Help! need tires.... - Page 2

mbinohio · 04-25-2010, 11:44 PM

I went with LT's.....235/85R16 10ply, I have Firestone Transforce on my truck so I had them put on the camper, work great, it's a little higher now but I have never had a problem with LT's, infacr if you look at any 5er"s that is of any size and weight none of them have ST tires on them....mine are all american made......I got the highway tread, not the all terrain...

salda01 · 04-26-2010, 12:28 AM

From what I have read, Goodyear and Maxxis probably have the best reputation out there regardless of Country of Orgin. I'm really leaning towards the Goodyear, because of being American Mfg'd. and finding a replacement on the road would probably be a lot easier.

As for going with LT tires, I'm getting more away from this for a variety of reasons.
- Not many out there in the 15" size or that can handle the weight.
- A Michelin product manager stated, if you could safely run LT's why wouldn't mfg's want to consolidate their product offering and phase out ST's? Michelin would not recommend it (maybe just liability).
- Would be extremely tough to find a spare in the middle of someplace where Jesus lost his sandels.
- LT sidewalls are softer to provide for a more comfortable ride, being they are designed for SUV, Trucks and CrossOver vehicles. Again a ding on sidewall strength.

I know people are out there running LT's with out any issues, but then again we see a lot people out there doing things that shouldn't be done.

mbinohio · 04-26-2010, 10:38 PM

as far as LT's being a bad or a poor choice, I believe your wrong, we have looked at alot of high end 5th wheels, the Day Deamer, KZ, both the Escalade, and the Montego Bay and the Mobile Suite, all of them come with LT tires, none of them even the low end use ST tires, there is no safety factor in replacing an ST with a LT....I changed from ST to Lt and I can feel no difference and when we back it in it's the same as with the other tires, before I started my 2ns career, I owned a tire shop for 31yrs, infact I retired from there so I have has some experience in this field and I can assure you most people replace St with LT, the problem being there is not much to pick from in the 15" line.........

de4nier · 04-28-2010, 10:22 AM

So far here's the progress...
I contacted Crossroads, who directed me to contact Duro. I got to speak to someone at Duro. They were going to email or snailmail me a claim form. I need to supply them with pictures, all DOT numbers, and an invoice from when I bought the trailer. Then they will determine if I have a valid claim. If they decide that I have a valid claim, they will then ship me new tires, and they are done. It will be my responsibility (and cost) to get them swapped out. However, it has been 5 days, and no emil or snailmail yet.
I was looking around for other tires, and options as far as tires. I have gotten the same story now from three different tire places, (who do not know I am talking to more that just them). They say that the Goodyears were made in the USA the latter part of last year, after the US government stated that they were going to place a 20% import tax on Chinese tires. Goodyear decided it would be cheaper, even with increased labor costs, to manufacture them here. However, this year our government dropped the proposed tax, and Goodyear has moved their manufacturing back to China, and also to New Zealand, and there are no US manufacturers currently making ST tires.
In a previous post I had mentioned the trailer dealer in Pennsylvania. I contacted him, and he also sells the TowMax tires, which he claims are as good as any other out there, just as my local tire shop did. We discussed my options and he got me some prices.
I decided to move up to a ST21575R14C, a little wider, however, it increases the tires load capacity from 1760 lbs that I have on the 205's to 1870 lbs for the 215's. This seemed to be the best option, rather than change to 15" diameter, which had an 1820 lb rating.
I had been quoted by my local guy at $85 each for the 205 TowMax installed on my rims as long as I bring them in. Lebanon tire quoted me $87 each for the 215 Towmax, including a brand new white 7 spoke rim, the same ones as I have now. I would need to pay $20 each for shipping.
End result, I ordered 4 brand new Goodyear Marathon ST21575R14C, mounted on brand new rims, at $102 each, plus shipping, for a total of $488. I went with the Goodyears mainly because pretty much anywhere I go there will be a Goodyear tire dealer if I need a replacement. They should be delivered here within a few more days. Another store, Town Fair Tire, quoted me $111 each mounted on my rims for the same tire, and although they said they would price match, they sell the rims for $69 each....I told them if they could do the same tire and rims for $500 I'd take it, but they said $145 each was the best they could do.
The tires are being drop shipped to me, and the warehouse told him they would mount the tires on the rims, but they would not hand pick through the tires, I may get "made in USA" or I may not, depending on the manufacture date, but none of the tires in the warehouse inventory is more than a year old. I will get them balanced then I can change them out one at a time, which will be a lot easier! Then I will take the worst out of the Duros, and go to Town Fair and have one Goodyear to match mounted as a spare. I will still have four of the original rims to mount new tires on if I get replacements.
So now I will start complaining again to Duro, to Crossroads, and also to my dealer, Camper's Inn. I feel like I should get some re-imbursement, but at least I won't be left hanging halfway through the camping season. Like I said....I bought a travel trailer, and ended up with a cabin in the back yard....

I'm thinking that I will just watch the loading and the tire pressure like a hawk, and I believe that the extra load rating will help out.
Sorry for the long post! Dave

salda01 · 04-28-2010, 12:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mbinohio

as far as LT's being a bad or a poor choice, I believe your wrong, we have looked at alot of high end 5th wheels, the Day Deamer, KZ, both the Escalade, and the Montego Bay and the Mobile Suite, all of them come with LT tires, none of them even the low end use ST tires, there is no safety factor in replacing an ST with a LT....I changed from ST to Lt and I can feel no difference and when we back it in it's the same as with the other tires, before I started my 2ns career, I owned a tire shop for 31yrs, infact I retired from there so I have has some experience in this field and I can assure you most people replace St with LT, the problem being there is not much to pick from in the 15" line.........

If I had 16" wheels on my Cruiser I would definately consider LT's harder, but being I have 15", I worry that it's gonna, be a lot hard to find oneif I'm in a jam, in the middle of no place. At least somebody would have a 225/75/15 size of some mfg. and every Walmart has at least 1 Goodyear in that size too.

I stopped by CW yesterday and saw a huge mix of tires on their units. All the higher end 5er's had LT tires on 16" wheels, the travel trailers had tires from Goodyear, Duro,TowMaster,TrailMaster,etc.

Again it just sucks that these tires need to be replaced after 3 years and others in a 1 year. Such a waste of resources and money.

de4nier · 04-28-2010, 12:41 PM

de4nier · 04-28-2010, 12:44 PM

You would think that the manufacturers could come together for the common good (not to mention safety) and go to a specific brand or two with their specs and get this problem resolved. In this economy I am sure any manufacturer would be extremely happy to be able to become the primary supplier for all of the RV makers!

TF36DSMatt · 04-28-2010, 03:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gtoguy1967

\When you get the new tires put them on Craigs list, The listing is free you have the tires you want and will get some of your money back.

That's what I did and I got $60 apiece for the replacement tires toward my set of Maxxis.

lenny · 04-28-2010, 04:01 PM

So I had uneven wear on my tires after one season, approx 8500 miles total, plus whatever the delivery distance was from Indiana to the dealer. Tried to get it covered, no deal. Whatever, I wanted those crappy tires off anyway. I took the trailer to a heavy truck shop and got an alignment done, as it was out a fair amount. Got a set of Maxxis tires put on, and 1300 miles so far, so good. I know the dealer through my work, and they are quite confident in the longevity of these tires. Heres hoping.

Jimw606 · 04-28-2010, 10:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by salda01

This post is timely... I started going and calling around yesterday for tires for my Cruiser. And here's what I was told.
GY "ST" Marathons are still made in China

No matter what tire you go with your going to have sidewall cracking issues, because the tire isn't given the opportunity to flex enough and heating up with use and cooling down keep the sidewalls pliable.

LT tires could give you more sway as the sidewalls aren't as thick and LT tires don't come in 225/75/15 as needed on the Cruiser.

So that leaves me scratching my head on how can I find the following?
USA made Marathons
or LT tires that will work.

On a side note to De4neir -> I had the same issues with my Duros on my previous R-Vision trailer. I was able to stay away from working with Duro, by standing my ground and working with R-Vision on how didn't trust them. R-Vision settled with giving me a check for $360 to go get my own tires. Good luck.

I put Maxxis 225/75/15E on my Cruiser. I run them at 72 Psi, as the rims are rated for only 75 psi. I have 8000 miles on them now, and am happy as can be. I replace the towmax, because of cracked sidewalls. Jim

mbinohio · 04-29-2010, 06:57 AM

as far as tires are concerned all tires no matter where they are built need to meet government standards, not to say that they are any good but they must meet the standards, secondly, no manufactuer who builds anything in rubber tires does any tire warranty work, if they give the consumer something it is usually to just get rid of them, the tire company sets the rules how they are going to warranty a tire, I used to have a big wholesale business to a boat trailer tire company, they bid the tire strictly by price, not brand just size, ply and price, and as long as you supply them a tire in the dollar amount they want to spend they could care less what brand it is, I would buy whatever I could get at that time within the price they wanted to pay, I fullfilled my end of the agreement, they are concerned only about the price, and it's not only crossroads who do this all manufactures do the same thing, go and look at a car dealer, all different brands, they don't care where they come from as long as they stay within the dollare amount allotted for rubber.....in reality no maufactuer has to really worry about any of the rubber they put on a vehicle, they just send you to the tire builder and your on your own........

de4nier · 05-03-2010, 08:13 AM

Hi all. Last Friday I got a call from the place I bought the new tires just letting my know that were on the way, and gave me a tracking number for the freight company. They arrived this morning.

I received 4 new Goodyear Marathons, size ST215/75-R14C on brand new white spoke rims. All of the tires are stamped "Made in USA", and the build dates on the sidewalls, 4009, 4109, and two marked 4010.

I am very pleased with the service and the product, and would recommend this place if you have any need for tires:

www.lvtrailerol.com

I dropped them off at my local tire shop at lunchtime to have them balanced, and picked them up on my way home...so now I just need to swap them out.

Thanks for everyone's advice! Dave

salda01 · 05-03-2010, 09:01 AM

I just ordered my tires from my local Ford Dealer, should have them in about a day or two. On order are (4) Goodyear Marathons ST225/75/15. Mounted, balanced, steel stems out the door $128ea. He insured me that the production date won't be more than 6 mos. old. I just now hope they are made in the USA.

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