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Topic ClosedRiding on spare
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offgrid View Drop Down
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Posts: 5290 		Direct Link To This Post Topic: Riding on spare
    Posted: 30 Jun 2019 at 4:16am
Yeah, I agree on the 4 wheel set, if you want to wear out all 4 tires on a vehicle at once, then by all means rotate them. That's particularly a good idea if you want to extend tire life because you're planning to sell or trade pretty soon. 

Since I'm cheap and keep my vehicles pretty much forever unless someone hits me, I just leave the tires where they are. I have found on my fwd passenger vehicles that the rears last somewhere between 1.5 and 2x as long as the fronts. I end up buying two tires at a time rather than 4. I like that for the same reason I keep my cars forever. Tongue

On a drive axle you probably want to change both sides at once to minimize differential wear and to allow the vehicle's ABS to work optimally. I don't think it matters on a trailer axle as long as the tread depth is adequate on both tires. For that matter if you have 15 inch wheels but run a 14 inch spare on an rPod axle until a new tire can be bought I don't think that matters much either, but I'd be interested in other's thoughts on that one. 
1994 Chinook Concourse
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GlueGuy View Drop Down
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Posts: 2629 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 30 Jun 2019 at 10:15pm
We rotate the tires on our vehicles every 5000-6000 miles. We buy them from America's Tire, and they rotate them for no charge. They also inspect and re-balance them if needed (also a free service). This does even out the wear pattern, and with the periodic inspections, we get an earlier warning if something might be going wrong.

As for the R-pod, I'm not sure if rotation would be needed. For one thing, the wheels are not driven. nor do they steer. They also are more inclined to die from old age than from wear, so an inspection (by me) before and after each tow, and you should be able to determine if something is not quite right.
bp
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mesamie View Drop Down
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Posts: 35 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 03 Jul 2019 at 7:47am
Well, I am the one who started this thread, when out on a 4500 + mile trip. I did ride on the "never used "'spare, it ripped apart after 1200 miles, tore off my metal fender ( it is on a hwy somewhere near Cortez, Co) and blew right through my brake wires as well. This was on the opposite side as the original flat. Bought 2 new radial tires this time, not D. Arrived home about another 1200 miles later, they both look great. Have NO idea what works best, just know this was a pain in the....but glad that both flats just so happen to NOT be in the middle of nowhere, which we spent 100's of miles on.
R-poding is an adventure ! 

FYI, the one thing I did learn was 6 national parks, 4687 miles, 5 states, was way too much to cram into 2.5 weeks. Every 2 days we were onto the next place. Don't get me wrong...awesome time with my 12 year old, next time we will park it and "relax" more ! 

Happy camping
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GlueGuy View Drop Down
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Posts: 2629 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 03 Jul 2019 at 8:25am
What year is the R-pod? 
bp
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Happy Tripping View Drop Down
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Posts: 473 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 07 Jul 2019 at 2:43pm
Originally posted by mesamie

Just so grateful the other didn't blow, huge are of pure cord showing.

Blowing 2 tires is unusual, of course, and very unfortunate.

I still don't understand - Which tire had the cord showing?

 Were you able to check the tire pressure before they blew?
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mesamie View Drop Down
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Posts: 35 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 08 Jul 2019 at 7:26am
The tire with the cord showing was the original 14" that came with Rpod. checked the pressure when we began the trip. Filled both tires the morning the 2nd one blew all the rubber off.
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2016 179
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Ephi82 View Drop Down
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Posts: 22 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 04 Aug 2019 at 7:30pm
My IPod is a little over a year old, I’d say it’s gone about 4,000 miles.   On my trip today, a primary tire disintegrated, and the spare did the same an hour after putting it on.  I’m not a happy customer! 
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StephenH View Drop Down
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Posts: 6288 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 05 Aug 2019 at 2:00am
Originally posted by Ephi82

My IPod is a little over a year old, I’d say it’s gone about 4,000 miles.   On my trip today, a primary tire disintegrated, and the spare did the same an hour after putting it on.  I’m not a happy customer! 

What model RPod? What tires and how old were they? Were they Load Range C or D? What was the tire pressure? How old were they?

Age matters. Tires can look almost new and still be dangerous if they are several years old. The rubber deteriorates over time even if not many miles are put on them. What was the DOT date on the tires that blew out?

Speed matters. If you were towing above 65 MPH, you were going too fast. The stock LR C tires are not meant for high-speed travel.

Inflation matters. If they were underinflated, that could lead to heat build-up and tire failure.

The RPod model matters as well. We have an RP179. The original tires were LR C and marginal at best. I switched to LR D tires for an extra margin of safety. I also limit my speed to 60 mph or lower and very rarely exceed that, mostly on downhill runs.

Where you travel and the roads can also have an impact on tire life. If you are in areas of extreme heat, that could also be adding stress t the tires so that when coupled with some road hazards such as potholes, could contribute to tire failure.

I understand your frustration with the situation. I hope you get repairs done quickly and can get back to camping which should hopefully help you feel better.
StephenH
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Ephi82 View Drop Down
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Posts: 22 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 05 Aug 2019 at 5:44am
Tires were what came with the 179. 15” D rating. Inflated to 65 psi, my speed was 65.   

One flat, bad luck.  

Two tires exploding, knocking the fender off, that’s defective products
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