A learning experience , yep sure is . In 2009 . I bought a flat bed goose neck , 25 foot trailer . Use it to haul hay and transport my tractors . It came new with 10 ply , load range E tires . The name branded on the tire is "Trail Xtrema" , and made in China . This trailer is always kept inside and only sees the sun when in use . Well the cap came of one exposing the steel belt . The cap was never bonded to the steel belt . The steel belt is just like it came off the roll , clean on both sides . Off to the tire store ---Rice Tire Company ---David the Mgr. said that some China tires are good and some not worth a toot . All 8 tires got removed and replaced , enough all ready . I just don't play tire games . The gamble is not worth it to me no matter the vehicle . :o :o :o Brad Metzger
X2 (in spades). I don't wish it on anyone, but I blew a steering tire (Toyo) where the sidewalls & tread looked fine, but she went like a gunshot! After I had the laundry done, I went back to the "dealer", who replaced it n/c, but would NOT replace the remaining five! I went to a Goodyear dealer and had all the tires replaced, never bought anything but Goodyear and Michelin after that. Hard, scary lesson learned!
JMO the Chinese really don't care about reputation and or quality control whatsoeverver. Can we sue them, no. Just pump out more stuff at a super low price by buying up old machinery, worn out molds, and steal other companies design/RD investment. Failures equal more new sales to be bought up by cheapskates Add to that substandard materials. Ever wonder what happened to the millions of pounds of cotaminated radioactive steel from Cherylnoble, guess what the Chinese bought it all up. Same probably with that Japanese nuke plant.
Is there a tire that is made in the U.S.A.?? I don't think so, haven't found one yet. ---- Have a great day ---- Fritz
Which Tires Are Made in America? | It Still Runs (https://itstillruns.com/tires-made-america-5632049.html)
This past Winter I replaced my 9 yr. old Toyo steer tires that were made here in the U.S. with another set of Toyo's M137 these are marked made in Japan though.
Learn More About Us | Toyo Tires | Toyo Tires (https://www.toyotires.com/about-us)
Number one rule ....7 years DOT date on tires, they are done. That is really pushing the window at that. No matter where the tires are made, no matter if stored inside or outside, tires "date out" not wear out. I have experienced this over and over myself. It's the glue they use now that is the issue. It's amazing, it's like clock work. It's like they build the tires with a chip in them!
My race car trailer tires are 7 years old. Look brand new. They are getting replaced.
Here is a good simple read:
Should I replace my Trailer Tires (http://www.shoptrailertires.com/replace-trailer-tires.htm)
Hum 9 year old trailer tires? When I was in the fleet business we had over 200 small trailers of all types. IMHO none of the trailer tires are worth what you pay for them, they don't have to meet the same standards as a vehicle tire. We used pass tires for the most part. When we could get them we ran the nylon cord tires on the trailers they last forever.
I know of Cooper Tires and Yokohama Tire plants in the USA. I'm sure that there are more. I've used "made in China" tires on pickups due to lack of availability of others of proper size and gotten good use out of some and most have had separation issues. It seems to be a crap shoot as to which fail and when or why.
Wantabe
Michelin says ten years
Actually, Michelin says that they absolutely need to be replaced at 10 years AND need to be thoroughly inspected by a tire professional annually beginning at 5 year.
The Michelin sidewalls will show dry-rot long before 10 years.
We'll see. I never liked the canvas covers trapping hot air on the sidewalls, so I switched to this when it first came out. Dry rot is especially nasty down here. Used it on my SOB and no sign of rot in eight years, despite full sun exposure. Yes, I use it a lot! ^.^d
Add-on: here's how NOT to do canvas covers!
My XZA-2's showed significant side wall cracking. Unknown if the dual compounded rubber XZA-3+'s will show the same thing. Having driven hundreds of top of the line diesel pushers and living in a choppy road area I gladly traded the better handling, higher load capacity allowing lower tire pressure and smoother over rough roads and the low rolling resistance and quiet for a maybe longer life.
As was said this IS a hobby. I am constantly assessing the coach as we drive for any deviations from the norm.
I can tell the difference between .001 and .003 rotor end play adjustment on the front wheel bearings and a slight preload.
Subltle but noticeable. The directional sipes in the Michelin's seem to help the coach run straighter in windy conditions.
Michelin's web page mentions handling as one of their tires attributes they are known for
My friend bought an brand new 5th wheel in 2015 and during his first cross country trip one of his China tire lost its tread with less than 3k miles. I bought my Foretravel the same year and it came with Samson tires "China" so for 3 yrs I was never comfortable driving it waiting for the China Bomb to go off. Never was so glad enough to see cracking on these 7 yrs tires this year for an excuse to replace them. As a side note my friend got a new tire under warranty but the damage to the trailer was not under warranty, go figure. Two months later he bought 6 new truck tires later just to have confidence.
Steve
Mine came with Samsons and they were great . About 6 yrs old . I bought 6 new /bigger tires of the same style . Happy with them about 5K total at this point.
I looked for any reports of Samson failures and found ZERO .
I have to admit that Chinese car tires usually suck . And that I dont sell any or use any. The 3 trailers gets Nokian heavy car tires.
The main thing I noticed about that tire was the steel belt was not bonded to the inner core or the cap tread for about 20 inches , then it was tight on both sides of the steel belt . Where it was tight , looks like it was heat vulcanized together as a solid layer together . Quality control issue most likely . Brad Metzger
With me I have no confidence with China tires, to many stories of problems even though I had no issue with them for a 7 year old tire. That is the main issue with so called China tires, their quality control of manufacturing and no confidence if you got a good tire or not. The same issue with Japanese electronic's in the 50's and 60's. Once you get branded as "China Tires" the bad Reputation will take sometime to overcome.
FYI, the tire shop show me a 6 Toyo tires (295/75/22.5) that was stamp "Made in China" and the customer refuse them.
Steve
This tire failure happened while sitting in the barn .Looked like the tire just expanded and burst the tread cap . I noticed it when I backed to it to hook up and remove it to make room for a load of cattle . Later , I pulled it "empty" to the dealer , 17 miles and it didn't come further apart , still had 75 pounds of air in it Hmm Brad Metzger
You know Brad. Tires don't last like they used to.
One of my uncles bought a WWII Jeep in the late 40s. He built a plywood cab on it and used it every winter for hunting.
In July,1969, on a blistering hot afternoon, while we were visiting, we had just sat down to supper when we heard this very loud bang. Then another bang. Uncle Butch & I went outside but couldn't see anything. Later, just before dark, when we went to feed his hounds we discovered the two passenger tires on the Willys had exploded! They were on the side where the afternoon sun "cooked" them.
Just goes to show, "they" don't make tires like they used to. Only 22+ years old, and U.S Army surplus. (bet the Army didn't buy Chinese tires) ^.^d
7 year rule? HAH! Back then no one ever heard of such a thing. People would have thought you were nuts or "too rich" if you didn't run your tires until they were bald or wouldn't hold air.