Tires ( Made in China )

[SaskCampers]

Originally Posted by Dave_Monica

All Rockwood/Flagstaff 5vers come with C rated tires and 4000 lb axles. This is the 4th year and 10000 + miles on the Duros that came with the camper and they seem to be wearing just fine. I am however thinking about replacing this fall with Maxxis or Marathons on our NH trip as they're harder to get in Ontario.




Isn't that how the manufacturers determine the camper's GVWR...axle rating x 2 plus dry pin weight?

Dave

18,000 and 4 years on our Duro's and they are wearing fine as well. They will be replaced before the next major trip though. I have not even had to add a lb of air to any of the 5 tires in 2 years either. FWIW, I keep ours covered with tire covers when ever the unit is sitting for any amt of time and they have been balanced with the TST TPMS sensors on them.

[Scratch]

After completing a recent long trip (2900 miles), we now have 3600 miles on our TowMax Power King ST225/75R15 tires (DOT date coded the 33rd week of 2012). Lots of bad roads encountered and I must admit that I was concerned about the tires throughout the journey. I inspected them and checked tire pressures daily. They seem to be OK at this point, but after reading so many poor reviews, we intend to change them out with a set of Maxxis tires before the 6000 mile mark.

[lbrjet]

My Duro 2100 radials are anything but cheap. Average 1 lb pressure loss per year, 3 years old, 6000 miles and still look brand new. With all the cheap china tire talk around here you would think that the highways would be littered with broken down trailers.

[OldCoot]

As stated before, all st tires are made off shore in the far east. Some say the Maxxis are not made in China, but that is just a matter of semantics. Whatever the argument, stick with a major brand like Maxxis, Good Year etc. and you won't have near the problems. Keep in mind, just because a tire looks good, does not preclude a blowout and major damage to the trailer. If you can afford it, definitely get a TMST system and go for the next higher load rating, if you have factory C rated tires, go with D rated and inflate to max sidewall pressure to reduce heat and wear as low pressures will definitely increase temperature and as such, increase wear.

[SaskCampers]

Originally Posted by OldCoot

As stated before, all st tires are made off shore in the far east. Some say the Maxxis are not made in China, but that is just a matter of semantics. Whatever the argument, stick with a major brand like Maxxis, Good Year etc. and you won't have near the problems. Keep in mind, just because a tire looks good, does not preclude a blowout and major damage to the trailer. If you can afford it, definitely get a TMST system and go for the next higher load rating, if you have factory C rated tires, go with D rated and inflate to max sidewall pressure to reduce heat and wear as low pressures will definitely increase temperature and as such, increase wear.

And thems the facts Jack.

[bakken]

Originally Posted by Dave_Monica

All Rockwood/Flagstaff 5vers come with C rated tires and 4000 lb axles. This is the 4th year and 10000 + miles on the Duros that came with the camper and they seem to be wearing just fine. I am however thinking about replacing this fall with Maxxis or Marathons on our NH trip as they're harder to get in Ontario.

I agree that the Duro tires don't seem to have the bad rap that so many others do. The main reason I bought the Maxxis tires was to step up to a D-rated tire. If the Duros had been D's, I may not have changed.

Isn't that how the manufacturers determine the camper's GVWR...axle rating x 2 plus dry pin weight?

Dave

Yes, you are correct. I guess what I should have said is that my gross weight is approaching the rating of my axles, as the GVWR of my fifth only allows about 1800 lbs of cargo. With well over 100 gallons of water/waste capacity, it wouldn't take much to exceed that allowance. (I know nobody runs with full tanks).
When we were shopping for a new fifth, the Sabres had much heavier axles, even though the camper itself didn't weigh much more. From memory, that fifth had a cargo capacity well over 3000 lbs, so the axles would obviously never be overloaded.
Sorry for the confusing post.

[FordHauler]

First thing this morning I towed my limping Flagstaff to the local tire dealer. They installed 4 new Carlisle load range D, 8 ply sidewall radials on it. As I was driving out of the drive UPS was unloading a replacement for the seperated one. Those tires from Forest River are REALLY cheap junk. Light weight and flimsy off of the wheel. Mine were TrailExpress branded, also says Power Towing on the sidewall. Thanks for all of the input. We are safer now.

[rambilt]

My tires are also made from China and they are C load ratings... That really sucks!!

[OldCoot]

Originally Posted by rambilt

My tires are also made from China and they are C load ratings... That really sucks!!

You will find all ST tires are made in the far east. China, Korea, Taiwan, etc. As Herk said on a post, there's not many rubber trees in the US.

[bakken]

Originally Posted by FordHauler

First thing this morning I towed my limping Flagstaff to the local tire dealer. They installed 4 new Carlisle load range D, 8 ply sidewall radials on it. As I was driving out of the drive UPS was unloading a replacement for the seperated one. Those tires from Forest River are REALLY cheap junk. Light weight and flimsy off of the wheel. Mine were TrailExpress branded, also says Power Towing on the sidewall. Thanks for all of the input. We are safer now.

If anyone could ever find the specs for some of these factory tires, it might be very revealing. If your original tires were noticeably 'light weight and flimsy', the specs would verify that.
But just try to find specs on any of them.

[wmtire]

Originally Posted by OldCoot

You will find all ST tires are made in the far east. China, Korea, Taiwan, etc. As Herk said on a post, there's not many rubber trees in the US.

THREAD HIJACK:

For those history buffs out there, the Para rubber tree actually is from South America.

South America remained the main source of the limited amounts of latex rubber used during much of the 19th century. In 1876, Henry Wickham gathered thousands of Para rubber tree seeds from Brazil, and these were germinated in Kew Gardens, England. The seedlings were then sent to India, Ceylon (Sri Lanka), Indonesia, Singapore, and British Malaya. Malaya (now Malaysia) was later to become the biggest producer of rubber. In the early 1900s, the Congo Free State in Africa was also a significant source of natural rubber latex, mostly gathered by forced labor. Liberia and Nigeria also started production of rubber.

In India, commercial cultivation of natural rubber was introduced by the British planters, although the experimental efforts to grow rubber on a commercial scale in India were initiated as early as 1873 at the Botanical Gardens, Calcutta. The first commercial Hevea plantations in India were established at Thattekadu in Kerala in 1902.

In Singapore and Malaya, commercial production of rubber was heavily promoted by Sir Henry Nicholas Ridley, who served as the first Scientific Director of the Singapore Botanic Gardens from 1888 to 1911. He distributed rubber seeds to many planters and developed the first technique for tapping trees for latex without causing serious harm to the tree.

Now back to your regularly scheduled program

[bakken]

wmtire, that is the kind of thread hijacking we don't mind!
very informative.

[FordHauler]

Ibrjet made a comment about why don't we see lots of trailers on the side of the road that was well taken, however, in my short time on the road (since May1, 2013) I have seen 3 units with damage from tire issues. After my original post and kind members reply's, I judged it money well spent to err on the safe side. We put 6000 +/- miles on our new unit in 68 days and are off again for about 30 more. I will keep a close eye on this new set daily and report facts in late August. Thanks again for all of your comments and helpful suggestions.