Tow Master Tires - Montana Owners Club

DONnANNIE · 10-17-2010, 12:32 PM

Costco has Tow Master Tires made by Green Ball. The gal couldn't say if they were made in the USA or not.

ST235/80 R16 Load Range E 10 Ply. Max weight 3500 lbs. I forgot to ask what the max pressure was. I have TR6 mag wheels.(80 lbs max) $122.99 each.

Has anyone heard of or used these tires?

I would like to wait until spring to get new tires. I can't see storing new tires for 6 months before I start to use them. That way I get a newer DOT manufacture date.

illapah · 10-17-2010, 01:16 PM

I did an online search and came up with this:

Supply Sources
From 1976 to 1993, Greenball Corporation sourced their tires through a single vendor. Cheng Shin Rubber Co. in Taiwan exported and exclusively manufactured Greenball tire designs. In 1993, Goodyear Tire and Rubber Inc. became a reliable domestic source. After 1994, Greenball has developed a stable of ten (10) supply sources to meet the evolving and growing needs of the company.

Greenball now sources different categories of products from different manufacturers, depending on the vendor's facilities and capabilities. Today, many tire industry experts agree that our Towmaster program is one of the few comprehensive and complete special tire programs available in the market place.

Our vendors can be located in China, Taiwan, Indonesia, Thailand, and India. Chris and Jenny visit each factory on a yearly basis to monitor quality control. Oftentimes at US trade shows, other vendors collaborate with Greenball to display their products at our booths.

racerjoe · 10-17-2010, 01:19 PM

I understand they are made by Goodyear in Canada. from what I have heard so far,so good

TLightning · 10-17-2010, 02:19 PM

Some where on the sidewall it will state where they are made.

c214dick · 10-17-2010, 06:34 PM

I put them on our Monte a few months ago. I was told they were supplied by Goodyear and were mfg in the U.S. I trusted my tire company as I have purchased a number of tires from them in the past. I did research on them prior to buying and could not find any negatives. I paid about the same price. I will look at them tomorrow to see where mfg.

oldelmer1 · 10-18-2010, 05:17 AM

I put them on my old Wildcat in 15" just 2 months ago. They didn't have any in stock to look at, but I thought they are sold by COSTCO, so they should be good quality. Much to my surprise, the side wall said MADE IN CHINA. They had 168 miles on them when I traded for the Montana.

c214dick · 10-18-2010, 08:10 AM

I just looked at my Towmaster II and they are made in China. Shame on me for believing w/o checking the tires prior to installation.

Art-n-Marge · 10-18-2010, 09:01 AM

I've seen Tow Master on others' rigs and these were made in China. There was some talk Green Ball was looking for new locations for manufacture, but I don't know the results since this was a few years ago.

The sidewall will have the DOT code. Part of this code includes the manufacturer and location code and the week and year built. There are some other codes too, but these are the minimum the code will list. No matter what you read, you can always find out where your tires were made and when (within a week).

DONnANNIE · 10-18-2010, 06:20 PM

Costco or Not, I will not buy tires made in China.

Thanks for all your responses.

c214dick · 10-19-2010, 11:21 AM

According to GreenBall's website they have about 6 distribution centers in the US and have partnered with others such as Goodyear to distribute their tires. The info I was given by EDDIE at WAUKEGAN TIRE was that they were made by Goodyear and mfg in the U.S. Again shame on me. If there is a positive it's that I will do my job instead of listening to others w/o seeing the product first.

Tom S. · 10-20-2010, 02:03 AM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by c214dick

According to GreenBall's website they have about 6 distribution centers in the US and have partnered with others such as Goodyear to distribute their tires. The info I was given by EDDIE at WAUKEGAN TIRE was that they were made by Goodyear and mfg in the U.S. Again shame on me. If there is a positive it's that I will do my job instead of listening to others w/o seeing the product first.

Shame on you? No. Shame on them for either lying about it or being too lazy to check when you asked.

c214dick · 10-20-2010, 11:50 AM

Thanks but ultimately it's my responsibility to do my homework and not trust a salesman's word. I'm usually pretty dilligent about researching before buying. This time I was to busy checking consumer opinions, which were all positive, than double checking the point of origin.

billhoover · 10-20-2010, 11:57 AM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by DONnANNIE

Costco or Not, I will not buy tires made in China.

Same here!

RidgecrestDad · 11-26-2010, 07:55 AM

DONnANNIE,

What Costco did you see/hear about them? I initially called my Costco in Lancaster Ca and they said Costco would not install or sell trailer tires. This seems to refute that statement.

CamillaMichael · 11-26-2010, 10:57 AM

We put Tow Master tires on our TT a few years ago as replacement for the original tires that came with the unit. Over the course of a couple of years, we put about six thousand miles on them without incident. When we traded the TT for the Montana, the tires looked new. While the tires served our TT well, they were carrying a lot less weight than any of the Montanas weigh, so I can only recommend them based on use with the lighter TT.

navybanker · 11-26-2010, 01:44 PM

We have Tow Masters on our Cardinal (34' fifth wheel) that we are trading on a new Montana we ordered. Don't want to push my luck before the 50 mile drive to the dealership to pick up the Montana and leave the Cardinal but have 10 to 12K on them over two years and no problems. These replaced the Kenda tires that came on the fiver. Had two failures on the Kendas with no damage. Stopped in Helena, Montana after the second flat and that is all they had for my rig at the time. The Montana dealer is switching the GY Marathons that come on the Montana for GY 614s as part of the deal.

exav8tr · 11-26-2010, 05:00 PM

Barry I ordered my G614's from Sams club, but, they would not install. did not have large enough equipment to do the fiver. Costco is probably the same.....They also said their liability ins did not extend to HD trailers. I had mine installed at Beaudry in Tucson before the went under...........

jackel1959 · 11-26-2010, 05:28 PM

Dick & Louise,
You are certainly not going to discard these new tires you bought. Some folks have not had problems with tires made in China and others have. The best thing you can do is make sure you are not over loading the tires, check the pressure before each trip, visually inspect them at each stop while you are traveling (all of which you most likely do already) and if you detect a problem, deal with it then. We had Mission tires (Chinese made) on our 04 Mountaineer and had a failure at about 12,000 miles. We had Goodyear Marathons (Chinese made) on our current Montana and I noticed the tread started to de-laminate on one of the tires at 15,500 miles. I replaced them with Maxxis tires, which are made in Taiwan, but have good reviews. I will keep an eye on them just as I have before.
Jack

mail2us · 11-27-2010, 02:25 AM

There seems to be alot of Chinese tires with US companies either partnering or endorsing these imports. It's buyer beware and slow down the purchase process unitl you are convinced you ain't buying China. They are really junk. No pun intended!

c214dick · 11-29-2010, 05:03 PM

Jack, I have no intention of junking my tires, (though a junk is still Chinese isn't it?) I prefer to buy U.S. whenever possible. I'm just upset with the dealer for not telling me the truth. My research prior to buying these was all positive comments from the end users. So my conclusion is that they are a good tire but Chinese.

You may also like: