Trailer Towing and a Blow Out

[Parks 788]

Some of you may have seen my post last night in my "moving" thread about Mrs 788 and I taking a load out to OK in my 24' Cargo Trailer. I have a question about towing.

I have quite a bit of experience towing heavy dump trailer as well as heavy equipmnet trailers with skidsteers and mini excavators on them up to about 12K lbs GVWR. My trailer is 102" wide and you can't see the rubber of the tires other than just a tiny smidge. The trailer will probably be at full capacity with a 10K GVWR. Probably a third of my travel will be in the dark. Tow vehicle is a 2015 Ram 2500 Mega Cab with 6.4 Hemi. Here's the question.

With my setup, the heavy trailer and limited visibility of the wheels how difficult is it to notice one of the tires has gone flat and trearing **** up in the trailers wheel well. DOes it make the truck shake and is easily noticeable or does it sometimes take people hinking and flassing lights behind you?

Second question: Temps are going to be hot most of the days traveling with a heavy trailer. I have three spares. They are all E-load rated, 10 ply and rates at 2800 lbs capacity each and take up to 80psi. Trailer is probably sitting at about 7000# GVWR currently with some more to pack and the tires are showing they need some air. I believe they are about 60 PSI currently. I'm gonna assume it's best to get them to 80 psi now for the upcoming haul. Should i leave them at 80 between hauls or air them back down to 6-ish? Thanks for the advice. Just haven't done any 1500 mile trailer hauls with heavy weights.

Those with a lot of towing experience, please opine. Thanks

Oh, yeah. This is the first time in 6 years i wish i would have spent the money on the Cummins.

 

[SoonerP226]

I haven't had a blowout, but I did have a tread separation on a 16' utility trailer--the steel belts were literally sticking up out of the tire and brushing against the underside of the fender on every revolution. I don't recall it being really obvious, but there was definitely something that felt wrong about it--I think it mostly sounded wrong, as I wasn't going very fast (maybe 35mph).

I was with my dad when he had a blowout on his 24' gooseneck while hauling a smaller Komatsu dozer. I don't recall it as being particularly dramatic, but it was plenty obvious from the noise that something was wrong.

 

[Snattlerake]

Maybe this?

https://www.amazon.com/Tymate-Monit...erature/dp/B07RV2YPQ3/ref=asc_df_B07RV2YPQ3/?

https://www.technorv.com/articles/t...rv-tire-pressure-monitoring-systems-is-best/?

 

[PanhandleGlocker]

You ain’t got tow mirrors? I could always see everything I was pulling on my Ram 3500 dually truck I had.

sometimes your trailer will whip back and forth when you have a blowout.

 

[Barn Dog]

As previously noted, if you don't have the radio cranked you'll hear something wrong. Trailer will usually sway a bit. It's not usually dramatic when it happens but you'll know somethings up when it does.

 

[retrieverman]

I’ve pulled tractors and a skid steer basically every day for the last 22 years, and last month, I pulled a loaded cargo trailer from Dallas TX to Columbus OH and back.

If it were me, I would do as much driving at night when it’s cooler.

I run 14 ply tires on all my big trailers and 10 ply on my lighter duty trailers, if it were me, I would run the air pressure at 70 psi.

 

[Parks 788]

You ain’t got tow mirrors? I could always see everything I was pulling on my Ram 3500 dually truck I had.

sometimes your trailer will whip back and forth when you have a blowout.

I have the factory flip up tw mirrors. They are medicore at best with wide trailers. sound odd ut with the mirrors set so i can see the trailer wheel wells the best it gives me a terrible view of the lane beside me. It may just be a give and take. best view of the trailer vs best view of the lane next to me and far behind me.

 

[TerryMiller]

Another vote here for a tire pressure monitoring system like Snattlerake suggested. You can also check at RV dealerships or Camping World to find some. They are a system where sensors thread on your valve stems and monitor the pressure for each one. If I remember right, they are adjustable to where one can get a notification in the cab if one tire gets below that set pressure. Also, carry a good tire pressure gauge, just in case.

Some RV'ers (myself included) carry an infrared temperature sensor and at every stop, go around using that to check the temperatures at or near the hub of the axle. If one gets higher than all the rest, one has a sense that there are bearing issues. However, I've seen where the two wheels that may face the sun the most will have higher temperatures than those on the other side of the trailer.

 

[cowadle]

look up your tire specs on the internet. run max indicated pressure and in the specs will be a speed and temp rating. follow the specs close and when you stop to pee check air pressure and feel the wheel bearings for heat. if one hub feels hotter than the rest then moniter it close or stop and pack it. if your tires are over 4 years old get new ones that are 14 ply G rated. if you have LT tires and not trailer service type then i would just get new ones now and also make sure all tires are same brand and size,rating and spec.

 

[Okie4570]

Go 14ply tires or drive at night if possible.
If you must drive during the day with 10ply and 100⁰+ temps, I definitely wouldn't start out at max psi.. Most of the guys I know that don't run 14ply have one of these and they get used frequently.