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

It's been a while since I had a trailer brake lever in a truck.
Maybe the company got tired of having it used in the wrong way too often.

 

Just out of curiosity, why would you have used your trailer brake plenty?

 

A radial tire will blow because of speed. Speed creates flex. Flex creates heat. Weight creates flex and friction which creates heat. Air temperature in west Texas creates heats. Rubber is a compound that gets soft with heat. Heat also raises air pressure because the molecules expand. The higher the heat-the higher the pressure.
the higher the heat- the softer the compounds.


Do it long enough and BOOM…


low air pressure will cause it to blow faster but it’s because of the flex. But you are dreaming if you think a properly inflated tire won’t blow. There is a reason tires are speed rated….

 

Mine blew because of a different reason.

 

Yeah… I’m sure it did.

 

because it's there, and I can and I'm curious

 

Was a company around here time back, think it was Miller Transporters. If you leased with em your hand valve had to be disabled to prevent using up their trailer brakes.

 

Properly inflated, load and speed ratings adhered to it’s extremely rare for a steer to blow. I mean if you hit something hard enough to worry about impact damage then you should have it inspected.

Backing out of one in the heat is also something that a fairly inexperienced driver ought to know.

 

Ought to doesn’t amount to much these days. There is a lot of things a fairly inexperienced driver should know. But somehow they can manage to tear up an anvil with a rubber mallet.

 

When you have a steer tire blowout, there is NOTHING you can do to stop quickly; trying to do so will get you into the ditch really fast. So, when the shock of having your steering wheel VIOLENTLY wrench in your hand happens, do the following:

1) STEP BREIFLY ON THE THROTTLE, pull the steering wheel the other way until you can get yourself going more-or-less straight. TRY to NOT over-correct (this is usually where a rollover starts).
2) Slowly get off the throttle and coast towards where you plane to park your rig (this may require you to get over a lane or 2).
3) Once you are going slower than about 30 mph, GENTLY apply the brakes until you stop.

Of course, while doing all this you'll still have to at least try to avoid hitting anything else, especially other vehicles. Often the initial upset of the blowout is enough to take you at least part-way out of your lane. An experienced driver SHOULD be able to catch himself before going any further.

Adding extra difficulty to this entire maneuver is that you still have about 50 lbs of your blown-out tire slapping, bouncing and making a lot of noise while you try to get the rig stopped safely. Keep calm, and ride it out until you are stopped..