China Bombs - Lucky Twice

5

5erWonk

Well-known member

• Aug 16, 2008

• #1

I know I should have replaced my original Mission tires the second I drove off the lot but I felt safe with my Pressure Pro system to warn me, that was 18 mos and 6K miles ago.

Fortunately we have never seen the Pressure Pro work with a flat because we've been very lucky.

The first Mission to go I was adjusting my brakes and when I spun the tire it looked like a football with the tread separating at two different spots on the tire.

The second was last night, we stopped over in Salem, OR on our way from Anacortes to Visalia. While watching TV we felt the rig shake slightly but just thought it was the wind. As we were prepping to leave this morning I saw it was wind all right, it was the wind comming from the tire when the sidewall blew out.

We've had enough....Couldn't find tires in Salem so we're shopping on the way to Visalia.

By the way since our luck has been so good we've pulled in to Seven Feather Resort and Casino for the night to help pay for the new tires.

 

fjspinelli

Common Sense Jake

• Aug 16, 2008

• #2

Interesting. I was wondering who made Mission tires and what people thought of them. I thought I was free of snotty tires...but obviously not. The first 3950 I saw had Goodyears on it and I assumed that the one I was purchasing did also...some much for assuming

 

kakampers

Past Heartland Ambassador

• Aug 17, 2008

• #3

Mission tires are made by Goodyear, however, they are made in china. IF you're using E load tires, you can't go wrong with Michelin XPS ribs...they're pretty much bullet proof. If not go with the Goodyear G614...just watch for where they are manufactured. Ours US made 614's now have around 20,000 miles and still going strong!

 

5

5erWonk

Well-known member

• Aug 18, 2008

• #4

Update........Our luck ran out!!!!

3rd Mission tire blew on southbound I-5 at Mt. Shasta. The thing came apart so fast the pressure monitor gave no alarm just showed missing sensor. All three Mission failures have been tread or sidewall separation.

Damage to the wheel well is moderate.

New set of tires will be ordered this week.

 

B

bgscott

Active Member

• Aug 18, 2008

• #5

Were these tires load range E?

 

5

5erWonk

Well-known member

• Aug 18, 2008

• #6

Yes they are E.

 

C

chrispitude

Active Member

• Aug 18, 2008

• #7

So if you can't get peace of mind with a TPMS, what the heck else can you do?

- Chris

 

5

5erWonk

Well-known member

• Aug 18, 2008

• #8

For me the TPMS still gives me peace-of-mind. The TPMS ismeant to detect the most common type of tire failure that is caused by a slower loss of pressure followed by heat buildup then failure.

The unnerving part is the inferior quality of Mission tires. With these recent failures I have had to find miscellaneous brands of tires to replace the flats. As I have been checking my tires during the remainder of the trip I was amazed at how much hotter the remaining Mission tires were compared to my other replacements. This is an indication of the internal friction happening in the Missions.

 

navyAZ1

Well-known member

• Aug 31, 2008

• #9

Well we are on our first long trip since becoming fulltimers and while coming across MN week before last we stopped at a rest area and my wife called to my attention some strange tire wear patterns on the "FreeStar" tires that came on our BH so we stopped in the next town and had a tire guy look at these wear patterns he said the bands were separating and the tires would come apart soon. So, we went with Goodyear Marathons hope we will be okay now.

 

R

roger brandt

Member

• Aug 31, 2008

• #10

what was the mileage on your tires when they blew?

 

5

5erWonk

Well-known member

• Aug 31, 2008

• #11

roger brandt said:

what was the mileage on your tires when they blew?

Click to expand...

Roger,

Two had about 6,000mi, one had 1500 (it was the spare), and the last one on the trailer that was bulging when we arrived home had 7,000mi.

Had my new GY G614s installed Friday, hope all goes well.

 

D

Dougstdig

Member

• Sep 1, 2008

• #12

Depending if I get sent out to a rig at the end of the week, I should be picking up my 3400RL next weekend. Reading the posts on this forum have raised my concern on tire durability so I contacted the dealer to see what my options were. The deal I cut was that a guy in their shop would swap out the China bombs with Goodyear tires from an identical trailer...for 2 30 packs of Keystone. I figure that was a fair trade.

My only concern is that the reviews on the Goodyears arn't great either! What are our other options?

At any given time I can be 500 miles from home and 100 miles from anywhere that caries ST rated tires.

 

5

5erWonk

Well-known member

• Sep 1, 2008

• #13

Doug,

You can't group all Goodyears into one category.....Many of the GY trailer tires are now manufactured in China (ie:Marathons). The G614s are still manufactured in the US and have been very reliable, they also come with a five year warranty.

Michellins are also very good tires unfortunately the XLT Ribs are not available in G rated.

 

D

Dougstdig

Member

• Sep 1, 2008

• #14

Ouch. The goodyear tires on the other trailer are Marathons. Am I wasting 2 30 packs...ie...to you think they are any better than no name China bombs?

 

rev2damax

Member

• Sep 1, 2008

• #15

I replaced the Missions with the G14's this spring. 1700 mi on them so far so good. I was at the shop when they installed them and comments were made by the guys installing on how much heavier they were. They are peace of mind in my opinion. After having "bad tire" experiences on a prior trailer that I had, I learned.

 

D

Dougstdig

Member

• Sep 1, 2008

• #16

rev2damax said:

I replaced the Missions with the G14's this spring. 1700 mi on them so far so good. I was at the shop when they installed them and comments were made by the guys installing on how much heavier they were. They are peace of mind in my opinion. After having "bad tire" experiences on a prior trailer that I had, I learned.

Click to expand...

Heavy duty is good. Any job I go to may be 2 to 10 miles off road. Now these are lease roads but some are definately worst than others.

Did you change your wheels to match the G rating or is that what you had stock?

 

rev2damax

Member

• Sep 1, 2008

• #17

Our trailer already had the g rated wheels -- so I didn't have to change a thing and the g14's fit fine. -- They don't seem to have much sidewall flex when turning.

 

5

5erWonk

Well-known member

• Sep 3, 2008

• #18

Dougstdig said:

Heavy duty is good. Any job I go to may be 2 to 10 miles off road. Now these are lease roads but some are definately worst than others.

Did you change your wheels to match the G rating or is that what you had stock?

Click to expand...

My BH 3055 had E rated tires but luckily the rims are G rated. The rating is stamped on the back side of the rims, and they must be rated for 110psi.