Time to close the loop on this story, the return trip was quite uneventful. The stay up in Bar Harbor was great and we got about ate some lobster and seafood, saw the sites and usual shopping got done. The key thing was getting my sister-in-law’s toes in the ocean on the east coast as she was visiting from California. Our journey reversed our route from Bar Harbor back to mid Connecticut for a pre planned stay. We finally got our Mystic Pizza and got to watch the bridge raise/lower which were missed the first time around while getting tires sourced and installed on the trailer.
For those who haven’t traveled through the north east, most all of the major north/south roads seem to merge in and around New York City especially the Jersey Turnpike. You can get around it all but it takes a combination of outer loops and secondary roads. In our youth years ago to visit family up in eastern New York from Virginia I came up with a route that avoided most of the tolls but got us there in a decent amount of time. So I pulled the page from the old playbook and went the “long way around”.
To close out the tale I still need to replace one last tire to match up the set (oddly enough the 2 from the tire shop were an exact match to the one delivered on the road. By Months end the tool issues will be resolved and an enhanced tool kit will be added to both the truck and trailer to make sure this doesn’t happen again. Longer term I’ll be on the lookout on the secondary market for at least 2 more rims to have at least 1 additional spare for both the truck and the trailer for when we are on the road along with a compressor of some sorts.
Fun cannot held up for something as annoying as tire failures. I have been dragging camping trailers around for about the last 35 years and blowouts happen, but this is the first time for two on the same trip so close together.
To answer a few questions:
Tires were checked for pressure and secure lug nuts prior to departure.
Pre-trip visual inspection showed no signs of bulges, tread separation, dry rot or anything that would have thrown a flag.
Still not sure on the cause, the first one blew on a clear dry road and there was no debris see at any point along the route prior the blowout.
The second failed after a particularly rough bridge expansion joint crossing and the trailer was chucking pretty good. Chucking on a 5th wheel trailer is when the trailer gets to bouncing and the harmonics of the motion jerks the trailer back and forth on the hitch. It feels like the trailer is trying to hump the truck like a happy dog. Generally it can be ridden out or a tap of the gas or trailer brake controller will break the cycle. Again though nothing that has not happened before or after.
I have enough tools around the house that I should be able to fill my needs, so thank all of you for the kind offers.
The truck and trailer are fairly well matched, no issues with unlevel towing or pin box weight or loading either axle. I did add air springs several years ago to aid in leveling the truck a bit.