Westlake tires??

[Tinnys_Rig]

Hey Folks, just wondering what your take is on Westlake tires. They come standard on the Solitude 379FL and I have never heard of them. Should I look at an upgrade if I buy this 5er? Thanks.

[Me_Again]

JIMNLIN wrote:

CKNSLS wrote:
The Westlake tires now have the new Nylon cap (in the larger sizes). So one can expect increased heat resistance and better reliability.

Products improve...attitudes on this forum on certain brands don't.

Improvement on paper are great for sales.
Only years/hundreds of thousands of miles will show us if those improvements will increase the tires reliability.... and attitudes on this forum.

The "New Nylon Cap!" Really?

Goodyear told me that they add the Nylon cap to the Marathon years ago! Probably the Circle S change in the late 1990's! As we see posted here they are no better than any of the others on large 5th wheels.

The whole premise of a light weight, cheaply made tire, with inflated ratings and admitted short life cycles just to not compute for use on the Interstate highway system to see America.

So many people that do not even own 5th wheels love to post in this section on tires that do this or that with no actual experience with what we tow.

Chris

[JIMNLIN]

CKNSLS wrote:
The Westlake tires now have the new Nylon cap (in the larger sizes). So one can expect increased heat resistance and better reliability.

Products improve...attitudes on this forum on certain brands don't.

Improvement on paper are great for sales.
Only years/hundreds of thousands of miles will show us if those improvements will increase the tires reliability.... and attitudes on this forum.

[CKNSLS]

The Westlake tires now have the new Nylon cap (in the larger sizes). So one can expect increased heat resistance and better reliability.

Products improve...attitudes on this forum on certain brands don't.

[Poppy_s_5th_Whe]

I know this thread, as do all "tire" threads, has taken some weird turns but I wanted to say that our 5th came with 15" Power King Towmax STR tires and they are still alive after at least 15,000 miles and 3 years of service. Not one flat or other issue. Some scrubbed off shoulders now which is typical of ALL trailer use tires from turning. So, not every Chinese made crappy tire will be problematic. As with any group who participates in specialty forums, whether it's for RVs or coffee makers (and yes, there is one) we all read about the worst case scenarios.

My point is there are probably thousands of these tires rolling along the highways and byways without anymore issues than any other tire.

That being said, even with tire life left on my Towmaxs, in planning for a significant increase in long distance travel this year, I swapped out my OEM setup for new 16" wheels and LT tires for some piece of mind because this place and the other RV forums I am on, had my worked up into a panic 🙂

Just my .02 cents and YMMV 🙂

[Cummins12V98]

It's pretty simple folks, tell them no deal until they put quality tires on the RV.

[glazier]

My Reflection came with Westlake on it. I only towed it from the dealer to my garage with them on it. I ordered Ribs the same week I brought it home, I will use the OEM tires on my other trailers.

[Me_Again]

Westlake tires come via one of the two mass suppliers for pre-mounted cheap ST tires. If we knew what these companies paid for a truck load or train car load of this junk, then we would all understand the issue. My best guess is the a ST235/80R16E on an aluminum wheels cost them less than a 100 bucks for the wheel and tire.

http://www.tireco.com/brands

Tredit has their corresponding cheap offerings.

Chris

[Bamaman11]

My new fiver is not going to be towed very far--left in a membership camp ground.

But if we were full timers or towed long distances, we'd have a new set of major brand LT highway tread tires--E load rated--on day one.

There are just so many horror stories all over the internet about RV tires.

[NC_Hauler]

Racine96 wrote:
It seems Westlake is the tire of choice on Forest River. I had a Rockwood and now a Palomino, both came with these tires.

Yeah they probably bought a PILE of them at a much discounted price and didn't pass the savings on to their customer in the transaction, or care if the tires "popped" on them somewhere down the road..To most manufacturers, it's another way to cut corners, save money and then charge us more for their product.... Some don't seem to care that much about their customers safety.

[Racine96]

It seems Westlake is the tire of choice on Forest River. I had a Rockwood and now a Palomino, both came with these tires.

[Me_Again]

Personally I would skip right over 16" LRG tires and switch it to 17.5 rims and 215/75R17.5 LRH tires rated to 4805 pounds. G614's used near their max rating do not seem to do well. Sailun are maybe better however they are about an inch larger in diameter tan the G614's. Do some search here on 17.5" rims. Tires are the same diameter as the ST235/80R16's. ST tires are the dirty little cheap secret of RV trailers, you will never be happy in the long run with them.

There are no 16" LRE LT tires that meet you axle requirements.

Chris

[Tinnys_Rig]

You guys are awesome!!! Thanks a bunch!!

[NC_Hauler]

B.O. Plenty wrote:
Ever drive by a dealer with a Weslake sign hanging in front? Just another cheap no name generic Chinese junk tire...As someone else said: LT LT LT.

B.O.

X2

[B_O__Plenty]

Ever drive by a dealer with a Weslake sign hanging in front? Just another cheap no name generic Chinese junk tire...As someone else said: LT LT LT.

B.O.