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Old 10-09-2007, 11:48 AM   #1
pud2
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Tire blow out

Has anyone heard of freestar or milestar tires? I had a blow out on those GREAT MISSION TIRES coming back from talladega race. I contacted Tireco. which keystone gave me the ph.# and told them the sitituation and they said they would replace my tires for free with either one of those brands. I told him i would like to buy my own and he said they would have to get old tires back and if a defect was found on any off them they would reimburse me for the tires. Don't know if i should use the ones they are recommending or buy my own with a reputable tire company i am familiar with. Any comments are helpfull. By the way this is the only tire failure i have had in 15 years of pulling a trailer. Sorry for the long thread.
 
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Old 10-09-2007, 12:10 PM   #2
bncinwv
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From Rv.net evidently the Milestar tires are no better than the Missions and some of the 15" tires have actually been recalled by Keystone recently. Never heard of the others. My personal feelings on the matter are as soon as I am able to get rid of my Missions they will be replaced with Michelins. This is not an endorsement, just my opinion.
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Old 10-09-2007, 02:14 PM   #3
Fire5er
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Was told by the dealer that the Milestars are the replacement for the Freestars. So far we have not had any problems with just over 2000 miles on them.
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Old 10-09-2007, 03:30 PM   #4
rames14
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We just replaced our Mission tires with Firestones after three years. We drove all over the country without issue. The interesting thing about the Firestones is that our fuel economy picked up by about 2 mpg. We monitor tire temperature at stops with an optical thermometer.
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Old 10-09-2007, 04:00 PM   #5
Ozzie
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Optical thermometer...now that is interesting...I just bought one...

Now that you brought it up...any idea what is a safe level for tires and bearings?
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Old 10-09-2007, 04:23 PM   #6
HomeOnTheRoad
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Check for similar temperature on all tires and bearings but allow for the sun to make one side hotter by a few degrees. Not all go bad at the same time so the important thing is to see when there is a big difference from one tire to the next one.
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Old 10-09-2007, 05:43 PM   #7
The Oldguard
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Quote:
quote:Originally posted by HomeOnTheRoad

Check for similar temperature on all tires and bearings but allow for the sun to make one side hotter by a few degrees. Not all go bad at the same time so the important thing is to see when there is a big difference from one tire to the next one.
I second that, also check truck!!!
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Old 10-10-2007, 01:33 AM   #8
Ozzie
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That makes a lot of sense - thank you...

I have noticed a pattern with my tire failures over the last few seasons, most of them happen on the hot days.
Since I have brand new tires once again, I'm hoping it will be some time before it's an issue again.
You can be sure I'll be limiting my travel on those scorching days.
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Old 10-10-2007, 02:21 AM   #9
bncinwv
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Still can't find a daggone fly swatter, oh well, take that blasted bug!!!!! Ha Ha!!

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Old 10-10-2007, 02:45 PM   #10
pud2
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Fire5er, They still make both brands. I have been speaking with tireco about the two brands and she said i could have a choice between the two, with no out of pocket exspense to me except mounting. They would replace all five including shipping both ways. Just don't know about the tires.
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Old 10-10-2007, 03:23 PM   #11
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pud2,
I don't know for sure, but I think the Milestars and the Freestars are made by the same company. I will tell you I QUIT selling Freestar tires built for heavy trucks because the quality wasn't good enough for most of the truckers I sell to. They didn't get very good mileage out of them, and they didn't hold up very well. Their smaller tires may be ok, but I personally wouldn't use them.
If these are the only tires they will offer, get 'em, sell 'em, add some $$, and get a good name brand tire. JMHO.
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Old 10-11-2007, 01:05 AM   #12
pud2
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Lonnie
I am looking at buying a set of tourmaster/transmaster tires made by greenball i think. Have you heard are have any exsperience with this brand tire?
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Old 10-11-2007, 06:15 AM   #13
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These tires are another substandard product made in China. Had D rated Freestars on two KZ 5th wheels I owned, but after reading about numerous failures I refused to remove the units from the dealers lot until the tires were replaced with G rated Goodyears . Traveled to Alaska and back last year with the KZ on Goodyears, 14970 miles total trip, never had or worried about a problem.
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Old 10-11-2007, 07:55 AM   #14
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pud2

I'm not familiar with the Tourmaster/Transmaster tires, or Greenball for that matter. I will do some research and see what pops up.

Someone on the rv.net forum was talking about Greenball awhile back, but I honestly don't remember what I read.
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Old 10-13-2007, 08:10 AM   #15
sreigle
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quote:Originally posted by Ozzie

I have noticed a pattern with my tire failures over the last few seasons, most of them happen on the hot days.
Since I have brand new tires once again, I'm hoping it will be some time before it's an issue again.
You can be sure I'll be limiting my travel on those scorching days.
Ozzie, no need to limit travel on hot days. Just drive slower. Heat kills tires. Hot pavement heats tires. Speed heats tires. Weight heats tires.

I've noticed the same thing although the last one I blew was last January in Oklahoma. Nevertheless, most have been in hot weather. Now, on really hot days, I just run 5 mph slower and make double sure to check that air pressure is at 80 psi before starting the trip when in very hot weather.
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Old 11-04-2007, 11:59 AM   #16
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Well, we're now in the club of tire failure with the OEM Missions and replacement with Tireco's Freestars. Towing from Corpus Christi, Texas back to Abilene, maybe 100 miles since we stopped for dinner and a tire check. Time was late evening and maybe 70 degrees ambient temperature. When the Missions blew at 3000 total towing miles including the delivery trip from Indiana, it threw fragments everywhere, dented the sheetmetal skirt, broke some support bracketing and left tire material inside the coach.

Tireco said that if there's a defect with the tire they'd pay for the repair but I'm not holding my breath because there is so little tire left to examine. I personally think that they take all 5 tires to remove evidence of poor manufacturing. I paid the $40.00 for mounting, which is reasonable.

Sad that a fine RV is equipped with cheap tires, the damage to the sheet metal may not be reparable without replacing the entire length of skirting.
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Old 11-04-2007, 02:23 PM   #17
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Been there. So sorry about your damage. Yes, they replace the full length of the damaged sheet metal skirt. I have invested in the Doran monitoring system. I figure the $690.00 is cheaper than $3000.00 in repairs.

I have had a total of four blowouts, two of which did significant damage. There were two blowouts on each of two sets of tires. All blowouts were due to tire failure (tread separation), not road hazards. Evidence of coming tread problems could be found on some of the remaining non-blown tires in each set.

Yes, insurance pays, but it is considered a non-fault accident and you still accumulate points on your rating. A quick check with Doran and I can tell which tire(s) I need to attend. It makes it easy to check during the drive also.
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Old 11-04-2007, 02:34 PM   #18
richfaa
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We had no problems with our Missions in about 12K + of travel most of it at interstate speeds. We did replace them with Coopers only because we would have replaced any brand OEM tires after 12K + miles. We do watch our tire pressures and we do have the pressure pro system so we can monitor on a continuous basis. We keep the tires at 80psi and on hot days at intersate speeds have seen the pressure increase to 95lbs which would indicate rising heat..at that point or less we back off till the pressure goes down.The pressure pro system will not of course protect against a "sudden and catastrophic failure' (blowout) but will warn of a loss of pressure that will lead to a incease in heat and tire failure.IMO many "blow outs" are cause by the undetected gradual loss of pressure causing the tire to seperate from the rim..at that point it sounds and looks like a blow out.. The Pressure pro system is, IMO a must.
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Old 11-05-2007, 11:11 AM   #19
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Sage advice Richfaa. I expect that a difference in temperature would be a red alert also. Those axles/tires are close to being maxed out on the big rigs so even a small imbalance in tire pressures must put a lot of extra load and consequently heat on the remaining one on that side.

LonnieB: At the risk of opening up another worm can, what is your opinion on ST versus LT tires?
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Old 11-05-2007, 11:56 AM   #20
Steve and Brenda
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quote:Originally posted by MacDR50

...LonnieB: At the risk of opening up another worm can, what is your opinion on ST versus LT tires?
From a tire website, just thought it'd explain the term ST to non tire folks like myself - Special Trailer' (ST) tires have been constructed for better high speed durability and bruise resistance under heavy loads. Trailer tire construction varies substantially from automotive tires, therefore it is essential to choose the correct tire for your towing application. In general, trailer tires have the same load range (or ply) from bead to bead and are bias ply construction. This allows for a stiffer side wall which provides safer towing by helping to reduce trailer sway problems. The use of 'Passenger Car' (P) or 'Light Truck (LT) tires a on a trailer is not recommended because their construction, usually radial or bias belted, allows for more flexible side walls. This could lead to increased trailer sway and loss of control.
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