China Commercial Tires - West Lake

[jpwiggo]

Anyone have experience on some of the newer China brands of tires for RVs?

I get discounts on Goodyears, but still they are so expensive. That and I really don't drive that much. It's not like I'm going to put 100,000 miles on these tires. Most likely only 25K before they get too old.

A buddy told me about West Lake tires. They have a CR976A tire Load H (16 ply) that are really good value ~$150 each for a 255/70R22.5

Any experiences out there?

[Mile_High]

leggy wrote:
Not really an answer to OP question but after reading a couple responses about China tires I was reminded of a discussion I had with a regional tire supplier. He told me that numerous tire manufacturers have turned back to us to make the tires here. I can't remember the companies but maybe we will see a better product soon.

I believe the Goodyear G614 LRG trailer tire was one of those they brought back a few years ago, which we had on our 5er before they too went to Westlake.

[azdryheat]

Three years ago we bought our Voltage with 6 Westlakes and a spare. Knowing that the Westlakes were garbage from China, we immediately took them off and put on Michelin XPS Ribs, which is a non-Chinese commercial LT truck tire that is also rated for trailers (made in Great Britain). We have had zero tire issues in three years of cris-crossing the US.

[leggy]

Not really an answer to OP question but after reading a couple responses about China tires I was reminded of a discussion I had with a regional tire supplier. He told me that numerous tire manufacturers have turned back to us to make the tires here. I can't remember the companies but maybe we will see a better product soon.

[full-timer]

I have four Sailuns on the rear of my motorhome date code 2010. So this year they will be 7 years old and look new.
You bet I will buy that brand again.

Joe

[Carlos___Ranae]

Seven responds to the OP and not one responded as if they have used them or not.

When we purchased our last fifth wheeler, it came with WESTLAKE tires and we insisted and made it a deal breaker for the dealer to switched them with our old Sailuns. We have over 20,000 miles on them and not one single issue. So, no, we have not tried the Westlakes, however, Sailuns track record for us has been excellent.

[Mile_High]

tropical36 wrote:

They have a US DOT certification number on the sidewall, do they not?
.

Ya, we undersell ourselves as a country quite a bit in the name of foreign policy, fair trade, and greed! Not that any sidewall stamp stops the Chinese counterfeiters!

Counterfeit tires

I really hope you are wrong about the future trend.

[tropical36]

jpwiggo wrote:
Anyone have experience on some of the newer China brands of tires for RVs?

I get discounts on Goodyears, but still they are so expensive. That and I really don't drive that much. It's not like I'm going to put 100,000 miles on these tires. Most likely only 25K before they get too old.

A buddy told me about West Lake tires. They have a CR976A tire Load H (16 ply) that are really good value ~$150 each for a 255/70R22.5

Any experiences out there?

There are only so many ways to make a tire and for staying in business.
They have a US DOT certification number on the sidewall, do they not?
As for China manufacturing them, this is the trend, along with everything else and for those who refuse to buy them, they'll soon be riding on the rims.
We went with Hercules this last time around, which we found very reasonable by comparison and not our first time around with this brand, either. A partner with Cooper for the last 50yrs and with being the forth largest supplier of tires in the world, Hercules has a lot of rubber down on the road.

[Mile_High]

RinconVTR wrote:

Mile High wrote:
Well, they are the OEM tire of choice for most entry level RVs - what does that tell you? It tells me they are the cheapest import tire available.

Westlakes are not the cheapest "import" available. Not by a long shot.

OK - let me revise that from "cheapest" - to "cheap".

Top 4 tires to avoid

[RinconVTR]

Mile High wrote:
Well, they are the OEM tire of choice for most entry level RVs - what does that tell you? It tells me they are the cheapest import tire available.

Westlakes are not the cheapest "import" available. Not by a long shot.

[TBammer]

Are we talking about Sailuns?

[crasster]

Well remember this, many here on this forum will tell you to change your tires every 5 years. So if you put under 25k on the tire in 5 years, GO FOR IT. They may be cheap but if you don't drive a lot they'll be fine.

[Mile_High]

Well, they are the OEM tire of choice for most entry level RVs - what does that tell you? It tells me they are the cheapest import tire available.