tires ?

[okierver]

a lot of questions about chinabombers marathon tires. i have powerking towmax tires, anyone know how they do or handle, or are the a version of the china bombs and do i need to change them , 2011 monatana 323rl high country. 5ver.

[oldelmer1]

Powerking towmax tires are also made in China, I had them on a 2006 Wildcat and drove around the USA back in 2006. Replaced them in 2010, then traded the Wildcat in on a Montana with China made Marathons.

Check on the side wall to be sure they are still made in China.

[moutard2]

I had a good service from Power King Towmax tires on a previously owned "heavy" 5th wheel trailer. No incidents and no obvious faults (bulges, cracking, etc.) over the 8K miles I put on them.

[exav8tr]

I had the Les Schwab specials, called Tomax by Power King. Nothing but problems with them and ended up changing out three of them, two were tread problems and one a sidewall flat. I will not have anything but Made in America tires again......

[fauch]

at the risk of further admonishment from the admins
I would sure like to know tire specs every time someone posts anything about tire failure
this is a serious point that seems to be missed in all of these tire posts
I said it once and I'll say again:
RV manufacturers are not required to install tires over and above unloaded vehicle weight
I believe that the real hazard here is related to overload by way of speed and weight
we are too focused on tire brand and origin
so what I am saying is that I would not install a D rated tire on my 2955RL even though that is the tire that is tagged on the coach
the D tire barely meets the UVW requirements
as soon as I add fresh water, a real battery, some bicycles, etc.. I am well over the tire capacity at 65MPH
when I hook up to my 2009 F250 SD, that can run comfortably at any speed to 70, 80mph and up, it is easy to "blow" (pun intended) the tire capabilities
so PLEASE, for the safety of you and your loved ones, be very aware of the weight of your trailer, the speed at which you tow and the DOT ratings of your tires
As much as I truly HATE the imbalance of US jobs vs US consumption of CHINESE products, I hope that we all place as much emphasis on tire rating as we do on where they are made!

[ols1932]

One of the major problems that I see RVers have is their reluctance to change their tires because they have so much tread left. Tread is not the deciding factor. Age is the important thing. We travel across the US east to west every year and regardless of tread left on my tires every four years.

Orv

[Art-n-Marge]

I like that Orv's tires get more use in four years than mine, sitting on my driveway most of the time. Tires used more often will actually last longer because the rubber is kept more pliable and therefore less prone to problems us lesser travelers create for our rubber.

The key is I know a lot more about tire care, tire attributes and how to treat tires better than I did when I started RVing. It's much more critical to take care of tires as the loads get heavier. I rarely drive no faster than the 65mph rating on my STs, but I know I have if the hill is steep and long or if I'm passing, but I sure try not to.

There are many things that can hurt a tire besides overloading, like, sitting for long periods of time, underinflation, curb contact, parking on a turn and speeding. Just be aware what you have, how you're using them, where you are driving, repark the trailer straight to realign the tires to make them vertical and know the tires speed rating.

I don't think the trailer suspension is as much a concern about speed, but watch those potholes and train tracks. They'll jolt things up pretty good.

Besides the MOC, I read and learned a lot of this from forums! I'm learning it's far more important to protect my trailer's feet and how to do it than ignoring it or taking things for granted. As these trailers get bigger and bigger and stuff will break anyway, why provoke it?

Be safe everyone.

[Red939]

quote:Originally posted by fauch


RV manufacturers are not required to install tires over and above unloaded vehicle weight
I hope that we all place as much emphasis on tire rating as we do on where they are made!

I don't believe that first statement is correct. They must use tires that can carry the max weight of the axle upon which they are used, not the empty weight.

Regarding the second comment, the reason so many of us are concerned about where the tires are made is because virtually all the tire problems we have had are with Chinese tires.

[fauch]

Again, I would like to see tire numbers and trailer weights every time we post on a tire failure.
Some have posted here that the factory supplied tires just met the UVW requirement.
reading the DOT code and including manufacture date vs failure date in the post would also be helpful
let's be sure we are observing the events and all of the contributing factors thoroughly
could it be that most RV manufacturers are using China-bombs for cost reasons AND they also happen to be on the edge of on load capacity?
I just want us all to be sure that we are doing all of the things mentioned above, and are as alert to our loaded weight vs tire capacity, age and speed... as we are about country of origin

[Art-n-Marge]

My tires have always been over the axle weight ratings! Note, it is not a requirement to have tires at the gross weight rating because there is always weight carried at the PIN or the LANDING gear that the trailer tires should never be carrying the Gross weight.

For example, I have 6,000 lbs axles and I have two of them so the manufacturer and the scales I have visited have always confirmed I am BELOW the rated 12,000 lbs. My GTWR is 14,040 and the trailer at this time has a GTW of 13,500 but there's about 2,500 lbs at the pin or the landing gear which is why the tires are good as far as meeting the weight ratings at the axles! I have also weighed each wheel and found each one below 3,000 lbs.

It would be nice if we could all know what the DOT codes and weights are at the time of the failure but this is hard to do after the fact. Doing this would require everyone to know what each tire is currently carrying. I have gone through the effort of weighing the rig, but I should probably jot down the DOT codes for each tire. The weight information is a few months old. I hope to weigh the rig every year. The DOT codes will remain the same until I change out the tires.

Interesting (and good) idea, fauch!

[SlickWillie]

quote:Originally posted by fauch

could it be that most RV manufacturers are using China-bombs for cost reasons AND they also happen to be on the edge of on load capacity?

I would agree with the "cost reasons" part of the statement. However, I tend to believe the weight rating procedure for ST tires might well be flawed, and the tires simply are rated too high. I've never seen an RV that had tires rated at less load capacity than the supplied axles. However, there are posts were the individual simply does not understand that the TV carries a portion of the RV load.

[Phil P]

Hi

My China bombs were rated a little above the GAWR. They lasted 3,000 miles at 60 MPH before the sidewalls gave out. Fortunately we found the bulging sidewalls before a blowout.

Also remember the G614 made in the USA had tread separation problems the first two years.

Phil P

[TLightning]

quote:Originally posted by fauch

Again, I would like to see tire numbers and trailer weights every time we post on a tire failure.
Some have posted here that the factory supplied tires just met the UVW requirement.
reading the DOT code and including manufacture date vs failure date in the post would also be helpful
let's be sure we are observing the events and all of the contributing factors thoroughly
could it be that most RV manufacturers are using China-bombs for cost reasons AND they also happen to be on the edge of on load capacity?
I just want us all to be sure that we are doing all of the things mentioned above, and are as alert to our loaded weight vs tire capacity, age and speed... as we are about country of origin

I noticed by your MOC number, you are a relatively new member and thus have not been bombarded with Chinese tires stories like the rest of us. I suggest you go back and search "tire failures" and other similar topics. Most of us who belong to MOC are conscientious drivers and maintainers of both RV and TV. That's why we are here, to learn more and do a better job of maintaining our 'stuff.' The very great majority of tire failures are Chinese tires, being driven with the correct TP, at the correct speed and at the correct weight.

Bottom line...it's the Chinese tires!

[fauch]

TLightning, this is a great forum, but there is far more information about tires out there than there is in this forum. Information about 'May-Pop' tires, 'China-bomb' tires, -Mara-bomb' tires, tire failures of all kinds, including failures of our beloved G614s. What I've learned is that I personally am going to make sure the tires I buy, at LEAST meet the GVWR of my trailer, without subtracting the hitch weight.

Buying American, is good for MANY reasons!

[Exnavydiver]

As soon as we got home from the 10 month odyssey I ordered 5 new 17.5 inch rims for my rig @ 223.00 per rim. They should arrive before the Rally but I wont add the tires till after the rally as bucks are a bit tight this year. I will be using the equivalent of a G-114 Goodyear but not a Goodyear as they cost almost 400 each. I will be using Kellys which are half the cost and off the same line. They are H rated and have a weight capacity of 4805 lbs. This will give me a substantial amount of "wiggle" room. The tires will not be required to work in their top 2 % of rating as the E range are. I wish I had the new tires before the rally but as I said money is the issue at the moment...