Quote:
Originally Posted by wahoonc
Yes, there is a human factor involved. However when you have an informed consumer and still have issues it runs much deeper than that.
Which is brought on by the RV manufacturer's installing tires that are very marginal. Kost is King.
I commented earlier about the tires on my Coleman. At GVW they are within 95-98% of rated load. That is unacceptable on just about ANY tire. You can't blame that on the consumer. I religiously check my tire pressure before every trip and at every fuel stop. I am fully aware that ST tires have a speed rating of 65 mph. FWIW I typically tow at 60-62 mph that is the sweet spot for our truck. We don't load our trailer to GVW (normally).
Until you upgrade your tires to something much better there are only two scenarios... those that have had blow outs and those that are going to have blow outs.
My plan is to upgrade to 15" rims and a D rated QUALITY tire, it will cost me ~$450 depending on which wheels I get. But then I will have what the manufacturer SHOULD have put on there to begin with.
Aaron
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Aaron, I agee that the maunfactures use marginal tires, I have said that numerous times bare bones minimum with just about everything that goes into a camper.
The people that check their tires religilously are in the minority, take a look when folks pack up to leave a camp site, not many even look at their tires, never mind checking the air. When you stop for fuel how often do you see anyone checking their tires.
I suspect that most of the campers that fly past me on the interstates when I'm cursing in the 60-65 range are riding on their marginal ST tires.
I've never had a "'blowout" in 55 years, flat tires from nails yes, catastrophic failure nope. I was taught a routine way back when I was a pump jockey, check tires everytime you stop.
When we travel the maximum that we drive is 2 hours, then stop to let our dogs have a break. My tires get a looking at 5-6 times a day, the air gets checked with a gauge every morning, I use my "tire hammer" make sure they all have that nice sharp ping. Then I run my hands over the sidewalls to check if there are any cuts, bulges or abrasions.
The one time that I had a tire problem I found it well before there was a problem. It was with a US made Gooryear Marathon on my old Airstream, the sidewall had a bulge. Put the spare on and continued home.
It's too bad that the manufacturers are not held to account for safety to the same degree that the auto makers are.
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