I could have Died on June 29th

[david_reaves]

Originally Posted by smgelsie

We just purchased Good Sam emergency road service for this very reason...
They will risk fixing your tire on a busy interstate!

Don't count on them... I just had an issue with a pot-hole bent axle that I didn't know about-- until the tire lost air. Waited 2 hours for Good Sam, then called back and was told driver still at another site and might be there in another hour. I cancelled the call rather than sit for another hour-plus. The bad tire was on the off side away from traffic, so I pulled out the portable 3-ton floor jack that lives in my truck box. Put on the spare, then drove about 5 miles to buy a new tire. All was good for a while.

Trying to get home, we checked the tire and measured tread depth and watched pressures and temp on the TPMS. Changed the worn tire with the spare before it became a risk and started looking for another new tire. Found some about 60 miles away. Unfortunately, the spare blew about 20 miles later. This time, called Good Sam for the no-spare service. They did give us updated status, but apparently the one (ONE!) person working the help line for no-spare service was overwhelmed with calls. She couldn't find anyone anywhere near me that could get a mounted tire.

After three hours in 90 degree heat and 100% humidity we decided to put the badly worn, but still inflated tire back on for the blown spare. (Where we were, and the roadside condition/angle, made me believe that if I'd unhooked the camper it could have easily been blown over by passing trucks. There was a huge amount of movement even with the trailer connected and the stabilizers down!) I cancelled the Good Sam call and limped slowly into the next town about 3 miles down the road.

We parked at a motel with 18-wheeler parking lot, unhooked, and took a break. The next day we drove the truck to buy 2 new tires. After that, we made it home (still checking the tire wear every stop). A new Dexter axle is on order and I should have it replaced by the end of July.

So, a very long story to say that you may be able to get help from Good Sam road service. You may also have to wait quite a while. I have no doubt that if I hadn't replaced the blown out spare with the worn tire that Good Sam would have left us on the side of I-40 all night. We would have likely not have received a mounted tire until the next day.

So, buyer beware.

[DieselDrax]

Originally Posted by david_reaves

Don't count on them... I just had an issue with a pot-hole bent axle that I didn't know about-- until the tire lost air. Waited 2 hours for Good Sam, then called back and was told driver still at another site and might be there in another hour. I cancelled the call rather than sit for another hour-plus. The bad tire was on the off side away from traffic, so I pulled out the portable 3-ton floor jack that lives in my truck box. Put on the spare, then drove about 5 miles to buy a new tire. All was good for a while.



Trying to get home, we checked the tire and measured tread depth and watched pressures and temp on the TPMS. Changed the worn tire with the spare before it became a risk and started looking for another new tire. Found some about 60 miles away. Unfortunately, the spare blew about 20 miles later. This time, called Good Sam for the no-spare service. They did give us updated status, but apparently the one (ONE!) person working the help line for no-spare service was overwhelmed with calls. She couldn't find anyone anywhere near me that could get a mounted tire.



After three hours in 90 degree heat and 100% humidity we decided to put the badly worn, but still inflated tire back on for the blown spare. (Where we were, and the roadside condition/angle, made me believe that if I'd unhooked the camper it could have easily been blown over by passing trucks. There was a huge amount of movement even with the trailer connected and the stabilizers down!) I cancelled the Good Sam call and limped slowly into the next town about 3 miles down the road.



We parked at a motel with 18-wheeler parking lot, unhooked, and took a break. The next day we drove the truck to buy 2 new tires. After that, we made it home (still checking the tire wear every stop). A new Dexter axle is on order and I should have it replaced by the end of July.



So, a very long story to say that you may be able to get help from Good Sam road service. You may also have to wait quite a while. I have no doubt that if I hadn't replaced the blown out spare with the worn tire that Good Sam would have left us on the side of I-40 all night. We would have likely not have received a mounted tire until the next day.



So, buyer beware.

Not sure if you’re aware since it wasn’t mentioned, but Good Sam is nothing more than a middle-man that contacts local companies to perform the services and Good Sam pays their bill. Good Sam doesn’t have their own fleet that they send out so being unable to get service quickly is unlikely to be Good Sam’s fault but rather who they contact to service you. There’s also the possible “we don’t like working with Good Sam so their customers have the lowest priority” but that’s hard to prove unless a tow/tire company comes out and says it directly.

Point being, it likely doesn’t matter if it’s Good Sam or some other roadside company, you’re at the mercy of whoever provides service in your area.

[david_reaves]

Originally Posted by DieselDrax

Good Sam doesn’t have their own fleet that they send out so being unable to get service quickly is unlikely to be Good Sam’s fault but rather who they contact to service you. .... you’re at the mercy of whoever provides service in your area.

To an extent, I agree that may be some of the problem. However with the hundreds of thousands of Good Sam service customers I would expect them to have a reliable network of service providers. If they are just call Joe Smith from the Yellow Pages, then I could do the same-- probably more quickly, and send Good Sam the service bill. Having only one person to manage a specific type of roadside assistance (regionally/nationally?) IS Good Sam's fault.

[pgandw]

Statistically, there isn't enough to go on to say Castle Rocks (or TowMax) are significantly worse than other tires.

Virtually all Forest River products in the last 2-3 years have come with Castle Rock tires as OEM. Before that, there were several different brands. That's a lot of tires, most of which are NOT replaced until there is a failure. Most of us on these forums will replace at 5 year intervals, but many-to-most others will not.

Because of regulation, tire reserve capacity has increased in the last 2 years as well, which will help reduce the number of premature tire failures going forward.

The real question is - and remains - do Castle Rock tires have a higher-than-average defect rate from the factory? How much higher? Since we don't know the answers, the question we each have to answer is "Do you feel luck today? Well, do you?"

My approach is to stick with the Castle Rocks, and hope that my actions reduce my likelihood of the dreaded on-the-road blowout. Actions I have taken:
- at 9 months, remove wheels, repack bearings, have tires balanced (and examined).
- visually examine my tires before every trip
- inflate tires to max PSI before every trip
- be alert for any unusual vibrations (having a single axle camper helps with this)
- don't camp in 90+ weather
- keep speeds to 72 or less (tires rated at 75)
- store camper in garage (out of sun)
- keep camper weight well under max GVW

None of these actions are guarantees, but I'm also confident that MOST Castle Rock tires are NOT defective from the factory.

When I pulled the wheels to repack bearings and balance tires, I noted a slight concavity across the tread (all 3 tires), all the way around. But balancing went very well, with less than 5oz on any tire.

Before last trip, noted the Schrader valve on one tire was loose and pressure on that tire was a little low (4 PSI low compared to others). Got the valve key, tightened the valve, and tire is now holding pressure fine.

just my experiences, yours may vary
Fred W
2019 Flagstaff T21TBHW A-frame
2008 Hyundai Entourage minivan
camping Colorado and adjacent states one weekend at a time

[myredracer]

I hear people blaming "blowouts" on the country of manufacture, i.e. China all the time.

What I rarely hear people talk about is how to properly treat ST tires - never tow overloaded, never tow under-inflated and never tow over their speed rating. Having a min. of 15% reserve load capacity over a trailer's actual weight on the tires is important. Trailers can weigh quite a bit more on one side due to slides and what's in them. Should always go through a scale to get your actual weights. Also not "curbing" tires and staying off road shoulders is important. Always run the tires at max. sidewall psi and check periodically. Replace ST tires at 5 years of age (based on date code). These things will all greatly reduce the chances of a failure.

Too many simply don't treat their ST tires properly and without a data logger of some sort (basically impossible), you'll never know the true history on tires. Sure, some Chinese tires may have questionable quality but even the ones with a top reputation can suffer a blowout. Heck, we got 5 1/2 seasons on our Chinese tires, but then, I did all the right stuff.

Balancing tires can be a waste of time and not help. Brake drums are not balanced by the manufacturer and can be significantly out of balance and negate any effort to balance the tires only. Best way is to balance the drums/rims/tires as an assembly but is a lot of work.

[babock]

Originally Posted by myredracer

Brake drums are not balanced by the manufacturer and can be significantly out of balance and negate any effort to balance the tires only.

Some are and some aren't but fortunately, since the radius of the drum is so small, the amount of weight difference at that small radius contributes FAR less to the imbalance than a tire will.

[myredracer]

Originally Posted by babock

Some are and some aren't but fortunately, since the radius of the drum is so small, the amount of weight difference at that small radius contributes FAR less to the imbalance than a tire will.

I know someone who balances each wheel as an assembly. He cleans all the grease out and adds a few drops of oil and manually adds weights on the rims until balanced. He claims you can be out up to 6 oz. if you don't include the drums. If you're doing a bearing repack, it wouldn't be much more work. I actually bought some weights and was going to do this but never got around to it. Of course, you'd always have to put the same wheels on the same drums and ensure they're aligned in the same orientation. Our tires have aged out at 5 1/2 years and seems kind of pointless to go to all that work and which as you say, may not do much anyway.

But it's an interesting thought to consider.

[babock]

Originally Posted by myredracer

He claims you can be out up to 6 oz.

I would love to see how he figured that.

[sc_cmpr]

Same thing happened to us with NEXXUS trailer tires. They are supposed to be very good trailer tires but "boom" on I26 coming into Charleston. Coachnet had us up and going in less than one hour! We now have 4 new Goodyear endurance tires on the 5th wheel. Hope they are OK, took a lot of lead to balance and that is not the sign of a quality tire!

[Mark N]

With 700 miles on my brand-new 5th wheel, I sold the Goodyear Marathons (Chinese made) and put on Goodyear G-614s. It was a $1400 decision based on safety.

[Mod man]

me and my wife bought a 30ft rockwood with those tires when we got home i put a new set of tires on i woesn't going to risk a blow out those tires are junk i read that they put lots of dirt in the tire when they make them that's why they wont hold up i'm glad your ok

[pianomanharry]

And this is what happens when you don’t check to see if your lugnuts are good. This happened 2 summers ago on a Saturday eve(7pm) about 45 minutes south of Myrtle Beach in some small town. AAA does nothing and there were no tow trucks available anywhere. Thankful a good samaritan with tools stopped and was able lift the camper(36ft) to punch out the old lugnuts and replace them with new ones. Worst night of my life. Went back the next day and found the old tire about a mile away the next day where we pulled over.

[myredracer]

Originally Posted by babock

I would love to see how he figured that.

This is what he said on another forum. He's a very knowledgeable machinist and mechanic and long time RV-er.

I've been harping on this subject for a long time. The drums are NOT balanced from the factory and there is little point in balancing wheels under this condition. Buying new drums is a crap shoot because they may be even worse than the ones you are replacing. The OP is the first person that has come on here having actually tested the balance of the drums.

OP, you are correct that there is no provision for balancing. What I do is clean out ALL the grease from the bearings, add a few drops of light oil, and find the heavy spot. Then mount the tire/wheel with the heavy spot opposite the drum heavy spot. Mark everything and add balance weights to the wheel till it comes into balance. Clean the bearings, pack grease and reassemble with a new grease seal. Using this procedure, you should be able to get the entire assemblies within 1/2 oz. If you just balance the tire, you could be out 6 oz. or more.

[Bev4banff53]

Originally Posted by Bikerhorse

I have 6300 on my castle rocks, just thonkin of another trip , wonder what milage everyone is seeing this

I have 9100 miles on my castle rocks. I can't get away for a trip anytime soon, but expect that I may change out the tires before I do. I have taken great care with these tires...travel usually at 55mph, check tire pressure every morning before heading out and inflating to the recommended max pressure. I also use a TPMS, which saved me once when I had a screw puncture my tire. I also store my TT in a carport when not in use. My problem has been that my TT is just a little e-pro !2 RK and the tire size is R13. It's difficult to find replacement tires that have a D load rating or higher for those. (Goodyear Endurance doesn't make 'em!)

[Dietzldub]

Anything made in China is subpar, materials are inconsistent. I will do everything in my power to not by products made in China as far as anything that could be of a safety issue, and reliability of parts, tires and such.

I had two Castle Rocks blow out with in 100 miles, I decided to pull the other two off because we didn’t feel safe riding on them any more. The trailer is a 2017 Windjammer maybe 5000 miles on them, when this happened they were roughly 2 years old. Good thing we did, the third one had tread separation.

We had Good Year Endurance tires put on. Made in the USA!

I hear people talk about checking tire pressures, and heat during stops, it doesn’t matter with these crappy tires. I religiously check tire condition, and pressures before we set off for trips. Some say well they’ve been good for me, well the tires were possibly manufactured that day when they had the materials spot on that one day.

Chinese products are total crap!!!

[Jakieboy]

We have been RV-ing for more than 40 years and we have never had a tire failure with any tires manufactured in the USA. We have experienced failures on nearly half of the tires that were manufactured in China as Goodyear "look-a-likes". Beware. Some of the tires that failed should never have been mounted on our then new TT - they were already 4 years old. Now we know to check both the contry of manufacture, and the date of construction before we buy.

It is a simple question of quality control for me. The China bombs may last for years with no problems, or blow out when you are towing your new RV back home from the dealer. Do you want to take the chance that you may not be lucky??

[ch1ch2]

Originally Posted by Filterman

Like all tire problems, it’s a combination of speed, weight, heat, tire pressure etc.

I call B.S. Some tires are are just crap. I bought 4 new tires, "China", to save money. I put them on a utility trailer that I have had for many years and many miles. In less than 300 miles and 4 months, 3 of the 4 tires had the tread come off. The trailer was empty most of the time. Maybe 50 miles with a small riding mower on it.
The dealer went out of business.

[kins83]

No one seems to talk about excessive speed leading to heat build up. I've not blown tires but I've seen plenty blow just after they blow by me in the fast lane. 75-80mph on an RV loaded to 90% capacity on a 90+ deg day will probably blow any tire if you drive that way long enough.

[Jacketsbum]

Three months ago I bought four new Goodyear endurance tires for my fiver. Today we are on our way back from an Alaska trip to Ohio and we have so far driven 11,000 miles on those tires. Tread depth is about half of what it was when they were new and I’m not sure if that’s normal with that many miles, but driving on the Alaska Highway is no picnic. The pavement is rough and the frost heaves are terrible! Literally launches your camper off the ground if you hit them too hard. I broke two springs and a spring shackle that I had to have welded. I didn’t discover it until we were out in the middle of Timbuctu (actually the Cassiar Highway in the Yukon)with no phone signal no Internet no nothing so I could not call anyone for help. We limped back to Watson Lake with the rear axle cocked four inches out of position because of the busted shackle and the opposte spring broken. We were hoping it wouldn’t twist more and the whole axle fall off. Anyway to make a long story short the tires held up fine through all of that other than the wear and tear of 11000 miles. Seems weird though that three month old tires might have to be replaced. We have another 1000 miles to go so there will be 12000 on them.

[bigb56]

I agree that most tire failures are probably a result of abuse, overloading, under inflation, excessive speed or a combination.

For those who are concerned about the brake drums being off balance you can always use a product like Centramatic to balance your trailer wheels

Whole Assembly Balance for Trailers-RV from Centramatic