Goodyear China Bombs

wandering1 wrote:
RV Tire Problems

A lot of personal opinions and not facts are being posted on the forum about trailer tires. The majority of it is personal opinions that unfortunately a lot of people without the facts pay attention to, and, end up spending a lot of hard earned money on new tires because of the personal opinions that were posted on the forum by wannabe tire experts. Most people don’t have a clue as to what caused their tire failure all they really know is the tire failed.
Unfortunately newbie’s with little to no RV experience and others with little knowledge of tires are misled by these wannabes and end up with a lot of unfounded tire failure misconceptions causing them to worry and spend their hard earned money replacing perfectly good tires.

A lot of people have a bias against foreign made products. That’s too bad because more and more manufacturers are having their products made by foreign companies. I would prefer that all American sold products be made in this country but that is not the world we live in.

Before foreign companies started making the tires all the complaints about trailer tires were the same as they are now. American and foreign made tires all perform the same. If you don’t think foreign made tires meet DOT standards then do something about it like report it. If you want a tire that will solve your tire problems then think about getting larger stronger tires. Light truck tires appear to last longer than ST tires based on comments I have seen on the forum, not facts.

Things to avoid that can damage tires:

1. Extended storage. Side walls tend to break down.
2. Improper inflation. Keep the tires inflated to the proper level when in storage or in use, 24/7/365. Under/over inflation when in use causes the heat to build up higher than what the tire is rated for which damages the tire.
3. High speed. Limit your speed to the max the tire is rated for, most are 65mph. Traveling over the max causes heat buildup above what the tires are rated for which damages the tire.
4. Hitting potholes in our wonderful highways and roads, running off the edge of the road, hitting curbs, rubbing tires against the curb. All of these things damage the tires. Belts break down and tires throw the tread.
5. Extended driving on hot highways in hot weather can damage tires from overheating.
6. Overloaded trailers, this will cause your tires to overheat, get rid of the extra weight.
7. Environment – keep tires covered to protect against the weather and sunlight.
8. Age, check with the tire manufacturer to educate yourself about when tires should be replaced.
9. Dry rot, check with the tire manufacturer to educate yourself about dry rot.
10. Mechanical problems like brakes sticking, or bad wheel bearings can cause the wheel to overheat which will cause the tire to overheat which damages the tire.
11. Defects in materials and workmanship. Highly doubtful this causes all tire failures.

Tire Pressure

Check your tire pressure when the RV has not been driven for 3 - 4 hours. That is when the tire is "cold". Forget ambient temp, 80psi at 10 degrees F is the same as 80psi at 100 degrees F. If you over inflate or under inflate the tires this can cause the tires to run hotter than normal which can damage the tires and cause tire failure. Stick with the PSI on the side of the tires. No need to turn this into rocket science. Check with the tire manufacturers if you need an education on tire inflation. Tire pressure does rise as the tire temp rises after driving down the road just like it is supposed to which is why you are supposed to check the pressure when the tire is “cold”.

Tire Temp

An Infra Red Thermometer can be a useful tool if you know how to use it. It will tell you the temp of the tire. You need to know the max temp for the tire if you are going to monitor it. If the temp of the tire is higher than the max temp the tire is rated for then you may have a problem (trailer is overloaded, improper inflation, or a mechanical problem). If you are checking to see if the tire is over the max rated temp and you don’t know what the max rated temp is, then you are wasting money for the thermometer and wasting time using it.

Replacing Failed Tires

The tire dealer will prorate your failed tire and sell you a new one. Do not let the tire dealer keep the failed tire when you have it replaced. Contact the tire manufacturer about the failure. The manufacturer will arrange for a local tire dealer to ship the failed tire to them and reimburse you for the price you paid for the new tire plus pay for any damages to the RV caused by the tire failure if you provide estimates of repair. This has been my experience with Goodyear and Carlisle.

This can be a very helpful forum if you forget the personal opinions and prejudices, get the facts, and communicate the facts to help others learn. Post useful information like what caused a tire failure.

Let the Engineers play in the sandbox and try to figure out why the Chinese ST tires continue to blow apart after so carefully reviewing the specs - in the meantime - if you just don't feel like being a tire forensics expert or spend as much time caring for your ST tires as you do tweaking the fuel injection on your '62 Jaguar just to get it to idle, do yourself a favor and look through the forum (or any fifth wheel forum) and look at the clear evidence that the ST tire has an unacceptable high failure rate, regardless of the prestige of the name on the sidewall, and go buy a more rugged tire. There are far more capable and forgiving tires out there - just look for the "USA" in the sidewall.