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Hi Folks, I'm now driving a 30' 2010 Winnebago Vista 30W. I'd like to tow a 14' tandem axle enclosed cargo trailer for my UTV and a small workshop. I have reviewed cargo trailer building specs and I'm still baffled. I can't afford to just buy the top of the line, but I don't want to end up with something that won't hold up. I am full-time on the road, mostly in the hot southwest. (I have been towing a 10' open trailer for the UTV but need to enclose it and my shop.) I would really appreciate suggestions regarding higher-end brands that meet the basic needs. Thank you so much. Nan Wright

I specifically requested Goodyear tires on a car-hauler trailer custom-built for me last year. It arrived with Goodyear Wrangler II LT tires, late 2014 manufacture dates. I shrugged off the age of the tires, and accepted the unit. My practice is to inflate to sidewall placard pressure, as we've discussed extensively at FMCA and iRV2. Additionally, I scan both tire and bearing temps during safety stops on a progressive schedule underway: first, third, sixth hour. With a year of use, and about 5,000 miles -- there was no visible tread wear -- my trailer tires began failing internally during a recent trip. Thankfully, the first two were caught during slow deflation by the TPMS; the third exploded and did some fender damage. To help users, I'll include a photo of the second tire failure, caught in progress. That way, you can spot what to look for. This particular tire was checked an hour prior to the incident and was running at 116F on a warm summer day in Georgia, inflated to 80PSI at 70F. There was no bearing or brake drag to increase wear/temperature. The combined weight of the car, trailer and misc contents divided by four barely exceeded 50% of the tire's load rating. In the case of this tire, I initally thought it was a false alarm from the TPMS: I entered a nearby rest area and parked on the end with the alarmed tires curbside for safety, soap-tested the still-inflated tire. No leakage was noted, so I tightened the TPMS transmitter, reinflated the tire and noted the pressure, fixed myself lunch. A half-hour later, I noted the pressure. The tire had lost something like 40PSI, so I removed it from the trailer and found these fissures between the treads. Research showed a pattern of failure in earlier Wrangler II LTs, some 200 injuries and 15 deaths have been associated with the model. However, Goodyear has paid claims and not recalled the tires. Three of these tires failed internally in three successive days of driving; so, I was at the Goodyear store in Marion, Mississippi, when it opened the morning after my third loss. The helpful salesman confirmed that Goodyear had not recalled that series, and explained that he'd have to order replacements. Since a Toyo dealer was nearly next door to our RV park, I went to them, next. Imagine my delight, discovering that the owner is a fellow Class A owner! He had indeed gotten the proverbial memo about Goodyear's quality/safety problems, and steered me to Toyo. We rummaged through his inventory, and he had me grab various sidewalls to assess their strength, an important characteristic of trailer tires. I noted that the light truck tires actually seemed to have beefier sidewalls than those designated for trailer use. His crew immediately swapped out all four of my tires. Counting the generic Chinese spare I'd bought in the wake of the first tire failure, I'd spent about $1,000. I reported the failures to the trailer manufacturer, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and to Goodyear. Goodyear contacted me quickly, their representative stated that I'd been assigned a claim number. I submitted a debrief and receipts to them upon request and was just notified yesterday that they intend to give me a $267 rebate on a future Goodyear purchase. Given my experience with their product, I'm not sure if that option will be exercised, frankly. Consumers beware.

Hello, I am trying to make a decision on towing either flat-tow or trailer. Ideally, I would prefer a trailer, so that I can use it to tow my classic car as well. I am not sure about the process of calculating the towing capacity of the RV - 2002 Holiday Rambler Endeavor - and figuring out if my Car is too heavy to be towed in addition to the trailer weight. The car weighs 5,000 lbs. I would really appreciate some feedback and advice on this decision... Thank you! Richard

This weekend we visited the opening weekend of the 63rd California RV Show at the Fairplex in Pomona, California. It was hot, hot, HOT. The RVs and trailers were unbelievably gorgeous. Every person I talked to was having blast and it was 110 degrees outside. Thank goodness for the delicious Pink's hot dogs and the iced cold beer. Another 100 bonus points for every air-conditioned RV that we stepped into, because otherwise we would have melted. I took some pictures to share with all of you. In the next few days I would like to present some of our favorite finds at the show. The Best RV Show goes until October 18 and, if you would like to go, I have some VIP tickets to share exclusively with my FMCA friends. Drop me an email to roadzies@gmail.com and I will get them to you! (I only have 15 left.) Please meet your show director Tom Gaither! He and his amazing team work all year to put on this amazing show. Opening Day! Lance Trailer Giveaway Happy People Gone Camping Show Tent So Much Eye Candy Doing The Math Fancy Kitchen So Big For So Small! Insane 5th Wheel Interior Kid Handprints. Everywhere. The Shower Height Test Fair Food! The Moment Ryan Fell In Love Miss California Two Tired Campers

We recently purchased a Smart 4 Two to pull behind our Chinook Glacier motor home and was wondering if anyone has first-hand knowledge or information about the Pod-ium Smart trailer manufactured by Pod-ium in Quebec (pod-ium.com). It looks exactly like what I'm looking for, but I wanted some additional information, observations and comments from 'real-world' users before I commit to buying something like this 'sight unseen'.

Attention Owners Using Carlisle Tires on Dollies and Trailers I have just reported the second catastrophic failure in less than 3,000 miles of a Chinese-made Carlisle "Radial Trail" ST215/75R14 to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. This latest incident occurred on a driver-side dolly tire inflated to DOT sidewall pressure operating on Interstate highway pavement at 57 mph. In both cases, the tire has appeared to wear normally, has accumulated less than 3,000 miles of service, maintained an operating temperature of under 130F during its brief life cycle. In both cases, the failure was violent enough to cause damage to the dolly structure. An initial glimpse at entries in various forums shows that dozens of owners have had this same kind of experience with low-mileage Carlisle tires. The record has clearly shown that Carlisle tires currently installed on Roadmaster and other dollies represent a hazard. Check your equipment. Followup information, 22 May 2012 Nancy from Roadmaster asserted that I'm the first to experience such a failure using their dollies. She referred me to Carlisle for warranty coverage. Just a few hours after establishing email contact with Carlisle, a customer svc rep contacted me. The rep has scheduled a UPS pickup of the second tire carcass for tomorrow morning, and is starting the claims process for me. A claims representative is to be in contact with me, next. After reading dozens of owner opinions, I opted for the Karrier Loadmaster tire at Northern Equipment. Their low price is counterbalanced by the fact their stock is 4 years old. Since my dolly is indoor-stored, I put the tires on, despite their age. In the photo: failed tire in background, with surviving Carlisle and new Karrier Loadstar.