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Old 12-08-2014, 11:41 PM   #101
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Chinese tires in the news

Tireman9

Since I am the one that originally started this thread I thought I would respond. I read your narrative and the quality standards information and I can agree with some of what you say. There are tires made in China that I am sure perform better than others or at least comparable to American made tires. Therefore I do not believe that just because a tire is made in China that is necessarily bad. If Goodyear or Carlisle or Maxxis have plants in China they could very well be decent tires.

The problem as stated by many in this forum is with the factory equipment tires that Forest River uses on many or all of there products and that are on our Rockwood. Although mine have not failed "yet" I may be one of the fortunate ones. They have become notorious for "exploding" hence the term "China Bombs".

So, how many of these failures are the result of where they were made? Who knows, who cares? Fact is they are failing at a higher rate than the other brands. We are the end users left with the damage when one of them come apart.

Another thought. Are the tires that failed run at low pressure or had other user induced errors interjected? I am sure that some were but the same things happen to the other major brands as well. And the fact is that my assumption is that Goodyear, Carlisle and Maxxis brands are not failing at as high a rate. I have no statistics to support this assumption but it just makes sense that some abused tires still do not fail at as high a rate as the factory tires do. And then you have the stories of those who have done everything right and their tires still "explode".

As end users that is pretty much all we have to go on. I will buy the tires that have the best reputation overall even if I have to pay a little more. I will avoid the ones that I hear horror stories about.

We bought our trailer knowing that it had questionable tires on it with the intention of replacing them after the first year. I made it. Now I am going to get them off......

Cheers to all and Merry Christmas

Ken




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Old 12-09-2014, 12:38 PM   #102
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I have been running Carlisle tires on my tandem boat trailer and they are great tires. They are radials as well. Trailer Tire

I got them from America's Tire (also Discount tire) and of course the are made in the USA!

Has anyone tried these?
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Old 12-09-2014, 12:47 PM   #103
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If you go to some of the pop-up forums there is a dislike for Carlisle tires. I had them on my pop-up and had nothing but problems. There Radial may be better but the bias-plies don't seem to hold up.
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Old 12-09-2014, 12:48 PM   #104
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I just picked our trailer up from dealer. Minor warranty work.....

While checking tire pressure I found this.

I am lucky. It has not blown yet.

Does anyone wonder why we are all so paranoid about the factory tires?

As planned it will be stored for the winter then they will all be replaced before first trip in the spring.Click image for larger version

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Old 12-09-2014, 12:49 PM   #105
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If you go to some of the pop-up forums there is a dislike for Carlisle tires. I had them on my pop-up and had nothing but problems. There Radial may be better but the bias-plies don't seem to hold up.
I would never want a bias ply for my trailer...the radial so far has been great. The tires that were on my trailer previously ( new from the dealer)were ply and they wore out quick and also cracked badly.
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Old 12-09-2014, 01:40 PM   #106
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I would never want a bias ply for my trailer...the radial so far has been great. The tires that were on my trailer previously ( new from the dealer)were ply and they wore out quick and also cracked badly.
Like someone mentioned before, it may not just be the brand, but the particular model and day it was built. Carlyle did have issues with many of their tires and had an epiphany of sorts. The Radial RH, as shown previously, seems to be a well regarded newer tire. I bought a set this year to replace oem's and it definitely improved the feel of the trailer towing. Durability remains to be seen.
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Old 12-09-2014, 03:38 PM   #107
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Originally Posted by Klbrown53 View Post
I just picked our trailer up from dealer. Minor warranty work.....

While checking tire pressure I found this.

I am lucky. It has not blown yet.

Does anyone wonder why we are all so paranoid about the factory tires?

As planned it will be stored for the winter then they will all be replaced before first trip in the spring.
First thing that struck me in that closeup picture was the blemish on the rim right at the cut in the sidewall. That indicates to me that the clearcoat got damaged, likely from hitting a curb.
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Old 12-09-2014, 04:05 PM   #108
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First thing that struck me in that closeup picture was the blemish on the rim right at the cut in the sidewall. That indicates to me that the clearcoat got damaged, likely from hitting a curb.
I noticed that too. You would think the sidewall would be scuffed more if it came from a curb. Possibly a mystery object like a large rock or piece of metal? Who knows what goes on when your back is turned!
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Old 12-09-2014, 04:43 PM   #109
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All I want for Christmas is my 3 trailer tires... I found a tire separating when I did a pre-trip inspection. I replaced that Tow Max with a Maxxis, and will replace the other 3 in January, before a 2K mile trip in February.


I got new tires on my '99 Explorer in that recall. That story broke in Houston, where we lived at the time, and the reporter hammered it into the ground to the point that my wife insisted on a new car. I got her an '01 Expedition, and got a tire recall replacement when it had 40K miles on it. I didn't have to buy tires for that beast until it had 110K mikes on it.
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Old 12-09-2014, 05:06 PM   #110
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All I want for Christmas is my 3 trailer tires... I found a tire separating when I did a pre-trip inspection. I replaced that Tow Max with a Maxxis, and will replace the other 3 in January, before a 2K mile trip in February.

Are these Towmax newer tires or what came on your trailer originally? The reason I ask, is that Towmax is recalling about 17,000 225/75R15 tires that got mislabeled in the molds, but they are newer tires from this year.

If you had them, you could get them replaced free......irregardless if they were separating or not.

If your tires are not within the specified dates, sizes.....I still suggest keeping up with all paperwork and keep pics of the old tires/and DOT numbers....in case there is some kind of recall at a later date, where you can get reimbursed for your replacements..
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Old 12-09-2014, 05:11 PM   #111
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I noticed that too. You would think the sidewall would be scuffed more if it came from a curb. Possibly a mystery object like a large rock or piece of metal? Who knows what goes on when your back is turned!
Is it a scuff, or actually a reflection of the sidewall break?
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Old 12-09-2014, 05:22 PM   #112
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This is why so many people replace the tires that come on FR trailers asap. You've been very fortunate not to have a blowout.
Yes. That how it starts. Little unseen cracks or inside separation, then Boom! Boom! Boom! The blowouts start. Glad you caught it in time.
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Old 12-09-2014, 05:52 PM   #113
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Heh Dave, you are right...that closeup doesn't look right. It looks like the rim on that tire is out of round like he hit something or dropped off of a curb or something.
KL Brown, is that tire out of round?
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Old 12-09-2014, 08:35 PM   #114
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Chinese tires in the news

For those that commented about the split on my tire. After looking at the pictures again I see why you might think the wheel has a problem but I assure you that it does not. It looks to me like a bit of an optical illusion and reflection on the wheel. The other thing that you may be seeing is just dirt and road grim. I wiped the wheels off a good while back but other than that the wheels have never been cleaned since new and that is 7200 miles.

Also of note is that I took 3 pictures in about 10 seconds with my iPhone and they may or may not be the best of quality.

I have dropped a trailer tire off of a curb before but not this one.

Here is the third picture that I took from about 30 inches away. As you can see it gives a completely different look to the flaw. Also of note is that when I got it to the storage lot I could not find the flaw again. But, I know it is there.

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Old 12-10-2014, 06:24 PM   #115
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Tireman9

Since I am the one that originally started this thread I thought I would respond. I read your narrative and the quality standards information and I can agree with some of what you say. There are tires made in China that I am sure perform better than others or at least comparable to American made tires. Therefore I do not believe that just because a tire is made in China that is necessarily bad. If Goodyear or Carlisle or Maxxis have plants in China they could very well be decent tires.
Thanks. That was the point I was trying to make.

The problem as stated by many in this forum is with the factory equipment tires that Forest River uses on many or all of there products and that are on our Rockwood. Although mine have not failed "yet" I may be one of the fortunate ones. They have become notorious for "exploding" hence the term "China Bombs".
Well I am not sure about tires "exploding". Based on the tires I have inspected what is called a "blowout" or "Explosion" by the average consumer is in reality a run-low-flex-failure. I covered this in detail in THIS blog post as well as many others.

So, how many of these failures are the result of where they were made? Who knows, who cares? Fact is they are failing at a higher rate than the other brands. We are the end users left with the damage when one of them come apart.
Well as an engineer, I care. If you don't know the real reason for a failure you have no chance of taking the proper corrective action. Some facts that do have an affect on the tire failure rate and the association with "China" would be. - Over 50% of RV trailers s have one or more tire in overload. A smaller portion of trailer owners than owners of motorhomes use TPMS and unlike motorhome owners if you aren't in the vehicle you get no warning of a pending failure. so they get little or no warning of low air in their tires. This is proven out in the number of tire failures where the flat tire has been driven many dozen miles and completely shredded before the owner is flagged down. If 95% or higher % of the tires on trailers are made in China why would expect some significantly lower percentage of failures on trailers to be on something other than tires made in China? I could just as easily claim that the workers in Elkhart Indiana area are the worst in the USA because most RV problems are found on RVs made inear Elkhart Indiana?

Another thought. Are the tires that failed run at low pressure or had other user induced errors interjected? I am sure that some were but the same things happen to the other major brands as well. And the fact is that my assumption is that Goodyear, Carlisle and Maxxis brands are not failing at as high a rate. I have no statistics to support this assumption but it just makes sense that some abused tires still do not fail at as high a rate as the factory tires do. And then you have the stories of those who have done everything right and their tires still "explode".

As end users that is pretty much all we have to go on. I will buy the tires that have the best reputation overall even if I have to pay a little more. I will avoid the ones that I hear horror stories about.

We bought our trailer knowing that it had questionable tires on it with the intention of replacing them after the first year. I made it. Now I am going to get them off......

Cheers to all and Merry Christmas

Ken

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Merry Christmas to you too Ken
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Old 12-10-2014, 06:26 PM   #116
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Originally Posted by PrinceValium View Post
I have been running Carlisle tires on my tandem boat trailer and they are great tires. They are radials as well. Trailer Tire

I got them from America's Tire (also Discount tire) and of course the are made in the USA!

Has anyone tried these?
Which tire plant made the tires? DOT serial identifies the tire plant location.
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Old 12-10-2014, 06:28 PM   #117
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Originally Posted by Klbrown53 View Post
I just picked our trailer up from dealer. Minor warranty work.....

While checking tire pressure I found this.

I am lucky. It has not blown yet.

Does anyone wonder why we are all so paranoid about the factory tires?

As planned it will be stored for the winter then they will all be replaced before first trip in the spring.Attachment 67379Attachment 67380


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Looks like "Rim Pinch" from hitting Pot Hole to me. When you bought the tires did you get "Road hazard" warranty?
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Old 12-10-2014, 07:04 PM   #118
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For those that commented about the split on my tire. After looking at the pictures again I see why you might think the wheel has a problem but I assure you that it does not. It looks to me like a bit of an optical illusion and reflection on the wheel. The other thing that you may be seeing is just dirt and road grim. I wiped the wheels off a good while back but other than that the wheels have never been cleaned since new and that is 7200 miles.

Also of note is that I took 3 pictures in about 10 seconds with my iPhone and they may or may not be the best of quality.

I have dropped a trailer tire off of a curb before but not this one.

Here is the third picture that I took from about 30 inches away. As you can see it gives a completely different look to the flaw. Also of note is that when I got it to the storage lot I could not find the flaw again. But, I know it is there.

Attachment 67416


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I still vote for rim pinch. This happens when the tire over-deflects when hitting the exit side of the pothole and the tread bottoms out on the rim. The lower sidewall
Here are three pictures of a more extreme hit.






In this case the rim was clearly bent and the body cord snapped and broken. I have inspected many dozen such tires that show everything from marks with no obvious external damage to tires that were cut completely through the sidewall but with little apparent damage to the rim. The infinite variations of speed, tire size, load, inflation and shape and size of the object or hole that were hit all affecting the end condition.
This shows that Forensic Tire Inspection is not a simple act but involves years of experience.
I guess I need to do a few more blog posts on tire inspection basics.
Hope this helps.
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