Tire Surprise

Yikes. Good one to ask would be Roger at RVtiresafety.com. He's a retired tire engineer with a wealth of info.

KeithAS wrote:
I sold the 5 reasonably good tires to someone who wanted them for a cargo trailer, so they were not wasted. That covers wasteful, and environmentally irresponsible. Now, economic insanity and a total waste of time is countered by my greater peace of mind by going with a more heavy duty tire not made in China. How has that worked out? I had no tire issues during the time I was travelling.

The new fiver will come with more Chinese tires. I will have to decide what to do. Perhaps 16" wheels with..........don't know yet.

Even though I have room to park at home, I will pay for covered parking to help protect the new unit.

Now the environmental issue resurfaces in that though my Dodge tow vehicle has a little less than 10,000 miles, its tires are over 5 years old, and I feel, in light of this experience, that they will also need replacement.

4X4Dodger wrote:
Where are the Maxxis is perfect brigade beating their drums? They are curiously absent here.

This damage does not look like the normal heat of an AZ summer. This looks more like a Fault at manufacturing. To me it appears that maybe the rubber compound was not at the right temp (too cold) when injected into the mold.

with all due respect to the op: throwing away 6 perfectly good tires just to buy 6 new ones is economic insanity, wasteful, environmentally irresponsible and a total waste of time.

But they are his tires.

Well I am glad that you were able to sell your tires. But I think you are being led down a very expensive path by some really shaky if not outright lack of facts.

If you own any of the really great APPLE computing products, or a flat screen TV or a Laptop, parts of, or all of them were Made In China.
China can and does produce very high quality products.

Tires are no exception. China also produces it's own line of many products with far different specifications. And it is the manufacturing specifications, the design parameters that determine the overall quality of the product. If you buy a quality name brand such as Goodyear, Maxxis (made in Thailand) BF Goodrich, Michelin etc your going to get a good tire.

As for aging Bridgestone recommends changing tires regardless of wear after TEN YEARS. Think about this. They want to sell more tires but are admitting the tires will last for ten years before needing to be changed...probably an honest assessment.

Maxxis are made in Thailand to MAXXIS specs. I see no problem with that. But China has a much more advanced industrial base, better educated workforce, higher pay (this is why they are made in Thailand) and overall better motivated workforce than does Thailand. therefore I think if you are willing to say that Maxxis tires are GREAT than you must admit that other name brands that are made in China must be at least as good if you look at the facts.

I have worked and lived in both countries and done business in both and imported and exported from China so I have a different perspective than most.

Those of us who use and have nothing but good expeiences with Maxxis tires have never stated they will not fail. I have nothing but good experience with them. A warranty claim should be filed as Maxxis warrants their tires for 5 years unlike the measly 3 years you get from most ST tire makers. I have never seen that much damage on any tire that was idle regardless of brand or type. What was the age of the tires?

4X4Dodger wrote:

ol Bombero-JC wrote:

Lynnmor wrote:

4X4Dodger wrote:
Where are the Maxxis is perfect brigade beating their drums? They are curiously absent here.

The silence is deafening.

Well - turn on your hearing aid!..:W

Don't have (nor have I ever had) any Maxxis tires.

However, in opposition to 4x4 Dodger's obvious bias (no pun) and negativity..:R.. - -
Maxxis has an excellent reputation and owners experiences are overwhelmingly positive.

Soooo - unless the tire is over 3-4 years old - I would have a chat with a Maxxis rep.
Be good to have a chat no matter how old - even if only for the opinion.

Also -
1. YES sun will do bad things to a spare sitting in the sun - even if it's not *Arizona* sun.
Covered -in the sun- may imitate an oven, increasing the heat.

2. Not that it matters - but sure appears to be an overly aggressive tread pattern for a trailer tire...:h

~

I have absolutely no bias on these tires one way or the other. If I am biased in any way it is just that I prefer Fact over Myth or Anecdotal evidence.

I happen to think that Maxxis tires are probably as good as any other trailer tire, but certainly not greatly better. I would have no qualms about buying a set. And I find on this site that many of the Maxxis cheerleaders are also the Goodyear Bashers.

I noted their absence because if this post had been about a Goodyear tire they would have shown up en masse to point out what garbage they think Goodyears are.

There is ABSOLUTELY NO EVIDENCE to support a contention that one brand of trailer tire is inherently better than the next. I am speaking here of the Name brands.

I dont think that attitude on my part constitutes neither a bias or negativity. What it actually shows is an open mind and a preference for facts.

Hardly, it's hard to run from what you've already posted.

What was the age of the tires?

0410

For a tire to age gracefully, it must be exercised. The tire needs to flex and roll so that the internal oils move and conditions the material of the tire. That is why these tires degraded so badly. They never rolled for 5 years.

fla-gypsy wrote:

4X4Dodger wrote:

ol Bombero-JC wrote:

Lynnmor wrote:

4X4Dodger wrote:
Where are the Maxxis is perfect brigade beating their drums? They are curiously absent here.

The silence is deafening.

Well - turn on your hearing aid!..:W

Don't have (nor have I ever had) any Maxxis tires.

However, in opposition to 4x4 Dodger's obvious bias (no pun) and negativity..:R.. - -
Maxxis has an excellent reputation and owners experiences are overwhelmingly positive.

Soooo - unless the tire is over 3-4 years old - I would have a chat with a Maxxis rep.
Be good to have a chat no matter how old - even if only for the opinion.

Also -
1. YES sun will do bad things to a spare sitting in the sun - even if it's not *Arizona* sun.
Covered -in the sun- may imitate an oven, increasing the heat.

2. Not that it matters - but sure appears to be an overly aggressive tread pattern for a trailer tire...:h

~

I have absolutely no bias on these tires one way or the other. If I am biased in any way it is just that I prefer Fact over Myth or Anecdotal evidence.

I happen to think that Maxxis tires are probably as good as any other trailer tire, but certainly not greatly better. I would have no qualms about buying a set. And I find on this site that many of the Maxxis cheerleaders are also the Goodyear Bashers.

I noted their absence because if this post had been about a Goodyear tire they would have shown up en masse to point out what garbage they think Goodyears are.

There is ABSOLUTELY NO EVIDENCE to support a contention that one brand of trailer tire is inherently better than the next. I am speaking here of the Name brands.

I dont think that attitude on my part constitutes neither a bias or negativity. What it actually shows is an open mind and a preference for facts.

Hardly, it's hard to run from what you've already posted.

OK..show me one post in any of my history of posts where I have said anything negative about Maxxis tires.

It's time to put up or...

What I think IS interesting is how some who are Maxxis cheerleaders spend so much time bashing other tire brands.

I had a tire dealer tell me that an unused spare tire will deteriorate faster than tires that are kept in use. That was after I learned the lesson the hard way. I attempted to put a 4 year old spare into use and then noticed deep cracking and tire rot.

I've noticed that it's usually people that have never owned a Maxxis tire that feels they are not any better than any other tire, and visa versa, people with Maxxis who are really happy with them that make comments about other brands.

I think it's human nature that we all hope that what we buy ends up being a great tire and until we have a failure, we kinda resent any negativite comments towards a tire which we have invested our hard earned dollars in.

Regardless, it's kinda a ford verse chevy discussion when it comes to tires. I've been a member of numerous rv clubs so I have numerous friends with various tires. A small majority of those have the Maxxis and have had very good luck with them and are avid Maxxis fans. I have used Maxxis now for 10 yrs, and have had very good service with them, although I have had 2 that ended up with tread separation, but did not come apart. This last tire at 4yrs old was warrantied and I got a new tire for $39.00. The previous tire was over 5yrs old. I was happy with their 5yr warranty.

Other than that, I have only had experience with Towmax, which came with my newest 5r. They lasted about 200 miles before I experienced tread separation. I researched the Towmax tire through the Heartland owners forum and found numerous complaints of other owners experiencing severe damage to their rigs from towmax failures so I immediately went to my Maxxis dealer for tires that I had a good experience with.

I think if everyone would report strictly to what their experiences were instead of what their opinions are we could have a better understanding as to what tires work, and what tires dont. However it can be a little entertaining to read some of the comments made on this forum. You can almost feel the tension.

I am one that threw away perfectly good tires not once but twice. My first 5er had Goodyear Marathons that I replaced with Michelin LT's before it ever left the dealer's lot. On my current Voltage, I immediately replaced the Westlake's with Michelin Ribs to the tune of $2100. So that's my opinion of cheap Chinese tires. On the subject of Maxxis (Thai made), they are, according to what I read in these forums, much more highly regarded tires than the Chinese junk. I'm surprised that everyone doesn't install good LT tires on their trailers. I've never had a tire issue with LT's. On non-5er trailers I've had several blowouts with Chinese tires - I don't trust them.