Here we GO again! Tires/wheels

A quick and unexpected second response, and correction/clarification apparently…

Recently you requested personal assistance from our on-line support center. Below is a summary of your request and our response.
If this issue is not resolved to your satisfaction, you may reopen it within the next 7 days.
Thank you for allowing us to be of service to you.
Subject
Customer Service Tires
Discussion Thread
Response Via Email (XXXX) 06/06/2013 01:27 PM

Dear John,
Web Inquiry: 000000-000000
Thank you for contacting Customer Relations at Continental Tire the Americas, LLC.

We no longer manufacture ST tires, and the Vanco line is not a suitable alternative.
We would recommend searching for a dedicated ST tire line.
Customer By Email XXXXX XXXXX) 06/06/2013 03:56 AM
Please find below a request from the USA.
XXXXX XXXXX/Best regards,

XXXXX XXXXX Head of International Warranty
Central Customer Service
Tire Division
Continental
----- Forwarded by XXXXX XXXXX on 06.06.2013 09:41 -----
From: Administrator Technical
To: hotline XXXXXXXX
Cc: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Date: 06.06.2013 09:37
Subject: Re: WG: Customer Service Tires
Sent by: XXXXX XXXXX
Hello
Can you kindly send this to the USA, as this not for the UK.
Many Thanks
Best Regards
Technical Administrator
From: XXX Hotline
To: administrator.technical XXXXX
Date: 05/06/2013 15:38
Subject: WG: Customer Service Tires

Lowsuv wrote:
of course JJ we all should follow your advice without out any supporting evidence .
so far , i have not seen any evidence that a maxxis tire is even in the upper 50 % .
did you purchase 62 different tire sets , field test them , and then presented the results ?
please show me where i can find the substantiated data that shows the maxxis is the best tire .

no not at all, never take my opinion, read the different opinions and information available and form your own opinions…

but since you are so well versed and chock full of nothing but scientific knowledge and evidence, don’t even consider anecdotal evidence, I suppose you have the information we need and can tell us what ST tire we should consider instead of Maxxis… where is your data to say the Maxxis isn’t the better trailer tire, anecdotal or otherwise…

then again maybe you should take your own advice…
“folks vote with their pocketbooks increasing michelin sales indicates that folks are willing to pay a premium for the best tires”,
“i hang out with guys who have nothing better to do than discuss the quality of their tires.
among the 100+ members it is overwhelmingly espoused that michelins are the best”

I and most here are interested in the best trailer tire for our light weight trailers, not for sports cars, cars, or even necessarily the TV (talk about anecdotal evidence)… Maxxis has its reputation because they have earned it by offering good experiences and satisfaction… they have that reputation here and in many forums for all types of trailers… because Maxxis has earned that reputation, many have espoused their experiences and satisfaction, not just a few old fogies on this forum, and this old fogy doesn’t even always recommend Maxxis trailer tires…

I think I have tried to be fair in my opinion… I have never recommended them for heavier trailers like 5er’s, never recommended them for MH’s, and have been critical of their commercial UE168…

of course JJ we all should follow your advice without out any supporting evidence .
so far , i have not seen any evidence that a maxxis tire is even in the upper 50 % .
did you purchase 62 different tire sets , field test them , and then presented the results ?
please show me where i can find the substantiated data that shows the maxxis is the best tire .

Lowsuv wrote:
other than a few old fogies on this forum there is no supporting evidence to suggest that maxxis tires are superior to other tires made in asia .
in a recent tire test of high performance passenger car tires Maxxis was rated in the lowest 15 % of the tires tested.
Out of 62 different tire models 53 were rated higher than maxxis .
Top rated tires were Michelin , Continental , Goodyear , Pirelli ,

and 52 out of 63 people prefer coffee over tea what does that or what you are saying prove…

I have often quoted about the poor performance of the Maxxis UE168 but I still believe the Maxxis M8008 tire in the size I use is the best ST trailer tire made in that size today…

other than a few old fogies on this forum there is no supporting evidence to suggest that maxxis tires are superior to other tires made in asia .
in a recent tire test of high performance passenger car tires Maxxis was rated in the lowest 15 % of the tires tested.
Out of 62 different tire models 53 were rated higher than maxxis .
Top rated tires were Michelin , Continental , Goodyear , Pirelli ,

JJBIRISH wrote:

JJBIRISH wrote:

Ridgerunner29 wrote:
This is information I posted also on a different thread but seemed appropriate for this thread also. If you doubt this information, send Continental and email and ask the question directly.


I sent an email to Continental tire corporate to get their recommendations for using Vanco2 tires on a travel trailer. Here is their response:

"Thank you for contacting Customer Relations at Continental Tire the Americas, LLC

The Vanco 2 tires are suitable for trailers. Thank you for your interest in our products and we appreciate your business.


Sincerely,

Continental Tire the Americas, LLC."

thank you for the information you have…
I have contacted them directly,
but am still waiting on their reply…
I will be certain to post the reply when I get it…

Though slightly different from yours, this is the E-mail response I got from them.. a canned answer for sure…

Thank you for contacting Customer Relations at Continental Tire the Americas, LLC.

The Vanco product line is very similar to the ST product line. Both tires have reinforcement which allows the tires to handle the weight of the Campers. We can only recommend original equipment fitments. As long as the Vanco tires you are interested in are the same size and share the same speed and load index as what came original equipment on your vehicle then the Vanco tires will work. Thank you for your interest in our products.
Sincerely,
Continental Tire the Americas, LLC.

In a follow up phone call they were adamant and would only repeat the above canned answer… no recommendations were forth coming only if the tire should meet or exceed ALL OF the OE requirements they would work…
I will research this more but it seems like many of the same problems exist with them as there are changing to LT’s, like changing rims to match or better loads, but it opens up some options for som smaller wheels…

And just like switching to LT’s, if it’s not done right it opens up liability issues that can and should be avoided… apparently something they wisely choose to avoid also…

I have received varying and conflicting information from other mfg’s of commercial van tires also and I have used several sets not (not on trailers) and got less than acceptable wear out of them…

When I posed the question to them it was stated simply as "is it the position of Continental that Vanco2 tires are an acceptable application for rv travel trailers tires?" I did not ask about matching original sizes etc...

JJBIRISH wrote:

Ridgerunner29 wrote:
This is information I posted also on a different thread but seemed appropriate for this thread also. If you doubt this information, send Continental and email and ask the question directly.


I sent an email to Continental tire corporate to get their recommendations for using Vanco2 tires on a travel trailer. Here is their response:

"Thank you for contacting Customer Relations at Continental Tire the Americas, LLC

The Vanco 2 tires are suitable for trailers. Thank you for your interest in our products and we appreciate your business.


Sincerely,

Continental Tire the Americas, LLC."

thank you for the information you have…
I have contacted them directly,
but am still waiting on their reply…
I will be certain to post the reply when I get it…

Though slightly different from yours, this is the E-mail response I got from them.. a canned answer for sure…

Thank you for contacting Customer Relations at Continental Tire the Americas, LLC.

The Vanco product line is very similar to the ST product line. Both tires have reinforcement which allows the tires to handle the weight of the Campers. We can only recommend original equipment fitments. As long as the Vanco tires you are interested in are the same size and share the same speed and load index as what came original equipment on your vehicle then the Vanco tires will work. Thank you for your interest in our products.
Sincerely,
Continental Tire the Americas, LLC.

In a follow up phone call they were adamant and would only repeat the above canned answer… no recommendations were forth coming only if the tire should meet or exceed ALL OF the OE requirements they would work…
I will research this more but it seems like many of the same problems exist with them as there are changing to LT’s, like changing rims to match or better loads, but it opens up some options for som smaller wheels…

And just like switching to LT’s, if it’s not done right it opens up liability issues that can and should be avoided… apparently something they wisely choose to avoid also…

I have received varying and conflicting information from other mfg’s of commercial van tires also and I have used several sets not (not on trailers) and got less than acceptable wear out of them…

Ridgerunner29 wrote:
This is information I posted also on a different thread but seemed appropriate for this thread also. If you doubt this information, send Continental and email and ask the question directly.


I sent an email to Continental tire corporate to get their recommendations for using Vanco2 tires on a travel trailer. Here is their response:

"Thank you for contacting Customer Relations at Continental Tire the Americas, LLC

The Vanco 2 tires are suitable for trailers. Thank you for your interest in our products and we appreciate your business.


Sincerely,

Continental Tire the Americas, LLC."

thank you for the information you have…
I have contacted them directly,
but am still waiting on their reply…
I will be certain to post the reply when I get it…

This is information I posted also on a different thread but seemed appropriate for this thread also. If you doubt this information, send Continental and email and ask the question directly.


I sent an email to Continental tire corporate to get their recommendations for using Vanco2 tires on a travel trailer. Here is their response:

"Thank you for contacting Customer Relations at Continental Tire the Americas, LLC

The Vanco 2 tires are suitable for trailers. Thank you for your interest in our products and we appreciate your business.


Sincerely,

Continental Tire the Americas, LLC."

Taken from the Continental tire manufactures website… there is not even a hint of them being suitable for trailer use… to the contrary…

Snip:
The growing demand for short-distance transport of passengers and goods also leads to increased requirements so that the performance of modern day vans nears that of passenger cars.
Snip:
The concept of the VancoTM Camper is to use long well-proven Vanco technique, optimize its performance for distinguished motorcaravan requirements and thus cater to the needs of this specific target use.
Snip:
The Continental Vanco Camper tyres are part of Continental’s Vanco tyre range that comprises tyres exclusively for vans.
Snip:

Decide for yourself what it means… what it might imply if you are involved in an accident…

Nowhere in the Tire Rack site are they referred to them as a tire for trailer use… they are European sized and rated as a (C) commercial tire…

The “C” that follows the rim-diameter figure (eg. R15C) originally meant Camionette (French for van or small truck). In English the C is translated to Commercial as an abbreviation for LIGHT COMMERCIAL Vehicle… the C suffix indicates that a tire is designed to be suitable for a commercial light truck, transporter, or van…
The C letter has nothing to do with the Ply Rating system, nor the number of plies used in a tires construction…