Tire issue on NEW 5er

[IHnutz]

We just purchased a new 2016 Sprinter fifth-wheel about 3 weeks ago. I was installing mud flaps behind the rear axle and noticed a "plug" in the rear tire. I called the dealer and they agreed to reimburse me for the cost of swapping the spare tire from the spare wheel to the aluminum wheel and vice-versa. However the tire company refused to install the "plugged" tire on the spare rim saying it was an unsafe repair. I called the dealer back and they have agreed to provide me with a new tire for the spare so all is well.

My concern is that when confronted with the tire being "plugged" they remarked that they "get these all the time" and "they come from the factory that way". I am not an attorney and I don't know liability law. I understand that it is not unlikely that a tire could pick up a dropped screw or other debris while moving down the assembly line. But to simply "plug" the tire and send it on down the road seems a dangerous practice to me. My new trailer weighs in at 9000lbs empty and over 11500lbs fully loaded. A tire failure would certainly do major damage possibly leading to loss of control at highway speeds. I would hate think it was caused by the careless, unsafe repair done at the factory.

[ol_Bombero-JC]

downtheroad wrote:

IHnutz wrote:

My concern is that when confronted with the tire being "plugged" they remarked that they "get these all the time" and "they come from the factory that way".

Sorry, but I have to call baloney on the, "they come from the factory that way (plugged)....all the time"

Bologna also!..:W

~

[Chuck_thehammer]

RV dealer is covering his A$$..... not from the RV factory.

just another story to make new Owner feel more comfortable with an issue with tire.

ASK for a replacement tire and Cost to change it.

tire plugs done correctly will last the life of the tire.

[Jack_Spratt]

You're not allowed to plug tires in Maine anymore.
Like others we did it for years and don't recall ever having one fail.

[moresmoke]

If you brought me that tire to change, I would install a new plug and a patch, same as any other tire I've repaired in the past 20 years. Do tire shops not patch tires anymore?

[donn0128]

jfkmk wrote:

donn0128 wrote:
Dont really matter, mthey will probably fail soon anyhow.

Why?

Just read the dozens and dozens of pages concerning ST tires on this and other RV forums.

[jfkmk]

donn0128 wrote:
Dont really matter, mthey will probably fail soon anyhow.

Why?

[olcoon]

Back in 2003 I had a new Chevy. Had it less than a month, got home one day and there was a big thorn from a locust tree sticking out of the sidewall. Don't know where it came from, as it had never been off pavement & there were no locust trees in the areas I had been. I looked at it & the more I looked at it the madder I got. I didn't want to have to replace a new tire with less than 500 miles on it. The more I thought about it, I decided to plug it & see what happened, knowing plugs don't go in the sidewall. Got the stuff ready, pulled the thorn out & air started leaking out. Put in the plug & the tire kept air & didn't have any problems. Stayed that way until it was time to replace all 4 tires. You bet I was lucky!

[downtheroad]

IHnutz wrote:

My concern is that when confronted with the tire being "plugged" they remarked that they "get these all the time" and "they come from the factory that way".

Sorry, but I have to call baloney on the, "they come from the factory that way (plugged)....all the time"

[coolmom42]

BB_TX wrote:
I would not accept a "new" tire that had been plugged. But I plugged a number of tires from the outside over the years and never had one fail, running until the tires finally wore out.

Exactly.

[donn0128]

Dont really matter, mthey will probably fail soon anyhow.

[BB_TX]

I would not accept a "new" tire that had been plugged. But I plugged a number of tires from the outside over the years and never had one fail, running until the tires finally wore out.

[IHnutz]

I thought about the transporter however the dealer accepted the delivery and therefore assumed responsibility.

It is still permissible to "plug" radial tires with certain conditions. The puncture must be in the road contact area and the plug must have a boot attached and inserted from the inside with the boot bonded permanently to the tire body. This "plug" was the old treated cloth type inserted from the outside without dismounting the tire which is an unsafe repair.

[time2roll]

I installed dozens of plugs back in the '80s. Never had any troubles with them.
You can have lots of problems with tires without the plug.

[rav]

it might of been done by the transporter. jmho