General Tires 16" gone now

[Jetson]

My trailer came with General Grabber AW 235/85/R16 load range E tires. One threw a tread in January when my camper was 1.5 years old. The last trip another one threw a tread tearing off the fender skirt, bending a slide-out support and bending up the bottom sheet metal on the slide-out. The tires were not overloaded. I have weighed the camper while fully loaded. The tires have always been run at 80 psi and they have less than 10,000 miles on them. The camper has always been in covered storage, except when it was on the dealers lot or when we have been on vacation.

My conclusion: General tires suck and they never should have been installed on the Montana campers in the first place.

[Montana_1774]

I second the "General Tires Suck" I had five of them on a 2002 Dutchman. The first one went within a year, the second one with two years and the third one this summer. I got rid of the other two before they could separate. The first thing I did when we went after the Mountaineer was check to see if the tires were General. They were not, thank goodness.

[lightningjack11]

I had tread seperation on my Truck's General on my last trip. I was just waiting for an excuse to get rid of them. Always thumping a little.

[Northstar]

Thanks for the great tip. I will be checking the tires on my new Montana. Happyrving.....

[Gypsy]

Interesting...I've had two General tires just like yours fail in 11 months. The first one was determined to be defective as the sidewall separated near the bead. Luckily I caught it before it blew out. General replaced it for a nominal charge based on tread depth. The second one was a major blowout, causing damage to the bottom roll and fender. Luckily it didn't cause an accident. That was one of the very few times I had a passenger as I'm a solo RVer but was caravanning with some friends. We couldn't tell what caused the failure as there wasn't much left of the tire by the time I got stopped. I had checked to be sure of 80 psi that morning, and checked for excessive heat when stopped for a break. No overloading, either - just got weighed at Life on Wheels.

I called Keystone and someone in Customer Service (can't find his name even tho I did note it) told me they never used General Grabbbers! I thought maybe the 1st owner swapped tires. Now I think I've been lied to, after seeing this thread.

I decided to replace all 5 tires as I don't like gambling with safety. Got Cooper LT235/85 R16 for total $600 mounted, balanced and old tires disposed of.

I feel safer, but I'd swear the dishes in my cupboard are jumping around more. Does anyone else have this problem? How can I fix it? Do I need to change the suspension?

[Jetson]

GypsySCM, do you have shock absorbers on your trailer? Mine does and I haven't noticed anything moving around more than usual even with the all steel Michelins.

[Montana_1873]

Gypsy,you may need to have your tires balanced on the trailer because the brake magnets will wear drum down to where the drum is out of balance.My tire shop spins the tire with a centrifical balancing ring and my trailer runs smooth.I mark the drum and the tire rim so that I can put the tire back on in the same position if I have to remove a tire for repairs.
penrod
2004 2955rl

[Gypsy]

I don't know if I have shock absorbers - probably not, unless they come standard. I know the tires were balanced because when I bought them the front desk agent at the tire store asked me if I wanted them balanced. I thought that was a strange question - why wouldn't I? So I said "Yes, of course."

[snowbunny]

I have Uniroyal Laredo 235/85/R16 Load range E tires on my Montana. I bought the Montana use last year and the tires had little or no wear on them I have put about 2000 miles on them and the tread is still fine. No unusual wear on the inside but I notice on a couple of them that there are fine cracks developing on the sidewall typical of old tires.

Should I be replacing them immediately even though the tread is very good or is this typical of tires as they age? If I do replace them I would like the same kind again as they have served me well. Any idea where (nationally) to get the best price for tires this size? Any idea what the best price would be?

[NJ Hillbilly]

BJ's, Costco or other big stores like this have 235/85's for under $100. I think I got Uniroyals for about $80 a few months ago for a horse trailer. Just make sure You get LT(Light Truck) tires and not P (passenger) ones.

John

[sreigle]

Sounds like the Generals are no better than the Goodyear Marathons on ours. We've had three go defective out of the original five. Pictures to come when I get the chance. We also blew a Goodyear on our new 1999 Jayco Eagle. I've heard Michelin has similar problems. Anyone know?

Snowbunny, are yours the ST trailer tires or the LT truck tires or the P auto tires? Just curious.

Thanks.

[Montana_107]

My 2001 30.5fks came with MAXXIS tires scared me to death when I found out they were made in China. Leaving for Alaska next June for two to three months and was going to replace them with Goodyear Marathon. After this thread I don't know what to replace them with.
General's aren't any good, does anyone have a good answer to what tire you guys would recommend?
I always had good luck with Remington Tires little known brand but never had any problem.
You need good tires up north and I know it.
Just Inquiring
fknipfer

[snowbunny]

Hi Steve, I think they are the LT series tires and when I looked again at them yesterday I thing the fine cracks are from their sitting in one spot for so long. I keep the tires covered but if I had to sit six months with 9000+ pounds on me I'd be a bit cracked too. I was looking for a manufactured date (which I couldn't find) but their load rating was something about 3200 pounds I think.

[DrivesBGM]

quote:Originally posted by GypsySCM
I called Keystone and someone in Customer Service (can't find his name even tho I did note it) told me they never used General Grabbbers! I thought maybe the 1st owner swapped tires. Now I think I've been lied to, after seeing this thread. ...

Scarry that anyone in a position of answering Customer Service questions at Keystone would not know that they have used General Grabbers extensively in the Montana line!

Also, just a thought. While you obviously pay attention to proper tire inflation, I wonder if the first owner might have been less diligent. I have heard that running a tire on low pressure can have a long term affect. So perhaps you were setup for failure through no fault of General Tire or yourself.

Craig

[Jetson]

I replaced my tires with Michelin XPS rib, which is a 10-ply tire with an all steel casing. It is a load range "E" commercial grade tire which would be a good option if you have 16" wheels.