Community Forums

wallypedal · 06-03-2015, 07:09 PM

I've had my 28' Challenger for a long time, and I've roaded it many places. Also have read many forums about tires and wheels.
My story:

Trailer was bought used with Goodyear Marathon 225/75 15 8 plys on it. They held up pretty well, no blowouts, a little uneven wear.
I put Maxxis 8008's on still 8 ply. One started wearing weird. I took the trailer to an over-road alignment shop, and they did some major axle adjustment. Tire wear was normal after that.
Those tires held up well, but those on a 30 foot enclosed car hauler I own were shot.
I put the used Maxxis on the car hauler, and bought four of the TowMax Powerking 10 ply based on my dealer recommendation.
I always check air pressure. The four new tires were run between 75 and 80 pounds. Speeds less than 65 almost always. Never over 70.
The tires were covered, stored inside, and in the shade. They are four years old now, although purchased January 2013, they were manufactured in mid 2011. They have less than 2000 miles on them.
Last week I drove 180 miles on a cool day. Stopped at a rest area and a tire was low. A piece of steel belt was sticking out of the shoulder, a couple inches long.
On my return trip and about 200 miles later, I spotted a bubble on a tire on the opposite side. The bubble was also right on the shoulder.
Further inspection shows abnormal wear on the other two as well. About half the shoulder is worn on one, and the other is low in the middle like it was overinflated. Except it never was.

I've read all the posts which say tire failure is almost always due to under-inflation, over-inflation, mis-alignment, overspeed, heat, etc. After over 14,000 miles of experience, I can tell you that NONE of these were factors in these tire failures. I did learn some things along the way, and felt confident that using 10 plys on a trailer which is not all that heavy would give me an additional capacity cushion, along with somewhat better rolling freedom and mileage due to inflating to 75 - 80 lbs. I was wrong, but do think these tires were just poor quality from the manufacturer. The dealer has offered to send them back to the marketer for inspection and possible adjustment. I will do that, as long as there is no additional expense to me. I for sure don't want this junk on my trailer anymore, so depending on what they offer, I'm not spending any more money. Period. If they give me a tire or two, I'll just sell them.

I put newly manufactured Maxxis 8008 8 plys back on with a new local dealer. I intend to baby and inspect them contantly! At least my confidence is restored for now with tires that myself and others have had good success with. My advice: Tow Max Power King ST's are no good at worst and always suspect at best. Stay away.
Wallypeal

timetogo · 06-03-2015, 08:39 PM

I've had good luck with Marathons, Maxxis, and TowMax. I run E rated tires.

George Schweikle · 06-04-2015, 07:13 AM

I use Marathons on my Featherlite open car trailer, and will be replacing the second set of road tires next year since they will be aged-out. I bought the trailer in 2003, along with two spares (since a failure on one axle can overload the adjacent tire). These spares had been mounted on tire carriers since 2003, under covers, and when I inspected them this year I was surprised to see they were manufactured in New Zealand (!). The replacement spares, from Sam's Club, were manufactured in China. I don't automatically reject anything made in China, and am assuming in good faith that Goodyear has appropriate QC controls in place for their China plant.

Quote:

Originally Posted by timetogo

I've had good luck with Marathons, Maxxis, and TowMax. I run E rated tires.

SmokeyWren · 06-04-2015, 08:00 AM

Way back in 1999, I had blow-outs on Marathon ST205/75R15C. So I replaced them with Cooper ST225/75R15D. No more tire problems on that trailer. But Cooper stopped selling ST tires several years ago, so I put Maxxis ST225/75R15E on a cargo trailer and a 16' open utility trailer. No problems at all with those Maxxis tires.

My 2012 TT came with Marathon ST205/75R14c tires. No problems after around 7,000 miles towing, but then I ran over a mesquite thorn and punctured a sidewall. Not reparable. I had a long trip planned and no time to buy new tires, so I found one of my old take-off tires and mounted it on the spare. I didn't use thespare, but when I got to my destination I found a dealer that has 4 TowMaster ST215/75R14C in stock. I bought hoose four, then later put a 5th TowMaster on the spare. That was over 3,000 miles ago, and no problems so far.

justafordguy · 06-04-2015, 08:49 AM

You got lucky and got those Towmax off your rig before they blew out and did damage. They are very poor quality tires and will not hold up under the weight of a travel trailer or 5th wheel. I replaced the Towmax on my new Gateway as soon as I pulled it home from the dealer.

wallypedal · 06-04-2015, 02:35 PM

Thanks, and yep I consider myself lucky. I guess I'd summarize my post this way: 1) I was lucky, and my experience made me diligent in checking the tires frequently 2) There are some truly defective tires being manufactured and sold or mounted which should just entitle the hapless buyer to a full refund - so we're not stuck with a pro-rated piece of identical junk. Wallypedal

Superslif · 06-04-2015, 05:04 PM

Without starting a new thread, what can I do to upgrade my tt's tires? I have ST205/75R14C They are China made tires. This will be the 4th season on them. I noticed one of them has some cracks on the sidewall. The other 3 are fine. Do they make a "D" or higher rated tire for a 14" rim? We plan to travel to Alaska next summer, so I would like to upgrade before then. Any ideas?

wallypedal · 06-04-2015, 08:27 PM

Others may have suggestions. My own experience is with 14" tires on a single axle boat trailer, loaded to the max. Kumho 857 205R14C is what I've got. Don't let the "C" fool you, these are a D rated tire, capacity 2150 lbs. @ 65 psi. I recommend them highly, bought them after researching 14" tires pretty thoroughly.

timetogo · 06-05-2015, 08:28 AM

The 14" Kumho 857 is popular.

Superslif · 06-05-2015, 08:45 AM

What I have on there now are "made in China Akuret" rated at 1760lbs. each. Load class "C".

Quote:

Don't let the "C" fool you, these are a D rated tire, capacity 2150 lbs. @ 65 psi. I recommend them highly, bought them after researching 14" tires pretty thoroughly.

But they are stamped "load range C" ?

wallypedal · 06-05-2015, 08:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wallypedal

Others may have suggestions. My own experience is with 14" tires on a single axle boat trailer, loaded to the max. Kumho 857 205R14C is what I've got. Don't let the "C" fool you, these are a D rated tire, capacity 2150 lbs. @ 65 psi. I recommend them highly, bought them after researching 14" tires pretty thoroughly.

I forgot to add that I've had these four years now and the trailer setup is about 3750 lbs. loaded. Single axle tires take all the bumps and holes without any of the equalizing that double axles benefit from. Highways and gravel roads around lakes are often rough with chuckholes and wallered out cattle guard crossings, rocks, etc. About 4,000 so far and I couldn't be happier.
Wallypedal

wallypedal · 06-05-2015, 08:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Superslif

What I have on there now are "made in China Akuret" rated at 1760lbs. each.

But they are stamped "load range C" ?

No, they just have a "C" in the tire model, it's confusing. They are stamped Load Range D

lynnmor · 06-05-2015, 04:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wallypedal

No, they just have a "C" in the tire model, it's confusing. They are stamped Load Range D

Correct. The C stands for commercial.

Superslif · 06-05-2015, 07:16 PM

Thanx. We will be going to Alaska next year, so there will spots a higher load range tire will give me more confidence when on washboard or pot-holed sections of the Alcan. Been following a YouTuber ( Chris Travels ) on his daily blog videos to Alaska. He hit a 90 minute section just before the AK. Border of nothing but washboard roads.