Slipped belts Goodyear Tires

[Tireman9]

Originally Posted by Vickiv

2014 Palazzo 33.2. Purchased 10/18 and negotiated 6 new tires in deal. I’ve put 7500 miles on rig. Weighed (axels not 4 corner) and inflated tires to 100psi each, slightly above chart recommendation. Installed safe t steer. Steering wheel is slightly off center to rt from purchase which does not affect tracking.

On annual service asked dealer to check because of tire vibration. Dealer informed me that both front tires have slipped belts. Back tires have not been checked. Dealer says tire hazard warranty doesn’t cover. He is contacting Goodyear but doesn’t know if they’ll cover. He suggested rotating to back. I don’t think that’s a good idea. From my reading a slipped belt is actually tire separation.

I’m not knowledgeable in this area, but I’ve certainly been rving long enough to experience a few blow outs and the damage they do. I think I’d be riding on a time bomb. I also think I should not have to purchase new tires after 1 year and 7000 miles.

Looking for suggestions and what recourse I might have. Thanks in advance.

What is the DOT serial date code on your "new" tires?

[Vickiv]

Originally Posted by Tireman9

What is the DOT serial date code on your "new" tires?

Rig is at dealer but my last conversation with him was that the date code was less than a year prior to purchase in July 18. I’ll be checking that thoroughly for my info, as well as the batch code on the remaining 4 tires that were purchased Sept 2018.

[Tireman9]

Originally Posted by Vickiv

Rig is at dealer but my last conversation with him was that the date code was less than a year prior to purchase in July 18. I’ll be checking that thoroughly for my info, as well as the batch code on the remaining 4 tires that were purchased Sept 2018.

Thanks. Don't forget to file complaint (one per tire) with NHTSA.

[DurangoNick]

Originally Posted by LETMGROW

I started doing alignments and frame straightening in 1963 after attending GM schools and The "Bear" front end alignment school in Rock Island Illinois. Back then it was accepted practice to use a straight edge which would reach the length of the wheel base of any vehicle we worked on. This included 18 wheel trucks with trailers. The vehicle's toe in had to be set at zero and the straight edge used on both sides and measured to check for axle to axle alignment. If something was bent or worn it got repaired before any attempt to align anything. I never pulled a steering wheel to center it unless some dimwit had pulled it previously and repositioned it. This was easy to determine. The steering pitman arm would be disconnected from the steering linkage, the steering wheel would be turned all the way to one direction or the other, then the wheel would be turned back all the way to the point it was at the furthest turned position all the while counting the number of turns. You would divide the number of turns by 1/2 and turn the wheel back to that number. If the wheel was installed correctly the steering wheel would be centered. If not the wheel would be repositioned until it was centered. This would center the steering gear on the 'high point' of the gears and from there the linkage could be reattached and the alignment would be performed splitting the toe in between the two front wheels.
The main reason a steering wheel is off center is because the alignment wasn't done correctly and one front wheel is turned in or out more than the other.
I will agree a steering wheel can be off center if the rear wheels are not tracking straight but usually this condition is caused from a collision where something in the rear of the vehicle was damaged. We used to call this 'Dog tracking'. The rear end will actually be 'pushing' the front end in one direction or the other and the driver will feel like the front end has a 'pull'.
Today's 4 wheel alignment equipment makes the job faster and easier and takes a lot of guess work out of the job. That is IF the equipment operator is competent enough to operate it or cares about what they are doing.
Lynn

Great explanation.

[Vickiv]

After a week of “Goodyear Rep ignoring dealer” I made a trip to the dealer and called the tire dealer myself. He apologized for dropping the ball and sent over 2 replacement tires. I have to pay for mount & balance.

Date codes on two that failed were 1818 & 1718. Date codes on 4 rears were 2918 (per RV dealer). They are Endurance RSAs.

Tech said left front was very visible when they put on alignment machine, which is where I thought vibration originated.

I’ll be picking up Monday and anxious to see if it rides/steers better.

Question to Tireman9: since they are replacing tires, which seems fair to me, should I still file with NHTSA?