China Bombs, do I take a chance?

[RSchleder]

We put about 3,000 miles on our China Bombs so you should be OK driving home. IMHO, change soon!!

[old40ford]

Originally Posted by TitanMike

Same here. Over 4,000 miles on mine so far and I have no intentions of changing until they are worn out or start to show signs of weather checking.

Make sure your LOADED trailer doesn't exceed the capacity of the tires and drive at a speed below the rated speed limit for the tires (it's printed on the sidewalls). Check the pressures before hitting the road and above all, make sure you turn wide enough when entering driveways or gas stations so you don't hit the curb.

Poor maintenance, high speed, overloading, and curb shots will kill ANY tire but for some reason there are those who like to blame tires made in China for all the problems.

Considering that most Travel Trailers leave the factory with chinese made tires today it only stands to reason that they will represent most of the failures. Was a time when a good number came with US made tires and then they were being called cheap pieces of crap. Goodyear Marathon's come to mind.

X2 I remember those days, I was a general manager at an RV dealer back in the late 90's until 2008 and I saw many of the marathon failures as well as Michelin failures on our motor homes. I think maintenance has a lot to do with tire success, just like engine maintenance helps the engine run and last longer. Just my 2 cents worth.

PS the only thing that concerns me about my castle rock tires is the lack of a flat tread surface, they are all kind of concave, never seen that before. I now have about 3,000 miles on them and the look the same as new so I will just keep an eye on them, just can't swing the price of the new Goodyear yet.

[duanegnau]

Some are made in USA
Some in China

[rjshiflet]

Originally Posted by JohnD10

Or get Good Sam's Roadside Assistance...

And wait two hours plus if you have to call them. I tried three times and all three times GS said minimum of 2 hours so I fixed the flats myself in under 30 minutes. And I was over 65 years old at the time.

Not worth it to me but to each their own. And this was in the DFW area, not a secluded location.

I do have roadside assistance through my insurance company for anything major.

[TitanMike]

Originally Posted by old40ford

PS the only thing that concerns me about my castle rock tires is the lack of a flat tread surface, they are all kind of concave, never seen that before. I now have about 3,000 miles on them and the look the same as new so I will just keep an eye on them, just can't swing the price of the new Goodyear yet.

The Castle Rocks are all nylon ply construction. No steel belt to hold the tread flat but don't worry, it's flat where it matters, on the bottom.

Nylon is a pretty good tire construction material overall. Only downside to it is that when the vehicle sits any length of time Nylon tends to stretch and form a flat spot. This causes a "thump, thump, thump" when first starting out but it goes away as the tire flexes and warms. A big issue in a "Boss Hog Cadillac" but not so much on a Trailer. The tire also doesn't have to deal with a stiff belt that is trying all the time to separate itself from the other ply materials and tread.

Overall, it's a pretty good way to build a cheap inepensive tire. Just keep them full of air and below their rated speed. Can't say that enough.

[flaggonzo]

So glad to hear there has been some fairly good results with the CR. Fortunately, I have towed boats for many years so I do know how to navigate around gas stations and how to avoid curbs etc.

All great advice! I have now bought the 507 TPMS. I am also doing research on getting a decent bottle jack and probably also buy one of those ramps that lifts the wheel high enough to fix a flat tire (assuming both don't go flat at the same time on the same side) I wanted a floor jack but the steel ones seem so heavy and for whatever reason, all the aluminum ones have poor reviews, even when you get into the higher prices nearing $300. Hopefully, I won't have to use it often but hopefully a bottle jack/ramp suffices.

Safe Travels!!

[Tundra 2014]

We had Load Stars on our 2016 VS275 for 4k miles, no problem. As someone else mentioned, my concern was safety. The original 205/14" tires my trailer came w/ were C rated tires @ 1535 LBS capacity each. My trailer weight is 7400 lb. loaded. I upgraded to Goodyear Endurance 215/14"-D rated, 1/4" larger diameter and 1765 LB. rated. After seeing the side of a trailer damaged by blow out, I feel more comfortable driving. I had questions on how the FR could put under rated tires on it in the 1 st. place. The only thing I can think off is mine has second air and electric jacks, both from the factory. New ones now have 15" wheels and ties, humm. I also had a 14' flat bed trailer w/ these same tires on them, given 4 yrs old. I walked out one day and the entire sidewall was shreaded on 1 wheel, setting on concrete.

[TitanMike]

Originally Posted by flaggonzo

So glad to hear there has been some fairly good results with the CR. Fortunately, I have towed boats for many years so I do know how to navigate around gas stations and how to avoid curbs etc.

All great advice! I have now bought the 507 TPMS. I am also doing research on getting a decent bottle jack and probably also buy one of those ramps that lifts the wheel high enough to fix a flat tire (assuming both don't go flat at the same time on the same side) I wanted a floor jack but the steel ones seem so heavy and for whatever reason, all the aluminum ones have poor reviews, even when you get into the higher prices nearing $300. Hopefully, I won't have to use it often but hopefully a bottle jack/ramp suffices.

Safe Travels!!

Bottle Jack's are probably the best way to go. Easier so get right under a jacking point than with a floor jack which takes up more room.

Also, dont just get a bottle jack that's just big enough. Might lift the weight but the smaller the jack the smaller, and less stable, the base. I prefer a 12 ton. Used to have a 6 ton bit while trying to jack up a wheel on an old trailer with every stroke the jack dunk in the gravel as far as the ram went up. Put a piece of 2x10 under it and it split in the middle due to the small footprint.

Last note, be sure to carry enough cut pieces of 2x8 or 2x10 to raise the jack far enough off the ground that the jack just fits under the jacking point. This way you dont need to rely on the screw out extension to get enough lift. Much more steady when using ram only.

[flaggonzo]

Originally Posted by TitanMike

Bottle Jack's are probably the best way to go. Easier so get right under a jacking point than with a floor jack which takes up more room.

Also, dont just get a bottle jack that's just big enough. Might lift the weight but the smaller the jack the smaller, and less stable, the base. I prefer a 12 ton. Used to have a 6 ton bit while trying to jack up a wheel on an old trailer with every stroke the jack dunk in the gravel as far as the ram went up. Put a piece of 2x10 under it and it split in the middle due to the small footprint.

Last note, be sure to carry enough cut pieces of 2x8 or 2x10 to raise the jack far enough off the ground that the jack just fits under the jacking point. This way you dont need to rely on the screw out extension to get enough lift. Much more steady when using ram only.

Good point, agreed! Will definitely look into the 12 ton ones. I also plan to have several pieces of 8x10 as I plan to use that for under my stabilizers. Now, I will have them as a secondary use for under the jack. Thanks!

[Brewhedd]

Yep, being a jack and lug wrench. The lugnuts are different sizes on the regular rims vs the spare. Also be aware you cant jack these trailers up with the jack placed under the axle, they will bend.

[SailorSam20500]

Originally Posted by TitanMike

The Castle Rocks are all nylon ply construction. No steel belt to hold the tread flat but don't worry, it's flat where it matters, on the bottom.

The Castle Rocks on my trailer have 2 nylon and 2 steel belts. At least that's what is printed on the side wall... Not going to cut up perfectly good tires to check.

My view - check the difference between the actual weight of your trailer (or the GVWR) and the load capacity of the tires. If the tires are rated to carry 20% or more than the trailer weight (note I did NOT deduct tongue weight). You will probably get a lot of miles out of the tires. As others have stated, over loaded tires and tires running at their rated capacity will fail a lot sooner than tires with a larger unused margin.

I now have 13K miles on my D-rated tires. No issues other than I picked up a roofing nail on my current trip. Had the tire repaired and it is now my spare, spare is now load bearing. Barring another road hazard issue, I expect to get at least another 15K miles out of them.
FWIW, I have a 30% margin with my tires.

I strongly recommend that you look up Roger Marble's blogs on tires. He has a good description on how to do a thorough inspection of them. Doing the inspection will give you a good shot at finding a tire that is going bad well before it causes problems.

[Villagerjjm]

I have had no problem with my "China Bombs". I have had 4 trailers with "China Bomb" tires. I have never had any problem except 1: a nail in the TT passenger front tire right before entering the Lehigh tunnel in Pa. (6 other vehicles seemed to develop the same problem at the same time) back in 1999 and a nail in the TT front driver side after driving through a construction zone on I-75 in 2017. Both times were fixable and kept the same tires in service.

I highly recommend buying a quality tire inflator. Preferably one that works on both AC and DC currents like the ones at LOWE'S (which also come with a lifetime warranty for free replacement!). You should note that the cords that come with these inflators are limited in length and you should carry the necessary extensions to cover the full length of your rig.

[aeblank]

I have nearly 12,000 on my castle rocks. Make sure they're properly inflated. Don't believe the forum insanity.

[Villagerjjm]

I have had two instances where I have had to deal with a flat tire on my TT. I will break loose the lugs on the rim that has the bad tire, then I have one good chunk of wood that I can pull the good tire onto, the bad tire lifts right up nice and easy!! I lock the brakes through the entire rig.. TT and TV, before I try to change the tire. The loosened lugs are easy to work with. There is no having to get under the rig to position anything (or jack anything). This system seems to work well.... people have done it this way for YEARS !! Ask around!!

[zippersbs]

Originally Posted by SailorSam20500

The Castle Rocks on my trailer have 2 nylon and 2 steel belts. At least that's what is printed on the side wall... Not going to cut up perfectly good tires to check.

My view - check the difference between the actual weight of your trailer (or the GVWR) and the load capacity of the tires. If the tires are rated to carry 20% or more than the trailer weight (note I did NOT deduct tongue weight). You will probably get a lot of miles out of the tires. As others have stated, over loaded tires and tires running at their rated capacity will fail a lot sooner than tires with a larger unused margin.

I now have 13K miles on my D-rated tires. No issues other than I picked up a roofing nail on my current trip. Had the tire repaired and it is now my spare, spare is now load bearing. Barring another road hazard issue, I expect to get at least another 15K miles out of them.
FWIW, I have a 30% margin with my tires.

I strongly recommend that you look up Roger Marble's blogs on tires. He has a good description on how to do a thorough inspection of them. Doing the inspection will give you a good shot at finding a tire that is going bad well before it causes problems.

I guess you blew the hell out of the old wives tail of never running nylon & steel belted tires together on the same unit. Back a few years ago that was taboo, if you even thought about running the 2 together the "professional" TT weekend warriors would want to string you alive, LOL. I'm sure the tire material has came a long way since back then though, I just thought I'd throw that out there. I'm sure I'm not the only 1 who thought about that when you mentioned you ran the 2 different type tires together though.

[Ejs4029]

Originally Posted by SeaDog

Don't drink the kool aid I have thousands of miles on mine and no problems. Keep them at proper pressure and don't drive fast.

I have thousands of miles on my Constancy Tires over the last 3 years travelling from coast to coast and haven't had any issues when it is time to replace I'm going to go with the Goodyear's.

[SeaDog]

Originally Posted by zippersbs

I guess you blew the hell out of the old wives tail of never running nylon & steel belted tires together on the same unit. Back a few years ago that was taboo, if you even thought about running the 2 together the "professional" TT weekend warriors would want to string you alive, LOL. I'm sure the tire material has came a long way since back then though, I just thought I'd throw that out there. I'm sure I'm not the only 1 who thought about that when you mentioned you ran the 2 different type tires together though.

SS is not running different types of tires his tires include 2 nylon and 2 steel belts in the same tire. if I read his post correctly.

[Tundra 2014]

Look at what you have under your trailer to lift on, no good place on my my 275VSL. I use the Anderson drive on ramp, excellent as long as you have someone to tell you when to stop. I can change tire in less than 10 minutes. Expensive for a piece of plastic, I carry it at all times w/ a 6 ton bottle jack to stabilize trailer, if I have to get under it. Worth it in the TX heat and has worked for me on gravel. You have to prevent driving over it and wedging it between wheels, ask me how I know. On my trailer w/ 14" wheels and only 3" between wheels, there is no place I can find to put a bottle jack under it w/o damage. Tire shop bent support behind rear axle trying to lift it, $450 later back on road Original support bars in front of and behind axle are less than 1/16" thick, TOO THIN!!!

[Coolharts]

Originally Posted by Ejs4029

I have thousands of miles on my Constancy Tires over the last 3 years travelling from coast to coast and haven't had any issues when it is time to replace I'm going to go with the Goodyear's.

My Constancys weight was right at the limit for my trailer so I upgraded the trailer to Maxxis 10 Plys and put the Constancys on my car hauler. The car hauler needed tires anyway as they were dry rotted so it worked out as a win-win for me.

[Tundra 2014]

I have noticed better tracking w/ Goodyear Endurance than Carlyles I had before. I did go up a size and went from C to D rated. I did have about 4K on Carlyles w/ no problem before. Even after taking tongue weight off, original tires from FR were underrated for trailer weight. New ones are 20% over needed. After having a blow out on previous trailer that took three guys, a saws-all, a 6' crow bar over 3 hours in TX heat to get tire off the axle. All on the side of the HWY, close to sliding in a bar ditch. I enjoy trips more w/ security of less chance of repeating. I change tires ever 5 years or 25K.