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Old 09-02-2015, 05:25 AM   #1
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Tires from the old days

Just is just something I wanted to mention. I have a 1986 Zieman Jet Ski trailer and although I don't tow it around it still has the original tires on it. They don't have anything written on the side walls so I have no idea where they came from. All I know is they are 30 years old and still in existence. Seems like the trailer tires I buy lately explode just sitting still out in the Arizona sun. They seem to last 3 to 5 years maximum.

I also have a 1955 Willys Station wagon and I don't drive it either. The tires on it are recaps from about 1990 or 1991. Still there. It's amazing.
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Old 09-02-2015, 09:39 AM   #2
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Not talking to the Chinese tires....but I believe many other items are engineered to fail. There is no money to be made if you make it and it lasts forever...we are currently dealing with this in the Navy. We have aircraft that we only planned on flying for 6000 hours, so they were engineered to not last one hour longer...this saved us weight and costs. Now we are wanting to fly these planes for another 3000 hours to fill the gap to the next generation fighter and now we are spending some cash trying to re-engineer these parts to extend aircraft life.

Now, the Chinese junk is just that...junk...

Cale
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Old 09-02-2015, 10:25 AM   #3
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Originally Posted by calewjohnson View Post
Not talking to the Chinese tires....but I believe many other items are engineered to fail. There is no money to be made if you make it and it lasts forever...we are currently dealing with this in the Navy. We have aircraft that we only planned on flying for 6000 hours, so they were engineered to not last one hour longer...this saved us weight and costs. Now we are wanting to fly these planes for another 3000 hours to fill the gap to the next generation fighter and now we are spending some cash trying to re-engineer these parts to extend aircraft life.

Now, the Chinese junk is just that...junk...

Cale
I had a Great Uncle that was a reliability engineer by trade. He worked for Hamilton Beach manufacturing in Wisconsin. We were up visiting them one summer and the battery in our old Dodge van crapped out. It was about 45 days past the warranty by date of manufacture. Uncle Victor paid the core charge so he could keep the battery and take it apart to see why it failed. He was like a little kid on Christmas morning.

I think with the improvements in computer modeling and materials engineering they now have the ability to engineer things much closer to a given life cycle. Which can be a good thing or a bad thing.

I do agree that some stuff is just pure junk, unfortunately when price is the primary requirement everything else goes out the window.

I have done a fair bit of reading on trailer tires. There are very few requirements for them as compared to truck tires and passenger car tires. YOU have to do your due diligence and get what is going to work for you. There is a reason that Maxxis tires cost 2-3 times what a set of Westlakes do.

Should the RV manufacturers be held accountable? I think so, but there is no mechanism in place to really hold their feet to the fire other than refusal to purchase something that doesn't serve your needs or requirements.

A few years back someone tried to file a lawsuit against one of the big RV companies under the truth in advertising laws, it got no traction. Seems that every time someone tries to file a class action suit against the RV companies it never goes anywhere. It also appears to me that when a company goes bad, the major players just move on and start up another company under a different name, or sell off to one of the behemoths. If you look at the management names and their job histories in the RV industry it is obvious that there is a lot of "inbreeding" going on. Every now and again someone new will come along, they will start something up, then it gets sold off or goes a way. The companies are all profit driven. While that in itself it not an issue, it becomes and issue when profits take place over everything else.

The company I work for has gotten too large and we have issues. We used to make a much better overall profit margin when we were smaller. Now we struggle sometimes with quality. Finding good, dedicated and well trained workers is almost impossible. Our overall work force is aging and the younger workers that want to actually work is a dwindling pool.

Ok... I will put the soap box away now...

Aaron
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Old 09-02-2015, 11:27 AM   #4
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Aaron,

I agree on all accounts. I would also say that wrt tires, RV manufacturers cannot be held responsible (I in no way am standing up for them), the numbers on the tires of all the trailers I have owned are within the trailer's weight carrying requirements. The RV manufacturer is just putting on the tires that gives them the most bang for their buck (no pun intended).

If anything, I think the NHTSA should be setting a standard and enforcing it. Arguably, until there are enough accidents where someone is hurt/killed, things will likely stay the status quo...I believe that trailers over 10k GVWR are suppose to be regulated by DOT...i believe I saw that on another forum...I have never verified, but maybe this will give me something to do in my spare time.

I wonder where this effort went? https://natmtrailers.wordpress.com/2...e-regulations/

Cale

On edit...as I thought about the 10k number, it makes sense that there is something special about that weight...CA requires a non CDL for pulling RVs over 10k GVWR...
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Old 09-02-2015, 11:29 AM   #5
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On a side note, if a state requires a special license, like a non CDL Class A (like CA), then the tires should be required to fall into legitimate requirements set forth for safe operations and handling...

Cale
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Old 09-02-2015, 12:33 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by calewjohnson View Post
Aaron,

I agree on all accounts. I would also say that wrt tires, RV manufacturers cannot be held responsible (I in no way am standing up for them), the numbers on the tires of all the trailers I have owned are within the trailer's weight carrying requirements. The RV manufacturer is just putting on the tires that gives them the most bang for their buck (no pun intended).

If anything, I think the NHTSA should be setting a standard and enforcing it. Arguably, until there are enough accidents where someone is hurt/killed, things will likely stay the status quo...I believe that trailers over 10k GVWR are suppose to be regulated by DOT...i believe I saw that on another forum...I have never verified, but maybe this will give me something to do in my spare time.

I wonder where this effort went? https://natmtrailers.wordpress.com/2...e-regulations/

Cale

On edit...as I thought about the 10k number, it makes sense that there is something special about that weight...CA requires a non CDL for pulling RVs over 10k GVWR...
On the de-regulation of trailer tire testing, I believe it went through. My Coleman has a 3800# GVW rating with a 3500# rated axle. It came with Westlake tires on it. They are rated for 3520# per pair. That is cutting it pretty close IMHO. Especially when you factor in that the weight rating on a tire is for a brand new tire at maximum listed inflation. Once the tire starts aging it's ability to carry weight is reduced. Higher than normal operating temperatures, low pressure and uneven wear will also cause the tire to lose carrying capacity. FWIW when I buy new tires I am going up a tire size to get a heavier ply rating, I will gain about 200# of capacity. That is a reasonable cushion IMHO. If I wanted to go higher I would need to upgrade to 15" rims... or buy a new trailer with dual axles.

I think a huge problem is that people don't educate themselves as to what they are getting into, they "assume" that the manufacturers, dealers and the government have their back. I have learned otherwise. So when the excrement impacts the rotary oscillator they are looking for someone to push it back onto, which is why we have such a litigious society today. Not to mention that he RV industry is basically self regulating through the auspices of the RVIA. I have seen a lot of things done in trailers that should have never left the factory, but QC is the last place they are going to spend money.

Aaron
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