Another TowMax victim reporting in....

[Jim.Allison]

Tread is only mildly aggressive on the AT and hardly aggressive on the HT, if he can get past rim fitment and load range, I think he could get some good life out of it as a trailer tire. It is a tough tire, and the price is right.

Not sure why you would want "traction" tires on a trailer. For one thing, they will probably contribute to worse fuel economy.

 

[PALTeam]

Reading all the horror stories, I really lucked out finding the bad tires before they became 'blomax'. Earlier this month I had a couple of equalizers fail (there's a separate thread about that), and during the "what happened?" phase, noticed a 1 1/2 inch bubble on the outside of left front tire near the rim, which got me to looking at all the tires; found that the right rear tire had a 12 inch long bubble near the tread on the inside.

Sheesh! Had about 5K miles on the Clone, treads were looking pretty good, and I'm anal about TP and torque.

Reasoning that if two out of six are going bad at the same time, the rest can't be far behind, so I replaced 'em all with Carlisle.

Given their importance, wouldn't you think HL would put decent tires on? Or did they buy a gazillion of 'em and are trying to get rid of 'em?

 

[FiremanBill]

Glad you found them early, saves you a lot of heartache and wallet pain.

I don' think we will ever get an answer to that question. HL will never admit there is a problem with these tires or they would become liable for using them.

 

[JohnD]

Some thoughts to ponder . . .

I don't think we will ever get an answer to that question.

HL will never admit there is a problem with these tires or they would become liable for using them.

What I don't get is why our dealers don't ever offer us the option of an upgrade for better tires.

My dealership never offered me a tire upgrade, but bragged about the quality of tire that was already on it!

And, how do we really know that our trailers actually came from the Heartland factory with the BlowMaxes on them?

I wouldn't put it past my dealership (or any other dealership, for that matter) to pull a better set of better tires off of my trailer to put on another one on their lot that had BlowMaxes, then put the BlowMaxes on mine, to make another customer happy!

Heck . . .

My dealership got a big screw in one of my tires while it was in there lot for warranty service . . . didn't bother to even tell me about the flat tire until they tried to charge me for the tire repair . . . they tried to tell me that I brought it in that way . . . but after I reminded them how many times I talked to them on the phone during the three weeks it was at their facility that no one ever once informed me of a flat tire until the moment they tried to charge me for the flat repair, they 'graciously' waived the $35 repair charge!

Now, after my previous dealings with my dealership, I didn't trust a word they said, so on my way home I stopped at a tire shop and had them check that tire.

Now, we were leaving in three days for our first long haul with the trailer (which the dealership knew about) . . .

The tire shop informed (and showed) me that all the dealership did was put a plug in the tire, and they also told me that I probably would have had a flat with that tire on our trip to South Dakota, as a plug is only meant to be a temporary repair and typically can't withstand what a trailer can do to a tire.

I will say that the last time (and it was the last time I'll take my trailer to my dealer for anything) . . . while I was looking around the lot while they were finishing my last warranty repair (that should have been done before I arrived to pick it up as per their schedule and them having it for two weeks) . . . that I didn't see one 2014 Heartland trailer on their lot with a BlowMax tire on it!

 

[Jim.Allison]

John D, I think on the fivers they offer the G615 as an upgrade, problem is no-one tried to sell it to me, I would have bought the upgrade if I would have known.

 

[FiremanBill]

John D, I think on the fivers they offer the G615 as an upgrade, problem is no-one tried to sell it to me, I would have bought the upgrade if I would have known.

Amen to that one

 

[CPDBulldog]

I guess you can add us to the list of many that have been victimized by these terrible "blowmax" tires! I meticulously check my tire pressures and wear before and after every trip, and low and behold, had one blow out on us! It blew out right down the middle of the tire, and caused about $2k work of damage. When I retrieve it from storage this next spring, I'm going to get rid of those time bombs and probably switch to the Goodyear G614's too.

 

[chiefaret]

Re: Some thoughts to ponder . . .

John, getting rid of my blowmax before I head to the Arizona rally in Quartzsite. Seems like most of the horror stories are with the 5ers that are 12K or heavier, but I don't see as many with the <10K tow behinds. Still mulling over choices for my 225/75 15's.

Hope to see you in AZ in Jan

 

[rayk4e]

All I can say is WOW... We'll be picking up our new RW415 in April and I'm inclined to drive right to the local GY store to have the G614s put on... but ouch, 6x is a lot of $cratch. I'm convince reading this thread that it'll be worth it. Outrageous that Heartland continues to put a POS tire on a very expensive investment for most people. Seems like my rims will support the G614s. I always thought that the tight turning radius on these Fifth Wheels could not be good on the tires. All the more reason to put quality ones on.

Thanks everyone for your advice!

 

[JohnD]

All I can say is WOW... We'll be picking up our new RW415 in April and I'm inclined to drive right to the local GY store to have the G614s put on... but ouch, 6x is a lot of $cratch. I'm convince reading this thread that it'll be worth it. Outrageous that Heartland continues to put a POS tire on a very expensive investment for most people. Seems like my rims will support the G614s. I always thought that the tight turning radius on these Fifth Wheels could not be good on the tires. All the more reason to put quality ones on.

Thanks everyone for your advice!

Sounds like you have your Road Warrior on order...

Perhaps it is not too late to get them put on at the factory!

 

[el_Rojo]

Thought I would say hi and chime in on my tire experiences.

First I should say I joined this site to do some research on toy haulers. We currently have a Solitude by Grand Design and just started Full timing in Feb of this year. We spent our first summer in Alaska and have logged about 25k miles this year. Our rig also came with 16" wheels and Chinese tires but we upgraded to 17.5" wheels and the Goodyear G114 at the advice of an experienced RVer. It was expensive but we never had a tire issue, matter of fact I didn't even have to add air to them.

Peace of mind is "priceless".

Red

 

[danemayer]

Thought I would say hi and chime in on my tire experiences.

First I should say I joined this site to do some research on toy haulers. We currently have a Solitude by Grand Design and just started Full timing in Feb of this year. We spent our first summer in Alaska and have logged about 25k miles this year. Our rig also came with 16" wheels and Chinese tires but we upgraded to 17.5" wheels and the Goodyear G114 at the advice of an experienced RVer. It was expensive but we never had a tire issue, matter of fact I didn't even have to add air to them.

Peace of mind is "priceless".

Red

He el_Rojo,

Welcome to the Heartland Owners Forum and thanks for sharing your experience.

 

[jbeletti]

Welcome to the Heartland Owners Forum el Rojo.

 

[SCPOBob]

Happy New Year gang, thought I would close out my personal experience with this situation with the latest update -- On Christmas Eve we received the Towmax "Sorry that you had an issue with our tires, but: you didn't keep them inflated properly; you over loaded them; or you pulled your trailer too fast...it is our opinion that you are a loser" form letter with an offer to provide me with a check to cover the cost of the two tires. Needless to say; I am not happy about this as it doesn't really bring the main issue to closure in that these tires are unsafe for these larger (>12,000lb) rigs.

As for the trailer, repairs should have been completed today, but the one graphic needed has a scratch on it so a replacement is being ordered on Monday.

 

[Grey Ghost]

They are not safe for lighter rigs either. I pull a 2011 Greystone and blew two {Blowmax} tires and received the same letter from the company you did. I continued to sent letters to them and finally they paid me some money just to shut me up. I took what I could get and put on a new set of Michelin tires on the rig. I feel much safer now, have put a couple of trips to the ocean on them and so far no problems. Anyhow, WELCOME to the Blowmax tire Group, we are many!

 

[rayk4e]

Happy New Year gang, thought I would close out my personal experience with this situation with the latest update -- On Christmas Eve we received the Towmax "Sorry that you had an issue with our tires, but: you didn't keep them inflated properly; you over loaded them; or you pulled your trailer too fast...it is our opinion that you are a loser" form letter with an offer to provide me with a check to cover the cost of the two tires. Needless to say; I am not happy about this as it doesn't really bring the main issue to closure in that these tires are unsafe for these larger (>12,000lb) rigs.

As for the trailer, repairs should have been completed today, but the one graphic needed has a scratch on it so a replacement is being ordered on Monday.

Still in disbelief that Heartland ships their units with these IED's attached to them. Shameful actually!

Picking up our new Road Warrior 415 Toy Hauler in the spring and will have the tires replaced immediately thereafter. Our recently traded-in Coachmen Freedom Express TT had a blowout that did severe damage to the undercarriage above the tire. We could actually poke the vinyl flooring in the bathroom from below. So I'm going to spend the extra money on the Goodyear G614s in hope that I won't have an issue like that again with our new toy hauler.

On a side note -- and this may sound absolutely crazy -- but watching an episode of Myth Busters they demonstrated the strength of materials applied with spray-on truck bed lining like that made by Rhino and Scorpion. Incredibly, they blasted C4 facing an unprotected wooden shack and understandably it pretty much demolished the shack. Then they repeated the test after spraying an identical shack with bedliner and letting it cure. Incredibly, the shack withstood the blast without any structural damage. They then repeated the test on cinder block walls with the same result. So in my long winded way, I'm thinking it may not hurt to spray the wheel wells and surrounding areas around the undercarriage with this liner as long as it doesn't affect any functional components. If I were to have a blowout, even with the G614s my hope would be that the bedlining spray would prevent severe damage to the trailer.

What do you all think? Don't be afraid to call me crazy (I've been called worse and survived) or to laugh at the idea (I like to make people laugh). If you're interested in the MB episode follow this link (or cut and paste this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3JOXrpCLCJg into your browser's address bar.

On a final note, I watched RV 2015 on GAC and their 'best in show' unit at the Hershey RV show, the Excel Winslow D37SDF, does not use the typical rubber roof, but instead uses Rhino's Eco-Coat Roof System (a truck bed liner type material) that doesn't need frequent maintenance. Has anyone else heard of or seen these roofs?

Happy New Year everyone!

 

[Kahoney]

Good day folks; My DW and I are planning a trip in 2 weeks to California pulling our rig. After reading these posts I am more than nervous about our tires as we have the Towmax and our rig is rated at 15k. Should I look into replacing? Not sure if I can afford it but also not sure if I can afford not to!

 

[FiremanBill]

Good day folks; My DW and I are planning a trip in 2 weeks to California pulling our rig. After reading these posts I am more than nervous about our tires as we have the Towmax and our rig is rated at 15k. Should I look into replacing? Not sure if I can afford it but also not sure if I can afford not to!

From what I have seen most times the blowouts come after the first year or so. Sooner for people who pull a LOT. If I were you I would proceed with caution. Make sure your tire pressures are dead on, don't pull over 65 mph, check each tire at EVERY stop for signs of tread separation, bulges, or anything else unusual.

It is not "if" these tires blow out, but when... Replace them as soon as you feasibly can.

 

[ILH]

From what I have seen most times the blowouts come after the first year or so. Sooner for people who pull a LOT. If I were you I would proceed with caution. Make sure your tire pressures are dead on, don't pull over 65 mph, check each tire at EVERY stop for signs of tread separation, bulges, or anything else unusual.

It is not "if" these tires blow out, but when... Replace them as soon as you feasibly can.

Keep in mind that when my blowmax blew, I had tire a tire pressure monitoring system running (showing proper inflation and good temperatures) - and I was travelling at 60MPH. Even if I had pulled over just prior to the blowout, there would not have been any indication of an impending issue.

Bottom line... as far as I'm concerned, they're ticking time bombs. You either replace them now and drive with peace-of-mind, or you drive with the constant threat of a blowout on your mind. I'm not saying tires such as Goodyear G614s won't have a blowout, but at least you've managed the risk.

BTW, my rig is still in the shop because of the damage.

 

[FiremanBill]

Keep in mind that when my blowmax blew, I had tire a tire pressure monitoring system running (showing proper inflation and good temperatures) - and I was travelling at 60MPH. Even if I had pulled over just prior to the blowout, there would not have been any indication of an impending issue.

Bottom line... as far as I'm concerned, they're ticking time bombs. You either replace them now and drive with peace-of-mind, or you drive with the constant threat of a blowout on your mind. I'm not saying tires such as Goodyear G614s won't have a blowout, but at least you've managed the risk.

BTW, my rig is still in the shop because of the damage.

Oh I agree completely! When my first one blew it was the same thing, not 30 minutes out of the campsite we were on and checked everything right before we left. No TPS though. Still looking to get one of those for mine. Sadly enough, we don't all have the funds to drop another $2500 for new tires right away.

The biggest travesty is that these rigs are still sold with these pos tires on them, and most people (me) don't find out until after they buy the trailer of the fate that awaits them.