China Bombed!!

[Watt]

One week into a two month trip to the Pacific Northwest, we lost two, count'em 2, towmax tires in the same day enroute to Salt Lake City from Durango. Extensive damage to trailer skirting, flooring and electrical. Trailer will be towed for insurance inspection, etc. on Monday, currently in a hotel in Salt Lake w/DW and two kids; but all are safe and sound. Any suggestions on what to expect? When is a fifth wheel considered total?

[gearhead]

You are a long way from home. That would make me sick. What do you think killed the tires? You contact PowerKing?

[bobbecky]

So much for thinking these work OK for the lighter rigs. You should have been a long way from maxing out these tires. As new as your rig is, probably not totaled, just a shame you had this happen. Good luck with insurance and the tire company. Hope you're not going to replace these tires with the same.

[Ken / Claudia]

No details about the the failures but, remember when one goes the other is over loaded and driven that way for how long? and holding x2 times the wt. until jacked up.

[Brantlaker]

I just got my 5er back. The right front tire blew out at 60 MPH and when't through the floor destroyed the cabinet, 110v wires, 12v wires, water lines, and drain pipes +out side steps, wheel trim,and the outside of the RV total my Insurance Co. paid $12,154.85 less my $100.00 Deductible. 5 weeks in the shop.Progressive Insurance wrote the check after conferring with the dealer 3 days after it happened. Sorry that it happened and good luck.
All 5 tires have been replaced with MAXXIS M8008 tires.

[Watt]

Thanks for the info Brantlaker. What you described is similar to us. I checked the air pressure on all tires that morning before we left Durango. We have a TPMS which did not indicate any pressure or temp issues. With no noticeable warning the tread separated on the right rear tire. Changed to the spare and and continued to a truck stop. As we got to the TS the right front blew. Damage to all of the fender skirting with a hole in the floor under the refrigerator and stove. The wife opened the door and found particle board debris throughout the living area. Several lose wires are visibly damaged, but no water/propane leaks. Trailer will be towed to RV dealer on Monday for insurance inspection.

[SkiSmuggs]

I just got my 5er back. The right front tire blew out at 60 MPH and when't through the floor destroyed the cabinet, 110v wires, 12v wires, water lines, and drain pipes +out side steps, wheel trim,and the outside of the RV total my Insurance Co. paid $12,154.85 less my $100.00 Deductible. 5 weeks in the shop.Progressive Insurance wrote the check after conferring with the dealer 3 days after it happened. Sorry that it happened and good luck.
All 5 tires have been replaced with MAXXIS M8008 tires.

I replaced all my TowMax LR-D with the Maxxis M8008 LR-E BEFORE my 6000 mile trip last June and had no problems even with 105 temps. I ran the tires at 70 psi which gave them more load capacity without approaching the 80 psi rating of the wheels.

[bobbecky]

SkiSmuggs, you will have much better service from those tires if you run them at 80 psi cold. The wheels are rated 80psi cold as are the tires, and are designed to handle the heat and resultant increase in pressure that running them causes. By running them at only 70 psi, you are losing the weight capacity they are capable of when running at 80 psi, and they will also run hotter at the lower pressure, which will prematurely age your tires.

[SkiSmuggs]

SkiSmuggs, you will have much better service from those tires if you run them at 80 psi cold. The wheels are rated 80psi cold as are the tires, and are designed to handle the heat and resultant increase in pressure that running them causes. By running them at only 70 psi, you are losing the weight capacity they are capable of when running at 80 psi, and they will also run hotter at the lower pressure, which will prematurely age your tires.
Thanks for the heads up! :)

[CWtheMan]

Here is a reference with TowMax warranty and road-side service info.

If your destroyed tires show signs of melted polyester cording you may have a warranty battle on your hands with TowMax.

http://towmaxtires.com/tires/Landing.aspx?application=warranty


CW

[fred1609]

how does the warranty issue work......would you make the claim thru your insurance company who then would take on Towmax? That would take you out of the mix other than being a witness for the insurance company. Anybody done the claim this way......especially when there is thousands of dollars in related damage.......Well either way I have told DW that we are upgrading our 5 year old tires too Maxxis tires.

[Brantlaker]

My Insurance co. tried to get the tire Mfg. to pay for the repairs and were turned down saying that I was going to fast, wrong pressure in the tire and the thing that pissed me off the most was that the 5er was overloaded. Just befor I left it at the shop for repair I had it weighed at a truck stop across the street the DW thought I was crazy. The ticket said 10,525lb thats 1,500lb less than trailer Max.

[fred1609]

I think its the corporate strategy to get out of paying claims. Stunning that keystone still mounts these tires on new rigs. I didn't know as much when I bought my rig as I do now and that's mostly due to gleaming info from forums like this. The next rig will not have Chinese bombs on it. They can take them off, give me a credit for them and mount Maxxis tires on. Or no sale.

[Watt]

Thanks for the info everyone. Got the trailer to a RV repair shop today. Insurance adjuster inspected the trailer this afternoon, should receive the results in a couple days. Regardless, will be replacing all of the tires, probably w/Goodyear 614s, maxxis does not have a dealer in Utah.

Trailer will probably not be considered totaled; shop mgr said he has rarely seen one considered totaled.

So, we've adjusted our vacation from RV camping to road trip w/hotels and campsite cabins. We look like the Clampets; plastic storage bins in the truck bed and bicycles on the roof of a 1 ton truck! Contacted several KOAs who were very helpful in changing our reservations. Leave tomorrow heading toward Seattle area.

Will update as I hear from adjuster.

[fred1609]

At the end of the day no one was injured...so that's one good thing in this story...

[Brantlaker]

You could order the tires from Discount Tires on line and have them shipped to the Dealer.
http://www.discounttiredirect.com
or there are 6 MAXXIS tire dealers in Salt Lake City, UT and they can order them for you. That's what I did. You Have the time it will take at least 4-5 weeks to get the RV repaired as Keystone is slow to ship parts.

[SkiSmuggs]

Thanks for the info everyone. Got the trailer to a RV repair shop today. Insurance adjuster inspected the trailer this afternoon, should receive the results in a couple days. Regardless, will be replacing all of the tires, probably w/Goodyear 614s, maxxis does not have a dealer in Utah.

Will update as I hear from adjuster.

Ordered my Maxxis tires from Amazon. Checked mfg date when they arrived and they were made just weeks prior. You could have them shipped to the dealer.

[Jim & DJ]

Maxxis dealer;
Jack's Tire & Oil, Salt Lake City and they have been around for years. 866-804-8473
Good Luck






A bit of our history:
DW from Florida
DH from So. Cal.
"Michelin LT XPS"
68 Harley FLH in a basket so to speak
2004 R-Vision Trail-lite (gone)
2007 Mountaineer TT 1st new one(gone)
2009 Montana F3465SA (The Best ever)
2007 F-350 4 X 4 6.0 D
2012 Shih Tzu (The boss)

[thewhitehat]

It is experiences such as these that scared me into springing for the Maxxis tires to replace the TowMax tires after I'd only put about 1500 miles on them. I know that anyone can have a blowout with damage with just about any tire, but I've heard enough of these Towmax stories and it happens often enough that I would recommend getting them replaced immediately with the favorite tire of your choice before something bad happens.

In fact, if I were buying a trailer today, I'd have that as a point of discussion when negotiating the price.

[Povo]

I have to say, this is why I love this forum! Tire pressure hasn't been high on my checklist. (I am currently designing a thorough checklist with everything from bring from storage, at home, leaving home, setting up, breaking down, back home, back at storage - I know, I'm a bit anal about this - hopefully it will save me some grief down the road - sorry for the pun). So, tire pressure, now has moved up on my list on my "at home" checklist. I have learned a lot from this forum. Thanks!! (My signature will be updated next week with our new 327RES picture)

[Watt]

Update on our situation: Got the trailer to the shop on June 23rd, insurance approved the estimate from the shop with damages totaling $6,200 less $100 deductible. Damage was less than we expected, but still included hot water heater, furnace, electrical, flooring and skirting.

So, six weeks later the repairs are done, including new tires all around. Tried to argue with the insurance company, but all they would allow were reimbursement for the two damaged tires. Doesn't make sense to me as I'm sure the other tires would go when we pull it back to Texas, incurring more damage. Contacted Towmax, but frankly don't plan on arguing with them!

Lessons Learned:
1. Practice changing a tire when you purchase your new trailer. It will make it easier when you're on the side of the highway with an upset wife, kids, dog, etc all offering advice.
2. Have a quality bottle jack. Our Trailer Aid was great to change the 1st tire, but would not raise the trailer high enough to install a 2nd spare we borrowed from the rv shop. Fortunately, we were at a Flying J that had a tire shop that loaned us a jack at no charge.
3. When purchasing a trailer negotiate with the dealer or purchase the best tires you can get. Don't settle for what's on the trailer without doing the research to be comfortable.
4. Learn from these bulletin boards; the advice you get is invaluable. I should have replaced the tires before the trip, but thought I could make it and change them after I got back. The had about 6,000 miles on them, but were 2 years old.

We finished the trip in KOA camping cabins and had a great time! Thanks to everyone that provided advice and suggestions.

[bsmith0404]

I found this statement about air pressure in the towmax warranty info very interesting.

Never over inflate your tire & never exceed the maximum pressure & load molded in the tire
sidewall & only inflate tire to maximum pressure when your tires are carrying the maximum load

And this one from the maintenance section: The maximum pressure allowed for a tire is embossed on the side wall. That's the maximum pressure when the tire is cold. It's okay for it to be over that by as much as 10 psi if tire pressure is checked while hot. However, always check air pressure when tires are cold for accurate reading. The proper pressure for your RV tire may not be the maximum tire pressure. The right pressure is determined by the weight carried by each tire on the RV and the pressure recommend by the tire manufacture for that weight.
I scanned through everything on their website and they only list the load rating at max psi. Tried to find their (tire manufacturer) recommended inflation pressures, but couldn't find anything on their website. Interesting that they recommend less than max psi for less than max loads, but DO NOT provide any guidance on what pressures should be used for lighter loads. I know other sites have this type of information, but if Towmax is going to recommend it, shouldn't they also recommend what pressures to use? I also found it interesting that they state it's OKAY to be over by as much as 10 psi while hot. I have noticed my tire pressures rise as much as 14 psi when hot. My TPMS recommend limits of 20%, which is 16 psi, before the warning alarm. After reading through the info on their website, it almost appears that they are stating the tires are ticking bombs. Any warranty claim with them would be time wasted.

[thewhitehat]

After reading through the info on their website, it almost appears that they are stating the tires are ticking bombs. Any warranty claim with them would be time wasted.


Yep, take those suckers off and put some decent tires on before somethin' bad happens! That's what I did.

[gearhead]

I just spent $1000 at Discount Tire today for 4 Maxxis tires. Trailer is 4 weeks old and went on one short shakedown cruise. I kept one blow max for spare.
I have them for sale for $70 each on my fishing forum. I wouldn't sell them to anyone on here.

[BobnLee]

Just got back from Cape Charles Va. just over 1800 miles total. Put the Maxxis on last year and sure glad I did. There is enough to worry about without the pressure of bad tires. I have yet to hear one bad comment about these tires. One would almost think there must be a lot of Maxxis tire salespeople on the forum.

[gearhead]

Same issues on fishing forums regarding boat trailer tires.
http://2coolfishing.com/ttmbforum/showthread.php?t=1099545

[CWtheMan]

I found this statement about air pressure in the towmax warranty info very interesting.

Never over inflate your tire & never exceed the maximum pressure & load molded in the tire
sidewall & only inflate tire to maximum pressure when your tires are carrying the maximum load

And this one from the maintenance section: The maximum pressure allowed for a tire is embossed on the side wall. That's the maximum pressure when the tire is cold. It's okay for it to be over that by as much as 10 psi if tire pressure is checked while hot. However, always check air pressure when tires are cold for accurate reading. The proper pressure for your RV tire may not be the maximum tire pressure. The right pressure is determined by the weight carried by each tire on the RV and the pressure recommend by the tire manufacture for that weight.
I scanned through everything on their website and they only list the load rating at max psi. Tried to find their (tire manufacturer) recommended inflation pressures, but couldn't find anything on their website. Interesting that they recommend less than max psi for less than max loads, but DO NOT provide any guidance on what pressures should be used for lighter loads. I know other sites have this type of information, but if Towmax is going to recommend it, shouldn't they also recommend what pressures to use? I also found it interesting that they state it's OKAY to be over by as much as 10 psi while hot. I have noticed my tire pressures rise as much as 14 psi when hot. My TPMS recommend limits of 20%, which is 16 psi, before the warning alarm. After reading through the info on their website, it almost appears that they are stating the tires are ticking bombs. Any warranty claim with them would be time wasted.

I can explain a little about what is said in the warranty information but it’s complicated.

The writer of the warranty got just as confused as the statements made in the warranty.

Tire manufacturers cannot step on the toes of vehicle manufacturers. Therefore the statements made in the warrant about load and pressures must coincide with whatever the vehicle manufacturer has recommended. The vehicle manufacturer’s recommendations are found in the vehicle owner’s manual, vehicle certification label and/or tire placard.

NHTSA regulations and tire industry standards do not recommend using less load capacity than what has been recommended by the manufacturer. Higher air pressures YES, lower air pressures NO.

The regulations for tire fitments are Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards. They are written primarily for the vehicle manufacturers use and only describe minimum standards. They are often quoted out of context. The regulations only give the trailer builder the process of selection.

BA