China Bombs Got Me
I have read many posts about the poor quality of tires RV manufacturers are putting on new RV's. Well these tires (the infamous Tow Max Power King) blew on my 5er causing damage. I always check for p...
Forum Discussion
It does bother me some also that when a problem is reported the OP is asked 20 questions about what he might have done wrong. He may have, but I don't think this procedure is required. It does nothing to help solve the problem, but it might hinder others in their desire to post.
The problem isn't necessarily the RV manufacturers fault. They are in a competitive environment and they have to use the most economical tires they can get in order to sell their product and stay in business. The real problem, IMHO, is that all of the cheap junk tires meet the specifications and requirements for the various load ranges which the RV manufacturers use to pick the proper tire. It is obvious to me with all of the problems that they must not in a lot of cases or they use inferior materials or manufacturing procedures such that the tires don't last.
With this being said, I just replaced 4 Marathon ST235/80-16 E tires on my 5'er. They only had 3,000 miles on them, but they would be 4 years old before I return to my home base in another 4 months. I just didn't want to take the chance. Another factor is that they were loaded to 3,000 each (yes I have a weight ticket to prove this). This only leaves a little over 400 pounds of wiggle room to the max weight for each tire. I upgraded to GY G614 G rated tires with a max load/tire of 3,750/tire. And yes my wheels are rated for this weight and tire pressure of 110 psi and metal valve stems were installed also.
After towing with these new tires two days ago for 260 miles I noticed two things different from towing with the original E rated Marathons. After 2 hours of cruising at 60 mph on an interstate, the tire pressure only increased about 10-12 psi over what was set prior to departure and the tire temp only creased approx 10-12 degrees. The Marathons pressure would only increase about 10-12 psi also, but the tire temp would go up close to 20 degrees. Why the extra increase? Not sure, but more tire flex maybe? Either way, I feel much better with my new G614's.
The problem isn't necessarily the RV manufacturers fault. They are in a competitive environment and they have to use the most economical tires they can get in order to sell their product and stay in business. The real problem, IMHO, is that all of the cheap junk tires meet the specifications and requirements for the various load ranges which the RV manufacturers use to pick the proper tire. It is obvious to me with all of the problems that they must not in a lot of cases or they use inferior materials or manufacturing procedures such that the tires don't last.
With this being said, I just replaced 4 Marathon ST235/80-16 E tires on my 5'er. They only had 3,000 miles on them, but they would be 4 years old before I return to my home base in another 4 months. I just didn't want to take the chance. Another factor is that they were loaded to 3,000 each (yes I have a weight ticket to prove this). This only leaves a little over 400 pounds of wiggle room to the max weight for each tire. I upgraded to GY G614 G rated tires with a max load/tire of 3,750/tire. And yes my wheels are rated for this weight and tire pressure of 110 psi and metal valve stems were installed also.
After towing with these new tires two days ago for 260 miles I noticed two things different from towing with the original E rated Marathons. After 2 hours of cruising at 60 mph on an interstate, the tire pressure only increased about 10-12 psi over what was set prior to departure and the tire temp only creased approx 10-12 degrees. The Marathons pressure would only increase about 10-12 psi also, but the tire temp would go up close to 20 degrees. Why the extra increase? Not sure, but more tire flex maybe? Either way, I feel much better with my new G614's.
