Foretravel Owners' Forum For owners and Fans of Foretravel Motorcoaches September 06, 2025 ...

Re: When is Minor Tire Damage Too Much?

Reply #25 – November 18, 2016, 10:03:58 pm

Why can't people on this forum accept that new doesn't equal better? My experience throughout my lifetime consistently demonstrates the exact opposite is true. New usually means noticeably lower quality and lower manufacturing cost. Both of the tires that nearly failed were brand new. Buying new tires guarantees nothing. I've had as many new tires fail within the first few months as I've had worn out tires fail over the years. If there's a manufacturing defect, often due to cost cutting, it'll show up very soon. If the tire is of top quality it'll probably never give any trouble so you should stick with it until it's worn out. This is what my considerable experience with tire failures has taught me over the years. What I didn't tell you is the tire on the other side of the trailer is apparently the same manufacturer, is a year older, and has several thousand more miles on it, but it doesn't seem to have a manufacturing defect in it so it's still doing just fine. The original Chinese cheapo tire's mate is still doing fine and acted as the spare tire to get me through the Zion tunnels. Old equals proven reliability when it comes to tires, within reason of course. If the tire is rotten and / or weather cracked you should definitely get rid of it. I'm far safer on my proven tires that are supposedly "timed out" than I would be on unproven new tires that may have manufacturing defects that I won't know about for a few thousand miles. Definitely get out and check your tires no matter how new / old they are and don't rely on TPMS. This is the only way to catch tire problems before they happen.

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Re: When is Minor Tire Damage Too Much?

Reply #26 – November 18, 2016, 10:28:49 pm

What size tire did you have that failed, and what brand was it? If a similar passenger or light truck size is available, I never buy "trailer" tires. I always get the car tire. Of course this doesnt work for tiny 8-10" wheels, but all of my trailers are car sizes or larger.

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Re: When is Minor Tire Damage Too Much?

Reply #27 – November 18, 2016, 11:03:35 pm

Sad but true, manufacturer's are in such a rush to bring a new product to the marketplace. due diligence is out the window, let alone $$$$$$$ real world testing. We are (consumers) the beta testers (mini rant). As an experienced prototype engineer I am too old school I guess.

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Re: When is Minor Tire Damage Too Much?

Reply #28 – November 20, 2016, 08:14:08 pm

They're 12" trailer tires, and I tried to get 12" car tires to fit after I lost the first trailer tire. I'll try again. I probably have to modify the fenders a little. I'll still have issues with the bearings and seals even after I get the tire issues fixed. I neglected to mention that I had to replace the axle already because of the bearing and seal issue which won't go away no matter how many times I replace them. Such terrible quality today... (sigh)

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Re: When is Minor Tire Damage Too Much?

Reply #29 – November 21, 2016, 06:27:11 am

Are you sure you're under the trailer's GVW?

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Re: When is Minor Tire Damage Too Much?

Reply #30 – November 21, 2016, 09:48:58 am

Scott, if you are using the 480/12 and have the fender room switch to 530/12 it will slow down the rpm's. I have a boat trailer that I have had to change the axle on also because of the fast spinning wheels burning the bearings up. The new axle is drilled with the zirk fitting hole in the end and greases from the inside out. Still at 60 mph 12 in. wheels are spinning too fast for longevity if loaded to max trailer weight.

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Re: When is Minor Tire Damage Too Much?

Reply #31 – November 28, 2016, 09:10:14 am

I hated the bias ply tires on my tow dollies - ran too hot and wore oddly. Always moved to Goodyear radial trailer tires and never had an issue.

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Re: When is Minor Tire Damage Too Much?

Reply #32 – November 28, 2016, 09:35:19 am

The 90s geo metros used 12" tires. Give them a shot and see how they fit.

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Re: When is Minor Tire Damage Too Much?

Reply #33 – November 28, 2016, 10:44:53 am

"trailer tires" in my experience have been junk. Regardless of where they are made. Chinapops are the worst. I have a long goosneck (25.5k rating) with 8 tires and on the first trip hauling a load (not even full load) I had 1 tire blow out, and 3 more were ready to go, and a few others were radials turned into bias blow and looked like a baloon (not flat tread like a radial).

I put car tires on small trailers and LT's on bigger trailers. I don't care what anybody says about "not stiff enough sidewall"...blah blah blah. Trailer tires are junk...run car/truck tires.

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Re: When is Minor Tire Damage Too Much?

Reply #34 – December 04, 2016, 09:56:01 pm

I didn't mean to hijack this thread into a trailer tire discussion. My only point was that tire age doesn't really determine safety. I could have used brand new car tires as my example but brand new trailer tire failures have been on my mind a lot lately unfortunately. I've never lost a tire on my coach even though they're over ten years old so I have no examples to use... I do need to rotate the front tires to the back. With over 50,000 miles they're starting to cup on the outside edges from fighting crosswinds and road crown. The rears are worn evenly across the tread. I probably won't have to rotate the tires again before they're worn out. I put a lot of miles on for an RVer.

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