Trailer King Tires on Montana

[mail2us]

At the Q&A session with Keystone Montana, it was said that the Trailer King ST tire would be the tire used if not already on Montana products other than Big Sky Goodyear G614's.

The Trailer King tire comparison to Goodyear Marathon is

Tire Size LR/PR Tread Depth Rim Width (inches) Section Width Overall Diameter (inches) Maximum Load (lbs) Inflation Pressure (PSI)

Trailer King
ST235/80R16 E/10 10/32 6 9.3 30.8 3520 80

GYMarathon
ST235/80R16 E/10 10/32 6 9.2 30.7 3420 80

The Trailer King tire, while an ST has 100 lb higher capacity than GY Marathon. Tredit has indicated that the Trailer King brand is part of the TBC Corp which is Tire Kingdom and other entities... http://www.tbccorp.com/. The Trailer King tire is on other RV products but will be or is coming to the Montana line. FYI.

[bncinwv]

Wonder if it has those famous "Made in China" words on the sidewalls?
Bingo

[Tom S.]

quote:Originally posted by bncinwv

Wonder if it has those famous "Made in China" words on the sidewalls?
Bingo


Yes, they do. But according to Tredit, they have found them comparable to the Goodyear G14's at half the cost. I'd be willing to try them based on Tredit's recommendation.

[bncinwv]

Didn't Tredit also recommend Missions, Freestar, Marathon???? I think I will stick with the "Made in USA" brands, but even with that said, in reality, they have to be better than the Marathon's, don't they???? As always, my opinion only.
Bingo

[moutard2]

I'm all for buying home made products as well but I wouldn't automatically dismiss products made in other countries unless as in the case of the Marathon, they prove to be inadequate for the job or there's a safety issue with them. This applies to tires, toasters, shoes, and everything else we consume.

[steelpony5555]

Still has ST on it, so still limited to less then 65 mph as well as bogus weight ratings...... Nope LT Tires or the 614's....If it has Marathons on it now the LT's will do just fine...Probably cheaper too...

[Mudchief]

I have used those on the farm trailers and they preform just like all the other " MADE IN CHINA " tires.

[mail2us]

Originally posted by Tom S.
[
Yes, they do. But according to Tredit, they have found them comparable to the Goodyear G14's at half the cost. I'd be willing to try them based on Tredit's recommendation.
[/quote]

My original post addresses Trailer King tires, an ST tire as stated with an 80 PSI. The Trailer King is not a Goodyear G614 equivalent. I listed both the Trailer King and Marathon specs which are both ST tires made in China.

Tredit does list a G rated tire named Sailun, made in China as an LT tire. This tire is being compared to the Goodyear G614 as verified with Tredit rep this date. It has the same specs as the G614 at a lower cost. Hopefully this additional info helps everyone.

[Hooker]

No more Chinese tires for me...on any vehicle.

[DQDick]

quote:Originally posted by bncinwv

Didn't Tredit also recommend Missions, Freestar, Marathon???? I think I will stick with the "Made in USA" brands, but even with that said, in reality, they have to be better than the Marathon's, don't they???? As always, my opinion only.
Bingo


Actually, whenever I've spoken to Tredit reps they have never recommended any of these tires. Their statement has always been " We sell Keystone what they ask for and are willing to pay for, and if we don't someone else will" Not exactly a ringing endorsement of any of them.

[Irlpguy]

Here is a little extra information on the Sailun, Power King/Towmax and Goodyear G614

Towmax: Two sizes available.

ST235/80R16 DOT rated @ 3520 @ 80 and weighing in at 35 lbs.
ST235/85R16 DOT rated @ 3640 @ 80 and weighing in at 40 lbs.
Both are Load range E and rated at 65 mph.
Chinese made.

Sailun:

The Sailun S637 is a all position Medium truck tire.
LT235/85R16 DOT rated @ 3750 @ 110 and weighing in at 61 lbs.
It is load range G and rated for 75 mph.
Made offshore may be Chinese or Korean.

Goodyear G614:

The G614 is also an all position Medium truck tire, but also used extensively on heavier industrial and horse trailers.
LT235/85R16 DOT rated @ 3750 @ 110 and weighing in at 70 lbs.
It is load range G and rated for 75 mph.
Made in the USA.

The Trailer King/Tow Max may have a higher DOT rating but in the same size are also the same weight as the Goodyear Marathons. They are still a Load Range E tire, one would have to wonder how they achieved the added load capacity with no increase in weight, however they must meet certain criteria to get the DOT rating. It is important to keep in mind they are restricted to 65 mph as are all ST tires. They are not even in the same class as the Sailun or G614.

It appears that everything Tredit sells is made offshore, their rims and tires are all made offshore, that fact would not put them at the top of my list of someone to trust when it comes to recommending tires for my RV, nor would I consider them to be tire experts particularly if they were comparing the Trailer King to a G614. Weight is not everything but the G614 outweighs them all.

Although I had "NO" problems with my Marathons, I have traded them in with 10,000 miles on them for Goodyear G614's. The Goodyear dealer gave me $100.00 each on trade. The only other G rated tire recommended to me was the Sailun S637 at about $50.00 less than the Goodyear here in Canada, that dealer would not give me a decent trade on my Marathons.

I am not knocking Offshore tires, some of the best tires on the market today are manufactured offshore. It is convenient to blame the problems many have encountered on the fact they are made offshore and dismiss the overloading, under inflating and speed limit factors, these as well as other damage factors will most assuredly have played a part in many cases.

[Tom S.]

quote:Originally posted by mail2us

Originally posted by Tom S.
[
Yes, they do. But according to Tredit, they have found them comparable to the Goodyear G14's at half the cost. I'd be willing to try them based on Tredit's recommendation.


My original post addresses Trailer King tires, an ST tire as stated with an 80 PSI. The Trailer King is not a Goodyear G614 equivalent. I listed both the Trailer King and Marathon specs which are both ST tires made in China.

Tredit does list a G rated tire named Sailun, made in China as an LT tire. This tire is being compared to the Goodyear G614 as verified with Tredit rep this date. It has the same specs as the G614 at a lower cost. Hopefully this additional info helps everyone.
[/quote]

You are right - it was the Sailuns I was thinking off. Too much pain meds yesterday! Sorry for the confusion. [B)]

[DQDick]

Also Tredit does sell made in America tires. They supply Keystone with the G614's if you order them as an option or you get a Big Sky.

[Irlpguy]

quote:Originally posted by DQDick

Also Tredit does sell made in America tires. They supply Keystone with the G614's if you order them as an option or you get a Big Sky.


I am sure you are correct Dick and they may very well supply them to other RV manufacturers that put them on some of their vehicles, however they are not listed on their website for whatever reason.

Some folks have had great relations with Tredit as reported on this forum, I contacted their Oregon office to see if I could purchase a spare rim for my 2012 Montana, I was told they do not stock them in Oregon but I could have one shipped to either the Oregon plant or directly to me for approx $40.00. When asked if they could include one with their shipments from their head office, I was told they could/would not do that.

Tredit tire is a supplier to the RV and trailer manufacturing industry, they fight for their market share alongside other suppliers, they supply whatever the industry is willing to pay for. For the most part that is inexpensive Chinese tires.

IMO if all Keystone products were shipped with Trailer King tires we would have the same problems we have now with the Marathons, using borderline tires no matter the make on very large numbers of units will result in more problems simply because of the volume and the variety of use/abuse they are subjected to. Remember the Missions and others.

[fauch]

There is an interesting chart in this link that shows load capacity as related to speed. This chart would be only an example of how the two relate. I have not found such a chart on the tires that are normally discussed in this forum. so the way that a trailer tire gets it's load capacity rating is by the max speed rating communicated to the user on the sidewall. to really get an idea of the affects of centrifugal force vs capacity, look at the at rest capacity
http://www.bridgestonetrucktires.com/us_eng/real/magazines/98v3issue4/v3i4Tech.asp

[mail2us]

Now...even I understand the "creep factor" Good info

[dsprik]

As stated previously, no tire is "idiot proof". I rode my Missions for 5 years with no problems. Replaced them till this year with Tire King/Tow Maxs. I was very careful with my speed (62-63 mph). Finally replaced all with LTs this spring//summer. I can also attest to the fact that when you blow a tire on one side of your Montana, you need to replace the remaining good one on that same side as the sudden double weight (WAY over the load range for that tire) on that "good tire" is extraordinarily hard on it. It may seem fine, but it realy weakens it. I blew one in Fl and the front tire on that same side looked fine. It let loose though in Ohio two days later.

[Neil.M]

The Trailer Kings came off and 5 LT's went on the week after my trailer was delivered. I have 5 Trailer Kings for sale if anyone is interested

[1retired06]

I will stick with LT tires.

[steves]

let's see if these become china Bombs too!

[mhs4771]

Visit some of the other RV Forums, Trailer King/Tow Max are getting similar results as the Marathons when on heavier 5ers. Just like Marathons they seem fine on the lighter weight TTs and Boat Trailers, but not anything heavy.

[bigskyjimmy]

I'm with Michelle and Ann , E rated Marathons,Trailer Kings,Bridgestone,LT tires,Whatever they are not the right tool for the job for the Big rigs, get some G rated tires and a TPMS and call it good and have piece of mind

[grampachet]

This is an interesting tire informational article.
http://www.carlisletransportationproducts.com/cms_files/original/Trailer_Tires__Tips_Best_Practices.pdf

[K0LCB]

I have relatives who used to work in tire manufacturing jobs. 3 different companies, all their jobs left the country

[jlb27537]

Went to Tire Rack and it looks like the Tow Max is a "Made in China" and has the same construction as a Marathon. Is a tire that weighs the same as a Marathon (37lbs) so I do not see the improvement. If you look at the price vs: the cost of a Duravis or a G614 you understand why they are using these tires CHEEP....

Tire rack shows a TowMax @ $125 and a Marathon @ $140

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Power+King&tireModel=Towmax+STR&sidewall=Blackwall&partnum=38R6TMSTR&tab=Specs

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Goodyear&tireModel=Marathon+Radial&sidewall=Blackwall&partnum=38R6MARV3&tab=Sizes

Mr. Mack would be well served if he would put G614's on the entire Montana line. I realize he is fighting competition of other brands and needs to keep his costs down, but most Montana buyers are not first time buyers.

IF a salesman pointed out the differences of models, explained to buyers the benefits of a trailer with better tires. It would be a selling point that the other brands could not match. But then someone would have to educate the RV Salesmen, most of whom have never spent a night in a RV, let alone ever towed one.

For me, I'll stick with my 59lb Duravis and see how they do. 3000+ miles so far, and perfect.

Jim