Another tire blows

[mach111]

I was running an errand on Friday when I saw a "Big Sky" parked on the side of the interstate with a blown tire and side damage. I got off the next exit and returned to see if I could help this fellow Montanna owner. When I arrived he was in the process of changing the tire. He had the necessary equipment to do the job. He said this was the second blown tire in a matter of weeks. I looked at the tire brand to see the name "Power King". His unit was a 2011 with tires dated eleventh week year 2011. He was very discouraged. The DW was ready to give up. They had another 200 miles to get home so He wanted to get a tire for the spare. I directed him to a local tire shop and suggested some restaurants to have lunch. I shared with them our web site which they did not know. I suggested he search tires and read the problems are common. They are heading to Arizona in a few weeks and want to have a better trip. He ask for the best tire to buy and I suggested he look at the GY 614 or the LT tires. I strongly suggested he get rid of the ST tires(not trying to offend anyone who uses ST tires). Some tire dealer sold him another Power King last week.

I hope they become members of MOC for they are newbies and desire some info so they can enjoy their Big Sky. I do not like to see a fellow MOCer broke down due to tires.

[DQDick]

Nice of you to help. Your a great ambassador for this group! It's too bad that trailer manufacturers continue to take advantage of new customers by at the very least not telling them that the tires on their rig are not required to meet the same standards as the ones on their cars or TVs.

[1retired06]

It is a shame that Keystone and others knowingly set us up to learn things the hard and expensive way.

[Tom1913]

Thank you, Randy, for your help. We took your advice and safely made it home. We are both a little discouraged and somewhat hesitant to take our High Country on a long journey. We wanted to check with other High Country owners to see if the GY614 is the best tire for this model. Again, thank you for your help. We have been very impressed by the kindness of the camping community and will help others in the future.

Tom and Sandi

[twindman]

I have a 2980 Montana that weighs in around 12,000 loaded. I towed it over 70,000 miles and the only tire problem I had was a slow leak while at a campground.
I use LT tires (Michlein to be exact). I usually run them down to about 5-8000 miles left by dealer estimate. Then I get new ones.
I would think your High Country shouldn't weigh much more than mine, so I recommend some LT's. I have see some stories now about the G614's having problems of some kind too. Oh, I think the G614's would require new rims for you, but am not sure.
Good luck.
p.s. Do you know that ST tires are only rated at 60 MPH (I am pretty sure).

[Tom1913]

Thanks, Tom and Gail. We are headed to the tire store today and won't be headed out again until the tires are changed. 70,000 miles is impressive for us newbies. Two blow outs and damage to the camper on only our second trip out has been concerning! Thanks for your help.

[jlb27537]

Tom, Before you do tires, weigh your rig and find out the weight on the axles. Only then will you know what tires to buy.

A good LT tire may be enough or you may need to step up to a G614 or a 14ply Hankook.

My 3150RL only has 10,380lbs on the axles so a LT is plenty for me.

Welcome to the forum.

Jim

[mlh]

These problems always seem to happen to ST tires. Has anyone had an LT blowout?
Lynwood

[okierver]

tom
we have a 2011 montana high country and had a blowout on ours in june coming back from a trip it also was a powerking, i took the tire of and called powerking and they made arraingments to pick it up and i sent it back to canada it is currently there and im waiting on hearaing from them on my claim. my tire was madd 4th week 2010 and i have maybe 6000-8000 miles on tire. very frustratin i to am going to change tires after this is settled

[8.1al]

quote:Originally posted by mlh

These problems always seem to happen to ST tires. Has anyone had an LT blowout?
Lynwood

LT tires do fail on trailers but not with the frequency of ST tire. The tight turns tries to rip the tread off the casing. We have personal had 3 LT tires fail but we also gave them a lot of use

[DQDick]

I can't attach things to the email on the forum and for good reason it doesn't show me your email. I've got an article on tires (it's been around the internet forever) that will explain the problems you're having and help you figure out what to do. Keystone, like the other trailer makers spec the cheapest tire that's rated for the weight. This article will explain why it doesn't work. Welcome to the forum and if you want the info just email me back and I'll attach the article and send it back.

[steelpony5555]

Do a search on ST tires, that way you'll know it's not just you. When I buy a new trailer that is my first stop, the tire shop. Usually cheaper then having the dealer say they are throwing them in on the "deal". Just figure $800 for new LT tires when you buy it. I put a lot of trouble free miles on both my trailers that both weight 12-13k lbs total. In fact heading out for a trip to Pa. from Tx. next week.

[Tom1913]

quote:Originally posted by okierver

tom
we have a 2011 montana high country and had a blowout on ours in june coming back from a trip it also was a powerking, i took the tire of and called powerking and they made arraingments to pick it up and i sent it back to canada it is currently there and im waiting on hearaing from them on my claim. my tire was madd 4th week 2010 and i have maybe 6000-8000 miles on tire. very frustratin i to am going to change tires after this is settled

[rgreynolds]

We had 6 blowouts in 8 months with our new 3400RL. After the last blowout went into the nearest tire dealer and got 5 new tires, G rated, and LT's. No problems for 3 years now.

[sreigle]

Tom and Sandi, if I may offer an opinion.... get the G614's. They're not cheap but, man, what a difference. To put a little perspective in this, we have been fulltime travelers in Montanas for more than 10 years and somewhere around 150,000 miles. We had many, many blowouts and other tire problems with those Chinese built tires in several brands. The last one blew out the side of our kitchen slide, to the tune of $2200 damage, including tire and rim replacement.

At that point we bit that bullet and got the Goodyear G614 tires. That was in April 2010. That was north of 20,000 miles ago. We've had not a single tire problem since we got the G614's. None.

Do check, however, to make sure your rims can handle the tire pressure. Ours can and we did not have to replace them. On the back side of your rims should be stamped the pressure and weight rating of that rim. It will be stamped (engraved type stamp) or it will have a sticker. The G614 are Load Range G, compared to your load range E tires, and can handle 110 psi compared to 80 on your current tires. We run ours at 105 to 110.

Make sure your rims can handle that pressure. And make sure the installer uses new valve stems rated for 110 psi.

We, like you, were pretty discouraged about the tire problems but are very happy with the G614's. I have posted pictures of various tire problems several times over the years and I can send you some if you want to see them. But it sounds like you've seen enough of that, of your own!

Good luck to you two. Tire problems are not an inevitable part of RV'ing that you have to learn to live with. There is always the possibility of a failure with any tire but the G614's have an outstanding reputation.

If you have any questions I can help with, feel free to click the envelope icon above this post and email me. I'm no more expert than many others here but I have some scars and would gladly help you however I can.