Has Anyone Bought Goodyear G614's Lately?

Gang:
I feel I have to "bite the bullet" and buy new tires for my 2008 Bighorn before the trip from California to Gillette. I have 3 original Freestars on the ground and 1 Goldstar bought last summer as a replacement for a Freestar with a defective sidewall.
I began this morning to make calls and internet searches on the Goodyears. Heartland service quoted $570 (I think this included my HOG discount, but we didn't discuss shipping to Ca.); Tredit Tire quoted $466 (they don't show these on their website);Tires-Easy.com shows $430 on their website; WalMart.com shows $376 on their website. I mainly wanted the Goodyears for their supposed better reliability, and their reputation for standing behind their tires for incidental trailer damages.
I then called the local Les Schwab Store, who has an extensive network of locations throughout the west (except they are not in Wyoming). They only normally stock the Goldstars, seem to stand behind them, and the guy I talked to said that he has heard of no complaints. One RVers website I came across listed the Goldstars as "ISO certified" (whatever that means). I talked to the Les Schwab representative about coverage of incidental damages, and he said that he thought that their incidental coverage would be like Goodyear's. Les Schwab's price for the Goldstars was $285 a tire. Stories on this forum and other places (in fact their TV advertising campaign) shows them to be "stand up guys" who do what's right for their customers.

Any better prices, advice???

Looks like $323 today at Trailer Tires and Wheels in Ohio (link).

Goldstars are what came on our '08 3600. They developed large bubbles within three months, replaced them with G614's that lasted 3 years before one threw a tread. Just upgraded to 17.5 tires and rims, which we had shipped in from Trailer Tire and Wheels....cost $2,700 including shipping...

Try your local Ford dealer. They are advertising lowest prices and $100.00 rebate on about 8 different brands, including Goodyear.
My guess is they might have to order them, but might be worth a call.

Call a Goodyear Wingfoot store. I bought G614 from them a couple of years ago and they came off the regular price when I asked them if they had a better price.
Don

Look at Discount Tire.com for another price comparison. I know from an inquire last week at Discount Tire that the GY G614 have had a signification increase in price from just one year ago. The road hazard warranty is only as good as the folks that stand behind such. I have had excellent service from Discount Tire form many years. They will match any bodies price.

Beware of things like "he thought they would cover damages" and "has heard of no complaints"..If it isn't in writing I have a hard time believing it. It's a shame that you just can't take someone's word anymore. If you want G614s, I wouldn't settle for anything less. You know what kind of service Goodyear gives if you have a problem..JMHO..Don

I'm in the market for some G614's too and have also checked all over.... some at a local shop called POMPS Tire which seems to have a good reputation for $312 (not mounted.

I too, am looking for tires!! Our '09 3670 is still in one piece in the wheel wells and want to keep it that way. We just got back from our annual 3 month stay down South and I had my fingers crossed comming home with the Freestars on it. They still look great and have NEVER been under 110psi but the date code is 4207. I know I should change them out but $360-$380 mounted per is hard to swallow. I guess I should just tell the local guy to get them and be done with it but darn, they look great.

"ISO certified" (whatever that means).

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ISO is an International Standards Organization out of Europe. They issue a number of standards for which manufacturers have to be certified in order to bid on contracts in Europe. The same certification requirement has been picked up in other jurisdictions around the world. One of the most common certifications is ISO 9001 which has to do with manufacturing quality.

When you see a manufacturer claim to be ISO 9001 certified, it means they have had a review where they demonstrated to an outside auditor that they have a written manufacturing process containing all required steps to insure delivery of high quality products. They also can demonstrate that they follow their process by producing records of what they've done.

An ISO 9001 certified company can still choose to use inferior designs, inferior manufacturing processes, and inferior materials, resulting in an inferior product. More specifically in the case of tires, an ISO 9001 certified company can still choose to not include heat dissipating layers in their tires, leading to a higher failure rate. They can still have a manufacturing process that allows for more irregularities and a higher failure rate than competitors. They can still choose to use less durable rubber and steel content, resulting in a higher failure rate.

My opinion: it's better than no certification, but it's no guarantee of high quality.

boatdoc said:

I too, am looking for tires!! Our '09 3670 is still in one piece in the wheel wells and want to keep it that way. We just got back from our annual 3 month stay down South and I had my fingers crossed comming home with the Freestars on it. They still look great and have NEVER been under 110psi but the date code is 4207. I know I should change them out but $360-$380 mounted per is hard to swallow. I guess I should just tell the local guy to get them and be done with it but darn, they look great.

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Mine are also Freestars with a 5207 code. Granted, I don't have a whole lot of miles on them, but they still look like new. Keep 'em at 110 psi and covered when they're not rolling. I crawl under the rig periodically during the summer and eyeball them, too. I think they'll make it through this season without a problem since we're not doing any long distance runs this year. They better since their "replacement" is going on the front wall of our house.

One thing I've noticed since watching the discourse on tire problems is that the name "Freestar" does not crop up much, if at all. When I spoke with Tim from Tredit Tires at the Goshen rally last summer, he said that they had not had any problems with the Freestar line. The name was being discontinued because the molds had reached the end of their service life and were not being replaced.

Goodyear sure has the entire market for G tires.I have to replace mine in a couple years and hope that
another North american manufacturer gets on board.Why does my fifth wheel require such a high rated
tires,is it a design defect(to heavy for two axles) or is it just a lapse in time before more manufactures
begin producing G tires.

is it a design defect(to heavy for two axles)

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Would you really prefer paying for a third axle, more suspension components, more brakes, more wheels, and more tires so you could go with a lower rated tire?

If you go up a bit in price to around $525 for tires/wheels you can get G114's mounted and balanced. Several folks on the forum have gone this way. If you are keeping the coach it may make sense. An alternative is to keep the current tires/wheels for the trade later on. Most folks buying used Coaches just look at the tread.

Since Heartland is now shipping heavy trailers with E-rated tires on 7K axles, they seem to feel that having just enough (E-rated) is going to be OK. Per the previous, the E's they are using were giving about 6800 lb. capacity on a 7K axle and meeting their criteria. The G's were providing a total load possibility of 7500 lbs., but still limited to 7000 lbs. by the 7K axle. Ya pay's yer money and takes yer choice. The G's are now an add-on option from HL.

This was discussed in a previous thread about new catalog options vs. the HL website listings.

New wheels and 17.5 G114's and the old set standing by for a trade in ------- someday.

I would look for a Goodyear commericial truck tire dealer, they have better access to G-614's. I bought a set on the road in Delaware last July and paid $302.00 each, mounted, balanced and on the trailer.

Bite the bullet Bill. We switched after we got one season out of the Goldstars that came on ours.. Found lots of bubbles both on the inside sidewall and the outside. Maybe a dealer will give you a few bucks for the tires you have as long as they can sell them as used. That would help a little with the cost.

Kristy

Things change.
I am wondering how many CURRENT (within the last year for fairly new tires) deficiency reports there have been on the "Chinese" tires. Having been on this forum about 4 years, I saw MANY, FREQUENT reports of problems with Chinese manufactured tires and springs in my first two years on the forum. Not many reports from new equipment now. I believe back then the Chinese free enterprise system was just getting going, with poor quality, faked quality inspections, corruptions, and payoffs, rampant. At that time the Chinese government did nothing about this situation. The phrase "made in China" was pretty much despised in the West. The Chinese government finally got the message, and I think that quality has improved vastly over the past 2 years. People are executed in China today for corruption. Their Navy has an operating Aircraft Carrier, a technology that doesn't allow for slipshod materials or construction.

Hey Bill, I put Maxxix on my trailer last summer. My old tires (Power King) looked like new but had a very bad reputation. Sold the Power Kings on Craig's list for $200. There are a lot of utility, livestock and other trailers out ther that need new rubber and the people have limited resources. $200 will be quite attractive to them when they get quotes for $800 to $1000 or more. Maxxis has a great reputation but dosen't come in a G. Also my rig is lighter than the big boys.
PJ