Akuret Tire Issues on Columbus 320

[lgray]

Beware, I have had two ST 235/80 R16's blow on 2 of my last 3 trips. The tires were properly inflated...the second blowout, was at under 60 mph, and caused signifficant body damage.

There is a three inch band of missing tread, the whole way around the tire (blowout #2), see attached photo's below. Clearly product defect and/or quality issue. These really are “China Bombs”.



I hope the savings to Palomino/Columbus was worth it.

[ret2006]

I think this is the first reported Akuret tire failure that I have heard of. I recently traded my Sabre that had the same tires. Had about 7, 000 miles without a problem. I was pleased that our new Cedar Creek had U.S. made Goodyear LT tires.
Let us know how you come out on the tires and damage. Who steps up and pays for the damage.

[lgray]

ret 20006,

Unless the consumer is planning on suing the “Republic of China” you are on your own. Columbus/Palomino will likely not get involved. For me, it is my insurance deductible and the cost of new tires.
I am curious, what was the size and weight of your Sabre? I am not surprised that there have not been more issues with Columbus owners, yet, as the line is still fairly new…

[ret2006]

Originally Posted by lgray

ret 20006,

Unless the consumer is planning on suing the “Republic of China” you are on your own. Columbus/Palomino will likely not get involved. For me, it is my insurance deductible and the cost of new tires.
I am curious, what was the size and weight of your Sabre? I am not surprised that there have not been more issues with Columbus owners, yet, as the line is still fairly new…

My Sabre 31 RETS-6 had a dry weight (from yellow tag) of 10,163#, only guessed at cargo we carried being about 1,200# for a total of about 11,353#. We travel fairly light, still had a lot of room in the basement for more stuff. I was only going to keep the Akuret tires until the end of the second season then replace. I didn't get that far because the Cedar Creek caught our eye. So far so good, we really like the Creek.

[Cajun Po-Boy]

Originally Posted by ret2006

I think this is the first reported Akuret tire failure that I have heard of. I recently traded my Sabre that had the same tires. Had about 7, 000 miles without a problem. I was pleased that our new Cedar Creek had U.S. made Goodyear LT tires.
Let us know how you come out on the tires and damage. Who steps up and pays for the damage.

I've read all the articles about the ST vs LT tire debate for RV's...interesting that your current RV came with LT from the factory?
I assumed all RV tires were ST because they were better suited...reason for my question is due to me shopping for new tires by next year...want to make the best decision for our setup!

[ret2006]

Originally Posted by Ragin Cajun

I've read all the articles about the ST vs LT tire debate for RV's...interesting that your current RV came with LT from the factory?
I assumed all RV tires were ST because they were better suited...reason for my question is due to me shopping for new tires by next year...want to make the best decision for our setup!

The Cedar Creek came with Goodyear G614 RST / LT 235/ 85R 16. Plant code MJOP (Goodyear plant in Kansas). Two were mfg. second week Dec. 2012 and two were mfg., 1 week of 2013. Trailer mfg. mid April 2013.

[amxpress]

Holy cow!
What damage occured to your trailer?
I would defineately contact someone at Columbus about this. I am at the point of being paranoid about the Akurat tires on my 320RS.
Who are you having do the repairs?
Good luck!

[ependydad]

I'm another report of Akuret tire issues. Fortunately, I found the tennis-ball sized bubble before I had issues. Lionshead Distributors (the provider of the OEM tires to Palomino) is sending me a warranty refund check since I've replaced the tires already.

4,000 miles on those tires before I found the defect. I got lucky - when we unmounted the tire, there were 2 larger bubbles on the inside.

Approximately 14,000 pound fifth wheel with 5,200 pounds on each axle.

[lgray]

I do not anticipate Columbus holding themselves accountable for their poor decision to use these tires to begin with. I will have my estimate on my 320 tomorrow. The tire damaged the front and back, bottom of the driver’s side slide, peeling back the metal like it was paper. The wheel fender is gone completely. I would not trust my factory “authorized dealer” that sold me the trailer to make the repairs. I am going to the professionals at Tony’s RV. I would estimate the damage to be between $2,000 and $3,000, plus new tire and deductible.
I plan to replace the two remaining “China Bombs” and would suggest that anyone that has these tires do the same. I wish I would have replaced them all after the first blowout. The risk is simply not worth it. If two of them were to blow on the same side, at the same time, we could have rolled.

[joelek]

There have been a couple other reports now of the Akuret tires failing on Columbus rigs. Even though you have proper inflation, if you are overloaded, the tire will fail. The tires are failing as it is now summer with hot hot hot temps on the road. Look around on the roads and you will also find semi truck tread recaps all over the place now due to heat. Doesn't matter what brand of tire, if it is hot and/or you are heavy load, the tires are prone to fail even with proper PSI inflation. Seems like they only last 3-6 thousand miles and they problems creep up.

All kinds of shapes and sizes of trailers dead on the side of the road with tire failures this fourth of July weekend as it was 90+ degrees. And that's just me traveling 200 miles round trip.

What I would be interested in is a higher load rating letter on the tires for the campers. I'm guessing ours are safe on paper but not much margin for error. The Columbus 320RS is about 12K lbs empty and 14K lbs full. For those of you that travel all over with your rig, go to a CAT scale and weigh yours on each axle and both axles to find out the true loaded weight of your rig. When you buy new tires, find out if you can bump up to the next letter for weight rating on the tires. I did this on my various boats I owned and problems went away with after upgraded weight rating tires.

[lgray]

The blowout occurred at 5:45 am, outside temperature was 74 degrees and we had traveled approximately 475 miles. The trailer was not overloaded; we simply don’t carry that much stuff in it.

[bakken]

Originally Posted by joelek

There have been a couple other reports now of the Akuret tires failing on Columbus rigs. Even though you have proper inflation, if you are overloaded, the tire will fail. The tires are failing as it is now summer with hot hot hot temps on the road. .

So the factory puts tires on our campers that are not adequate for the GVWR?
And we are not supposed to drive in the summer?

Our last fifth had American-made Marathons, and they were 10 years old with about 20,000 miles on them. Really, why can't the factory put on tires like that? Would it really cost that much extra?
I had to spend $700+ to replace the factory crap, so I would have gladly paid that up front.

[Cajun Po-Boy]

Originally Posted by bakken

So the factory puts tires on our campers that are not adequate for the GVWR?
And we are not supposed to drive in the summer?

Our last fifth had American-made Marathons, and they were 10 years old with about 20,000 miles on them. Really, why can't the factory put on tires like that? Would it really cost that much extra?
I had to spend $700+ to replace the factory crap, so I would have gladly paid that up front.

X2!

[OldCoot]

Fact of life, you can't buy American made st tires. They just don't exist. Sad situation, but they can't furnish what isn't made, but they could put brand name tires of a higher load rating than just the bare minimum ones.

[ependydad]

Originally Posted by joelek

There have been a couple other reports now of the Akuret tires failing on Columbus rigs. Even though you have proper inflation, if you are overloaded, the tire will fail.

...

For those of you that travel all over with your rig, go to a CAT scale and weigh yours on each axle and both axles to find out the true loaded weight of your rig.

I can tell you- for me, I actually had recently weighted the rig and was underweight on tires, axles, camper and even truck. I inflate my tires before each trip and drive at 60-65mph max.

I got lucky - no blowout, but definitely a manufacturer defect on my tire.

[garbonz]

Gosh, I am 750lbs UNDERweight on each tire (Akurets) in my VCross, so I should be okay? Got about 2K on them now, no problems noted, but I have a 3K+ trip coming up in Late September and maybe should replace them before then.

[bakken]

Originally Posted by OldCoot

Fact of life, you can't buy American made st tires. They just don't exist. Sad situation, but they can't furnish what isn't made, but they could put brand name tires of a higher load rating than just the bare minimum ones.

That's all I am asking for, and I don't think it is unreasonable.

[lgray]

After my first blow out, I checked my tires constantly, including during two stops the morning of my second blowout. No visual signs of stress or concerns.
On both occasions, I limped into camp on my spare and called the local tire dealers for “American Made ST” replacements. I was told by two separate stores that Carlisle is made in the USA…didn’t matter; there were no other good options. Both times I replaced them with ST235/80R16E1 124J B CARLISLE RADIAL TRAIL RH.
Website http://www.carlisletransportationproducts.com/product/tires/trailers-toy-haulers-towables
Just sent a confirmatory e-mail to Carlisle to ensure they are made in America. If so, I will get two more and completely be rid of Akuret.
As far as the question on replacement, to me it is not worth the lives of my family to gamble.

[amxpress]

From my understanding, Carlisle ST tires were once made in the US. They have since moved to China. You should look closely on the sidewall near the rim for "Made in China". If it says USA, look at the DOT build date code and see how new they actually are. It's a 4 digit number stamped at the end of the DOT number. i.e. 3211=32nd week of 2011.

[OldCoot]

To my knowledge there are not any ST tires made in the USA or Canada.