Sailun Tire Failure
It was bound to happen, and it did. Any experts want to weigh in? Luckily, no damage to fifth wheel or rim. 2 year old Sailun S637 , inflated to 100 psi.
Forum Discussion
First of all, standards are only as useful as the people enforcing them. The Chinese manufacture all kinds of things. The examples of them screwing up technically complex manufacturing are so numerous as to be common knowledge at this point. Would you want something made out of a high strength steel made in China? Or something that had to be precisely machined or cast? My guess is you wouldn't. The Chinese are absolutely awful at quality control.
All heavy duty tires are going to be sensitive to inflation. Tires used for hard use have to be inflated properly or they will get hot and fail. It's not unique to the Chinese tires. It is my opinion that all trailer tires should be inflated at or near their max PSI regardless of loading.
I disagree that a tire "over inflated" for the load will necessarily wear in a certain manner. That is true for cars and trucks, but trailers are different in how the tires are loaded. Trailer tires, for example, do not turn nor is power ever applied to them. Trailer tires are basically dragged.
I also never said that ST tires are the best option for a trailer. In fact, I have been using truck tires on trailers for years, and often times, they are the best option. Most ST tires are garbage. Most ST tires are rated for 65 MPH. I am using the Goodyear Endurance right now and I am happy with the performance so far, but if I have a failure, I'm going back to truck tires.
Yes, some ST trailers have stiff sidewalls. So do all LT tires. You know what makes tires stiffer? Putting more air in them.
Chinese tires are trash. The tire that is the subject matter of this thread failed from a construction issue. Fortunately it didn't cause any secondary damage, which does happen in a lot of these cases. If I lucked out like that, I'd be so happy to only have to replace the bad tire and not have done any serious harm to the trailer.
Everyone doesn't have to agree with me, either. I spent a LOT of time thinking about this and reading when I was shopping for tires. Ultimately, I just couldn't persuade myself that risking it with Chinese tires was worth a few bucks. Losing a tire on a trip could really ruin my recreational time. I don't think it's worth it. You might.
All heavy duty tires are going to be sensitive to inflation. Tires used for hard use have to be inflated properly or they will get hot and fail. It's not unique to the Chinese tires. It is my opinion that all trailer tires should be inflated at or near their max PSI regardless of loading.
I disagree that a tire "over inflated" for the load will necessarily wear in a certain manner. That is true for cars and trucks, but trailers are different in how the tires are loaded. Trailer tires, for example, do not turn nor is power ever applied to them. Trailer tires are basically dragged.
I also never said that ST tires are the best option for a trailer. In fact, I have been using truck tires on trailers for years, and often times, they are the best option. Most ST tires are garbage. Most ST tires are rated for 65 MPH. I am using the Goodyear Endurance right now and I am happy with the performance so far, but if I have a failure, I'm going back to truck tires.
Yes, some ST trailers have stiff sidewalls. So do all LT tires. You know what makes tires stiffer? Putting more air in them.
Chinese tires are trash. The tire that is the subject matter of this thread failed from a construction issue. Fortunately it didn't cause any secondary damage, which does happen in a lot of these cases. If I lucked out like that, I'd be so happy to only have to replace the bad tire and not have done any serious harm to the trailer.
Everyone doesn't have to agree with me, either. I spent a LOT of time thinking about this and reading when I was shopping for tires. Ultimately, I just couldn't persuade myself that risking it with Chinese tires was worth a few bucks. Losing a tire on a trip could really ruin my recreational time. I don't think it's worth it. You might.
