ATF: Cyclone - Question for Heartland....

[jeffdee]

I have had my 2014 Cyclone 3110 just under 16 months. I have made approximately 10 previous camping trips and two warranty trips to the dealer in it with my wife. Each round trip is approximately 100 miles. I should easily have less than 1500 miles total on my Cyclone. I am very meticulus with my pre-trip maintenance. Torques, secured tanks, straps, air pressures, etc. My question is: "...if you are building one of the best toyhaulers on the market, why are you installing tires that fail with less than 1500 miles useage?"

I have just returned today from a 180 mile round trip camping outing. After I parked my rig I always inspect it for any issues. I have found the right front tire is experiencing tread core failure in the center of the tire throughout the circumference. In other words, the tire is growing larger. The tire has cooled back down and the air pressure is now at 76 psi. The other 3 tires are still at 80 psi. This right front tire is obviously going to fail on my next trip if it is not changed. Why are these tires failing with such short life? The rv is not overloaded. I don't carry more than 10 gallons potable water and the waste tanks are empty. I never drive above 60 mph. I usually set the cruise at 57 mph. I am really disappointed in the performance of these tires considering what I paid for the rv.

 

[jeffdee]

.... The worst part is when you get asked "well why didn't you upgrade?".

I bought my Cyclone off the lot. It was not an "ordered" unit by me however it was only 3 days old from the factory. I came across this forum after I made the purchase. I thought that maybe the tires were just getting a bad rap. I have had rv's for a number of years and never had a tire go bad. I always kept the pressures maintained and rotated tires every two years. I will be replacing these four towmax tires. Unfortunately, nearly all trailer tires are chinese made. I will be looking at getting tires that have a history of good performance and longevity. I know prices will be high but the investment is in the rv. I just wish I could get some reimbursement for these cr**py tires that did not provide good service. I count my blessings that there was no damage to the rv. I have read where others were not that fortunate.

 

[whp4262]

I bought my Cyclone off the lot. It was not an "ordered" unit by me however it was only 3 days old from the factory. I came across this forum after I made the purchase. I thought that maybe the tires were just getting a bad rap. I have had rv's for a number of years and never had a tire go bad. I always kept he pressures maintained and rotated tires every two years. I will be replacing these four towmax tires. Unfortunately, nearly all trailer tires are chinese made. I will be looking at getting tires that have a history of good performance and longevity. I know prices will be high but the investment is in the rv. I just wish I could get some reimbursement for these cr**py tires that did not provide good service. I count my blessings that there was no damage to the rv. I have read where others were not that fortunate.

I've had good luck with Taskmaster Provider tires. You can get them through Discount Tire online and several of the stores out west carry them in stock.


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[TravelTiger]

You can contact TowMax or Tredit, check your blue packet that came with your coach, there may be some warranty info in there. My guess is they will offer a replacement tire for the one that failed or maybe $30-$40 cash. So sorry for your experience, but glad to hear you caught it before damage was done, and another confirmation that these tires DO NOT perform as they should. HL has replaced them with Saliun tires on some brands. HL needs to remove all Towmax from their coaches -- keeping them on any line only gives them a bad reputation, especially after YEARS of complaints from end users.


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[300winmag]

Wow and my post is deleted... guess this is one of those sites where one cannot express an honest opinion.... if that isn't enough to sway me away from Heartland I dunno what is.

 

[jeffdee]

Thanks Erika, I plan to make a few calls tomorrow. I agree, there probably won't be any settlement offer from Towmax that I will find acceptable considering the responses from other members. However, I just wanted to acknowledge to the Cyclone forum that these tires are not dependable and should be replaced. There was no reason for mine to fail considering how vigilant I was with monitoring and maintaining them.

One of my younger brothers just retired from a chemical manufacturing plant that made the special additive used in processing synthetic rubber. It is very expensive and he said that the chinese do not put enough in the rubber blending process. The result is a shorter tire life due to rapid aging and resulting in poor tire performance. Also there is weaker bonding in the structural cords and plies that lead to the catastropic failures of the tread.

The chinese do make good tires when they are required to meet rigid specifications and quality controls that are found in american tire manufacturers.

 

[Bob&Patty]

winmag300, attitudes and cuss words will get your posted booted.

 

[sengli]

Well I am glad you read this forum, and were made aware of the tire info, in time avert a blow out. I too had the same issue, bought a new coach, and then read these posts about the impending tire failure. I went with goodyear G614's to replace my towmax E rated OEM tires. My tires weren't having any issue's, but I didnt want to take a chance on them with their track record. I had about 6K on my towmax's but I towed usually only when it was cooler temps.

 

[jeffdee]

UPDATE 12/27/14:

I pulled all the tires and wheels off the rv and brought them to a tire dealer in Baton Rouge where TOWMAX directed me to have the failed tire inspected. The dealer agreed that the tire was failing and reported this to TOWMAX. The dealer also said that I had no measureable wear on the tread. TOWMAX said that it will be after January 7 before they can give me a decision on an adjustment. I told them I am only interested in a cash adjustment. (I am going to eat the other tires).

In an aside conversation, the tire dealer said he has seen many of these failed tires. He stated that these tires should not be put on heavy rvs like the Cyclone makes because the tires are over rated by the manufacturer. They are rated as load range E, 10 ply, 3520 lb, but he said that they are actually 8 ply construction and can not truly support this load. His opinion was that, at best, these tires should only be used on utility trailers that do not see a full load all the time. Even at that, the tires can still see a failure when the utility trailer is fully loaded. (Oh well!!!)

I am going Monday to relace all the tires, including the spare! I decided to purchase 5 Hercules Power STR, ST235/85R16 tires at $150 each. They are Load Range F/12 ply, 95 psi, 3960 lb rated. These tires are the same width but 1" larger in diameter (31.73" vs 30.8"). I have a 5" clearance between the tires on the two axles so there should be no clearance issue.

While I have the tires off the rv I have gotten the data from the rear of the spokes of the wheels for all to add to your records:

T09 SenDel

For Trailer Use Only

T09-B1 16X6J

ET 0 13 +++++

J 12 04 T DOT

MAX LOAD

3750 lbs 110 psi

As an aside note, it was 37 degrees when I loosened the lug nuts. It was 2 months ago when I last checked the torque at 120 ft-lbs, it was 80 degrees. Well, only 2 or 3 lug nuts were still at the 120 ft-lbs on each wheel. I do not know why these wheels are not holding the torque but I hope this can be a heads up to all to keep an eye on their wheels. Loose lugs will definitely damage these aluminum wheels. Fortunately I did not have any damage but the torques had dropped below 120 ft-lbs. I always use a 1/2" torque wrench on the wheels.

I also plan to commit putting four 6 ton jack stands under the 2 axles to support the rv and protect the new tires between camping trips. I am also going to cover the tires.

 

[jassson007]

Jeff I try to remember to retorque mine before every trip as I do not trust aluminum rims.

Btw have you thought about joining the HOC and coming to the spring rally over in kinder? Would love to have Ya.


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[jeffdee]

Sure, why not! When and where is the rally scheduled to be located, the casino?

 

[jayc]

Jeff and Deidra, HERE is a link to the rally post. It will be at the Coushatta casino on March 20-22nd.

 

[jeffdee]

Thanks jayc and jassson007. Just finished joining HOC, South Central, Louisiana Chapter.

Now I have to convince Dee to cancel our resevations to Cajun Palms to go to Kinder on March 19.

BTW, went to Marksville last weekend. There is an extremely nice campground at that casino.

 

[cookie]

I think that the RV sites were designed by the same person.
Marksville and Kinder sites are the same.
Both nice.

Peace
Dave

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[jassson007]

Thanks jayc and jassson007. Just finished joining HOC, South Central, Louisiana Chapter.

Now I have to convince Dee to cancel our resevations to Cajun Palms to go to Kinder on March 19.

BTW, went to Marksville last weekend. There is an extremely nice campground at that casino.

Awesome Jeff. Can't wait to meet you guys. We haven't camped at cajun palms in awhile but like it there. Need to get up to marksville and check it out. Have been looking for something in central la. If it is anything like Coushatta you will like coushatta that is for sure. Let me know when you get a reservation made so I can put you on the list.

Andy


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[jeffdee]

Update 12/29/14:

This will be my final update for this thread. I got the 5 new Hercules tires mounted today. I detailed the wheels before I put them back on the rv. When I set the rv back on the ground it was easy to see these tires are more stout than the Towmax. There is almost no bulge in the sidewalls where the tire meets the ground. The Towmax always looked like they were overloaded with a distinct sidewall bulge at the ground. It looks like a minimum of 12 plys may be the answer. I plan to make a 300 mile round trip this March and a 180 mile round trip in 3 weeks. Only time will tell if these tires perform better. The only other change with these tires is now a 4 inch clearance between tires vs the previous 5 inch clearance.


BTW, Heartland has yet to answer my question put forth in the opening post in this thread. I guess they are on Christmas vacation.

 

[tkiranch3316]

The tire company "Dynamic tires" out of Canada will give you a hard time, but they will cave in and offer you 125$ per tire and pay for UPS to ship all of them back to them. I have 7 I am returning with 1 having tread problems, as in no tire left except bead and 2 with foaming on side wall when you apply water to them ( probably dirty mold). Let me know if you want the packet of stuff I have arguing the case for crappy tires. I did lose a rim in the deal, but that is a part of life.

 

[TX_Clay]

Trying to figure out if you're saying they will buy the take offs or not. I am about to replace the tires on mine. They probably have less than 500 miles on them. Please clarify?