Well, five of them were OEM tires on brand new trailers and we know trailer manufacturers buy quality tires ( Don't they use Sailuns now?). One trailer was a Forest River bumper pull ( cant remember the tire brand but were made in China) and the other is a 2014 Heartland Big Country 3650RL with Towmax tires. I do average 6,000 miles per year. I do drive 65 to 70 MPH. I have a TPMS and four of the failures were found during inspection before they exploded. Three were purchased in the aftermarket.
The foreign manufacturers want you to believe it is your fault the tires failed. It is not my fault. Maybe Sailun's are an exception. I did read that they are an ISO certified plant which I suspect is rare in China. Maxxis tires have a good reputation and are made in Taiwan, which is a different country from China. Average GDP per person in Taiwan is $50,000, average in china $8,500. Maybe if you pay your labor force more, you end up with better quality tires. Honda builds cars in China and pays their workers $0.50 per hour. I suspect they make less at tire manufacturers.
If it is my fault, why did three year old used Michelin LT245's with a 3040 lb rating last longer than the Gladiator G rated tires with a 4,000 lb rating? I put Michelins on the Forest river and never had another problem but I only kept it a year and bought the Big Country. I ran two on the Big Country for over 8,000 miles and still looked great when I put the G614's on.
I am not sure how many rigs have Sailun tires but I think they are only using them on heavier rigs. Certainly, the more tires in use, the more complaints you are going to get, doesn't matter if they are Goodyears or Sailuns. Time and exposure will tell if they are as good as the G614's.
I for one do not want to buy tires from a country that has no environmental regulations, has a poor quality record, and pays their workers 50 cents per hour. I will gladly pay the higher cost of US made tires.
As I said - your prerogative. Of course, it's always great to buy American but we are way past equating quality with American made. My iPhone is a thing of beauty. I am extremely happy with my Sailun tires. I'm also exrtremely happy with my Ford truck, a good portion of which was manufactured overseas. My appliances? Those Koreans sure do a good job (by the way, try buying an appliance that isn't manufactured somewhere else, even if it has an American brand AND most of the American brands are made in Mexico). Last week, a member of this forum responded to a post I left about a defective wheel bearing and he suggested using Timken bearings - a tried and true American brand. One problem - the Timken bearing was also made in China. Doh! By the way, Goodyear has
9 Asian plants, 19 European plants, 16 US plants, 3 Bralillian plants, 3 Canadian plants, 4 South American plants in various countries and is in the process of building a $550 million plant in Mexico. Where were your tires made? Think there's a chance they will also go off shore if they haven't already?
Regarding the environment, in 2011, researchers at the
University of Massachusetts Amherst identified Goodyear as the 19th-largest corporate producer of
air pollution in the United States, with roughly 4.16 million lbs of toxins released into the air annually. Do the Chinese companies pollute more? How do I know? Because the government tells me so? If this is a concern of yours, you may need to evaluate Goodyears track record worldwide - maybe it's not as stellar as you think, especially if they operate under the laws of those countries.
Regarding quality, even though I am satisfied with my Bighorn after working out all the bugs, it is hardly what I would have called a "quality" product out of the factory. The previously mentioned American brands of appliances (made in Mexico) have not been reliable for me, which is why I went Korean.
Worker pay? Wages are commensurate with the wage/income structure of that country. Comparing them to US wages means nothing. American workers need to compete and be more productive or realize that regardless of what they think or what seems fair, their income will continue to deteriorate (by the way, I think we are on a good path right now but we still have a long way to go). And by the way, paying a kid that works at McDonalds $15/hour as mandated by the great state of New York does not help the disparity between US and Chinese wages.
You're a Goodyear fan and that's great - good product. That's the great thjing about America - choices. That doesn't change the fact that those of us who use Sailun's are using a top quality product from a reliable manufacturer. In fact, given the choice between high priced Goodyears and reasonably priced Sailuns, I'm guessing that most folks who have used Sailuns will replace with them. From my viewpoint, even if the price disparity wasn't so great, I'd still replace with Sailun - they have earned my confidence.
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Sounds good. At this point I think everyone is just restating the same thoughts over and over.
I agree. But, the conversatiuon has expanded into areas well beyond the original post.
We are now into environment, wages, patriotism, etc.
You're correct. Time to pull the plug on this one (my opinion).
