Tire on 2015 Big Country

boatto5er

Founding VA Chap Ldr (Ret)
Tires change. Depending on when it was manufactured, it could have Towmax or it could have another brand. Either way, if you're buying new, you should try to negotiate a G rated tire such as the Goodyear G614 into the deal.
 

Redrider007

Well-known member
Yah it just seems rediculous for Heartland to be using the Towmax with all the issues r
eported but then the Goodyear upgrade price is insane too. One would think that when your putting a $70,000-$80,000 price tag on a RV that you shouldn't have to worry about a tire upgrade.
 

Gaffer

Well-known member
Most likely Towmax. Don't run them too many miles before you upgrade to Maxxis or to G rated tires if your budget allows.
 

pegmikef

Well-known member
Yah it just seems rediculous for Heartland to be using the Towmax with all the issues r
eported but then the Goodyear upgrade price is insane too. One would think that when your putting a $70,000-$80,000 price tag on a RV that you shouldn't have to worry about a tire upgrade.

My dealer charged me $1,295 for the upgrade option to G614s when I ordered my BH. Remember the price of the options is negotiable as is the price of the rig itself. It all depends on how badly the dealer wants to deal with you.
 

jayc

Texas-South Chapter Leaders
When we took the factory tour in May, the factory was putting Sailun tires on Bighorn and Big Country. Sailun tires have been getting better reviews.
 

Jim.Allison

Well-known member
Sold my ST tires to my landscaper.

This is my story and I'm sticking to it. Don't buy an expensive rig and cheap out on the tires.

I got Towmax on my 2014 Big Country. I changed to Goodyear G114 and HiSpec Mod 03 17.5 inch wheels, AFTER $2000 damage to brand new rig. 1800 miles on the failed Towmax. LOL. Yes its more anecdotal evidence but it is evidence never the less. Problem is; how significant is the G614 as opposed to the OEM ST. I tend to think its a good tire for the application and have heard that Goodyear stands behind them. At 3750 lbs @110 psi, it is matched to your OEM16 inch rim, The Tomax is 3420 I believe. The $1200 price tag is not bad as long as you get 5. It is the going price for 4. So you be the judge. But one thing is for sure, in the 16 inch your choices are limited.

If you drive off with Towmax you will be looking for tires sooner than you think. Its a pay me now or pay me later thing. I would up my down payment by the price of the tires so that you don't have a consumable financed. Even if you do finance the tires the increase in your payment is small. Of course you could wait until you have a towmax blowout, then get your insurance to cover it, fix it yourself and use the money to buy the tires and wheels that you really need for the rig. I might add there are many reasons for premature tire failure and misapplication is just one of them.

If you can put a 16 inch ST tire beside a G614 or a G114 you will see why the ST is so unforgiving. And I'm sure that is true for the larger ST tires also and definitely for the non ST trailer tires like the Michelin equivalent to the G114. The Michelin is almost half the price of the Goodyear but limits you to 63 MPH. I can't really figure this one out, Goodyear and Michelin know how to make a tire, I can't see how Michelin has a 12 mph slower speed rating, but it is what it is.

No matter what you do invest in a TPMS system. My Red Hawk TPMS works great, the pressures are accurate, I don't know about the temp, my sensors read accurate temps between one another. All you are looking for is a spike in temp or abnormal temp or an abnormal loss in pressure, a TPMS alarm will alert you to the problem before it becomes a problem. Problems being; having to find a place to pull over while the tire disintegrates before your eyes, excessive loads being placed on the remaining tandem (setting you up for another tire failure), unwrapping a tire tread from around your axle, the danger from being stopped on the side of the road, a ruined weekend spent disgusted at the damage to your rig, 30 days in the shop for repairs. How much is your precious time worth to you?

I might add, when this happens, you will have used your spare, now your are exposed to the problem with no spare and a compromised tandem far from home. The mating tandem having been compromised by doubling the load on it, since they are at their max already, the extra load is double that of its advertised load. I saw my tire blow out, and it was a mile before I could get pulled over. In that time the tandem gained enough heat to where I could not touch it, it was so hot. Towmax will deliver 2 tires to you if you blow one out in the warrantee period. Of course there is no Towmax dealers in my area or the areas where I travel, so that is a hollow gesture.

BTW don't blame the manufacturer entirely, if the tire does not fail because of misapplication, it will fail from abuse either from ignorance or incident. The first assault on your tires may be the delivery driver running them under inflated at speeds in excess of 65 mph. In this case your tires were ruined before you got them. I know I had to put 10 psi in mine when I left the dealership. The Goodyears G614 and G114 are 75 mph tires and are both designed for real trailer service.

A strategy might be to accept the OEM tires and rims, sell them on Craigslist and then put the money toward a set of HighSpec wheels with Goodyear G114 tires. The 17.5 inch rim opens a whole new world as far as tire availability, almost everyone has a 17.5 tire that will do the job, but Goodyear promises 75 MPH not 65. Tire diameter is not a problem either. My G114 tires were the same diameter as my Towmax ST's.

Another strategy might be to get your finance company to include the upgrade on the note. Separate from the note somehow. Or purchase them on a 0 interest credit card for one year, there are many credit card offers on the net just search 0% interest for one year. Tire and rim combinations are available on the net, the price is right, there is no sales tax or freight and UPS will deliver them to your door mounted and balanced. PayPal/Bill Me Later will finance such a purchase for 6 months no interest as long as your account is in good standing.

If you are ordering your rig with a generator, it is better to order gen prepped and install the generator yourself, it is easy and the 5500 LP is about $3700, once again no tax and no freight and a 2% discount for cash. Message me and I will tell you where I got mine. This is a good place to save money that you can apply toward tires.

The upshot is that 16 inch ST tires are not the best tire for the application. And a 16 inch ST is what you will get if you are going OEM stock on your brand new rig.

Good luck to you on your new adventure with your Big Country, I really like mine, it is well built, but has some minor details that could have been addressed better, but all in all it is a very enjoyable rig. I wish that I would have known more about tires before mine blew out. But I know now and I am passionate about conveying information about the problem and solutions to the problem.
 

Jim.Allison

Well-known member
Did a search on Sailun tires, I dont run them but many have found an economical successful solution to tire problems. Many reports are similar to yours.
 
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