Tires and the sounds of a .357

[SierraHotel]

Think I’ve got something new that I have not seen on here yet.
Was driving the Deuce home today and had a thump that felt like a flat tire (and me with no spare!). Pulled the truck over and both fronts were fine…went to the back and there was a HEY-UGE blister on the exterior rear dual. Of course my son went running right over to it and I yanked his butt away quick! I noticed that the bulge was growing and so I moved everyone to the other side of the truck to wait and see. After about 45 seconds, it sounded like a .357 shot. Tore a large rip in the tire and needless to say, the tube is shot.
My wife was following me on the way out and said that the tire had a slight bulge. It was small and over a wide area, so I didn’t sweat it and figured I would take care of it when I got home. Wish I had known better….actually, whish I still new better.

So, what the *&@$ happened and why? Any PM I could do to prevent it?

I had equalized the tires two weeks ago (previous owner had them between 35 psi and 75 psi) and set them all to 55 psi.
Guess I will be looking for either 2 new tires (and one rim for the spare) or be going Super Singles sooner than I thought. On that thought, anyone in the Virginia-Maryland area got some tires/rims they want to sell? I can get them cheap in Utah…but the shipping will kill me.

There goes all those neat upgrades I was going to do…

 

[Recovry4x4]

PooPoo happens. Not a thing you could have done to prevent it and yes, they do sound like gunfire when they go. Been there, done that.

 

[Scrounger]

The tire failure could have been caused from several reasons. The tire may be old/ dry rotted, bumping a curb, or in this case maybe running a tire with to low an air pressure weakened the sidewall. After you brought the pressure up to spec. it just gave out. That’s why it is critical to run first run tires on the front axle. If you are in a hurry I have some extra 9.00X20’s on hand. There aren’t the best but they will get you on the road. Just send me a PM. As far as local dealer TNJ Murray up in DE has a good deal on tires. I’m planning on going there in the next month or so and pickup another 20 tires. Oh and as far as preventing it in the future, just happens. See part about front axles.

 

[Jones]

Tire carcasses break down over time and from misuse. Too low tire pressure being one of the worse. Didn't say how old your tires are/were but age takes it toll and with a weakened tread or sidewall, air starts to leak towards the outer skin which has no cord to back it up. Considering that most party balloons fail at around 5#, a tire with 55#+ trying to push it's way out can be pretty spectacular.

 

[alphadeltaromeo]

What's the recommended pressure that folk run on the 900 20's and road driving?

 

[SierraHotel]

Recommended is 55 psi. I’m not sure why several were at 75 psi, but he had the rest at 35 because he used it mainly off road. And yes, 55 psi failure is spectacular…at least from the opposing side of the truck…I’m glad I was not nearby. The short drive home took out the flap from the blow.

What gets me is that these are all tubed tires, correct? Why would a tire develop a blister the size of your head?

 

[SierraHotel]

Scrounger,
I was going to put this in my PM, but for the benefit of all…
Why exactly do you want to run them on the front axle first?

 

[poppop]

What he means is run only the best tires up front and never retreads.

 

[Scrounger]

If it was a perfect world everyone would run brand new tires that were made yesterday. The reality is that a lot of tires on these trucks are recapped. DOT requires first run i.e. new tires on the steering axle. Even though most of these personally owned trucks doesn’t come under DOT rules it is still a good thing to do. Just think of what could happen if a tire like the one that went bad for you was on the front axle and you were going 55mph.

 

[ida34]

The rear tire on my Ford 2000 tractor finally gave way. The cords broke along a line that was dry rotted and not it has a pimple about the size of my fist. When I saw it the bulge was near the bottom of the tire so I moved the tractor back a few feet until the bulge was as high as it could go. There is no real pressure in the tires because they are calcium chloride filled so I don't have to run the pressure more than 5 or 10 lbs. Now I have to get the calcium out before the pimple pops. I will take a picture and post later.

When I was 17 I had a Dodge Ramcharger with 31s on it. I was about 40 miles away from home on the freeway when I felt a rumble from the right front. I stopped and got out to see a large bulge growing bigger on the front right tire. I had no spare and this was precellphone era so I would have had to walk a long way to get someone to come and get me and my girlfriend. I hesitated a little knowing if the thing popped it would be violent. Being young and stupid I reached down to the valve stem and let out air until the bulge stopped growing. I then drove home very slowly. One of the million times I could have died when I was young.

 

[SierraHotel]

I considered letting the air out after I figured out the split rims were between the wheels. I think I contemplated it for about 2 seconds…guess I’ve still got some maturing to do on the brighter side of 40…in hind sight that was 2 seconds too long!

 

[ida34]

Shouldn't you change your signature line to the following:

Tire w/o sidewall or air

or

1970 Hard Top M35A2 wo/winch…wo/title wo/spare tire wo/ enough tires to run duals in the rear.

 

[SierraHotel]

Everyone is a comedian…but that does sound like a good idea!

 

[houdel]

Alright - I gotta ask the question. Spec for highway use is 50 psi all around. I drive the Deuce moderately, mixture of mostly paved, occasionally gravel, sometimes snowy roads. Never have a load of any sort in the back other than a light load of wood for a project around the house. Can I run 35 PSI year round without any worries?

 

[Recovry4x4]

You could run 35 if you wanted to Lee. The military recommends 50 PSI but the tires are rated for more. I run my fronts at 60 and they seem to wear better. Also at 60 the truck steers much easier. The 35 at the rear tires would probably improve ride quality. So much tire back there the 35 would be more than adequate for unladen cruises. Don't know how hot it gets there in the summer but lower tire pressure does equal increased tire temperatures.

 

[cranetruck]

The 900's are rated at 4,000 lb running single.
The front axle loading on the deuce with winch and crew is over 7,000 lb for some configurations, so on the highway I would suggest 60 at a minimum for the fronts, the rears can be lower, like Kenny suggested. A good case for running 1100's, BTW. The 1100's are rated 5,920 singly.

 

[ARMYMAN30YearsPlus]

my guess on this is a bruise caused by hitting a rock or curb with a little speed. All it takes is a cord to be sheared to let air leak into the outer rubber of the tire. The good thing about a duece is the bud style wheel lets you single out that rear to keep the flat from burning up your rig. I have had to put out flat tire fires on the NYTW back in the day. It is usually caused by the stem of the tube being sucked into the tire and it cores the tire and then the heat build up gets so hot it catches fire. They sell stem protectors at every truckstop you screw them on the tip and they prevent the stem from sucking down inside. If you are on the highway they are a good insurance.

I also have a few tires and wheels but I am further away than the other offer