NEW RV tire changeover ?

**Tireman9** · 09-21-2018, 11:25 AM

Wondering about the experiences folks have had when they purchase a new RV.

It would help my study if you could reply to these questions:
1. Did you ask/request the tires be changed?
2. If yes, did you change brand or size or both?
3. About how much were you charged?
4. If you asked, did any dealer you were shopping at refuse to do a changeover?

Thanks in advance for your reply.

SeaDog · 09-23-2018, 10:01 AM

When I bought this rig new
1. NO
2. N/A
3. N/A
4. Did not ask

jeffnick · 09-23-2018, 10:09 AM

I have a $45 Harbor Fright tire changer. I replaced the ST tires myself as soon as I got my new trailer home.

BTW - if you buy tires from Walmart, they mount them for free...but you have to take the wheels off the trailer yourself to have it done.

Oaklevel · 09-23-2018, 10:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SeaDog

When I bought this rig new
1. NO
2. N/A
3. N/A
4. Did not ask

Last 2 camping trailers same as above. Had no issues with the tires that came on the trailer. Used the tires 5 years before changing out.

1. No
2 n/A
3 N/A
4. Did not ask why change them (No need)

I might mention our regular RV dealer does not have the capability to switch (change tires) tires in that they are a three man operation and do not do any tire work. They would have to carry the tires 10 miles for repair replacement.

Not in your question but there are no dealers here that will put LT tires on a trailer unless them came with them.

For hobby use but travel I have a total of 16 ST tries on trailer an never had an issue with China made tires. This is other than dry rot after a few years.

beechjet16mf · 09-23-2018, 12:57 PM

I just changed tires on our Flagstaff 27RLWS trailer. I had the new tires mounted and balance at a local tire store, I bought the tires and rims from E-trailer. I had to buy rims as I moved up to loads range D tires from C, and the old rims wouldn't handle the D tire pressures.
The tire shop charged me $18 a tire, which I felt was reasonable. I went with the same brand of tires, Westlake, as I have put 20,000 miles on the original ones and never had a flat tire. I had to add air about once every 6 mo., and it was only a couple of pounds.

Big Shoe · 09-23-2018, 03:44 PM

When I purchased my Forrest River 32' Signature Series fifth wheel I checked the tires and found they were "C" rated. I asked if they could be upgraded to "E"'s and was told no. The trailer I was trading in had Maxxis "E" rated tires less than two years old. After a long discussion, in which I almost walked away from the deal, the sales manager swapped the tires at no cost to me.

Some people may think I lost money on that deal but it gave me peace of mind knowing I had four reliable tires under my rig. I ran those tires for three more years and several thousand miles before I replaced them with new E rated Maxxis tires.

MR.M · 09-23-2018, 04:06 PM

if it helps when i bough mine home i had e rated tire put on to replace the not quite up to the task d rated . then sold the tires that came off to recoup my costs made half my money back . i don't think it's so much bad tires as people do not maintain them ie pressures and valve stems i'd wager are at fault for 50% of tire failures

Chuckinca · 09-23-2018, 08:09 PM

I wanted to exchange the year old 10 ply E rated tires on our old trailer for the 8 ply D rated china bombs on the new trailer.

Dealer wanted $650 to make trade.

Thanks a lot !

dieselguy · 09-23-2018, 08:36 PM

You'll find owners with lighter RV's getting by with China made ST tires. Unfortunately few to none (ST) are made in US of A. As for owners with heavier RV's as in 12500+ you'll find post after post on about any brand's website of ST tire failures. We had Goodyear MaraBombs on our 2011 Montana that didn't last 3000 miles. Tread separation and bulges in the sidewalls. Several of our RVing acquaintances had similar issues with the MaraBombs in that time period. We went with Michelin LT truck tires and had complete peace of mind as our weight was within the LT tires capability. When we switched brands, we swapped tires when we picked up our Silverback. It was on our own dime though as CW did not have an inhouse tire facility and wouldn't budge on throwing in the swap in the deal. We had no problem with any tire store in the area mounting LT's on the fiver's rims.

Reverse_snowbird · 09-23-2018, 09:30 PM

1. NO.

BriaBeck · 09-23-2018, 10:19 PM

We took delivery of our Avenger in June of this year...

1. No.

Big Shoe · 09-24-2018, 07:47 AM

No matter which tires you have on your rig... the best insurance is checking the tire pressure, wiggle the tire stems and listen for hissing sounds, inspect the tire for cracks and lumps and then stay with the rated speed for that tire when traveling. I can't tell you how many times I have had people fly by me on the highway only to see them on the side of the road with a flat later. My tires are rated for 65mph.

Comanchecreek · 09-24-2018, 08:51 AM

I am also of the "No Chinabombs" crowd. I swapped out my BlowMaxes for Michelin XPS LT's as soon as the trailer hit the door. Steel belted tread, steel belted sidewalls. I sold the Blowmaxes for a hundred bucks on Craigslist. The damage tread separation can do far outweigh the cost of the tire swap, and the time spent on the side of a raging Interstate make your desire to save a buck, not worth it.

JohnD10 · 09-24-2018, 09:12 AM

I find it absolutely amazing that RV dealerships DO NOT EVER offer a tire upgrade!

Shame on them!

Thought they were in the business to make money on upgrades!

They will walk you around their RV store to get you to buy all of the junk they think you'll need out there camping, but not offer an upgrade on tires?

What's up with that

Anyway, I had just dropped $4000 on my two year old TT with under 5000 miles on it for a complete suspension upgrade, which also required new wheels and tires, and one week to the day after the repair I traded it in for my current 5'ver, which had the same size and load range ('D') BlowMax tires on it.

I had them swap out the tires from the TT to the 5'ver as they only had 80 miles on them.

I believe they charged me $112 for the tire swap, even though they didn't actually do it themselves.

Those were HiRun tires and I got around 4000 miles on them, but changed them out for Hercules SP2 'E' range tires earlier this spring...

Have roughly 5000 miles on those...so far so good!

Eddy-g · 09-24-2018, 01:02 PM

Prior to vacation this summer, late August beginning of Sept, I pondered the advise of many on this forums regarding China bomb tires and decided that with less than 1000 Kilometers(600 miles) I would delay the replacement of my tires until next year. Was that ever a mistake. Had a blow out on the highway which caused significant damage to my underside as well as the exterior trim. Tire completely shredded and yes I did check tire pressures prior to departure and never go over 100Km. (60 miles per hour) while towing. Tires were Carlisle load range C 6 ply.

My advise to all, Get rid of your made in China tires (China bombs) or negotiate with your seller to have them replaced with an other reputable brand. I replaced all tires(5) with Goodyear Endurance Load range E 10 ply.

Luckily no injuries other than not listening to my instinct and Changing my tires prior to vacatioon

MR.M · 09-24-2018, 01:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eddy-g

Prior to vacation this summer, late August beginning of Sept, I pondered the advise of many on this forums regarding China bomb tires and decided that with less than 1000 Kilometers(600 miles) I would delay the replacement of my tires until next year. Was that ever a mistake. Had a blow out on the highway which caused significant damage to my underside as well as the exterior trim. Tire completely shredded and yes I did check tire pressures prior to departure and never go over 100Km. (60 miles per hour) while towing. Tires were Carlisle load range C 6 ply.

My advise to all, Get rid of your made in China tires (China bombs) or negotiate with your seller to have them replaced with an other reputable brand. I replaced all tires(5) with Goodyear Endurance Load range E 10 ply.

Luckily no injuries other than not listening to my instinct and Changing my tires prior to vacatioon

Carlisle's are hardly china bombs . lol in fact there a top tier tire , as good if not better then the endurance . going from a load range of C a 50 psi tire with a weight of about 1760 lbs to an E rated is a big and worthwhile up-grade . my guess is your tires were more then maxed out . the problem was not the tire but the load .

Eddy-g · 09-24-2018, 02:19 PM

Mr M., My load is well under the rated capacity for my unit. Most of my gear is at my brothers where I was headed. Only added weight was food and clothing and a new barbecue.

I do believe that Carlisle is the brand name but I will check and make sure. Fore sure made in China though.

JohnD10 · 09-24-2018, 02:27 PM

Not all China made tires are bad...

Just as not all US of A made tires are good...

One day we'll get those jobs back...once we are considered 'cheap labor'.

MR.M · 09-24-2018, 02:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eddy-g

Mr M., My load is well under the rated capacity for my unit. Most of my gear is at my brothers where I was headed. Only added weight was food and clothing and a new barbecue.

I do believe that Carlisle is the brand name but I will check and make sure. Fore sure made in China though.

My guess is the c tire that was on your unit was barely enough for the load of your tt what ever it is . my unit has a max of 9800 lbs came with d rated which maxed out the tire from the get go . seems the same for all rv use the bear minimum load tire and axles .

jeffnick · 09-24-2018, 05:00 PM

Is there a thread about folks who regret switching to LT's?

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