Power King Towmax tires for hybrid travel trailer

After reading many posts, I think all Chinese tires get lumped together. My trailer came with bias ply Duros and all of them developed sidewall cracks in less than a year from manufacture. The tires were kept properly inflated and covered during off season.

That was my experience, I thoroughly think they would have failed on the road if I had not replaced them. Duro replaced them with like tires which I promptly sold on CL with full disclosure and I put on Denmans before they were made in China and went out of business. No issues in 3 years with them.

While I can't judge all Chinese tires, the Duros sure made me skeptical.

Quick note re the Westlake tires. Our local, reputable dealer sells those and DH discussed them at length with him. He indicated that they had sold many sets and had not had any issues. Did some reading online and there were a few negative responses, albeit not a huge number, but we still went with the Transmasters.

I have the TowMax on my 38ft TT. We bought it new last year and that is what was on it. I have had no trouble with them at all. They are performing fine and show no signs of trouble and seem to be wearing evenly.

Oh, dear....the dreaded tire discussion again. When I asked about this very thing in Feb, it turned into a "battle of the brands". Some folks swear by Maxxis and will give you the impressison that if you buy any other that you're trying to kill your family. Others have their favorite brands. Some wouldn't buy those brands regardless. I made the mistake of noting that we had a budget of sorts for these tires and got complete chewed up by a few...one poster said if that was what I was worried about, just buy the cheapest thing I could find and take my chances.....idiot. So......what we did was a lot of homework online reading not only the manufacturers information, but the reviews + forums. In the end, we ended up buying Greenball Transmasters at Sam's Club - may also be available online, but Sam's is 8 miles away and we also felt that IF we had a problem, there is usually a Sam's close to wherever you are. That happened to be what came on our '07 ROO OEM and we never had a problem. Replaced those at about the 4 year mark with another set of the same. After all was said and done this time, we found that Sam's Club is carrying them and since they had been trouble-free all this time, just repeated our earlier choice. They were right about $100 each give or take, installed.

My cousin and hubby have had several tire issues and he always grumbled that it was because they were Chinese tires. After much thought, he came to the conclusion that it was probably not the tire, but that they were past that 4 - 5 year mark and it was just their time to go. Seems like time flies. We tend to err on the side of caution and replace ours at closer to the 4 year mark, regardless of how great they look. We take a yearly trek to FL and a tire disaster is the very last thing we need, so we went even a bit early on this last set. Of course, now the ROO sits waiting for a new home with some brand new tires on it, while our new TT sits waiting for next week to come around so we can finally take it out.

Good luck on the tires...it's a tough choice and you don't want to make a mistake if you can help it. Just make the best educated decision within the budget you have (!!) and remember to check the pressure faithfully.

People who call Tires "Chinese bombs" are either unaware that the product has changed or they just want to knock Chinese products. The Towmax STR is a new product that now has a nylon cap like the made in Thailand "Mx" brand for higher temperature tolerances.

I just had installed four Carlisle Radial Trail RH also with the new nylon cap.

I would check with the store and make sure whatever brand you choose has the nylon cap. I do not think the Omni or Gladiator does, but I am not certain.

I do know that Westlake ST tires do.

You should be fine.

I had 6 Power Kings under 13k of boat and trailer that were 14 years old. I did not have a lick of trouble with them. I replaced them with 6 new power Kings Same result, sold the boat and trailer with the tires being 4 years old. On the HTT I have 7 year old Carlisle's that are showing now signs of where of cracking, but I keep them covered when not in use. The previous TT has Goodyear Marathons, those tires where moved from the TT to my car trailer and are now 12 years old and still rolling on. The replacement tires on the TT where Good Rides. What ever tire you buy run it at the max tire pressure and make sure they are rated for the load.

I went through 2 sets of Promax's in 5 years, then changed brands, others have had decent luck so it's a******shoot. Mine were probably at max load though so take it for what it's worth. I like the wider footprint of my Maxxis, my local auto tire guy ordered them for me after trying to talk me into Carlisle's. If I'd have had the option of Goodyears I'd have gone that route.

I went through 2 sets of Promax's in 5 years, then changed brands, others have had decent luck so it's a******shoot. Mine were probably at max load though so take it for what it's worth. I like the wider footprint of my Maxxis, my local auto tire guy ordered them for me after trying to talk me into Carlisle's. If I'd have had the option of Goodyears I'd have gone that route.

I've been running Chinese ST tires for at least 3 seasons. Not sure where the "China Bomb" nonsense comes from. Of course I run them at posted sidewall pressure.

-- Chuck

Have your dealer order Maxxis or find a new dealer.