ST Tire Failure (Rehashed Topic, A New Twist); Towmaster Sneak Attack!

I've had a tenuous relationship with ST tires in general and Towmasters in particular.  I'm keep them covered, inflated to rated pressure and run 65  mph or less.  I have had these ticking time bombs ruin too many pleasure trips with boat and RV trailers.  In the distant past, I certainly had occasions where I have run too fast, in too high of a temperature near max weight, and run with sun-checked sidewalls.  I've probably had more than a dozen ST trires blow in the 25 or so years I've owned trailers.  Some of those were my fault, particularly when I was lulled into a false sense of security by tires with tons of tread but with UV damaged sidewalls.  Sadly, the most damaging blowouts have occurred more recently, when I have been much more cautious regarding all factors of tire health, including pressure, load and speed.

[if you're thinking my words so far are "blah, blah, blah", please read on - I doubt anybody can top this!  This background info is merely an attempt to convince you that I am a seasoned trailer dragger who knows what's going on]

So in the fall of 2011 I bought a used 5th wheel.  Empty weight 7500 lbs. gross 10,400 lbs, combined tire capacity well over 11,200 lbs.  The Towmaster ST225 75R15 E 10 ply tires appeared to be good condition and I personally aired them to 80 psi.  I blew three of the five tires in 200 miles.  Big aluminum damage to both sides of the coach.  The tires looked fine, but were date-coded 2004 ... original tires.  My fault, but hey, I was just trying to get home and planned a whole new set at my local Discount Tire Company.  So I bought the new set of Towmasters, which I was told "are back to good quality after a few years of trouble with Chinese manufacturing."  The RV was fixed to the tune of $2000.  The shop tucked steel fender wells into the rig, in order to contain any future tire failures.  Fast forward to Memorial Day weekend 2013.  The tires are now 18 months old, have been covered from the sun, and have approximately 1000 total miles ofr running.  Aired to 80 psi.  50 miles into a much anticipated trip and "boom," the right rear tire explodes.  Twisted the steel fender well like a pretzel and proceeded to cave in the side of the aluminum skirting.  On with the spare.  Then it hits me ... I loaned my second spare to my buddy who failed to return it.  Totally bewildered as to why such a recent tire would fail, I felt like I had to turn around.  I simply could not trust these things.  I went straight to the tire store and went on a rant.  I left with four new Carlises, and two Towmasters as  spares.  We took a shorter distance trip and Carlisles were fine.  Since returning home, the trailer is parked in our side yard as always.  Fve tires have covers and, the 2nd spare is tucked beneath the rig out of the light. 

Today I'm away on a business trip.  My wife calls, saying there was an explosion by the RV.  She follows up with  text photo.  The spare tire  blew up on its mount, shredding the cover and apparently throwing rubber chunks a long distance.  My 12 year old girl was sitting on the side of our pool, which I estimate would be 70 feet away  She has a scratch and bruise on her forearm from a direct hit.  And probably a brown stained swimsuit!  They said it was really loud.

Properly inflated?  Yes 80 psi.  Overloaded?  No, zero weight on the tire.  To fast?  Nope, zero mph, zero friction.  Ambient heat?  Yup, it was approaching 100 Fahrenheit.  But keep in mind that 100 in the air is nothing compared to sitting or running on the blacktop on a 100 degree day.  If that pushes a tire over the edge, it's more bomb than tire.

I'm not sure where I'm going to take this.  All I know is that these pieces of crap have caused me thousands in vehicle damage and its lucky nobody is hurt.  I'm a long-time customer with Discount, so I'm going to give them a chance to address it.  I honestly don't think I'll be satisfied with anything aside from covering the damage repair and a set (including two spares) of 16" LT tires and wheels in a quality brand.  I'm one of the last people on the planet to consider legal action, and I certainly don't expect something for nothing.  But this is ridiculous.  I'd appreciate thoughts on what you'd do if you were in my shoes.

I have had similar problems with ST tires for years, all brands (even before China). I have switched to truck tires which also are not limited to a max of 65 mph. Stick with Discount Tires. They have always been good to me and they are everywhere.

I've found Discount Tire to be willing to go the extra mile to make me happy, even when the problems were not their fault. Hope they do well by you.

Having a spare blow while not in use is beyond my imagination. The best I can offer is that it suffered internal damage at some point due to excessive heat (run soft, overloaded, etc.) or a major pothole and picked that time to let go.

An anecdote: Many years ago we had a tire do much the same thing when it was placed on the coach. It was cool and looked fine, but after sitting there a few minutes (weight on the duals wheel) it simply blew apart. As you say, noise like a gunshot and pieces of rubber everywhere. The  mobile tire service guy who had just put it on was just several feet away and got pelted with small bits and a large chunk missed him by inches and battered his truck. Later we and he joked about the whiteness of his face and darkness of his trousers when it blew, but at the moment it was downright scary. Thank heavens we were still parked.

It is really nasty stuff when a tire lets go for sure, but is 80 PSI proper for that small size tire? seems way high for the size.

ST tires with Load Range E are typically 65 psi, I think, but some are 80. It would depend on the max load rating stamped on the sidewall. It gives the minimum pressure for the max load capacity, so that is what should be used for most trailer applications.

All the tires in this size/E rated are 80 psi.  I forget the exact weight capacity, but I believe it is 2840.  Might be different between Towmaster and Carlisle by 20 lbs. or so.

  Had same issues (but not the sitting spare blow out) with three Towmasters with in 50 miles of running.    I sent my three back to Greenball prepaid by them and am looking for a resolution.  What was the build date on your tires?

Well, thanks to this story, I'm going to be a bit more nervous the next time I hook up my utilities - they are on the back of the TT right next to the spare. 

I had a spare blow on me once that was mounted INSIDE the cargo van that I was driving as I was going down the freeway. I thought someone took a shot at me from an overpass or something. Didn't even realize that it was the tire until I parked and opened the rear doors. This tire had never been on the ground, but it was probably 6 or 7 years old. My only advice is to switch to a quality brand truck tire.

Not sure if it makes much difference, we have a A class MH and use BF Goodrich tires that are E rated also, they also are Rated at 80Psi but run them at 65, so far I have had no problems with them, I'm sure the weight on my MH is greater than a trailer and what would be the difference if it says trailer tire or not?

Had a 16" Cooper Discover AT blow up, 4 of them stacked up behind RV. They had been taken off of a vehicle we salvaged and had acceptable tread left. The one on top exploded and landed 15 feet away with half of the tread blown off....this is a steel belted tire just sitting in the sun. Scary stuff this is...later Will