I've been doing some reading about the "chinese" tires that are coming with trailers and am a bit concerned. My trailer is 2012 (built oct 2011) and is running Mastertrack 225/75r15 tires. They have roughly 3000 miles on them and appear to be in good shape. I inspect them before each trip and make sure pressures are good. After all the reading I am nervous that I am asking for trouble if I continue to tow on them, but most of the post and info I have read is from years ago, nothing seems to be current. My question is I guess are the tires made of better quality now or are they still a ticking timebomb? Are there really that many problems with them or is it one of those things where a few people post problems but thousands run them without issues? Thanks!!
Tires on my 5th wheel, concerns...
- Thread starter Haggs
- Start date
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Gary RV_Wizard
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Sadly, trailer manufacturers tend to buy the cheapest tires they can find and size them for the very least weight capacity they can legally get away with. That tends to lead to early life failures, especially if they are ever run slightly soft or slightly overloaded.
Tires made in China are not inherently bad, but collectively they don't have a good track record for consistent quality. On the other hand, Michelin has tires made in Chinese factories to their quality standards (and under their supervision) and they seem to be as good as any other Michelin.
Since yours seem to be running ok, I would not worry obsessively, but I would check them regularly for signs of unusual wear and make very sure they were properly inflated for the load.
Tires made in China are not inherently bad, but collectively they don't have a good track record for consistent quality. On the other hand, Michelin has tires made in Chinese factories to their quality standards (and under their supervision) and they seem to be as good as any other Michelin.
Since yours seem to be running ok, I would not worry obsessively, but I would check them regularly for signs of unusual wear and make very sure they were properly inflated for the load.
raytronx
Well-known member
I've run Chinese tires for 35,000 miles or more now and not one problem. Then I've read others who can't keep them from blowing. One thing that would be interesting is to get the stats for how many trailers are running Chinese vs others and then see if more complaints are because so many Chinese tires are out there and some are bound to fail.
Derby6
Well-known member
Gary RV Roamer said:
Yes, That is what I did. My tires showed some wear on my trailer when I picked it up in '08. Like you I was concerned, but rotated them and just kept checking them. I did replace them last year but had no issues and got away with them for 4 years.
Thanks for the replies everyone. That lowers my concerns a bit. I'll just keep on watching them as I do and go from there. It seems almost all trailers are coming with them now a days anyway, so as I have no doubt people are having problems with them, it seems that the majority are not. Thanks again!
Ernie n Tara
Well-known member
I'd check the load rating to ensure I had a good margin (scale for weight). It's very easy to overload tires if you have bad weight distribution or, if you heve four or more, by towing with the trailer not level.
Ernie
Ernie
