous trailer. The brake assembly fell apart due to a broken spring and the parts were rattling around inside the drum. I noticed that wheel was running hotter than the others - but not hot enough to trigger an alarm - so I pulled over to check. The early catch may have prevented spindle damage.

[dewdev]

I found that my TPMS would alarm without the transmitter after traveling about 1/2 hour.

I cut off the alligator clips on the transmitter and sodder on a USB connector onto the wire that I can connect into the Ollie USB connectors. The transmitter, using velcro strips, is located above the dinnete table. Works pretty slick and no more false alarms.

[BBL]

On 9/19/2023 at 9:01 AM, Galway Girl said:

I mounted our TST transmitter on the side of the front jack case.  Been working well for 4 years.

 

Nice mount there, do you have pictures of how you wired that in?  Would love to copy this one but didn't see a good route for the wires and want to learn from a good setup.

Thanks!

Brian

[BBL]

On 9/18/2023 at 11:38 AM, johnwen said:

We've been at altitude with cool temperatures for the past 3 months between Montana and Colorado.  2022 Oliver with 27000 miles on it and the original tires.  We had a blowout on the aft driver's side.  I travel at 61 or 62 mph but have very seldom approached 70 mph when descending on the back side of a mountain. I'm only posting this because I did not realize we had a blowout until I heeded a following motorist's flashing headlights, signaling me to pull over.  He probably followed me for 5 or so miles and I thought he just wanted to know more about the trailer.  We inspected what we could view from the side view mirrors and could not see anything wrong or out of place.  I could only see the front tire with my standard sized Silverado side view mirror.  We finally pulled over when we came to a place where the road became wider.  We did not notice any odd noises, vibrations, or any visual clues that anything was wrong.  Our normal 60-62 psi was indicated that morning via our ProSmart, smart tire pressure sensors with our smart phone app.  We have no way of checking pressure while we're driving as the bluetooth range is very limited.  So, lesson for me.....I will install internal pressure/temp sensors that can be read through Chevrolet's "driver information center".  Again, I had no idea anything was wrong until someone notified me to pull over.  The aluminum wheel was also damaged beyond repair and while I found the correct sized tire, Discount Tire had to install it on, what appears to be, a trailer rim.

John/Wendy - so happy to hear you are both ok brother!  Seems like little damage as well. I see everyone is assisting with their TPMS solutions and I would like to share something a little different that we have used many times on the road to help others. Thankfully, we have not had to use it on our own trailer(s).  

Anderson levelers makes a "Rapid Jack" and you essentially just roll up on it with your good tire and change your bad tire. Saves all the blocks and jacks that most of us are familiar with.

Not trying to "sell" you anything, just for your awareness and anyone who looks at this. Here is a link to their video.

Andersen Hitches Rapid Jack

Cheers and "Go AIR FORCE"!!

Brian

[johnwen]

3 hours ago, Brian and Brandelyne said:

John/Wendy - so happy to hear you are both ok brother!  Seems like little damage as well. I see everyone is assisting with their TPMS solutions and I would like to share something a little different that we have used many times on the road to help others. Thankfully, we have not had to use it on our own trailer(s).  

Anderson levelers makes a "Rapid Jack" and you essentially just roll up on it with your good tire and change your bad tire. Saves all the blocks and jacks that most of us are familiar with.

Thanks, Brian,

I appreciate the well wishes :)

John

 

[johnwen]

Just now, johnwen said:

Thanks, Brian,

I appreciate the well wishes :)

John

 

Go AF :)

[MAX Burner]

 

On 9/23/2023 at 2:17 PM, Brian and Brandelyne said:

Anderson levelers makes a "Rapid Jack"

Been carrying a similar device as the Anderson Rapid Jack since we had a blow-out on our AS back in 2012.  Its not light, but like @Brian and Brandylyne noted, it saves time and the rear jacks.

Cheers, GO NAVY beat AF!

[BBL]

In the spirit of the debate tonight. Well Sir, you got one thing right, the Jack works!

But when it comes to Navy, you should cheer…they need it. 
The Air Force is taking the Commander’s trophy this year. 
 

Cheers Brother!

Aim High!

 

[MAX Burner]

On 9/27/2023 at 7:26 PM, Brian and Brandelyne said:

But when it comes to Navy, you should cheer…they need it. 

...that's an understatement this year!  New coach, small/younger team - not good.

Anchors aweigh!

[John E Davies]

One advantage of rubber stem mounted sensors: first thing in the morning before departing, make sure your monitor is awake, then walk around and do your tire and wheel inspection, and rap each sensor a couple of times with your finger. This will trigger a new signal to the monitor. As you leave you can see TODAY’S pressures, not yesterday’s!!!

If a tire picked up a nail yesterday it could have been slowly deflating all night. Read and learn:

https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/6043-article-on-how-tpms-sensors-operate/

Turn in your junk wheel without the rubber, and you should get about $14 or $15 for it.. or hang it on your garage wall as a keepsake. I hope you turned in a Service Request about this, maybe a bad batch of tires? Oliver needs to know when these events happen. I am glad the Ollie survived. The rubber scuffs will buff out.

John Davies

Spokane WA

[jd1923]

Thank goodness your family and your Oliver is all OK!

Years ago, pulling an enclosed cargo tailer from TX to AZ, we had a trailer blowout. Honestly, it's amazing that your OTT and connection to the TV is so solid, that you did not know the blowout even occurred - OMG!

Ours was so drastic, that I immediately felt a tug on the truck steering wheel! The belts from the tire tore the fender off completely and it then damaged the siding of the trailer (cheap alum, not our OTT fiberglass). Got a new tire, miles down the desolate dry western highway. Of course, had to park the trailer and run an 85-mile roundtrip with the wheel. 

I'm going to purchase and install these from Dill. Our truck is 23 years old, so it did not come with TPMS. You can buy a set of 4, or 8 and monitor pressure via Bluetooth to your phone. I will purchase 8 and install inside of my OTT and TV wheels. Dill's new product will be available late October from Tire Rack (first reseller). For truck and trailer you would buy two sets (pat # 1604-V).