TIRES and SAFETY

[Lynn1130]

I mentioned on another thread that it would go a long way toward Heartland's good reputation for them to supply better tires with the note that they care about their customer's safety and provide better tires for that reason.

On the other hand, I was passed by "haulers" delivering Heartland products. I was doing 65. they were in excess of 70. What shape are tires in when the rig finally hits the dealer's lot? My trailer was almost a year old when we bought it. I suspect that it had been hauled from the Tucson Heartland dealer to shows in Glendale several times before we purchased it. At what speeds and at what tire pressure settings. So the question comes, how much damage is done to the tires before the trailer is purchased? An unknown that is troubling.

 

[scottyb]

I mentioned on another thread that it would go a long way toward Heartland's good reputation for them to supply better tires with the note that they care about their customer's safety and provide better tires for that reason.

On the other hand, I was passed by "haulers" delivering Heartland products. I was doing 65. they were in excess of 70. What shape are tires in when the rig finally hits the dealer's lot? My trailer was almost a year old when we bought it. I suspect that it had been hauled from the Tucson Heartland dealer to shows in Glendale several times before we purchased it. At what speeds and at what tire pressure settings. So the question comes, how much damage is done to the tires before the trailer is purchased? An unknown that is troubling.

I agree. Look at them as sacrificial tires, take delivery and head straight to the tire store. It may cost a little more after the fact but you will have fresh tires of your choice, installed by tire pros, with warranty certificates, balancing, and free rotations if you choose. If you are lucky, you can redeem some value by selling or bartering them away to farm or industrial use.

 

[tireman9]

I wonder what would happen if everyone that saw a Heartland being towed at anything above 60 reported it to Heartland. This would be about the same as having the driver of a Class-C RV being driven in 2nd gear at engine red-line. Would we accept the idea that the engine is a "as sacrificial part" and think it OK to have to go out and buy a new engine?

Does Heartland, or any TT assembler even care? I think not. The fact that they are not willing to offer any warranty on the tires they select kind of demonstrates that they know they are selecting questionable product and that the delivery service is cutting corners and may be damaging the brand new RV even before it gets to the dealership.

 

[kowAlski631]

I suppose you'd need to have evidence - indisputable evidence that occurred. Unless you have that, it's not fact but supposition.

There are warranties on these tires by the supplier, but like warranties on all products, defect must be proven. Easier said than done even with a long pattern of failure since some people are convinced that these tires fail only due to operator error & not design or manufacturing flaws.

Martha


Paul & Martha

Life's too short. Live so you can say "Remember when" not "I wish I had".

 

[Lynn1130]

Just for info-The question is rhetorical. My first tire went bad in 2011 and did $1800 worth of damage. Dynamic Tire took care of me but the TowMax tires came off of the trailer at the first Discount Tire I came to after getting back on the road.

 

[kowAlski631]

Glad you were helped. Others have also been. Tredit did nothing for us since we had so little of the 1st tire left. As for the others, didn't waste our time or energy - just replaced on the fly. Now as of Thanksgiving, we have proper tires all around. We actually replaced the 4 on the ground twice - once when they blew & then (along with the spare) in Nov so we could travel confidently.

Martha


Paul & Martha

Life's too short. Live so you can say "Remember when" not "I wish I had".

 

[tireman9]

Thumbing through a magazine and noticed an ad for Maxxis ST tires. They were advertising a 235/80R16 with a 10 ply rating. Then I noticed the little note down in the small print. It has a 3 ply sidewall. I've read all the hype about softer ride, heat dissipation, etc., etc., but with that thin of sidewall, there's very little protection against the occasional curb or other hazard. Glad I changed mine out to G614's.

"Ply Rating" is an out of date term. I haven't seen a tire made with the actual number of sidewall plies equal to the theoretical number in over 30 years. If you go and actually read the sidewall of a number of tires, be they Passenger, Light Truck, Heavy Truck or Special Trailer you will note that radials have a much smaller number of actual sidewall ply than indicated by the theoretical number of layers of cotton (a material not used in tires for over 70 years).
The number of sidewall ply is not an indication of the tire's load capacity or ability to "protect" the tire from damage. Nor is it a good predictor of vehicle ride. You will note that most large 22.5 or 24.5" size tires seen on heavy trucks have only one sidewall ply and I doubt that you would claim the ride in a Mac Truck to be real smooth.

BTW do you have 10 sidewall ply in your G614s ?

 

[cookie]

I'm glad that I run G-614's as well.
1 ply sidewall and all.

Peace
Dave

 

[clubmgr]

Don't forget that a balanced tire will roll better and smoother than an unbalanced tire. That will save a lot of "shake, rattle and roll" in the trailer. Imagine what is going on in your rig with 4 unbalanced tires.

 

[donr827]

Don't forget that a balanced tire will roll better and smoother than an unbalanced tire. That will save a lot of "shake, rattle and roll" in the trailer. Imagine what is going on in your rig with 4 unbalanced tires.

Why don't trailer manufacturers balance the tires before putting them on the trailer or have the tire distributer do it before delivery to the trailer manufacturer?
Don

 

[jnbhobe]

Because it costs $$$$$

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[JohnD]

Why don't trailer manufacturers balance the tires before putting them on the trailer or have the tire distributer do it before delivery to the trailer manufacturer?
Don

Could it be that out of balance trailer tires are partially to blame for many of the BlowMax blow outs?

 

[TravelTiger]

Could it be that out of balance trailer tires are partially to blame for many of the BlowMax blow outs?

In our case, we had tires balanced early on, due to the recommendation on the forum. Though not a blowout, we had belt breakage an irregular wear on 3 tires. TBC gave us 1 new tire on the first tire with irregular wear. When we found the broken belts bulge, TBC gave a prorated amount on that one and one of the others that was irregularly wearing.


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[tireman9]

If you balance when new and later discover the balance has changed but the tire has not rotated on the rim and you didn't loose weight then that indicates a potential tire problem. This is a failed tire that hasn't come apart yet. Obviously it is out of round and would be out of balance.

The people that assemble your RV do it with low cost as "Priority #1" so why would they spend the money on a trailer when they can "kick the can" down the road so any tire or balance problems are your responsibility?

 

[tireman9]

Could it be that out of balance trailer tires are partially to blame for many of the BlowMax blow outs?

"Out of balance" is most likely the symptom of either a tire that has already started to come apart internally or one that is a lower quality tire and the components were not all placed per specification. Good quality tires as made by major tire companies (the ones that put their name on the product) are balanced before they leave the tire plant as a form of Quality Check. If too far out the tire is scrap.
Major manufacturers of vehicles i.e. Ford, Chevy, etc and even lower cost companies like KIA all have a spec on tire & wheel assy balance. Again because they stand behind the product (or require the tire company to stand behind the product)

Only in the RV market do we see warranties for 12 months on products that for the most part get used for only a few months in that time. Only in the RV market do we see the owner being expected to "fix" the errors in design and assembly done by the RV company. Why do tadays RV have warranties like Detroit did in 1970?