# Outrback Tires



## FLYakman (Jan 26, 2006)

DW and I went to Rock Crusher Canyon RV Park in Crystal River, FL from Thursday to Sunday this week. This is a GREAT RV park and deserves all the high ratings it gets from Woodall's and Trailer Life. Good Sam's park with full hookup for $23/nite. We had a great time. Saw 2 other Outback cult members while there. One was a new Sydney.

Now to the "fun" part. After driving about 30 miles we had a sidewall blowout on the rear tire of the passenger side of the trailer. Tire was`totally destroyed. Used my trusty levelor blocks and changed the tire. This was on Thursday afternoon.
Called the dealer from the cell. He suggested i come down for a new spare. Not wanting to cancel or delay our trip I suggested he call their Ocala, FL location and tell them I'd be there in the morning. He did as we asked. Next day went to Ocala and had great service form that dealer's location. No questions asked. I asked the tech why this happened-was it just a bad tire? He says-"no, just cheap tires". Not what i wanted to hear. The tire that blew was manufactured during the 48th week of 2005 ( end of November). It was not that old and only had less then 50 miles on it. I know-"stuff happens". Have any of you had any tire issues with Outback?
These are bias-ply. I'm thinking about switching to radials soon. Tech said this was ok. Is it. Alls well that ends well. No one hurt and DW was soooo impressed that DH handled the tire change with no cursing and no problem. That was worth it in itself!!!!

Rayman


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## 7heaven (Jun 4, 2005)

Rayman, Sorry to hear about your tire misfortune. You may have set the record for the quickest blowout of a tire!










There have been many reports to tires failing, especially on the larger TT's. Not sure which model you have.

I plan on upgrading this Spring to Goodyear Marathon ST225/75R15's, just to be safer.

I've found Wheels for around $30 each and tires for about $85 each.


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## shake1969 (Sep 21, 2004)

Man, I don't like hearing about that. Kinda like when a guy you went to school with has a heart attack!

I'm gonna try to get another year or so out of mine, (tires and heart, both). We'll see, I guess.

Glad it worked out for you.


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## FLYakman (Jan 26, 2006)

7heaven said:


> Rayman, Sorry to hear about your tire misfortune. You may have set the record for the quickest blowout of a tire!
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I have a 2006 23RS. Manufactured December 2005. That's not one of the larger ones IMHO. This just should not have happened.

Rayman


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## FLYakman (Jan 26, 2006)

Just curious- why would you change the wheels? Why not just put the new Goodyear radials on the existing rims? I'm I missing something I should know?

rayman


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## huntr70 (Jul 8, 2005)

Rayman said:


> Just curious- why would you change the wheels? Why not just put the new Goodyear radials on the existing rims? I'm I missing something I should know?
> 
> rayman
> [snapback]85131[/snapback]​


You need to get 15" rims for the increased capacity of higher rated tires.

They don't make (or are extremely hard to find) 14" D range trailer tires.

Your Outback came with 14" rims.

Steve


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## maverick (Mar 26, 2005)

The tires that you can place on the 14 inch rims are not going to allow you to carry as much weight as the ST tire that you can place on 15 inch rims. From my research, the Outbacks that are 28' models an up are severely pushing the maximun weights that the standard tires that are placed on the trailers from Keystone. Mine were badly balding after one season and the dealer said that they were all balanced and that there was no problem with the axles being bent. They said the tires that are on their just canj't handle the weight.

Maverick


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## FLYakman (Jan 26, 2006)

huntr70 said:


> Rayman said:
> 
> 
> > Just curious- why would you change the wheels? Why not just put the new Goodyear radials on the existing rims? I'm I missing something I should know?
> ...


Got it. Thanks.
Rayman


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## tdvffjohn (Mar 10, 2005)

I had a tire sepreate in 400 miles ( see pics in my gallery) I contacted Nanco direct and after they told me they had made an improvement to there tire and the new tire was 4 lbs heavier, I talked them into 4 new tires.

John


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## outbackmac (Feb 1, 2005)

The tires that blew were they Duro tires?

I just got our new 28 bhs home yesterday and be honest with you iam not feeling to good about these tires.


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## HootBob (Apr 26, 2004)

Sorry Rayman to hear that you had a blow out so soon
I haven't had any problem with the(stock) tires on ours so far.
I think I might look into better tire soon just to play it safe.

Don


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## LarryTheOutback (Jun 15, 2005)

huntr70 said:


> You need to get 15" rims for the increased capacity of higher rated tires.
> They don't make (or are extremely hard to find) 14" D range trailer tires.
> Your Outback came with 14" rims.
> [snapback]85163[/snapback]​


After changing to 15" rims and the Goodyear Marathon is the total diameter of the tire the same as the stock tire on 14" rims? Or, will I end up like PDX_Doug and need to flip the axles?

Good Year also make a Load Range C as a replacement for the tire on the 26RS. Given the weight of the 26RS I think I'd probably be ok with a "C".

Ed


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## 7heaven (Jun 4, 2005)

The total diameter will be bigger. I have 5-6" clearance on top of my stock tires, so I will try it without flipping the axles first. Doug had to flip the axle due to the side slide being a dinette. It rides lower than my sofa slide (which is the difference between our models). If your trailer isn't at home, hopefully someone with your model has done the tire upgrade and will respond. Or you could just measure the distance from the top of the tire to the trailer and see how much clearance you have.


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## PDX_Doug (Nov 16, 2004)

Ed,

With your model, I don't think you are going to need an axle flip. Even with the larger tires, I had plenty of room on the curb side. As 7heaven said, in my case the culprit is the dinette slide.

If you want to, go ahead and take a look at mine in the storage yard. I have not done the flip yet, and you should get a pretty good idea what you are up against.

Happy Trails,
Doug


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## California Jim (Dec 11, 2003)

I have many thousands of miles on the original Duro tires that came with my 28BHS which is loaded quite heavy. I don't think they are across the board bad tires like some of the stories we hear about the Carlisle's. But not super high quality either.

A few thoughts about losing a new tire so soon:

1. Defective tire. Surely possible.

2. Trailer tongue too high. Causing the rear tires to carry more weight than the fronts.

3. Under-inflation.

4. Overloaded trailer.

5. Damaged sidewall/tire. Somehow whacked it without your noticing.

6. Any combination of the above to make it worse.


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## FLYakman (Jan 26, 2006)

California Jim said:


> I have many thousands of miles on the original Duro tires that came with my 28BHS which is loaded quite heavy. I don't think they are across the board bad tires like some of the stories we hear about the Carlisle's. But not super high quality either.
> 
> A few thoughts about losing a new tire so soon:
> 
> ...


Certainly could be defective tire

Per Equalizer brochure trailer tongue looks to be set-up w/i spec. i'll chec again.

Checked inflation and it was fine before leaving.

Overloaded- I don't think so but I didn't weigh it.

Damaged sidewall- Did not notice any damage on the o/s of the tire prior to leaving.

Appreciate the feedback. helpful

rayman


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## FLYakman (Jan 26, 2006)

7heaven said:


> The total diameter will be bigger. I have 5-6" clearance on top of my stock tires, so I will try it without flipping the axles first. Doug had to flip the axle due to the side slide being a dinette. It rides lower than my sofa slide (which is the difference between our models). If your trailer isn't at home, hopefully someone with your model has done the tire upgrade and will respond. Or you could just measure the distance from the top of the tire to the trailer and see how much clearance you have.
> [snapback]85240[/snapback]​


The 23RS only has the rear slide. Will I be ok going to 15" wheels/tires w/o any axle flipping? I really don't want to get into that if I don't have to.

Rayman


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## CamperAndy (Aug 26, 2004)

Rayman said:


> 7heaven said:
> 
> 
> > The total diameter will be bigger.Â I have 5-6" clearance on top of my stock tires, so I will try it without flipping the axles first.Â Doug had to flip the axle due to the side slide being a dinette.Â It rides lower than my sofa slide (which is the difference between our models).Â If your trailer isn't at home, hopefully someone with your model has done the tire upgrade and will respond.Â Or you could just measure the distance from the top of the tire to the trailer and see how much clearance you have.
> ...


Total increase in diameter is only 1/2 to 3/4 inch. total suspension travel is under 4 inches. If you have 5" clearance you will be fine. Lots of room on my 28 rss when I upgraded to 15".


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## chetlenox (Feb 3, 2004)

I'm pretty sure the only folks I've heard have trouble with clearance on the larger wheel/tire combinations are the 28RSDS. That's just because of the dinette slide (which, by the way, is a great idea). I put 225/75-15s (had the standard 205/75-14s) on my 28RSS and still have tons of clearance.

As for evaluation of why this happens, I'm of the "they just put cheap stock tires on new trailers" camp. I doubt you had anything in your setup wrong. Whether they are Duro, Nanco, etc., I think the low cost bias-plys that almost all trailer manufacturers put on are just too lightweight. It would be nice if they offered wheel/tire upgrades just like everything else when you first purchase the trailer. I had 4 flats with the original Duro tires on mine before I bought new ones (slow learner).

Chet.


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## HandyAndy (Oct 18, 2005)

Any clearance thoughts on an 27rsds, it to has the dinette slide. Also, and thoughts of the 205 vs. 225 width and clearance on the wheel skirt. My '06 has nancos on it, but these horror stories ahve me wanting to switch. Any help is appreciated.

Andy


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## PDX_Doug (Nov 16, 2004)

HandyAndy said:


> Any clearance thoughts on an 27rsds, it to has the dinette slide. Also, and thoughts of the 205 vs. 225 width and clearance on the wheel skirt. My '06 has nancos on it, but these horror stories ahve me wanting to switch. Any help is appreciated.
> 
> Andy
> [snapback]85377[/snapback]​


Andy,

You may - probably will - have the same height clearence issues as on the 28RS-DS. As far as the width is concerned, you will have plenty of room, the skirts are not that close. The 225's will be a little taller than the 205's, but I would go with the larger.

Another - unsolicited - point, on bias vs. radial...

My tire guy, whom I fully trust, says go radial if you are primarily towing on pavement, bias-ply if you do alot of 'offroad' (loose surface) towing.

Happy Trails,
Doug


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## cookie9933 (Feb 26, 2005)

7heaven said:


> I have 5-6" clearance on top of my stock tires, so I will try it without flipping the axles first.
> [snapback]85240[/snapback]​


7heaven,

With 5-6 inches of clearance, you will be fine. When we put 225-15 Marathons on our 27RSDS, we found the tire diameter to be only 1/2 inch greater than the stock Nancos. I'm sure most of you remember your 4th grade math and know that radius is half the diameter. So the new tires are only 1/4 inch closer to the bottom of the dinette slide. But since the stock 14" tires were pretty close, the Marathons are even closer. So far, no skid marks under the slide and we haven't flipped the axles. But I'm keeping a close eye on that situation.

Bill


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## HandyAndy (Oct 18, 2005)

Thanks Doug. Ever since you posted the photo of your new rims I'm jonesing. Plus to read about all the blowouts and splits has me really worried. What brand rim is it that you have?

Bill, thanks for your post also. It's nice to hear from someone with the same rig as I'm not sure if there are frame/set up differences between models. Keep us posted on the skid marks









I can't tell you guys how nice it is for a newbie to get this kind of help from all of you, it really has made our purchase of an Outback so much more enjoyable.

Thanks again and safe journeys.

Andy


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