Troubleshooting Tire Blowouts on Jayco Pop-Up Camper

Question:

I have a 1988 Jayco pop up camper with 8 inch rims. I tried putting on a 12 inch wheel but clearance in front was 1 inch and 1.5 inch in back. Clearance on top was 4. This is too tight to be safe, right? Whenever I take camper on long trip 4000 miles through mountains, I have tire blow out 2 or 3 times on every trip. What tire do you recommend that would be most durable? What is highest highway speed recommended for such tire? Any recommendations most appreciated. I at point of selling camper because frequently blowing tires feels unsafe.

asked by: W P

Expert Reply:

Blowing tires frequently is unsafe but there are steps you can take that should prevent blowouts with the volume you are experiencing. When a tire blows out it is because of overheating and that generally happens for a few reasons - they are overloaded and do not have a high enough load rating for the weight of the camper, they are being driven faster than their speed rating or they are not inflated properly. Special trailer tires ("ST") must be inflated to their max psi in order to get the best performance and wear.

You mentioned you travel 4,000 miles so you are going to need a radial tire as well, which are designed for road and highway use, unlike bias tires which have a stiffer sidewall and are generally used in agricultural applications.

The only radial tires we have fit wheels that are at least 12 inches and you we recommend at least 3 inches of between the wheel and fenders. To get a replacement that might fit you will need to know your trailer's GVWR which your tires' combined load rating must exceed. You also need to know your bolt pattern (I have attached a link to a help article on determining bolt patterns for you to take a look at) and the amount of space you have to work with.

For example, the Kenda Karrier # AM31202 is a 12" wheel with a ST145/R12 radial tire that has a load range of D and 1,220 lb capacity at 65 psi. The wheel has a 5 on 4-1/2 bolt pattern and overall it measures 21.1 inches in diameter and 5.7 inches wide.

I have added a link to a video review of this product for you as well as a link to our selection of wheel and tire combinations for you to take a look at.

expert reply by: Kyle S