towmaster tires

[outbackmac]

Anyone here have experience with towmaster tires by Powerking?

[Jim W]

I believe they are Chinese made tires. I had them on my Ameri-Camp, 5er that was traded in on the 318SAB Cougar. When I traded the camper in 3 of the tires were at least four years old, one was two years old. The tire that it replaced was damaged and could not be fixed, the tire had a nail in the side wall.

All of the tires were checking and one had a slight bulge in the side wall. The tires were covered when in storage and sat on boards. To me they would only last three or four years at the most.

On another note I am replacing my tires on my current 5er with either Michelin XP ribs or Goodyear LT285X75X16R tires from Southwest Wheels.
https://www.southwestwheel.com/store/c-45-15-assembly.aspx
Jim W.

[Outbackmel]

I have a new 2011 36ft Outback, front bunk house. Made several trips of 350 to 450 miles a day pounding the highway at 65mph all day in 90 degree plus heat and not any issue at all. Mine are 16" radial. Like ALL tires, they are your lifeline when traveling. Before any major trip, I ensure they are snugged right; PSI at recommended max and check for any cracks or bulges. I keep them covered when on site for any extended period of time.

There is plenty of info available on the web to either make you comfortable or encourage a change.

Good luck...be safe. I am OK with my Towmaster radials. (At least until I am ready to make a change). I am counting on them taking my family 3700 miles round trip in January, returning in April. Check with me then. Maybe I'll have a different opinion...hope not...;)

[outbackmac]

I also have a 5th wheel outback purchased in sept 2010 and it seems they are starting to wear unevenly. problem is no powerking dealer near me in cincinati ohio.

[Outbackmel]

I contacted Greenball Mfg customer service a few minutes ago. EZ to find via "ASK.com". They distribute Towmaster tires to Keystone and many other end users. Their relationship with Towmaster extends 35 years. They have few complaints of blowouts etc.

Tires are manufactured in China or Indonesia. Label on tires states where. I am sure it's a code.

Here is a quote I just took from a web site.

What is the consensus on these tires? greenball tires
I've run Greenball Transmaster and Towmaster tires on my triple axle flatbed for 10 years and had no problems.

I believe there is some subjectivity in all applications of tire usage. Each person has to make their assessment. I had uneven wear on plenty of SUV's; PU trucks; and motorcycle haulers. 99% of my issues were NOT tires, rather, the alignment features or restrictions. It's natural for us as end users to immediately look at the tire. With RV tires, perhaps more rotation is required than we are accustomed to. As a result of the comment from Outbackmac; I am going to do some more research and do what I can to avoid the dreaded wear pattern. ONE thing I JUST DID, was adjust my fifth wheel for a perfectly even pull. I had a slight dip at the hitch and an RV center told me how to fix the issue. Soooo, I did it. The forward weight would eventually cause uneven wear.

Answer is: do what you need to do to make your situation the best possible result for you.

Safe travels."bouncey:

[pjhansman]

I have 16" Towmasters on my Laredo....unfortunately made in China but that's what came with the 5ver.

Put more than 6k miles on them this year, typically running between 55 and 60 mph. Checked them every time I stopped. No issues so far and very even wear.

I suspect they'll stay on for at least one more season, at which time they'll be part of the negotiations when I play "lets make a deal" for new tires on both my truck and 5ver.

[raytronx]

I have 15" Towmasters on my Cougar pushing 10000 miles with no problems. Tread wear is even, they tow nice and hold air well. Some of the roads I've hit have been pretty bad, cracks and potholes. Having never heard of the brand I have watched them like a hawk but have been pleasantly surprised so far.

[Johnnyfry]

Crawl under your 5er and take a close look at the suspension, then do the same for your tow vehicle and I think that you will come to the same conclusion that I did, trailer suspension looks positively weak in comparison, yet it probably carries a heavier load.

That said, how often do we have our trailer alignment checked? Do dealers even do it? We all know how alignment affects our car and truck tire wear and get that checked on a regular basis, so how about the trailer?

I would like to hear some feedback from the group on this. Do you get it checked at all? Where, at a tire place?, the dealer?

John

[f6bits]

15 and 16 inch wheels? My Passport 2590 has 14s. Is there a problem with upping it to 15s? Overall tire diameter looks to increase by an inch.

[Festus2]

Yes, I usually crawl underneath periodically to check the suspension and; at the same time, examine the tires for uneven wear. As a result, I did take it in to a shop that specializes in suspensions and axle alignment to have these looked at. Had some work done and the bolts, hangers, etc., were all replaced with studier components. The plastic bushings that were on there can only be described as junk.
I would doubt very much whether any RV dealer would bother to inspect the suspensions of the units sitting in their lot --- no more than a car or truck dealership would. Some or most probably know that the suspension components are flimsy but why would they bother to look and replace them? Buyer beware.

[Jmac]

I have had a 2003 Keystone Sprinter 29 RL. When we came home from a 500 mile trip, I thought I would inspect and lube the springs and bolts, upon inspection I noticed a spring eye sitting up against the trailer frame, the spring bolt broke out of the shakles, I had noticed the trailer towed a little harder than normal and the transmissiion temp was slightly higher. I went to our local trailer dealer, purchased new equalizers, shakles, bolts, bushings and replaced. Now all is well, towes straight and easy. I also have the Towmaster tires that are recomended by Less Schwab, so far they run fairly cool to the touch and are about the same.

So a word of caution: Just looking at the bolts covering the shakles does not tell the truth about shakle and bolt wear, removing the nut shows all.

Blessings.

[smiller]

I think you mean Power King Towmax tires, nor Towmaster(?) If so there is a lot of chat about them on the forum, do a search for more info and there's a lot of it. From what I've read they are not the worst of the bunch, but there are several reports of failures. What I did personally with mine is use up the first good year of life and then replaced them with a better brand (Maxxis M8008 in my case), because once you've experienced a blowout you don't take any chances (although I did not experience any failures with my set of Power King tires, other than some odd wear patterns.) I will note that when comparing the Power King and Maxxis tires off the rim the Maxxis were quite notably better built, especially in the sidewall area. I can't really say what this translates into in terms of reliability but FWIW I consider the money well spent. Again, the world looks different after you've had a blowout and the resultant damage to the rig. Many on the forum swear by either the Maxxis M8008 10-ply or the Michelin XPS ribs as the only tires they will use and from my experience this makes sense, but as always YMMV.

[KenBob]

Were the suspension parts OE on your 03? If so, and you use the rig regularly, you were on borrowed time. I replaced the bushings on our fuzion with 1000 miles on it with wet bolts and bronze bushings and cushioned equalizers. Several of the plastic bushings were well on the way to being bad in that short of time.

I wonder how many RVs are running with worn suspension parts? I think that worn bushings, equalizers, shackles are not as dangerous as some may think. BUT, the worn parts have everything to do with how the RV tracks, the tire wear, and the stability of the rv in abnormal conditions. Not to mention the rest of the RV and possibly the TV has to absorb what the worn suspension can't anymore. More wear and tear. Out of sight, out of mind.

Everyone likes to add special stuff and modify things to their RVs to make life more comfortable. We are the same. I would rather improve what the manufacturer won't at the factory BEFORE any problems occur from known problem areas. Better tires, better suspension. Then do the creature comfort stuff. JMHO.