It's time for new tires

[Dennis mn]

I just looked at the tire date code on the made in Canada Tow Master tires on the Scamp, they were manufactured in 2005, I don't know where the time has gone, but I am obviously overdue for new tires. I have not had good experience with made in China tires; but that seems to be all that is available today. Can anyone recommend a 205 75 STR 14 tire that will be as trouble free as my 10 year old tires?

[Borrego Dave]

Hercules, my tire guy that I've known for 30 years told me has never had one of those come back.

[Jay H]

That's reassuring to hear Dave. I just bought 3 new hercules tires for my Boler. It seemed that all I could find at the big box stores was Carlisle tires and I did not feel cofident with them. My local Kal tire shop highly recommended the Hercules, said the same thing and "my guy" told me that's what he had on his tent trailer. Haven't had a chance to take out yet, I'll let you know what I think after my drive out to Alberta this summer!

[Wayne Collins]

Originally Posted by Dennis mn

I just looked at the tire date code on the made in Canada Tow Master tires on the Scamp, they were manufactured in 2005, I don't know where the time has gone, but I am obviously overdue for new tires. I have not had good experience with made in China tires; but that seems to be all that is available today. Can anyone recommend a 205 75 STR 14 tire that will be as trouble free as my 10 year old tires?

Go to a reputable tire store, or trailer dealer's shop.
They should have good "made in Canada or America" tires.

[Dennis mn]

Originally Posted by Wayne Collins

Go to a reputable tire store, or trailer dealer's shop.
They should have good "made in Canada or America" tires.

Been there and done that! Nothing but made in China tires available!

The Hercules web site tells me that there is no dealer in this area. I am probably going to have to buy on line.

[Glenn Baglo]

Suggest you get over your aversion to "Made in China". If you don't, you'll have no phone, no computer, no clothes....

[Dennis mn]

Originally Posted by Glenn Baglo

Suggest you get over your aversion to "Made in China". If you don't, you'll have no phone, no computer, no clothes....

I here you, but my bias in this case is only because of blowouts, and tread separation issues I have had with Chinese tires. A friend had Made in China Goodyear Marathons, he's OCD about his trailer tires, pressure, etc. had three of four come apart in the first 80 miles.

I don't buy made in China dog food, baby formula, or seafood any longer either!

[Glenn Baglo]

Well, if the only trailer tires one can buy are made in China. And, if they have all these issues, one would think that the roads would be littered with abandoned trailers, and that dealers would have stopped selling them because of warranty hassles etc.
I think there were issues with some tires in the past, and that these stories take on a web-life of their own.
What brand is Scamp putting on new trailers? What is Casita, Oliver using? Escape just switched to Carlisle from Marathon because the Goodyear tires jumped a significant amount in price.

[Dennis mn]

Originally Posted by Glenn Baglo

Well, if the only trailer tires one can buy are made in China. And, if they have all these issues, one would think that the roads would be littered with abandoned trailers, and that dealers would have stopped selling them because of warranty hassles etc.
I think there were issues with some tires in the past, and that these stories take on a web-life of their own.

You are probably right in your assessment, most of my bad experience was from before I purchased the Made in Canada tires. That said, can anyone make a recommendation for a good Made in China Tire? I will always have a bit of bias against Carlile, and Marathons.

[pogophile]

Got my Tow-Master tires through Costco last year for our Trillium 1300. They are ST175/80R13 steel belted radials. Their load range is "C" which means they are rated to carry a bit more than twice the weight currently on them. And just to prove that not all trailer tires are made in China, they are made in Indonesia .

That said, they have thousands of miles on them now, and no complaints at all. Very happy.

[Dennis mn]

Tow Masters are the tires that were originally on my Scamp. They were Made in China. No issues with them, so after replacing them with Carliles and having a blowout on the first trip, I replaced them with Tow Masters that happened to be made in Canada. I will be contacting the local utility trailer sales pavilion and see what they carry and/or recommend. I was probably a bit harsh to discount all tires Chinese. The image that I have is that they are all made in the same factory, and built to the same specs. That probably can't be true.

[Larry,C]

Goodyear HMG 2020. Made in Canada. 8 ply side walls.

[Dennis mn]

Originally Posted by Larry,C

Goodyear HMG 2020. Made in Canada. 8 ply side walls.

That's one to check out. Thanks.

[redbarron55]

I believe that the Carlisle tires are still made in the USA. They had problems, but I hear that they have fixed them.

[MC1]

I am running Goodyear V rated tires on our car for the last 5 years and they have been fine but realized the Marathon ST's are the cheapest grade of tire Goodyear makes.

[Joe Romas]

Anyone heard Commodore tires? the link indicates they are related to BFG some way but it's not on the tires.
I got size 205/75R15 D rated 8 ply.
BF Goodrich COM25, Commodore ST Radial Trailer Tires | BF Goodrich

On the Discount tire site they say to always inflate to sidewall max and the tires should exceed trailer weight by 20%.
they also say that in 3 years approximately one third of the tire's strength is gone.
http://www.discounttire.com/dtcs/inf...erTireFacts.do

[Wayne Collins]

Originally Posted by Dennis mn

Been there and done that! Nothing but made in China tires available!

The Hercules web site tells me that there is no dealer in this area. I am probably going to have to buy on line.

My 16 ft Scamp has Goodyear Marathon Trailer tires, which I bought to replace the original factory tires. The first ones ran well over 10 years.
these are one size wider than the old ones, and have a little more load capacity. Can't go wrong w/ GY..../wc

[redbarron55]

When I had to replace the old AL-KO axle I bought new 10" brakes and the hubs dictated 5 lugs instead of the original 4. Since I needed wheels anyway I checked load ratings and decided that the 13" were a little marginal so 14" it was.
Of course that meant changing wheel wells .....
Anyway I have a set of (cheap) wheels and tires bought at Pep Boys (3). I hole the larger size and higher ratings and slower turning will help overcome the Chinesium in the tires.
I was also concerned about the ability to get replacements easily on the road. I think that the 205/75-14s will be easier to find.

[Steve Outlaw]

Originally Posted by Glenn Baglo

...trailer tires...What brand is Scamp putting on new trailers? What is Casita, Oliver using? Escape just switched to Carlisle from Marathon because the Goodyear tires jumped a significant amount in price.

Oliver is now using Nitrogen filled Michelin LTX® M/S2 Tires on all their trailers. For my build, I opted for Michelin XPS Rib Tires LT225/75R16/E.

[MC1]

Originally Posted by Steve Outlaw

Oliver is now using Nitrogen filled Michelin LTX® M/S2 Tires on all their trailers. For my build, I opted for Michelin XPS Rib Tires LT225/75R16/E.

The Michelin LT tires are getting excellent reviews on other forums as well. To bad they didn't make that quality of tire for the smaller glass egg trailers.