Chinese tires in the news

[Klbrown53]

Just read this on Fox News.

Chinese tire brands are no bargain | Fox News




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[Roving Ron]

Unfortunately RV manufacturers have no skin in the game. The tires only need to last long enough to get off the dealers lot. The tires on the last unit I bought had sidewall delamination within months of purchase. Luckily I noticed it when checking tire pressure and got them replaced before anything nasty happened.

Ron


Grey Nomads, Ron and Sue

[vinmaker]

This is ridiculous. I think it is totally irresponsible to put such garbage on a new unit where there is a potential for serious injury if the item fails within a very short time.

How would the RV industry respond if someone got a blow out and died on the way home from taking delivery and the only defense was that the Chinese tires saved money.

[lswartz]

I didn't get those three brands on my TT so no worries here. After reading the lite Fox story I would want to see the Consumer Reports article to see what Fox left out, hopefully nothing.

[ironj]

http://m.moderntiredealer.com/news/2...may-surpass-60

And then Tires (even us made) get more expensive too..... ...oh yay....

[KMP44]

Originally Posted by Roving Ron

Unfortunately RV manufacturers have no skin in the game. The tires only need to last long enough to get off the dealers lot.

Not exactly true - they warranty them, so they need something that will hold up that long (most of the time). Proving a failure is a warranty issue may be another story...

However, we bought the 2nd year FR warranty and a month after the 1 year warranty on the rims & tires ran out through Lions Head, we had a tread separation around all 360 degrees of the tire with no signs of any road hazard. Fortunately it didn't damage the trailer. The dealer sent pictures to FR and they replaced it under warranty. Then the valve stems on all 4 remaining tires cracked. FR also warrantied those.

I too wish they would just put better quality tires on to start with. Can't wait to get these replaced with Marathons or Maxxis tires in the spring, along with a TPMS.

I did see that in the Wildcat brochure Maxxis tires are now an option. Glad to see they offer that. I would glady pay the extra $$. If they want to leave the cheap ones on there for the people shopping only on price that's understandable, but glad to see they at least have an option for decent tires right off the lot.

[GASPEDDLER]

Does anyone know if Carlisle's are US made? Or if Chinese made do they build them to US specs?

[Big Paul]

I read the article from Fox and as I understand it it is saying the Chinese brands are the bad ones the so called American tires that are made in China are held to higher standards by the American companys. I have had 3 sets of GoodYear Marathons in the past that had tread seperation after 5 to 6 years but never a blow out and I drive 60 to 65. But I will get Marathons on my current trailer in the near future thrust them more than no name Chinese.

[B47]

Originally Posted by vinmaker

This is ridiculous. I think it is totally irresponsible to put such garbage on a new unit where there is a potential for serious injury if the item fails within a very short time.

How would the RV industry respond if someone got a blow out and died on the way home from taking delivery and the only defense was that the Chinese tires saved money.

I agree. Remember when Ford was putting defective tires (don't remember brand) on their Explorer vehicles several years ago and some people died when those tires blew out? Ford was held responsible and those tires were replaced with a better quality brand.

I have always said that FR and other RV manufacturers who equip their RV's with these inferior tires know that these tires are junk and should be held responsible for damages.

I had a Trail Express tire blow out with about 4,000 miles on it. I complained to the then FR warranty person and he sent me 4 new GY Marathons.

[BamaBob]

Originally Posted by GASPEDDLER

Does anyone know if Carlisle's are US made? Or if Chinese made do they build them to US specs?

Consensus on the Forums is to either get Maxxis or Goodyear Marathons. Further consensus is get Trailer tires not Light Truck Tires. when you replace the tires, replace the valve stems with metal ones and always use a TPMS.

[Fivealive]

So far Carlisle STs are doing OK on the forums, with some owners reporting as many as 5000 miles. I bought a set and am hoping for the best. Marathon owners have a mixed result according to their comments.

[schrederman]

In my 4 years of reading RV forums, I've only read one negative comment about Maxxis tires. My GY Marathon experience was on a boat trailer, but they blew their load with me... never again will I buy Goodyear tires. When mine need replacement, they'll be Maxxis.

[keith_h]

I'm looking at getting Maxxis sometime before our October trip to replace the West Lake tires on our TT. We have about 1000 miles on ours and from what I have read here I'd rather not take the risk on a 1500 mile outing. My local tire dealer carries them for one of the largest landscaping firms in the area and says they hold up well to the abuse they get. On top of that he said he would sell them to me at the commercial price which turns out to be about $20 lower than the discount tire websites I've seen.

[ironj]

Just out of curiosity what does a maxxis run?..I paid 135$ for some "commadore" branded tire as it was all I could get....but I got 10k out of my towmax branded tires (which prime now offers a 5 year warranty on) so im not gonna complain....

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[keith_h]

The web prices I've seen for 205/75R14 are $100 give or take $5-$10. Didn't look deep enough to see if that includes shipping or not as I usually consider shipping and local sales tax as a wash.

[Fivealive]

Originally Posted by ironj

Just out of curiosity what does a maxxis run?..I paid 135$ for some "commadore" branded tire as it was all I could get....but I got 10k out of my towmax branded tires (which prime now offers a 5 year warranty on) so im not gonna complain....

sent from fat fingers via a space dish thing with no regard to grammer.

Wow, you did much better than I did with the Towmax tires. A bit over 3000mi and the tread separated on one of mine damaging the trailer. It didn't lose pressure until I came to a stop. I would never buy those tires even if they had a 10 year warranty.

[ironj]

Yeah I didnt expect much but honestly I never had to add much air as the always held, and I never noticed any unusual wear....one got a sidewall bubble (which may have been from my wife curbing it)....never blew or lost pressure......but @ 10k im ok having to buy new ones...lol

[Klbrown53]

I am still running the factory Trail Express (China tires). I decided to just go with them this season and replace them in the Spring.

Presently in the middle of a two week trip through Colorado I am keeping a close eye on them. I have also been using a TPMS system from the beginning.

I think I am probably up around 5000 miles by now and will be at around 6000 by the time we get home. Only about 3 more shorter trips after that before I winterize.

I usually do a walk around every stop. Also constantly watching the TPMS monitor going down the road. Only thing I cannot predict or detect is a catastrophic failure.


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[RhoZeta]

Originally Posted by lswartz

I didn't get those three brands on my TT so no worries here.

LOL No worries? The tires listed are just 3 out of hundreds of cheap chinese tire brands flooding into our country right now. If you read the article you will note that they tested LT truck tires, more than likely the brands listed do not even have an ST tire.

[Old car]

Gaspeddler, I have a brand new fifth wheel and the first thing I did was replace the Westlake tires that came on the unit. Tire dealer ordered in a set of Carlisle tires because I wanted American made tires. They showed up and "Made in China" was all over the sidewall. I ended up with Goodyear Marathons (also Chinese made) but hoping the Goodyear name and specs mean something. We talked to several different dealers and could not find an American made tire in the size we needed. Only time will tell.