new goodyear tires designed for RV's

[tomman58]

Went to the Tampa RV show yesterday to check out the 338 TT like the one we have now. Boy what a difference 4 years makes, a lot of new features and other things changed to make them better.
The one change are the tires, now they are Good year RV Tires E series and are made in the USA. So long to Chinese tires. The head of the Jayco representation (not a sales guy) explain how they were part of the design of a tire that is made for us! The side walls are heavy to help in bruising on curbs etc. The tire itself is designed to straight pulling, so the belts and tread are different. The tire is also speed rated for 85MPH not that I would ever drive that fast but does show a far better grip on the reality of the tires.
We travel a lot and put 10,000 miles on our trailer some years, so time to buy a new one. Oh I am adding the leveling system as I am getting frigg'n old.

[BurbMan]

ScottG, he meant "us" as in trailer towers, not "us" as in Jayco. He said Jayco was on the industry design team that helped spec the tire with GY.

Yikes, just looked them up and $175 EACH?!?! I paid $500 out the door for the whole set of my current LT's.

[tomman58]

ScottG wrote:
He's full of it. The GY Endurance has been around for a while now (with good results) and is standard equipment on many new trailers, including mine.
It certainly wasn't designed just for Jayco - if that's what he was saying.

Sorry that you interpreted it that way. I guess I should've said the Jayco engineer and I were looking at the "new" 338RETS comparing it to my 4 year old unit. I was amazed at all the positive changes. I seen the sticker regarding the tires and we had that conversation. Jayco was intrinsic to the development of the tires with others. He said these were by far an important tire upgrade. period. The light truck tires do not have the rigid side walls that these new ones do and are not made for straight line pulling.
Like I said this was a head guy from Jayco and his info was invaluable. To bad all of us do not have access to people other than sales guys that have other interests.

[GWolfe]

One problem I see with LTs is getting them in smaller sizes, so many of the trailers out there come with 13" and 14" wheels/tires. Mine came with 13" and were almost at capacity when it left the factory. I was able to upgrade to 205/75-15s without "flipping" the axle but couldn't go any bigger.

[SoundGuy]

profdant139 wrote:
I am not averse to buying high-quality foreign-made goods -- I drive a Toyota.

The "all knowing" Google says -"The second generation Tacomas were assembled in Tijuana, Mexico and Fremont, California while the plastic/composite beds were all built in Mexico. However, in August 2009 Toyota announced that it would relocate Tacoma production from Fremont to San Antonio, Texas."

... so it would seem your second generation Tacoma was built in the US, or possibly in nearby Tijuana - does that qualify it as "foreign" made? :W

I personally don't care where anything is manufactured as long as it doesn't prematurely fail ... one of my stock Chinese manufactured ST tires did prematurely fail dramatically so I'm giving a set of new US manufactured Endurance tires a shot if for no other reason there seems to be nothing better out there. I even compared a much less costly Carlisle HD tire to an Endurance and found the latter's sidewalls FAR stiffer. Time will tell but I'm betting these Endurance tires will help me avoid premature tire failure that plagues so many of us.

[Huntindog]

FWIW. I had two sets of Goodyear Marathons..USA made. The first set, all 4 had slipped belts before two years. The next set, I upgraded from LRC to LRE. I had a catastrophic failure on the second trip. I then tied USA made Carlise, LRE. I had another catastrophic failure within 6 months. I had many other ST tire failures as well.
I switched to LTs in 2006, and have been trouble free ever since.
Iam now on my 3rd set of LTs due to AGE!! That was impossible when I used STs. None of them made it to two years.

This new crop of STs MAY be better than the old.
But I am through with STs.
The same companies that told us how great their old tires were, specifically made for trailer use etc., are now the same ones telling us the same about these new tires. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.

I have now found a solution that has worked flawlessly for 12 years. I will stick with it.

The ST tire makers do not deserve any more of my money.

[Jim2007]

Hi all... I have about 5,500 miles on my endurance and am happy with them to at this point.. jim2007.

[ScottG]

Atlee wrote:
I'm pretty sure Jayco was the first manufacturer to put them on the trailers. Endurance tires suddenly became a a $300 mandatory option.

ScottG wrote:
He's full of it. The GY Endurance has been around for a while now (with good results) and is standard equipment on many new trailers, including mine.
It certainly wasn't designed just for Jayco - if that's what he was saying.

Pretty sure AF also used them when first avail.
Regardless, they were not designed, created or otherwise started just for Jayco.

[GWolfe]

profdant139 wrote:


But I have had a lot of problems with some Chinese-made items, and apparently many consumers in China agree with my concerns. So the fact that the Endurance tires are made in the USA, with US quality controls, did enter into my decision to buy. That was not my sole reason, but it was a factor.

Thats how it worked for me as well.

[profdant139]

Jim, I'm not sure the USA label is a gimmick -- or if it is, it worked its magic on me. I am not averse to buying high-quality foreign-made goods -- I drive a Toyota.

But I have had a lot of problems with some Chinese-made items, and apparently many consumers in China agree with my concerns. So the fact that the Endurance tires are made in the USA, with US quality controls, did enter into my decision to buy. That was not my sole reason, but it was a factor.

[JIMNLIN]

The Goodyear Endurance ST as all trailer tires are made for all rv and non rv trailers (not just rvs).
At one time all ST tires were made in the USA. Still had issues with them tho.

Goodyear and Carlisle are our oldest ST tire makers. Carlisle stepped up with their new RH tire several years ago.....now to a even better Carlisle HD. Goodyear new Endurance is a bit late in the newer gen ST tires but manufacturing them in the USA is a great sales gimmick. Time and miles of use will tell their story.
It was a couple of china made tires (Provider/Sailun) first used in the commercial regional service trailer industry that put sales pressure on Carlisle/Goodyear to update their problematic ST tires.
Hope they have a winner.

[SoundGuy]

profdant139 wrote:
Ken, when you say they make a world of difference, can you actually feel the difference when towing?

Yes, you can certainly "feel" the difference ... trailer tracks much better, doesn't bounce on it's suspension anywhere near as much. Lean down with your body weight on an unmounted ST tire of almost any make / model and it'll collapse noticeably ... do the same with a Goodyear Endurance and it will barely deflect - MUCH stiffer sidewalls. And no, contrary to what some pundits claim these stiff sidewall tires don't result in a rougher ride. It's just simply better in every respect. :B

[Atlee]

I'm pretty sure Jayco was the first manufacturer to put them on the trailers. Endurance tires suddenly became a a $300 mandatory option.

ScottG wrote:
He's full of it. The GY Endurance has been around for a while now (with good results) and is standard equipment on many new trailers, including mine.
It certainly wasn't designed just for Jayco - if that's what he was saying.

[Atlee]

They have been out about a year and 1/2. Jayco was among the first manufactures to put on the Endurance. My trailer was built in January 2017, and it came with them.

In fact January may have been when Jayco started. There was great fanfare when they did.

ScottG wrote:
He's full of it. The GY Endurance has been around for a while now (with good results) and is standard equipment on many new trailers, including mine.
It certainly wasn't designed just for Jayco - if that's what he was saying.

[GWolfe]

I have them on my trailer and have been real pleased with them. My TT does seem to track better but then again I went from cheap foreign made bias ply tires to these. I paid around $125 for 205/75R-15s mounted and balanced, I didn't think that was too bad.

[rbpru]

It is my understanding the GY looked at the TT industry and developed a TT tire with, higher rated speed, improved rubber compounds, improved towing tread design etc. etc.

Most would agree an improved ST tire was long overdue and it is interesting to note that for now the production is in the US.

The tire does command a premium price and is featured by some TT manufacturers.