Using the trailer brakes in case of a steer tire blowout?

Sounds like a good way to jackknife a truck.A sliding wheel or wheels will always try to lead.Let alone only steering with one hand You can try this if you dare in a parking lot pull the hand valve down and Watch your trailer start to come around.Seem a video of a guy showing this on a toy truck drilled holes through the trailer tires put a paper clip through to other side slide the truck across a table the trailer came around every time also did on tractor tandem same tandem’s on the truck would come around. I would do what other said use the foot brake apply pressure to all axles

 

“Don’t Panic”

 

If your auto is like mine you have duck bill instead of Johnny.... But I still wouldn't take hand off steering. In my auto id yank the shift control stalk (where manual Johnny's are) all the way down to "Max" Jake Breaks. And hold wheel steady with two hands. In the auto that will usually drop two+ gears at time and Jakes kick in pretty hard. Let Jakes slow you to stop. No experience just my thoughts specifically on an auto in the 2025 KW W990 TX-18 transmission.

 

Popped a right steer at 85+ on i10 west Texas. Steering pulled right, I pulled left. Off the throttle and the truck eventually came to a halt. Just another day in the saddle.

The difference is as you gain experience, the less you will have that automatic impulse to stomp the brakes. Steer blow out aren’t as scary as back in the days of Armstrong Steering.

 

Trailer brake while at speed is never a good idea. If a situation arose where you blow a steer and need to stop quickly hopefully you can wait a couple seconds to let blowout effects settle down and then use your foot brake as needed. Just get that trailer brake idea completely out of your head. I’d roll down the window open the door climb down and jump before I use the trailer brake.

 

If you will listen to your truck and pay attention to the steering they will tell you it’s coming every time. It will pull to the low side and have a low growl from being low. When they start to shimmy it’s too late. A radial tire doesn’t just blow. You hit something along the way it looses air pressure sidewalls get hot then bam. More to being safe than not speeding, staying right snd being a never break a law type person. Sometimes the air lose is el rapido. So you may not have time to get it gathered up before it’s flat.

I have seen guy’s discover a low steer air them up and never look at em again…..sometime in the next day or so they are posting on Facebook how they almost died. I am not opposed to airing one up and going to nearest place to get it fixed…..I’m still gonna bird dog it on the way

 

have any of you guys that posted ever actually blown a steer tire?

I did about 20 years ago when I was probably just 21. 80,000 rolling 72 down the interstate. felt the tire go down, slight shake in the wheel and it pulled a little. really nothing serious.

If you own the truck you are gonna wanna slow it down as quick as safely possible. that tire starts shredding and ripping your hood apart and destroying your wheel.

 

what is so scary about using your trailer brake? Done it plenty,

 

You have 80,000 pounds moving forward regardless if you use your regular brakes or just trailer brakes.

There is momentum going forward no matter what.
You will still feel your body slide forward during just a trailer Brake for example.

Any type of braking will bring more weight forward which causes more instability to the unstable location of steer tire blowout.

That trainer must stop training and driving all together immediately.