NHTSA Complaint #10523479 — 2012 FOREST RIVER WOLF PACK

ABOUT 10 HOURS INTO A 60-65 MPH TOW FROM ATLANTA ON I-20 IN 95 DEGREE WEATHER JUST PAST THE LA STATE BORDER THE RR GOODYEAR MARATHON ON MY 30' ENCLOSED 13,000 LB TRAILER EXPLODED.. MY TIRE PRESSURE MONITOR SYSTEM INDICATED 98 PSI OF PRESSURE IN THAT LOAD RANGE D TIRE AND 105 DEGREES F TEMP. MY FRONT AXLE E LOAD TIRES WERE READING 115 PSI AND 105 DEGREES F. NO SLOW AIR LEAK OCCURRED, THE TIRE SIMPLY EXPLODED CATASTROPHICALLY. I PULLED SAFELY TO THE SIDE OF THE HIGHWAY NEAR AN EXIT AND INSTALLED ONE OF THE TWO SPARES I CARRY. THE TRAILER SUSTAINED $300 IN BODY DAMAGE AND THE ADJACENT FRONT TIRE MONITOR ($65) WAS DESTROYED BY FLYING CARCASS DEBRIS. THE TIRE WAS EXACTLY TWO YEARS OLD, ORIGINAL TO THE TRAILER AND HAD JUST 9,000 MILES ON IT. INSPECTION PRIOR TO THE TRIP REVEALED ODD TREAD WEAR PATTERNS BUT THE GOOD YEAR TIRE SHOP I HAD INSPECT IT THEORIZED IT WAS CAUSED BY REAR-AXLE ARTICULATION IN LOW-SPEED TURNS AND OF NO CONCERN TO THE INTEGRITY OF THE TIRE, NOR A REFLECTION OF ANY TRAILER SUSPENSION ALIGNMENT OR LOADING ISSUE.. I SHOULD HAVE PULLED THE TIRE. I NOW BELIEVE IT WAS FORESHADOWING CATASTROPHIC CARCASS SEPARATION CAUSED BY CUMULATIVE HEAT CYCLES. I HAD NEW VALVE STEMS INSTALLED AS TWO WERE FOUND LEAKING AND I HAD THE WHEELS BALANCED. NO AIR LOSS, SIDEWALL BUBBLES OR OTHER MANIFESTATIONS OF PROBLEMS WERE EVIDENT. PER THE GOOD YEAR MARATHON SERVICE BULLETIN, I ALWAYS RUN THESE TIRES 10 PSI ABOVE THE INDICATED COLD SIDEWALL PRESSURE, FOR THIS LOAD RANGE D TIRE, THAT'S 75 PSI. FOR THE E LOADS ON THE FRONT AXLE, THAT'S 90 PSI, UP FROM 80. THIS FOREST RIVER WORK AND PLAY TRAILER WAS DELIVERED TO ME FROM THE MANUFACTURER WITH INCORRECT TIRES -- D LOAD INSTEAD OF E LOAD, WHICH RUN RIGHT AT 3,000 LB WEIGHT LIMIT FOR THE 6K AXLES. I HAVE EXTENSIVELY WEIGHTED AND ADJUSTED MY WD HITCH AND TRAILER LOAD TO ENSURE ALL TIRE CONTACT PATCHES, SUSPENSION AND HITCH COMPONENTS ARE WITHIN THEIR RESPECTIVE WEIGHT CAPACITIES. *TR