Another Blowmax victim

[Mullins]

I spoke to Heartland about this very issue, they are clueless about the tomaxx, or they choose to ignore it. The person I spoke with at Heartland did not know about all the complaints. They do get their tires from China; (dah) already mounted on the rim and unbalanced. He said "Heartland gets them by the ship load on pallets." That tells me that Heartland and other manufactures pay; and just guessing here, about $50 per tire and wheel, and that might be generous. There is no way they will stop dealing with Dynamic tire. I think we can complain all we want and deal with Dynamic ourselves. I believe nothing will be done until someone is killed and the root cause comes back to the tire. But then again that's how most changes at DOT occurs, someone has to die first.. It's sad, but I believe it's true.. I did move on and put G614s on my unit; pricey; yep, Worth it; only time and/or milage will tell... Let the tire saga continue..

 

[danemayer]

Heartland has been migrating away from Towmax for a while now. Goodyear G114, G614, and Sailun S637s are now being used on quite a few models.

 

[ucwinters]

Dan, it is apparently a very slow migration. I'm trading for another new Heartland this week (2016 model) and it still has Powerking Towmax tires on it. The good news is that the dealer is swapping those tires/rims for the ones on my current rig (E-rated Maxxis tires).

 

[Mullins]

With all due respect, Heartland is not migrating away from the Towmax. I just go off the phone with them. According to the Rep I spoke with, the Towmax is still their standard. The G614,G114 and Sailun are too expensive for a standard. However, she did say that you can order a unit and have the G614s, etc put on and of course, at the buyers expense. But for a standard, you'll continue to see the Towmax. They might change the name; and as the old adage goes....put lipstick on a pig, and guess what, you still have a pig!..

 

[danemayer]

With all due respect, Heartland is not migrating away from the Towmax. I just go off the phone with them. According to the Rep I spoke with, the Towmax is still their standard. The G614,G114 and Sailun are too expensive for a standard. However, she did say that you can order a unit and have the G614s, etc put on and of course, at the buyers expense. But for a standard, you'll continue to see the Towmax. They might change the name; and as the old adage goes....put lipstick on a pig, and guess what, you still have a pig!..

Landmark, Bighorn, and Big Country, have all migrated. I believe the toy haulers have all migrated as well. I don't know about Gateway, Sundance or other models.

Whoever you talked with may have been answering about a specific part of the product line, or perhaps is just making an assumption based on the part of the product line he knows about.

 

[Bob&Patty]

The GY G614's have been standard on the LM's for at least 3 years now. The Sailuns on the BH and BC for at least 2 years. Heres the deal, you can order them and pay for them now on the other product lines or pay later. Your choice. A $300 tire either way will cost you. BTW, the CY's now have the up graded tires for 2016 as read it. No business is going to take a loss on profit....be it car/truck dealers or anybody. Nothing in real life is free. Well at least I have never got anything for free. JMHO

 

[tcbrady]

Dan is correct - we have been using the G rated Sailun tires in Bighorn and Big Country since April 2014. Landmark has been on the G rated tires for a very long time. Our Cyclone/Road Warrior/Torque 5th wheels/Edge products all switched to Sailun G tires in February 2015. Elkridge/Oakmont/Gateway/Sundance all use the E rated Towmax tire.

please let me know if you have any other questions.

thanks, Coley

Landmark, Bighorn, and Big Country, have all migrated. I believe the toy haulers have all migrated as well. I don't know about Gateway, Sundance or other models.

Whoever you talked with may have been answering about a specific part of the product line, or perhaps is just making an assumption based on the part of the product line he knows about.

 

[TravelTiger]

Dan is correct - we have been using the G rated Sailun tires in Bighorn and Big Country since April 2014. Landmark has been on the G rated tires for a very long time. Our Cyclone/Road Warrior/Torque 5th wheels/Edge products all switched to Sailun G tires in February 2015. Elkridge/Oakmont/Gateway/Sundance all use the E rated Towmax tire.

please let me know if you have any other questions.

thanks, Coley

Thanks for the info Coley! Hopefully Heartland will move away from Towmax altogether. Too many problems with them are reflecting poorly on HL. We had issues with ours back in 2011, a little over one year after buying our ElkRidge.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Jim.Allison]

If I were a responsible dealer I wouldn't order a Heartland towable with towmax dealers, I would make the customer upgrade on an order and only order a trailer with G614's on it. The RV industry needs to get their act together. The longer they by junk the longer the junk will be in existence.

I dont understand why there is not a push to upgrade on ordered units and point of sale units.

 

[Mullins]

If the Cyclone was migrated to G rated tires in February 2015, then the person I spoke with at Heartland just yesterday, does not have a clue what's going on in her company, which would not surprise me.

 

[JohnD]

I dont understand why there is not a push to upgrade on ordered units and point of sale units.

I know . . . you'd think that the salespeople and the dealership would want as many add-ons to each sale as possible!

 

[danemayer]

If the Cyclone was migrated to G rated tires in February 2015, then the person I spoke with at Heartland just yesterday, does not have a clue what's going on in her company, which would not surprise me.

It's always disappointing when your contact turns out to be not fully informed. People have areas of expertise and it's pretty rare to find anyone who knows everything about everything. The person you spoke with might be an expert on most stuff potential buyers are likely to ask about. But since not everyone asks about tires, perhaps that's a weak spot for them.

 

[OnTheLoose]

We recently upgraded the tires on our 2014 Gateway to the Sailun G rated tires. We did get one full year of use from the Towmax tires with no problems, but you all have scared me. Going up from an E rated tire to a G rated tire alone should have helped and Sailun has a much better quality reputation, so I'm happy.
In our first year we did travel from Minnesota to the south tip of Texas and then out to Arizona and back. No tire problems but I worried a lot.

I believe one of the reasons RV manufactures are slow to change to better more expensive tires is that for many RV purchasers the cheaper tires are sufficient. A lot of people buy a RV and never leave their home state. Maybe a lot of short trips on weekends, etc. Some RVs get towed from the dealer to a lake lot and never move again. With full time or extended stay RVing is where the tire issue becomes very dangerous. You can see that Heartland has changed those brands that most full timers buy over to better tires. It would be nice if the dealer would inquire about your intended usage of the RV and advise a tire upgrade if you plan to full time or use it for significant highway travel. But you know the old saying about wish in one hand--------.

Anyway, I'm sure I will be traveling with a lot less worry on the Sailun tires.

 

[grover]

We just got back from Sturgis SD.A 2700 mile trip.Started with four towmax tires.Came home with zero.And $1k in damage to side of 5th wheel.I had 4 new goodrides put on 200 mi into the trip.Towmax gave me a good 12k miles and 1 year before they blew up my trailer side.Now i,m scared of this Chinese tires also.Although they seemed fine for 2500 miles.We saw at least 20 travelers along the road with blow outs also.I think cheap butt tires are just another way for RV manufactures to keep their profit up and make more $ for their dealers in repairs.

 

[danemayer]

We just got back from Sturgis SD.A 27k mile trip.Started with four towmax tires.Came home with zero.

If you still have any of the failed tires, consider making them available to NHTSA for failure analysis. If a manufacturing defect is found, you will have helped many other owners.

 

[Earl_Max]

Yeah 'cause we all carry our failed tires around on vacation......
The Towmax tires are defective, we do not need a lab for that.
As long as Heartland and other manufacturers move away from equipping these trailers with proven crap we the consumer win. Sounds like they are indeed moving away from them.
Pressure at Corporate level up the chain may influence some positive changes on bargain bin tires.

Next topic: Lippert's lack of quality control on trailer chassis' (kidding....sort of)

 

[Earl_Max]

This thread won't die until the LAST Blow Max is off the road!
I related my experience with a local sherriffs deputy that I knew purchased a Greystone within a month of when I got my Sundance. I warned him to check his tires. He thanked me and said that they only had one more outing planned this year, but would be pulling (fromIowa) to Utah next summer.
He confirmed with a frown the next week that his trailer was equipped with these tires, and would be swapping them in the Spring.
Well, guess what. He lost a tire (With damage) the following week.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

[Jim.Allison]

When will it end?

 

[Bones]

Yeah 'cause we all carry our failed tires around on vacation......
The Towmax tires are defective, we do not need a lab for that.
As long as Heartland and other manufacturers move away from equipping these trailers with proven crap we the consumer win. Sounds like they are indeed moving away from them.
Pressure at Corporate level up the chain may influence some positive changes on bargain bin tires.

Next topic: Lippert's lack of quality control on trailer chassis' (kidding....sort of)

Actually if Lippert did just a few extra steps on reinforcing their neck area welded to the I beam they would greatly increase the strength. But that is just my Opinion

 

[Bones]

Slightly off topic. Has anyone bought and installed tires at camping world?