Cheap tires

Make sure that the Heartland product you are purchasing does not have Towmax tires. If fact 10 ply tires are not suitable for a large 5th wheel. When you have the inevitable blow-out neither Heartland or Towmax will support you.

How well I know, been there--done that!

Is the Towmax tire issue a problem for all trailers . . . or just the big heavy 5th-wheel trailers?

I find it rather ironic that in all of the Heartland brochures they brag about not chimping on the tires, yet here we are with yet another Towmax tire topic thread.

Our 2013 Trail Runner has the Towmax tires . . .

I've been worried about them since reading all of the horror stories around here about them.

However, it seems that those having issues with these tires are with 5th-wheel trailers, which are possibly too heavy for the Towmax tires.

Anyone have an idea or experience about this?

I've probably got around 1500 miles on our trailer, and add another 1200 miles for the delivery of the trailer from Elkhart (the Heartland factory) to Colorado.

And yet they still look like new and have no bulges or uneven wear.

We did have a flat, but it happened on the dealership's lot while it was in for warranty work (had picked up a screw while they were moving it around their lot).

They put a plug in it, but I took it to a tire shop where they did a real patch job to repair it right.

So I'm not sure if I should just replace them . . . or use them for another season or two.

Our old trailer had light truck tires on it when we bought it (1978 Coachman) in 2001 and towed it around the mountains for 11 years and never had a problem with those.

I think JohnD has a point, most of the blowouts I have read about seem to be on the heavier 5th wheels and especially the triple axle ones like mine. When I see how much side load the tires take in a tight turn I wonder sometimes why we don't see more cracks with the spoked aluminum wheels. And I wonder too if or how much this may contribute to breaking the bond layer between plies causing cord separation.


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I agree with JohnD as well. THe Majority of problems have been on heavier trailers where there was not much margin in the capacity of the tire compared to the trailers weight on the axles. Individual tires can carry different weights as well so it's best to be properly weighed. Cat scales are ok but individual wheel weight is best.

Re: Is the Towmax tire issue a problem for all trailers . . . or just the big heavy 5th-wheel trailers?

We had about 5,000 miles on our trailer, mid July at 100 degrees I blew a Towmax. They are 8 ply and when I scaled the trailer the weight was almost at tire capacity. I went down and had 14 ply Gladiators installed. They don't ride quite as smooth but they won't blow. I do not believe it to be a brand problem I believe it is simply the tire capacity is not sufficient. When they pulled the tires there was another tire which had separated and was ready to blow. It resulted in a $4,500 repair to the trailer.

Re: Is the Towmax tire issue a problem for all trailers . . . or just the big heavy 5th-wheel trailers?

I respectfully disagree. i think it is 100% about tire / brand quality. Nearly all these Towmax issues are 235/80 R16's which supposedly have a load rating of 3500+. Many people are switching to LT's with load capacities of 3050 and much higher speed ratings, from quality tire manufacturers like Michelin, Bridgestone, BF Goodrich, etc., and not having these issues. The Towmax are junk and should be reserved for equipment trailers hauling form lumber or farm equipment.

I was fortunate enough to barter mine for some concrete work, with full disclosure of course. They said they didn't care as long as they were cheap. They said they averaged a couple blowouts a year on their trailer anyway.