The Towmax tire that didn't blow... - Photos

I have a 2013 Heartland Big Country 3650RL with Towmax ST235/80R16 E-rated tires. The tires have about 4800 miles on them. The tires have always run just on the edge of warm, not even close to hot and are checked frequently for the correct tire pressure of 80 PSI cold. When I stopped on I-5 for fuel the other day, I decided to casually inspect the tires. The left rear driver's side tire had a small strip of material sticking out of the side of the tire about 3/4" below the tread level. Upon closer inspection, it appeared that the tread in that area had just started to lift from the body of the tire. The small strip of material appears to be part of the steel belting. I changed the tire since tread separation could do major damage to the 5th wheel. There was no indication of an object causing this damage, although it appears that this portion of the wheel had been in contact with a curb - the small nubs on the side of the tire were flattened out for about a quarter of the circumference of the tire. I would not expect that to cause this problem, but, who knows?? Tread separation seems to be major problem with these Towmax tires as shown elsewhere on this forum.

Tom

Re: The Towmax tire that didn't blow...

Hi Tom,

Welcome to the Heartland Owners Forum and to the family. We have a great bunch of folks here with lots of information and all willing to share their knowledge when needed.

I would suggest you call Tredit Tire, (800) 537-2925. They will most likely want the tire shipped to them, but they have been good to work with.

Jim M

Re: The Towmax tire that didn't blow...

TomnSharon

You got very luck, if you still have the other three towmax tires on your rig, get them off now. You can read thread after thread on here about the Tow Max tire! Not a pretty read I might add! I myself blew one and dealt with Dynamic Tire Corp out of Canada, forget it, it was a bust. Of course it was all my fault for being overloaded, not enough or to much air pressure or I must have hit something. Power King Tow Max is just a ROTTEN tire, face it. I also call Heartland, but they don't warranty the tires, they just put these cheap poor excuse for a tire on their rigs. What a deal! Anyhow, sorry you're having problems, but be very thankful you found it before it blew. Mine cost me $1400 and I've heard much worse. Good Luck.

Re: The Towmax tire that didn't blow...

Yep, mine are getting replaced tomorrow.

Re: The Towmax tire that didn't blow...

iawoody2 said:

Yep, mine are getting replaced tomorrow.

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Good for you! The sooner the better. My old Towmaxs are proudly serving some farmer right where they belong. Mounted up on his manure spreader if they haven't given up the ghost by now...Don

Re: The Towmax tire that didn't blow...

GOTTOYS said:

Good for you! The sooner the better. My old Towmaxs are proudly serving some farmer right where they belong. Mounted up on his manure spreader if they haven't given up the ghost by now...Don

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Mine were bartered for labor to help me pour concrete piers for my new RV carport, and are now hauling form lumber around town.

Re: The Towmax tire that didn't blow...

I've been very lucky - our Bighorn has been about 6K behind my truck and it was pulled from the factory to Maine where I bought it. Our tires are coming off this Friday and I'm replacing them with G614's. It will be about $400 p/tire by the time I'm done but the manufacturer date is last month.
Hopefully I can get the 30 miles to the dealer without something happening. I checked tire pressure and looked for bubbles and cracks today. I'll be relieved to get them off
after reading all the bad experiences people have had with them over the last two years.

Re: The Towmax tire that didn't blow...

My trailer had a blow out on the way out west to the dealer lot. I have three tow max and one Carlisle. When looking at the trailer on the lot, I noticed that the spare was in the pass through storage. That got me looking and that's when I noticed the Carlisle. Reading all the posts here, my only concerns are LT vs ST. I'm leaning towards the LT. To many stories and personal experiences with cheap ST tires from Asia. I had Maxxis on my old trailer with no problems, but they were Taiwan made. As it is, I'm thinking a set of Michelin XPS Ribs will suit me fine.

Re: The Towmax tire that didn't blow...

TomnSharon said:

I have a 2013 Heartland Big Country 3650RL with Towmax ST235/80R16 E-rated tires. The tires have about 4800 miles on them. The tires have always run just on the edge of warm, not even close to hot and are checked frequently for the correct tire pressure of 80 PSI cold. When I stopped on I-5 for fuel the other day, I decided to casually inspect the tires. The left rear driver's side tire had a small strip of material sticking out of the side of the tire about 3/4" below the tread level. Upon closer inspection, it appeared that the tread in that area had just started to lift from the body of the tire. The small strip of material appears to be part of the steel belting. I changed the tire since tread separation could do major damage to the 5th wheel. There was no indication of an object causing this damage, although it appears that this portion of the wheel had been in contact with a curb - the small nubs on the side of the tire were flattened out for about a quarter of the circumference of the tire. I would not expect that to cause this problem, but, who knows?? Tread separation seems to be major problem with these Towmax tires as shown elsewhere on this forum.

Tom

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Tom, glad you caught it! Can you post a picture, by any chance?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Re: The Towmax tire that didn't blow...

ST tires with 80 psi pressure written on sidewall , are allowed to be filled to 90 psi so 10 psi higher.
This is prescribed for higher speed then 65m/h but who does that. But it proves that you are allowed to fill that 10 psi higher.
Now for this sise here I once compared it to a LT tire with about the same sises ( LT 235/85R16) and calculated that the ST had 15% more maximum load then the LT.
This is mainly because of the more allowed deflection of the sidewall for the lower speed of ST tires, the construction is not that much different.
But because Trailers with tandem axle or tripple even , are still often overloaded and even large difference between Left and right per axle , wich can even be crossed between the axles, its better to give them the same deflection , a LT tire would have.
If the sidewall bends to much that 10 to 20 times a second when driving, it can be damaged or the treath can come loose, and that could also be what was beginning at your tires, mayby together with a little damage done.

So its best to review your pressure advices with use of my motorhome or trailer tire pressure calculator.
Then even use LT maximum load and lower it for dual load by 7.5% ( In america sometimes 9% is substracted from single load).
This together , I already calculated , that you have to use 80% of the maximum load given on the sidewall, to give it the deflection , a LT tire would have for dual load.
then the calculation can come to higher then 80 psi , wich is allowed up to 90 psi by TRA.

Re: The Towmax tire that didn't blow...

Jim, you want LT tires. Pat and I thought you left town...have not heard from you for awhile.

Re: The Towmax tire that didn't blow...

GOTTOYS said:

Good for you! The sooner the better. My old Towmaxs are proudly serving some farmer right where they belong. Mounted up on his manure spreader if they haven't given up the ghost by now...Don

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Just got back home, the TowMax are history. Will be very happy with my new BFG Commercial T/A, date code 3513. I only went about 40 miles home and could already feel a improved ride, plus now cruising at 62-65mph I will feel much better with a tire rated at 99.
Bob

Re: The Towmax tire that didn't blow...

Bob&Patty said:

Jim, you want LT tires. Pat and I thought you left town...have not heard from you for awhile.

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Hey Bob. I have been busy with work schedules and mostly Giant had my trailer for 6 weeks doing warranty work. They asked me to deliver it on a Monday and it promptly sat there for 4 weeks untouched. It actually started to amuse me as each week went past without it being moved from where I had parked it. We have had the Cyclone out only twice now. It's growing on me.

I called Tredit today and found out that my T07 8-Spoke wheels are rated to 110# so that opens up my options a bit. Now it's down to the GY G614 or the Michelin XPS Rib. I have to admit that I am partial to Michelins but the GY has a higher load capacity. I've seen several posts here about GY G614 blowouts which is a surprise and a concern for me. Can I ask what you are running on your Big Horn?

Jim

The left hand picture shows the steel belting sticking out of the tire. The center picture is just a picture of the tire that has been removed. The last picture shows a Phillips screwdriver inserted below the tread that had started to lift. You may not be able to see it, but the pressure gauge indicates about 76 PSI. The steel belting was sticking out more just after removing the tire. Hope this helps some.

Tom

Really glad I got rid of mine today.

Re: The Towmax tire that didn't blow...

Hi -

You can see photosof the tire in "The Towmax tire that didn't blow..." thread in this section.

Tom