China Bombs

Stormrider151 · 10-20-2014, 03:40 PM

I'm going to replace these "tires" that came with my trailer. Any suggestions on a good tire for a travel trailer? Not really impressed with the specs on these factory tires. They don't even look like they will last. Plus the fact no one seems to have even heard of them.

fonzie · 10-20-2014, 03:48 PM

It seems most people here on forum goes with Maxxis or GoodYear Marathon.....

BamaBob · 10-20-2014, 03:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stormrider151

I'm going to replace these "tires" that came with my trailer. Any suggestions on a good tire for a travel trailer? Not really impressed with the specs on these factory tires. They don't even look like they will last. Plus the fact no one seems to have even heard of them.

Most of us on the forum like either Goodyear Marathons or Maxxis - they both run neck & Neck for who is "Best"

Whichever you get, make sure you also get the metal valve stems and a Tire Pressure monitoring system. Most of us like the TST TPMS: 507 Starter System Kit |

BTW, the tires can be gotted at either tirerack.com or Amazon

Canonman · 10-20-2014, 03:57 PM

Opinions may/will differ, but it's hard to find an ST tire that's not made in China. I finally settled on Goodyear Marathons. Still made in China but my cousin is the dealer and he said they at least have a Goodyear standard they have to maintain. I went up one load range and one size (suggested by cousin Clay) still keeping within the rim specs. He felt the original tires were to close to the upper threshold for load weight. Plenty of headroom now. Been on a year and about 3k miles. No issues.
Recommended rotation is X pattern so the rear tire on the slide side becomes the front tire on the non slide side. Supposed to help with longevity due to the added weight of the slide.

Great Laker · 10-20-2014, 04:15 PM

Are they still installing Vail Sport bias tires on the Salems?

Stormrider151 · 10-20-2014, 04:31 PM

The ones I have are Constancy, load range C, 4 ply. Not what you would expect to find on a 7k Travel trailer. Crazy.

Taranwanderer · 10-20-2014, 04:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Canonman

Recommended rotation is X pattern so the rear tire on the slide side becomes the front tire on the non slide side. Supposed to help with longevity due to the added weight of the slide.

I see no reason to rotate tires on a trailer--it's not like on a car or truck where you have rear wheels driving and front wheels steering (or fronts doing both,) and you're trying to maximize life/minimize wear. I doubt the added weight of the slide makes that much difference--it should be distributed across both axles evenly, yes? And even if you were to rotate your tires, you should only do front to back and back to front, NOT side to side. With radials (and I don't know if this holds true for bias tires,) the carcass inside the tire wears in with the direction of travel. If you then move the tire to the other side after 3K miles or whatever, its now rolling in the opposite direction of how the carcass "wore in," and you'll accelerate the wear. Keep them to the same side, with cars and trucks, for sure. For trailers, I'm not even sure rotating is necessary.

Besides, I figure they rotate enough when I'm driving down the road.

Canonman · 10-20-2014, 05:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stormrider151

The ones I have are Constancy, load range C, 4 ply. Not what you would expect to find on a 7k Travel trailer. Crazy.

Mine as well were 4 ply LR C, Trail America. Add everything up including tongue weight and they barely pass minimum requirement. Went to LR D and one size up just to make sure this was a worry I would not have to deal with again.

Reply to Taranwanderer: I had some really odd wear issues and it was suggested by others on the forum to see if there wasn't worse wear with the slide side tires. There definitely was. Spoke to Cousin Clay about it and he agreed. He suggested the X pattern just to be sure all 4 tires get the same load wear. Estimated life on the marathons is about 5 years if taken care of and covered when not being used. That's about 1 rotation cycle. Around my house a $600 tire investment is worth getting the maximum use. Tire shop rotates for $0 and I get to BS with Clay about his Elk hunt or the latest family gossip. Even if it doesn't help, it doesn't hurt and I get an afternoon out

Stormrider151 · 10-20-2014, 05:05 PM

Actually the dealer said that the tires should be rotated. He didn't elaborate as to why. I trust these folks. I used to work for them. Radial tires are rotated front to back because once the have been used rolling in a certain direction they will "set". If they were rolled in the opposite direction the cord would separate. Bias belted tires on the other hand are rotated in the cross method.

Stormrider151 · 10-20-2014, 05:09 PM

Thanks Folks, I think I'll go with the marathons. You have all been very helpful.

PhoneDude 8289 · 10-20-2014, 05:34 PM

Good choice

Taranwanderer · 10-20-2014, 06:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stormrider151

Actually the dealer said that the tires should be rotated. He didn't elaborate as to why. I trust these folks. I used to work for them. Radial tires are rotated front to back because once the have been used rolling in a certain direction they will "set". If they were rolled in the opposite direction the cord would separate. Bias belted tires on the other hand are rotated in the cross method.

This is exactly what I was saying. I guess if you want to rotate your trailer tires from side to side, you need to use bias ply tires then.

10-4 on getting out of the house to go to the tire shop for free rotation, if they had beer there it would be a perfect day out.

wbdavey · 10-20-2014, 07:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stormrider151

Radial tires are rotated front to back because once the have been used rolling in a certain direction they will "set". If they were rolled in the opposite direction the cord would separate. Bias belted tires on the other hand are rotated in the cross method.

Stormrider - Not trying to start a contest, just saying that some other sources of info disagree with you. The following is from the owner's manual for my 2014 Ram 1500. (For some reason I can't get the diagram to copy/paste.)

"The suggested rotation method is the “forward cross” shown in the following diagram. This rotation pattern does not apply to some directional tires that must not be reversed."

Stormrider151 · 10-21-2014, 06:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wbdavey

Stormrider - Not trying to start a contest, just saying that some other sources of info disagree with you. The following is from the owner's manual for my 2014 Ram 1500. (For some reason I can't get the diagram to copy/paste.)

"The suggested rotation method is the “forward cross” shown in the following diagram. This rotation pattern does not apply to some directional tires that must not be reversed."

And that's the great thing about forums like this. You can get several opinions instead of just one. Mine comes from personal experience when during my younger, dumber days I cross rotated radial tires. The result was a blown right front tire. That's where I learned it. But that was on a car and not a trailer. It is an interesting subject though and I respect everyone's opinion.

lotsip · 12-04-2014, 10:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stormrider151

The ones I have are Constancy, load range C, 4 ply. Not what you would expect to find on a 7k Travel trailer. Crazy.

These are the Vail Sports that came on my '14 Salem Cruise Lite 185rb with 1700 miles on them. Just noticed the extreme wear on the insides of them while i was preparing for my Florida trip a couple weeks back. Taking the whole trailer to local Camping World (where I bought it new last Jan. and still under warranty) this weekend to have it checked. Hopefully its just the crappy Vails and not an axle or suspension problem as I have campground reservations in Florida right after Christmas.

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