Knoxville TN, Broke down TN i-40 eastbound near Knoxville

I do have 3: 235/85/R16 8 bolt in GA, I would have to take them off the M101 and grab the spare if all your other plans do not work out. I am on a flight to washington in the AM for the next 2 days so we would have to meet in Greenville late Thursday night.

Adam, something to think about before hauling that weight too much further on that trailer is alignment. I have seen many times where the spring bushings wear and the axles will get out of alignment with each other. That will build up heat very fast in the tires with a load like that. I would seriously think about slinging that load to another trailer if at all possible. Most E range 235's are rated around 3200 lbs IIRC, the load and trailer weight puts you there or more if it is a tandem axle, I don't care what the rating of the trailer says. I would take that offer of close storage and get some sleep and then worry about it.

Rick

Man I wish i could help. but its 3 hours away. and i have no way to haul it. and dont have a tire for it eather. There are a cupple truck stops on the west side of Knoxville can you get it to one of them?

Ok, I need to consult with Brandon, it is his trailer after all, but here is my plan.

My boss has a 1992 Dodge D350 with a 360 gasser and gooseneck hitch. He used to pull large horse trailers and a boat with it all over the SE. He will let me borrow it. I want to put it on my car trailer, and haul it to Knoxville with my dodge 2500 diesel. Hook the gasser to the trailer, use the diesel to run right up the road to the tire barn, they have the right size tires in load rating F, which is 39xxlbs each, which would give me 16k load rating for a 10k load and a 4k trailer, excluding the weight on the towing truck. Also they will be new tires.

It is 160 miles to Brandon's, and 250 miles to Durhamtown. If we take it to Brandon's, it will stay at Brandon's. We will have to move it one end at a time with his wrecker, either A) to his M172 lowboy B) to my M270, Or C) onto the wrecker. IF I can get the trailer to or close to Durhamtown, it is already there, and can be unloaded and set on my frame safely with more than one wrecker assisting. Brandon will either have his truck fixed and come to the rally, then he can take the trailer home, or I'm sure we can find someone or work out a deal with Mike to store it until he can get it.

If I go to the trailer, then to Brandon's, then home, it is 627 miles. If I go to the trailer, haul it to Durhamtown (or somewhere close, like Clint's) then home, it is 707 miles. So for 80 mile difference, I can get the trailer to Durhamtown, and get it unloaded SAFELY.

Craig has volunteered to be a copilot/driver, so we might go tomorrow or Wed if possible. It would be foolish to spend all the money and time to drive up there just to haul the trailer to a storage location, and not try to get it home or at least closer. I truely believe with newer tires and slower backroads running to Durhamtown, we will be just fine. I plan to buy two more rims and tires, so we will have 2 spares.

Rick, the trailer is just about a year old and hasn't really been out of a field much- Brandon and I did think about alighnment but everything looked straight and hardly worn. We think it is simply the trailer manufacturer just put the cheapest junk on he could, and after a year, they are failing.

The trailer is almost new(low mileage).

I think they are simply experiencing tire failures due to the fact trailer tires only last a year or two. Look at the trailer tire manufacturers warranty and you will be shocked and disgusted with how pitiful they really are.

I had experienced a similar issue a year or two ago. After one failure, I replaced all of my trailer's tires with new tires and rims. In just a couple months, all 4 of my old tires blew(both in the tread and sidewalls) just sitting in a stack, in the shade.


I called a few tire companies to ask about trailer tire life and was surprised to find out they only last a year or so.

About $800 later, I have all new tires and rims, with a pathetic warranty and I keep them covered as much as possible.

Be carefull what you buy. There have been multiple failures of tires and valve stems made in China.
Too many to list - use Google.
Here is a list of tires still made in USA. It was published by the UAW.

Made in America Tires

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80% of tires sold in America are made else-where. Buying American made tires can be a challenge but it can be done, one problem is that a particular brand could be made in america and elsewhere. The only way to know for sure is to physically look on the tire. Most all tires are stamped on the side-wall with where they are made(i.e. made in USA. Not all are though, so you need to look on the side wall for the DOT #. For example, the BE after the DOT means BF Goodrich tire ( owned by Michelin) was made in Tuscaloosa, AL.

American plants and their 2 letter code after the DOT. All are union plants.

BE B.F. Goodrich (Michelin) Tuscaloosa, AL
BF B.F. Goodrich (Michelin) Woodburn, IN
AN B.F. Goodrich (Michelin) Opelika A.L.
VE/YE/YU/8B Bridgestone/Firestone Des Moines,AL
2M/3M Bridgestone/Firestone Bloomington,IL
D2/E3/W1/Y7 Bridgestone/Firestone Lavergne,TE
2C/4D/5D Bridgestone/Firestone Morrison,TE
UP Cooper Finlay,OH
UT Cooper Texarkana,AR
DY Denman (Penslar Capital) Warren,OH
DA Dunlap ( Goodyear) Buffalo N.Y.
JJ/MD/PU Goodyear Gadsden,AL
JN/MJ/PY Goodyear Topeka,KS
JE/MC/PT Goodyear Dansville,VA
JT/MK/TA Goodyear Union City,TN
JP/MM/PJ Kelly-Springfield (Goodyear) Tyler, TX
JF/MM/PJ Kelly-Springfield (Goodyear) Fayetteville,NC
CC Yokahama Tire Salem,VA
This information was taken from an Editorial by Alan j. Kilar, News break local 6000

Ok, a slight change of plans-

I just found a gooseneck hitch that a guy is selling right around the corner from my house for $200. I going to go get it right after work and install it tonight. Now I can use my diesel 2500 with 3500 rear springs to haul it. Only issue now is getting a brake controller...

I have a fenced yard in lawrnceville Ga if u need it dont hesitate. Might save u
you time or miles.

I am going to bet a ton that you will take a break from recoveries for a while after this mess.

Rick

Ferroequinologist said:

Ok, a slight change of plans-

I just found a gooseneck hitch that a guy is selling right around the corner from my house for $200. I going to go get it right after work and install it tonight. Now I can use my diesel 2500 with 3500 rear springs to haul it. Only issue now is getting a brake controller...

Click to expand...

Just have Craig drag his feet like Fred Flintstone.

I like the new option. Then you have a gooseneck hitch to keep for the next time....

Now that you have the gooseneck hitch you will be required to purchase a gooseneck trailer.

Adam, if it will help my family has plenty of room to store that gooseneck trailer just up Hwy 77 from the Ga rally site about 20 miles. If you don't want to pull it all the way home and then back to the rally.

The plan right now is to find a place near or even get Mike to agree to let us store it at the rally site. I will be rolling in with EMD on Friday, so it would only site 'unsupervised' for a day.


Craig called, we are a go for Wed. Have to get Brandon to come out to Asheville and give us the hitch for the trailer on our way up.

Glad to hear you've got a plan. All my attempts to find some help in Knoxville failed.

One wrecker should be able to lift the bed if needed.

When you say "I have to get the hitch from Brandon" are you saying he removed the hitch from the trailer before y'all left it? That would surely help deter thieves but make it more costly if they towed it.

yep, and I called the THP and the Knoxville PD. Which apparently just put them on the scent of it, because not 30min later I get a call from KPD, saying they are going to call out two wreckers and tow it to the impound lot.

This is just getting better and better. $75 a day, at least $200 for the tow, probably triple that.

I'm buying a plane ticket to China, I'm going to the tire factory, and anyone on the property is getting a butt whooping to remember.

If there is a bright side to all this, it just goes to show you what can happen when you are away from home on a recovery.

I personally loaded the tow rig. It was top notch and the trailer couldn't have been over a few months old and the load was within the capacity of the outfit. People that do recoveries on a "wing and a prayer" need to take note on this situation. It just goes to show you what can go wrong even when you try and do everything right.

I dont have any equipment to help, but if you need a hot shower and a place to sleep Im glad to offer...

Brandon wants the trailer brought straight to his house, which is understandable. But now I have no idea when I'll get the wrecker back together again, and all my preps to take it to the rally are for naught. Getting the trailer somewhere safe and ultimitly back to its AO is the most important thing however. I just hope the city doesn't charge too much...

Ferroequinologist said:

yep, and I called the THP and the Knoxville PD. Which apparently just put them on the scent of it, because not 30min later I get a call from KPD, saying they are going to call out two wreckers and tow it to the impound lot.

This is just getting better and better. $75 a day, at least $200 for the tow, probably triple that.
.

Click to expand...

THAT TOTALLY SUCKS ((((