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quote:Originally posted by soonerhooligan
I am very disapointed to know that Keystone has learned nothing from the "Mission" experiment. I guess the accountants are running the manufacturing. I've made this point many times, folks don't drive off the dealers lot with sub-standard tires. I know that Keystone doesn't listen to the consumers. Maybe they will listen to their dealers. Tell that dealer you will NOT buy their unit until it has high quality American made tires. And stick with it. Now you put it back on them. They will complain back the Keystone. If they know that we are not going to give in something will have to change. KEYSTONE are you listening? Give us good quality tires and we will pay the difference. We are tired of watching our rear view mirror for rubber flying.
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I think Keystone is listening to consumers, but they have to do a balancing act between what we want and what we're willing to pay for. There is no doubt (in my mind) that anyone on this board would be willing pay extra, but we represent a small segment of RV shoppers/buyers. To be blunt, Keystone is in business to make money, and to do this, they have to walk a line between customer needs and profitability. If Keystone took every 'wish item' listed on this board, it would raise the cost of their trailers dramatically, and while some would not mind, many would and would buy something else. This was a lesson the American auto industry learned. Years ago, you could order an American car any way you wanted it. It was like the old Burger King advertisement: "have it your way", including engines/transmissions/axle ratios, as well as exterior/interior color combinations. Heck, if you willing to pay for it, you could even get it painted a non-standard color. Believe it or not, this is an extremely expensive way to run a company! That is why today your options are so limited, and the same thing applies to trailers as it does to cars.
Tires have an added issue though. There are only a few manufacturers who make tires strong enough for trailers, and nearly all of them are made in China, even if they do carry American names. Even Goodyear Marathons were until the middle part of this year. Not all "E" rated tires are rated the same. An "E" rated LT tire is rated at 3040 lbs while an "E" rated ST is rated about 500 lbs more.