Real-World Experiences with Westlake 275/80R22.5 Tires on Class A Diesel Pushers

[Abo Nour]

Hello Everyone
Has anyone here run 275/80R22.5 Westlake All Position H Rating tires on a Class A motorhome?
I’m considering them for a diesel pusher and looking for real-world feedback — not marketing claims.
How’s the ride quality compared to Michelin, Toyo, or Bridgestone?
Any issues with balancing, sidewall cracking, irregular wear, or road noise?
What load rating and speed rating are you using (H, M, etc.) and on what coach weight?
If you’ve put serious miles on them, I’d appreciate details — mileage so far, highway vs. mixed driving, and whether you’d buy them again.

 

[WILDEBILL308]

Never hear of them before. I would go with Toyos.

 

[Larry N.]

That's not a brand I've heard of. To me tires are important enough to go with excellent and take no chances...

 

[8Muddypaws]

Don’t go cheap on tires for a heavy rig. Personally I will never buy another Michelin.

Sumitomo tires have been very good for me. My buddy Lou swears by Toyos.

 

[UTTransplant]

We are very happy with our Michelins, but we got a great price by using the FRVA discount. Lots of people I know have Toyos, and those were a close second on our list; we priced both. I would only go with a known name brand. A blown tire usually costs thousands in body damage,

 

[Utclmjmpr]

I would use nothing but Toyos for steer tires and Hankook's across the rears..>>>Dan

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

Westlake is a private label tire brand from Tireco, Inc. Tireco doesn't make tires - they are a distributor who buys from various tire factories around the world and re-sells through dealers across the country. Tireco focus is on what they call "high value", meaning the lowest price for a given size & type. Different size or type Westlake tires may come from different suppliers - check the tire's DOT ID code to determine the country & manufacturer where those particular tires were made.

Most of the replies here are negative on cheap tires without really giving an reason other than perhaps the suspicion that low-priced means reduced quality. You need to make your own judgment on that score.

 

[UTTransplant]

Gary, you are fond of saying that RVs are so price conscious that higher prices mean better construction (hope I am paraphrasing you accurately). I put tires in the same category. They are quite utilitarian, and not at all sexy, have a huge safety impact on your rig, so marketing doesn’t have much play. Michelins might be the exception because they have convinced many/most Class A manufacturers to put them on as OEM. But I have to admit that when I have good experience with a product, I usually continue with that product. I had good experiences with our Michelins, so we replaced with the same brand, plus the price was good. We do go up a load rating, just because. It is kind of like buying from Temu; many times the cheap stuff might be just fine, but you never really know until it fails.

 

[uchu]

Haven't had a single issue with the Blackhawks I had installed in the new (to us) MH. Nice and quiet ride (well, quiet for a gas motorhome ).

They are made by Sailun at one of their huge manufacturing plants in Vietnam. So probably they are more expensive for you folks in the US, compared to us in the GWN. But they are still a good deal.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

Gary, you are fond of saying that RVs are so price conscious that higher prices mean better construction (hope I am paraphrasing you accurately). I put tires in the same category. They are quite utilitarian, and not at all sexy, have a huge safety impact on your rig, so marketing doesn’t have much play. Michelins might be the exception because they have convinced many/most Class A manufacturers to put them on as OEM. But I have to admit that when I have good experience with a product, I usually continue with that product. I had good experiences with our Michelins, so we replaced with the same brand, plus the price was good. We do go up a load rating, just because. It is kind of like buying from Temu; many times the cheap stuff might be just fine, but you never really know until it fails.

Indeed I am, though I prefer to say that cheaper products encourage production and material shortcuts. But I also believe that buying a lower-priced product is NOT inherently a bad choice as long as you understand what you may be getting. A lower standard isn't necessarily an unacceptable one.

In the tire world, the product is pretty much a commodity, made in factories all across the world with common technology and procedures. However, quality control may vary and the tire factory may insulate itself from the end users by selling thru a private label distributor. That might lead to a higher percentage of slightly out-of-spec products and a greater reliance on dealer & distributor backing if there is a problem. Michelin & Goodyear spend megabucks advertising their brand names and protecting it. That increases their cost and thus the product price, but also means they go the extra mile to avoid bad press and customer backlash.

 

[RayIN]

Keep in mind ALL OTR tires sold in the U.S.A. must meet the same USDOT standards of construction, load rating, and mileage ratings.
I've run the same set of Sailun tires(your size) on our MH since 2007, plan to replace them next year. Never had a tire issue either.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

Keep in mind ALL OTR tires sold in the U.S.A. must meet the same USDOT standards of construction, load rating, and mileage ratings.
I've run the same set of Sailun tires(your size) on our MH since 2007, plan to replace them next year. Never had a tire issue either.

That's a fact, but the tire manufacturer self-certifies his product to DOT test parameters and files the results. US DOT itself doesn't do any testing. US DOT standards cover things like use of the Uniform Tire Grading System and meeting FMVSS 139/119 performance standards. It does not mean every tire is perfectly round or that there will be zero early life failures, for example.

 

[Adventurous Traveler]

I run Hankook's on the front, bought through Walmart online and had my diesel shop balance and installed. For the rears which I bought six months later I went with Sumitomo's and they were installed in my driveway. If I bought all six at once I would've gone with six Sumo's. I had them on my prior gas rig after ditching six Michelin's that were cracked and one "zippered" around the bead. Loved the ride of the Sumo' on that rig.

Last fall I put Blackhawks on my Kia again from Walmart and they might be the best performing car tire I've used, especially in rain and snow.

I would never touch Michelin's again.