Cheap Tires - Montana Owners Club

jimcar827 · 03-28-2006, 03:11 AM

I am a fairly new member (since last October) and one subject continues to bother me.
My particular coach, 2006 Mountaineer 329RLS, is equipped with the Mission brand tire, which as most of you know, is manufactured in China.
My wife and I are taking a long trip from SE Michigan to the Calgary Stampede, Jasper, Banff, Glacier NP, Idaho,Utah, and Colorado this coming June for six weeks.
What are the odds of my having tire failure? I know the importance of tire pressure, and visually checking the tires frequently BUT,having a problem in timbucktoo with only one distributor in California really ticks me off.
You would think with the importance of good tires Keystone would try their darndest to equip ALL of
their lines with a safe, good quality tire.
I have approached both my dealer, and Keystone on my feelings to no avail. It's kind of hard to hold my dealer responsible, however I thought I would get a better answer from Keystone other then a 1-800 number to the tire distributor.
There, I got it off my back, but I sure would appreciate further comments on the subject.
Jim

richfaa · 03-28-2006, 04:47 AM

Mission tires are not high end tires by any means.I doubt if any Rv manufacturer installs high end tires OEM their product.Something to think about in terms of the "cheap Chinese" Tires or cheap Chinese anything. We are surrounded by Chinese products. This HP Laptop that I am on was shipped directly from Singapore. Chances are that most of the Quality Electronics that you have are from China or Japan. Chinese products are made by( from our point of view) cheap Chinese labor, therefore the product is less expensive. The average factory/assembly worker in China makes .50 a hour US.That's about 4.00 Ch.They live in a culture and and use a work ethic that is so different from ours that we cannot grasp it.
I would submit that the average Chinese worker is a skilled and dedicated worker who can produce a quality product for .50 cents a hour US..And they are killing us..and our government allows it..If that Mission tire was made in a American plant in a American city it would cost 4 or 5 times more..and therein is the problem.. And I have no answers..but that's the way it is...

HomeOnTheRoad · 03-28-2006, 05:32 AM

Many brands are made overseas. Many people on this forum have stated they have had no problem with the Mission tires over many miles. Some have had problems. Many have had problems with the Goodyear Marathon tires Keystone used to put on Montanas. Many RV owners have also had problem with Michelin trailer tires. I do not think you need to worry. There are too many of them out there and not very many reports of problems. If you have a blowout you probably will not know it unless you hear it pop or someone signals you. That is how it has been for us. We don't have Mission tires though.

jimcar827 · 03-28-2006, 05:38 AM

Rich, I agree with you 100%, however, your explination does not help me or our fellow Montana owners one bit.
A tire is too important an issue.
A battery I can replace fairly easy. I can do without the microwave, tv, and even the fridge. However a bad 1 or 2 tires in the middle of no where will cost us a bundle.
I have Good Sam Emergency Road Service, and quite frankly, my chances are that I will be calling them.
Jim

jimcar827 · 03-28-2006, 05:54 AM

You guys still are not getting my point.
Goodyear, Michelin, BFG and the rest of the U.S. tire manufacturers are represented by many dealers in the country. If you have a problem, walah--the next county ahead has a cure.
Jim

richfaa · 03-28-2006, 06:01 AM

Does not help me either, My 3400 , when it gets here , will most likely have Mission tires and I don't think they are any better or worse than any other OEM tire.They are lowest bidder, just within spec's, like everything else on the camper. W e will do proper tire maint, watch the temp and pressure as we always do and keep our road service number on speed dial in the cell phone. We Had Chinese tires OEM on our last camper and had no problems, Replaced them after 3 years with Goodyear Marathon and had no problem then replaced those with Kelly's and had no problems.. We hope we can get 2 or 3 years out of the Missions then we will replace them with we don't know what..Chances are that by that time there will not be a American tire Manufacturer left.I am not sure there is now..I mean Hewlett Packard is An american company right..maybe so but their Computers come from China.

Sunshine · 03-28-2006, 07:02 AM

Can't address your concern about Mission tires, however, after the entire tread separated from one of the better brand tires on our Monty last March in the middle of the Nevada desert, causing nearly $2000 damage; when we got home we replaced all the Montana tires with 10 ply trailer tires. It's hubby's feeling that the manufacturers put tires on the trailers that don't have a strong enough sidewall. So, after our bad experience, we went with a heavier duty trailer tire that have a lifetime road hazard warranty. If you have any qualms at all about the tires that come on the unit, if it fits in your budget, you might consider replacing them with the heavier duty trailer tires, not pickup tires, and sell the ones that come on the unit, or keep them if you have another vehicle they could be used on. I'll add also that on that "fateful" trip, hubby checked the tires whenever we fueled or stopped for any reason, and there was no heating or pressure problems, and the tread was almost like new.

JH Sechelt · 03-28-2006, 03:35 PM

We just did a trip from Vancouver, B.C. to Northern California and back.3400 Kms ( 2125 Miles on your Odometers ). No problem with the Mission tires. Made sure they were up to the right tire pressure before we left. Checked them every time we pulled off the freeway and they never even felt warm. I think it can be real hard on trailer tires when you are on the blacktop in the south in the heat of the summer. I've got friends with Golden Falcons, Komforts & Kustom Koachs.
All have had tire blow outs - all with different tires. The one that I know drives pretty fast blew three tires on one trip. Heat is a tires worst enemy and speed creates heat. So watch your tire pressure and speed, Big difference between
60 & 70 MPH.

J & D

Trailer Trash 2 · 03-28-2006, 04:31 PM

I think it all boils down to keeping the tires at there required pressure and if you feel uncomfortable, do a daily check when you come in off the road, check for blisters, tire seperation, tred ware.

It looks like some people have had good luck with them.

TT2

Montana Sky · 03-28-2006, 05:17 PM

I am with TT2, if you take care of your tires they will take care of you. I keep the tires at 80psi cold all year. Check the tire pressure at least once a month and while on the road I check them every time we stop for food, fuel or rest area. I keep the tires covered all summer while at the lake or any time I set up camp for more than 3 days, also keep them covered in the garage during the winter months. Last summer I had the wheels balanced, I feel that there is not much more I can do to protect the tires than I have already done. I try to focus more on sit back and enjoy the trip...

RKassl · 03-29-2006, 12:01 AM

My 2005 came with a Tacoma tire. Last year there were many calls to Keystone about these tires. Keystone handed you off to some tire distributor that denied any and all reported problems. At one point some people thought there was a recall for these tires but it did not happen.

All I know is that I am putting on new Goodyear tires before our big trip this summer. Why? My piece of mind! I know that Montana can't afford to invest in great tires on the trailer. OEM's would be OK by their specs, but that is not good enough for me. I look at it as cheap insurance for our Monty. I know there will be responses from owners with thousands of miles on their OEM tires, I am very happy they have kept you safe and sound.

Happy Camping

jimcar827 · 03-29-2006, 02:10 AM

Thanks everyone for your kind messages, strict tire maintainance is on my list.
Thanks again,
Jim

old turbo · 03-29-2006, 05:19 AM

I have TACOMA tires on my 04 297RKS Mountaineer . I purchased it down by Dollywood new and have it up in Michigan. I have made lots of trips in Michigan. My kids live in MN.,CO.,and WA , so lots of long hauls.Tires still look in great shape. I think a lot of problems come from overloaded trailers,not keeping proper air pressure,and the big one is driveing to fast. The TACOMAS are US. made. If you are not happy with the CHINA tire get them repaced now and purchase what you would be happy with while the tires still have some resale value.I think you can have trouble with any tire brand!

Montana Sky · 03-29-2006, 08:15 AM

Bob,
I hope your upcoming trip has many happy miles without any trouble. I have the same mindset as you. If it makes me feel safer, than go for it.

G McCall · 03-29-2006, 12:00 PM

I say replace the tires with a more reliable Michelin ? tire of your choice and keep a few of the old tires for spares. You could even buy a few cheap wagon wheel rims and mount the old tires for full spares.

Wrenchtraveller · 03-30-2006, 02:03 AM

We all have to do what our own comfort level tells us. I may have chanced keeping the Missions on my new Monty if I had not handled them unmounted .

These things are like a rag and I could squeeze the beads of the tire completely together using only 50% of my strength of my right or left hand.

I went to a tire shop and tried squeezing LT tires together ............. not a chance and the Governor of the Great State of California probably could not do it either.

With the unmounted Missions, I could push any finger on the inside side wall and make a small pronounced bulge. Lt tires ..........No way.

Is anybody interested in 4 new Mission tires...........going cheap.

Merv · 03-30-2006, 09:13 AM

Jimcar827,
I dont think brand is as important proper care.
Inflation pressures and camper loading are probably most important. If the tires are not abused they should last. Your camper is new so the tires are new and should last many miles.
It sounds like you are concerned about tire availability more. Even if you can not find the same brand tire, you should have no problem getting the same size tire on your trip.
If it is a real concern, take along a un-mounted spare. With the spare that comes with the camper and the un-mounted spare, this should solve all the potential problems.
Merv

Jetson · 03-30-2006, 12:35 PM

Proper maintenance did not work for me. Always checked 80 psi cold before traveling. After blowing the 2nd OEM tire and doing minor, $750 damage to the camper, I bought new Michelin XPS rib tires.

My OEM tires were General Grabber AW 285R-16E truck tires. The first one blew at about 5,000 miles, the second at 6,500 miles. They were around 2 years old. Continental paid for 1 new tire and $750 camper damage.

Beware trying to save money with those junk OEM tires. The second tire blew 1.5 hours from leaving my driveway, where I had just set the cold air pressure at 80 psi.

RKassl · 03-30-2006, 12:47 PM

I am putting the following tires on the Monty next week. They require 110psi wheels. The original steel wheels are not acceptable for these higher pressure tires. These tires are made for heavy trailers they are load range G, but I like the extra margin of safety.

http://www.goodyear.com/rv/products/...t_g614rst.html

sreigle · 03-31-2006, 10:09 AM

You know, what strikes me as odd is that we've had numerous threads concerned about the Mission tires. Yet we've heard very little about problems with those tires. I've heard far more about problems with the name brands, like Goodyear and Michelin. That inclueds numerous problems with the Goodyear Marathons that came on both our Montanas and on our Jayco Eagle prior to that. And, on this Montana, despite there being Goodyear dealers all over the country, many of them do not stock the Marathon trailer tire. Some do, many do not, from my experience. Worse, our 3295RK came with ST235/80R16 LR D, an oddball size that nobody stocks. That LR D tire had a rating of over 3,000 lbs, usually the territory of LR E, but nobody stocks them. We more than once had to sit for 3 or more days waiting for a tire to come in.

I dumped the Goodyears for good in early March and went with BF Goodrich Commercial T/A tires in an LT235/85R16 LR E, and expect to get far better service from them. After the first 1800 miles they look great.

As for the Goodyears, I almost wish my Montana had come with the Missions rather than the Goodyears. All my opinion but based on many aggravations and tribulations with the Goodyears on three different fifthwheels.

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