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Old 11-26-2018, 02:53 PM   #41
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Originally Posted by Iwannacamp View Post
Mike you are correct about the forum. It is one of the most informative and helpful things I have ever participated in... it is also one of the "scariest" things.

I worry nearly non stop about:
Awning blowing away(with O.C.'s brackets and "Claw" dillies)
Tires with TST RV507 still worry and look left and right continually
DO NOT touch the rear bumper...
Frame will crack and fall apart(springs falling off too)
Your 5th will coupler will mysteriously come aloose (Butch's closed)
Anything other than golf car batteries are a waste
Wheel bearings are crap and seals pop out instantly
Average person goes through 4-5 condenser coils
Honda and Yamaha are the only good generators
DO NOT DUMP anything anywhere(gloves are a must)

there are others, but this is all I got right now.

I do truly love this forum.
These additional quickly come to mind...

NEVER put toilet paper in your black tank.
Change out the WFCO converter IMMEDIATELY!
Replace all vent caps with siphon style.
The stock BBQ is junk.
Propane Auto-change-over valves are a waste.
NEVER put your battery(ies) on a cement floor.
Always take your batteries out or they will freeze.
Blowing out is as good a using antifreeze.
NEVER drink from your fresh tank.
NEVER tow with a full fresh tank.
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Old 11-26-2018, 03:05 PM   #42
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Originally Posted by 5picker View Post
These additional quickly come to mind...

NEVER put toilet paper in your black tank.
Change out the WFCO converter IMMEDIATELY!
Replace all vent caps with siphon style.
The stock BBQ is junk.
Propane Auto-change-over valves are a waste.
NEVER put your battery(ies) on a cement floor.
Always take your batteries out or they will freeze.
Blowing out is as good a using antifreeze.
NEVER drink from your fresh tank.
NEVER tow with a full fresh tank.
LOL true...

There is one thing that is 100+% true. Water leaks and Eternabond. Prolly best advice one could get....and get an EMS.
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Old 11-26-2018, 04:50 PM   #43
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Have almost 4,000 miles on new tires. After hearing all the horror stories about china bombs i m getting paranoid. When do most of you guys switch these out for better ones?
You will recieve a lot of information and misinformation on the subject.

First, a little history:

There was a time (late 50s, 60s) when "Made in Japan" was synomous with "junk". The reputation stung, and Japan hired US process and quality engineers to change the situation. As a result of their work, quality in manfacturing has come to be defined as minimal deviation from the design standard.

What this means in reality is that a low quality process/factory will be producing a greater percentage of "defects" - output that deviates "too far" from the design standard.

Chinese manufacturing has been rapidly changing for the better. However, the US still has lots of problems with Chinese manufacturing: 1) Chinese theft of US companies IP; 2) Chinese manufacturing contracts generally require the Chinese factory retain the tooling, molds, and any other equipment used during the manufacture to prevent returning manufacturing to the US; and 3) Chinese government intervention in any and all contractual disputes, usually to the disadvantage of the US importer.

Despite these problems, the US-Chinese partnerships have resulted in significantly increasing process quality from Chinese plants (fewer "defects").

There are fewer defects in China "bombs" than there were 5 years ago, and 5 years ago was much better than 10 years ago. The direct Chinese tire importers - Castle Rock, Westlake, etc - are better than they were, but typically not as good as a US-company name branded tire. So you will likely have a somewhat higher percentage of defects with Castle Rock as compared to Carlisle or Goodyear.

Simply stated, you have a higher risk of a defect with Castle Rock than you do with name brands. But this DOES NOT mean YOU will have a failure.

My first A-frame had West Lakes for 5 years. I was getting ready to replace them when I sold the camper, because I no longer liked the way the tire treads looked. The tires had a significant load margin and were always maintained at sidewall air pressure. Speed rating was 65, which I occasionally exceeded, but usually ran at 65.

My new A-frame has Castle Rock tires, again with a 15% load margin, even at max GVW. I will watch them carefully, maintain them, and replace them at the slightest indication of problems. Speed rating is 78 which I should never exceed. With these tires, I like to run at 72 on the Interstate. I will replace them at 5-6 years regardless.

just my thoughts and experiences
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Old 11-26-2018, 05:01 PM   #44
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irrespective of China Bomb defects...

FR sure cuts it close when matching tire loads to weight of trailers...

Putting new tires on and upping the load rating from C to D or D to E will probably be a significant improvement in every trailer tire
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Old 11-26-2018, 05:02 PM   #45
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Originally Posted by 5picker View Post
These additional quickly come to mind...

NEVER put toilet paper in your black tank.
Change out the WFCO converter IMMEDIATELY!
Replace all vent caps with siphon style.
The stock BBQ is junk.
Propane Auto-change-over valves are a waste.
NEVER put your battery(ies) on a cement floor.
Always take your batteries out or they will freeze.
Blowing out is as good a using antifreeze.
NEVER drink from your fresh tank.
NEVER tow with a full fresh tank.
You forgot to mention that all FR and Lippert products are crap yet people saying this are often "repeat offenders", buying more one after another as they upgrade.
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Old 11-26-2018, 05:19 PM   #46
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Originally Posted by rsdata View Post
irrespective of China Bomb defects...

FR sure cuts it close when matching tire loads to weight of trailers...

Putting new tires on and upping the load rating from C to D or D to E will probably be a significant improvement in every trailer tire
And would probably only cost them a few pennies more to do...if that!

When I was pricing tires a few months back, the price difference for me, the end consumer, between the same brand 'D' range tire and an 'E' range tire was exactly $1.00 per tire, and I'm sure that the RV manufacturer's pay a lot less for the tires than we do.
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Old 11-26-2018, 05:36 PM   #47
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irrespective of China Bomb defects...

FR sure cuts it close when matching tire loads to weight of trailers...

Putting new tires on and upping the load rating from C to D or D to E will probably be a significant improvement in every trailer tire

What are they cutting close? The tires on my TT are rated for MORE than the rating of the axles and the GVW "Certification" is lower than the rating of the axles.

If I keep trailer loaded as the "sticker" states there's plenty of capacity in the LRC tires.

Are you suggesting that FR use axles rated for heavier loads along with the upgraded tires. If they did that then the GVW rating would go up too.

How about this. Maybe customers should look at the GVW/Cargo ratings and buy a TT that fits their needs? People with overloaded trailers that merely upgrade tire load rating are still overloading the axle/suspension, No tire is going to solve that problem.
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Old 11-26-2018, 05:39 PM   #48
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All Chinese tires are a bad choice when you can buy American! Many times you don't have a choice but when you do, do the right thing!
I'm not implying that all Chinese manufactured tires are crap, simply stating when all things are equal buy American made!
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Old 11-26-2018, 05:56 PM   #49
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I'm not implying that all Chinese manufactured tires are crap, simply stating when all things are equal buy American made!
In today's "World Economy" doing so doesn't necessarily mean a net increase in jobs here in the US.

Jobs merely shift to different industries. Reduce imports and those who offload the ships and transport from port to market will lose jobs. More jobs might be created elsewhere in the Country but not necessarily will it be a zero sum or increase.

You also have to consider what will happen to the $130 Billion in exports TO China if we stopped buying their products.

BTW, good luck buying an affordable computer if you are looking for a purely American made. Those that claim "Made in America" are mainly just assembled here. Some of the components are American made but the majority portion of a computer is sourced from China.
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Old 11-26-2018, 06:03 PM   #50
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You are correct, I was confused. Cooper only makes commercial size trailer tires, but not ST. I should of put them on the LT groups list.


When I was getting my tires rotated last month, I overheard the gentleman at the desk tell another guy that Sailun tires were made by Cooper. I asked him about it because I have Sailun tires and he stated, “in a round about way, Cooper makes Sailun tires”. Whatever that may mean.
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Old 11-26-2018, 06:31 PM   #51
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Have almost 4,000 miles on new tires. After hearing all the horror stories about china bombs i m getting paranoid. When do most of you guys switch these out for better ones?
Jayco (the manufacturer) switched to Goodyear Endurance. The Jayco sales guy I talked to said there were some problems with the other tires.

Maybe Jayco is paranoid...

I tried to switch at the dealer where I bought my trailer but they didn't do tires. I switched out after the first trip to Goodyear Endurance...and I'm glad I did. I was also pleasantly surprised that I could notice a difference when pulling the trailer. Less up / down motion and the trailer tracked better.

The Castlepops are junk. If you compare one next to the Endurance its like comparing an inner tube to a real tire.
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Old 11-26-2018, 06:38 PM   #52
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This summer after having a tire go flat, and not knowing it until I pulled into the campground, I purchased a Tireminder TPMS, for peace of mind. Three weeks later, I had a blowout, trust me, I felt and heard it. No warning or indication from my new TPMS.
I called the folks at Tireminder, their comment was, " if we could develop a system that would predict blowouts, we'd be billionaires".
A Tpms will not likely give any warning to a tire failure.
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Old 11-26-2018, 06:53 PM   #53
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A Tpms will not likely give any warning to a tire failure.
It will if the air pressure goes too low or too high...

Or if the tire temperature goes too low or too high...

That is what a TPMS does.
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Old 11-26-2018, 07:03 PM   #54
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When reading horror stories about ST tire failures, there is something almost always missing, cause of failure.

Just maybe you’re reading something into the failure rate that just isn’t there. In the past, a lot of very good tire brands have been blackballed because of their failure rate. Nobody has taken the time to investigate the tire’s circumstances prior to failure. To do that you must first look at the tire’s maximum load capacity and compare it to the maximum load capacity of your trailer’s certified GAWR axles. It’s often the root cause for all early tire tread separations resulting in tire failures, failures that are catastrophic in nature, causing substantial vehicle damages. To counter it with replacement tires you must increase the load capacity of the replacement tires by 10-15%. If your OE tires already provide that much in load capacity reserves you are most likely wasting your money by replacing them with another brand of the same design.

If your trailer is new (mid 2017 and beyond) the tires are going to have a minimum load capacity reserve value of 10%, or more. If not, the trailer’s not going to have the RIVA seal of approval.

Mileage is not an indicator of bad, good or better. Trailer tires are not mileage tires, they are age-out tires. Tread depth is more important than mileage. Tire fatigue causes tire load capacity degrading. The higher the fatigue value the faster the tires degrade. The 3-5 year replacement recommendation has been mentioned everywhere for years. The owner must determine the effect it has for his/her trailer.

Another area to concentrate on is tire inflation. Trailer tires – any design – are designed to operate at full sidewall pressures all the time. Why worry about it. Do what the vehicle manufacturer has recommended. It’s time to worry only when you use cold inflation pressures above the tire sidewall max, that’s officially over inflation.

I’ve hauled my current fiver for more than 160,000 miles. According to numerous feedbacks on numerous forums, I must have one of the best hitches the market has to offer, because I cannot tell you the difference in feel between old to new set of tires. Not even in braking, because I readjust my brake controller prior to hitting the road, every time.
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Old 11-26-2018, 07:44 PM   #55
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I doubt most average (especially newbie) RV owners maintain their tires as they claim to.

I've been in the automotive business for 35 years and I've seen every brand of tire fail.

By far the most frequent cause is under inflation along with operator apathy.

Checking tires and topping them off as needed is a pain in the arse. I just don't see the average guy REALLY doing this. Most can't change their own oil much less work an air compressor...

It hurts, but it is what it is.
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Old 11-26-2018, 07:50 PM   #56
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It will if the air pressure goes too low or too high...

Or if the tire temperature goes too low or too high...

That is what a TPMS does.
Agreed, but that wasn’t the case with the blowout I had. Since the tpms was new, I was monitoring using my mobile device. No warning. I don’t know if I caught a nail, screw or something, or if was just a tread failure.
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Old 11-26-2018, 07:58 PM   #57
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US tire makers have problems too even the biggest and best.

http://https://www.google.com/url?sa...43366468276627

Goodyear seems to have a history of denying problems.
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Old 11-27-2018, 03:59 AM   #58
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What are they cutting close? The tires on my TT are rated for MORE than the rating of the axles and the GVW "Certification" is lower than the rating of the axles.
That's rather the exception, as Airdale pointed out a few posts above it's only since 2017 that manufacturers have been forced to provide a 10% cushion towards the GVWR. If you go back a few years there are plenty of trailers that have 7000 lbs worth of axles and tires but have 7500-7800 lbs GVWR. The logic being that those extra 500-800 lbs are part of the tongue weight and not carried on the axles. Load the trailer less than perfectly and crank up that WDH, and the theory goes out of the window.
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Old 11-27-2018, 08:32 AM   #59
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What are they cutting close? The tires on my TT are rated for MORE than the rating of the axles and the GVW "Certification" is lower than the rating of the axles.

If I keep trailer loaded as the "sticker" states there's plenty of capacity in the LRC tires.

Are you suggesting that FR use axles rated for heavier loads along with the upgraded tires. If they did that then the GVW rating would go up too.

How about this. Maybe customers should look at the GVW/Cargo ratings and buy a TT that fits their needs? People with overloaded trailers that merely upgrade tire load rating are still overloading the axle/suspension, No tire is going to solve that problem.
The problem is they do use Axles and tires below the gvwr . my TH came with 2 4400 lbs axles that 8800 lbs with a TH gvwr at 9700 . again using the TV carries part of the load through TW which in real world towing is bogus
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Old 11-27-2018, 09:07 AM   #60
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Not all China tires are bad.

Hercules, Maxxis, Sailun (16-inch or larger) and Hi Run all have good ratings.

Stay away from TowMax (aka.- BlowMax), TowKing (rebranded TowMax) and Goodyear Marathon tires.
Put a set of 4 (15") load range (E) Hi Run tires on my camper in 2016, 80 psi. The center cord let go on the RF this year, less than 1000 miles.
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