China bombs bite the dust!

[RSchleder]

OK, after adding pressure sensor monitors when the trailer was new 9 months ago, and putting 5K miles on my China Bombs, my Wildcat MAXX has 4 new MAXXIS tires.
We're getting ready for our winter trip of about 4k miles and will now have much more peace of mind going down the 4 lane. Yes, I understand perhaps I've been lucky to get 5k miles out of the bombs. But perhaps, not hitting curbs, big potholes, running them under pressure, not continually turning them 90 degrees in/out of my driveway, may very well have made my "risks" much less.
Who knows? I'm glad they are off my wildcat and it may turn out to be the best $600 I ever spent. At least I'll feel much more at ease as we hit the road in a few days!

[Oaklevel]

Annnnd maybe the China tires would have went for several more years...... Just don't get a false sense of security and when you have a Maxxis blow due to a road hazard or pothole be too disappointed.......... the same care needs to be taken.........

[jlgail4309]

Seems some are better than other. 5000 miles you had a good set. One of mine deformed after about 2000 miles . Made me feel better out on the highway with kids and wife in the Jeep. Don't need any big booms on a single axle trailer. Live and learn wouldn't but another single axle trailer. Enjoy your Trip and Happy Camping !!

[DreiHunde]

Originally Posted by Oaklevel

Annnnd maybe the China tires would have went for several more years...... Just don't get a false sense of security and when you have a Maxxis blow due to a road hazard or pothole be too disappointed.......... the same care needs to be taken.........

X2 on the "all tires need the same care"!!! Even the TV tires!

But glad you have one less thing to worry about and can enjoy your trip....cos that is what all this is about!!! Enjoying yourself and having fun!!!

[lbrjet]

Sounds like you changed out one good tire for another. Even trade. Be just as vigilant with the new tires as the old ones. With all this China bomb talk on this Forum you would think the highways would be littered with trailers.


2010 F250 5.4L 3.73
2011 Flagstaff 831FKBSS
Equal-i-zer 4pt 12K

[mike.t]

Isn't there some sort of DOT requirements for "China bomb's" ?

[Airdale]

Originally Posted by mike.t

Isn't there some sort of DOT requirements for "China bomb's" ?

Yep, they must have the certified "DOT" molded into their sidewall.

[ferguson65]

Damn, I wish everyone taking the china bombs off was closer to me! My dump trailer needs tires and only gets 10% of what the camper does as far as miles go, and there's nothing to destroy if one lets go. I can't find camper take offs around here.

That said, the China bombs on the camper make me a bit nervous, but the tpms eases a lot of that. If they were the same size as the dump trailer they would have been off the camper already! Piece of mind is worth a lot.

[TGR]

I used the Wildcat option and upgraded to Maxxis tires from the Wildcat factory. I've put over 14,000 miles on them without any problems or unusual wear. I intend to run them again this year and will likely replace them with another set of Maxxis tires as these have performed well.


As a side note, I hit a jarring pothole in Atlanta on the way to Florida last year where a factory Continental front tire (65 psi) on my TV develop a bulge. However, the TV rear tire (80 psi) and both Maxxis tires (80 psi) on that side of my trailer didn't develop any problems.


I'm glad I upgraded with the Wildcat factory option as the Maxxis tires have served me will so far.

[biznsa]

I may be wrong here, but as far as I know Maxxis is a China owned company that provides tires all over the world. I would think that the tires themselves are also made in China. So wouldn't that make them part of the "china bomb" group?

[scrappypappy]

Originally Posted by biznsa

I may be wrong here, but as far as I know Maxxis is a China owned company that provides tires all over the world. I would think that the tires themselves are also made in China. So wouldn't that make them part of the "china bomb" group?

I bought Maxxis tires for my 04 Wildcat based on a lot of reviews from this site and have been very satisfied, however aren't they made in China also?

[davidx2000]

The TT we bought in the Fall of 2014 came with Maxxis tires. The 2004 Coachmen 248TBG equipment sheet listed them on it from the factory. The TT was already 10 years old when we acquired it.

The Maxxis tires were cracking between the treads, and on the sidewalls, but tread was still good. The date codes were from '04. Of course I wanted to think the tires were replaced by previous owner, it appears this was not the case. I pull it home about 60 miles on interstate with those tires, and had no problems.

I could not find Maxxis tires locally, so I ended up buying the TowMax STRs which I discovered by research had a similar belt and tread design as the Maxxis tires, and were about $25 less per tire and I did not have to pay for installation since the TowMax tires were in stock locally.

I pulled into a weigh station to check things out and discovered a bulge on one tire. We were just outside of town at the beginning of our SD Badlands trip. Fortunately, I bought them from a big rig tire/trailer store, and they sent out a crew to replace the tire since it had only like 12 miles on it. The shop later called me to they damaged the bead on that one, and kept for me to look at when I got back to town two weeks later.

We put on about 2500 miles last year with the TowMax STRs. This spring after pulling it from winter storage, I'll rotate them front-rear.

[dcheatwood]

I put 5000 on mine in 2 trips. One blew on second trip at 5000. You beat the game by switching early. Enjoy.

[mike.t]

Originally Posted by Airdale

Yep, they must have the certified "DOT" molded into their sidewall.

Very informative. Next!

[mike.t]

A little FYI.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheng_Shin_Rubber

[jtesta1]

most American made tires are molded using a five section mold. foreign tire makers use a three section mold making it less likely to be out of round. I currently have 18,000 miles on my so called china bombs. I run a tpms and put on a uv tire coating and try not to hit anything. I think most people get into trouble backing into spots that are to tight and end up twisting and damaging side walls. most times a damaged sidewall cant be seen till the tire fails.

[Goat Man]

I have Good Year marathons on our trailer. They are made in China too. We have about 10,000 on them so far. They are wearing well it seems and Walmart carries them if something should happen.

[mnoland30]

All tires in the US are required to have the speed rating printed on the side of the tire. Once they required heat, traction, and tread ratings on passenger car tires, they got much better quickly. Michelins turned out to have terrible wear factors on some of their tires. Speed ratings are the same. Trailer tires had (65mph) J ratings in the past, now some go up to (87mph) N ratings. I'm curious what your Maxxis are?

[spock123]

I had Westlake tires on my camper and they worked for me, they were ST tires, I think all ST tires are made in China. I have Goodyear G614 on this camper, made in America. I have TST 507 TPMS on the tires. I would think that just because a tire is made in America is not the best all the time, I imagine that China does make good tires


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[Steeljag]

I've been around here for a few years now, and still don't really know what is considered a China bomb...LOL !

If the Karrier load stars that came new on my TT in 2010 are considered "C- Bombs", well, they have performed nicely. Maybe it's because I stay on top of the air pressure? Don't overload it? or maybe it's because the TT is kept under roof? I plan on replacing them in the spring (or purchasing another RV). They still look good, I'm just going by age at this point!