Trailer King Tire Woes

[bgrhrdt]

Originally Posted by Alpine Custom Upgrade

Also to me, my experience has been that if one brand of tire of X capacity fails repeatedly but a different brand of tire with slightly less capacity lasts and lasts with very few failures then the "Tire Industry Standards" don't really mean a whole lot in the real world.

And am I missing something? My Cougar's GVWR is 12,200 lbs. Couldn't I run tires with a load capacity of only 3050lbs?

[sourdough]

Originally Posted by bgrhrdt

And am I missing something? My Cougar's GVWR is 12,200 lbs. Couldn't I run tires with a load capacity of only 3050lbs?

Well, some will tell you can run with less. I say you run with more, JMO. Some will deduct the pin weight from the gvwr and say that is all the tires have to carry; some add 10% for a reserve. IMO the trailer at many times will place more than the entire weight of the trailer on those 4 tires due to heaves, humps, bumps etc. In that instance I want ALL the tires capable of carrying their fair share of that load, not running "light" hoping that the momentary overload doesn't cause a problem. I use the gvwr + at least 10% (preferably 15%) of reserves. An upgraded tire hurts nothing (no they don't tear up the trailer because they're too "rough"), it only gives you more protection. JMO/YMMV

[bgrhrdt]

Originally Posted by sourdough

I use the gvwr + at least 10% (preferably 15%) of reserves. An upgraded tire hurts nothing (no they don't tear up the trailer because they're too "rough"), it only gives you more protection. JMO/YMMV

Thanks. So if I go with a middle-of-the-road 12,200 lbs + 12%, that means my replacement Goodyear Endurance tires that don't explode are adequate - with a load capacity of 3420 lbs.

[sourdough]

IMO!! You would be OK. You have eliminated one of the worst RV tires on the planet. You have upgraded to what appears to be one of the best RV/ST tires. In addition you have opted to buy tires rated for the gvwr + reserves vs the tires "derated" to carry only the partial weight of the trailer minus pin weight. I think you're good. JMO

[CWtheMan]

Okay, it's a tire industry standard. So, let's look at a statement from a popular tire manufacturer. When reading the statement below remember that I can find the same statement from GY or any other major tire builder.

Michelin: "Never choose a tire that is smaller in size or has less load-carrying capacity than the tire that came with the vehicle. Tires should always be replaced with the same size designation — or approved options — as recommended by the vehicle or tire manufacturer. The correct tire size can be found on the door placard of the vehicle or by consulting your local authorized Michelin retailer. Your current tires’ size can be found by reading the markings on the sidewall."



http://co.coopertire.com/Tire-Safety...%20a%20minimum.

https://www.toyotires.com/media/rk1j...res-052521.pdf

[captainbillyw69]

Originally Posted by NH_Bulldog

From a bit different perspective; I had almost 30,000 miles on my Trailer Kings with no issues. They still had decent enough tread but I replaced them due to the date codes getting old (I switched to GY Endurance and they are great).

We replaced lower pressure tires (65 psi max) with 80 psi Trailer King. After two years and about 6,000 miles the tires show minimal normal wear and no separations. Previous tires wore out in just a few thousand miles and it appears our gas mileage has increased by about 1-2 mpg.

[Canoefire]

Originally Posted by NH_Bulldog

From a bit different perspective; I had almost 30,000 miles on my Trailer Kings with no issues. They still had decent enough tread but I replaced them due to the date codes getting old (I switched to GY Endurance and they are great).

I agree I still have Trailer King on my camper and they’ve been holding up well. I’m in my third year. I’ll probably change them this winter just because I don’t think you should go longer than three years on any trailer tire. Obviously you always need to keep track of the tire pressure. With thousands of trailers with these tires on them I’m only hearing about a small percentage that have major problems. However it is a more probable problem with these tires and some others.

[jimd1050]

Originally Posted by jasin1

trailer king tires and oem rv mattresses are made in the the same factory as far as i can tell

[Bill6312]

Good choice! Had Trailer King on my 2018 keystone hideout. Was on my way to get 4 Goodyear Endurance tires but didn't make it. One tire blew, result $10,000 worth damage.
Blew out under belly. thank god for insurance. Will only cost me $250.00. Downside still dont have it back after 2 months.

[bgrhrdt]

Originally Posted by Bill6312

Good choice! Had Trailer King on my 2018 keystone hideout. Was on my way to get 4 Goodyear Endurance tires but didn't make it. One tire blew, result $10,000 worth damage.
Blew out under belly. thank god for insurance. Will only cost me $250.00. Downside still dont have it back after 2 months.

Man that's some bad luck and timing. Sounds like you had some good insurance, and I hope you get it back soon enough to do something fun before you have to winterize it. On a positive note, you covered your deductible with all the money you saved on fuel.

[bgrhrdt]

I ordered a TST 507 4 cap sensor TPMS from Amazon. Hopefully it'll be here Monday.

I was intrigued by the flow-thru sensors especially since I got metal valve stems with my new tires, but went with the caps for a couple of reasons:

1. The flow-thru sensors were over 2" long and my wheel isn't deep enough for them. They'd be sticking way too far out beyond the tire sidewall. The cap sensors are only about an inch long and will end up being flush, or slightly shorter than my sidewalls.

2. I've read a few reviews that indicate that there's too much back pressure on the sensor to use the portable compressor I have (150 psi). But then others say they have had no trouble filling with them at all. Maybe they had a much larger compressor or went to a tire shop or something.

[Folkie]

Originally Posted by bgrhrdt

Back in early 2020, we were returning home to Texas from Quartzsite and I stopped off somewhere in Arizona because I noticed that 3 of the stock Trailer King tires were rounded at the tread, rather than flat tread on the road. The tire shop said I needed to change them out because they had separated and I probably wouldn't make it home. So I immediately replaced them with Goodyear Endurance tires.

Fast forward to today - different Keystone trailer, but again with stock Trailer King tires only 1 1/2 years old. We're leaving Sunday morning for a short trip and I was checking my air pressure. One tire was 5 lbs lower than the others, which was unusual, so I topped it off, and then noticed the tire tread was bulging out and the tire was rounded just like the other set back in 2020.

Luckily I was able to find a Discount Tire near my home who had four Goodyear Endurance tires and I changed them all out. (The spare had already been replaced with a different brand - I'll worry myself about that later).

While I was at it, I had them install metal valve stems so I could keep my options open for a future (soon) TPMS purchase.

This is just FYI if you have Trailer King tires. Believe folks when they say to change them out immediately. They're junk! Shame on Keystone for taking the cheap route with something as important as tires.

I found the same thing when we went to take our camper out of storage this spring. The two TK tires on the passenger side were rounded in the tread area giving them a larger diameter than the driver side. They were approaching their 3rd birthday and we only put about 5,200 miles on them. I am very OCD checking tire pressures and inspecting for road damage and use a TPMS. Never had issues with them loosing pressure and I cover them when we are not using the camper. The tires had a reserve capacity of about 58% above the camper GVWR but were on my "to do" list for replacement this year over my DW objections. After we had to limp home from the storage lot on two bad tires she no longer had any objections and tire replacement went to the top of the list. Went with GY Endurance because the shop is only a couple of blocks away and they had fresh ones in stock. Only regret was we could not find full metal stems anywhere to fit the rims.

[AZtrailer]

Here is a picture showing the difference between a "good" tire and one that has separated internally. We had two of the TK tires do this on our last trip. They were just barely over a year old with ~5200 miles on them. I replaced all five tires with Goodyear Endurance.

[Tireman9]

Originally Posted by bgrhrdt

Back in early 2020, we were returning home to Texas from Quartzsite and I stopped off somewhere in Arizona because I noticed that 3 of the stock Trailer King tires were rounded at the tread, rather than flat tread on the road. The tire shop said I needed to change them out because they had separated and I probably wouldn't make it home. So I immediately replaced them with Goodyear Endurance tires.

Fast forward to today - different Keystone trailer, but again with stock Trailer King tires only 1 1/2 years old. We're leaving Sunday morning for a short trip and I was checking my air pressure. One tire was 5 lbs lower than the others, which was unusual, so I topped it off, and then noticed the tire tread was bulging out and the tire was rounded just like the other set back in 2020.

Luckily I was able to find a Discount Tire near my home who had four Goodyear Endurance tires and I changed them all out. (The spare had already been replaced with a different brand - I'll worry myself about that later).

While I was at it, I had them install metal valve stems so I could keep my options open for a future (soon) TPMS purchase.

This is just FYI if you have Trailer King tires. Believe folks when they say to change them out immediately. They're junk! Shame on Keystone for taking the cheap route with something as important as tires.

Have you filed complaints with NHTSA yet? If we ever want the quality of RV tires to get better we need to hold tire companies and RV companies accountable for their decisions.

[Tireman9]

Originally Posted by bgrhrdt

I ordered a TST 507 4 cap sensor TPMS from Amazon. Hopefully it'll be here Monday.

I was intrigued by the flow-thru sensors especially since I got metal valve stems with my new tires, but went with the caps for a couple of reasons:

1. The flow-thru sensors were over 2" long and my wheel isn't deep enough for them. They'd be sticking way too far out beyond the tire sidewall. The cap sensors are only about an inch long and will end up being flush, or slightly shorter than my sidewalls.

2. I've read a few reviews that indicate that there's too much back pressure on the sensor to use the portable compressor I have (150 psi). But then others say they have had no trouble filling with them at all. Maybe they had a much larger compressor or went to a tire shop or something.

As a tire engineer who has worked with TPMS since 2002 I have never seen a problem with "back pressure" with a TPMS. If you read the literature you will see that most TPM sensors are good for over 135 psi

[Tireman9]

Originally Posted by Bill6312

Good choice! Had Trailer King on my 2018 keystone hideout. Was on my way to get 4 Goodyear Endurance tires but didn't make it. One tire blew, result $10,000 worth damage.
Blew out under belly. thank god for insurance. Will only cost me $250.00. Downside still dont have it back after 2 months.

What was the reading on your TPMS when you had the failure? Have you been doing an annual "Free Spin" tire inspection annually?
Did you file a complaint on the failure with NHTSA?

[bgrhrdt]

Originally Posted by Tireman9

Have you filed complaints with NHTSA yet? If we ever want the quality of RV tires to get better we need to hold tire companies and RV companies accountable for their decisions.

I filed complaints about both incidents today. Thanks for prompting me to do that.

[Folkie]

Originally Posted by Tireman9

Have you filed complaints with NHTSA yet? If we ever want the quality of RV tires to get better we need to hold tire companies and RV companies accountable for their decisions.

NHTSA complaint submitted today for my issue. Thanks for the suggestion.

[BookPaul74]

I replaced the original TK with the same ones. The two Goodyear tires the previous owner had put on were worn out. I had two reasons for doing it. The other three tires were the original ones and were 5 years older than the Goodyear’s.

Now I have gone through a total of 9 tires since January of 2021. One was replaced because it blew out last spring on the way north in Las Vegas, NM. The first 5 replaced the original tires on the trailer when I purchased it. The other 3 were replaced because of scrubbing from the bent axle and now that the axle has been replaced and the bearings have been properly cleaned and greased and the current TK appear to be wearing correctly I’ll put on a high quality 14 ply tire. I’ll still use the current wheels because they are more than the rated weight.

And I’m currently setting in a RV site and probably won’t be moving much the next two years, I have time.

[stevencina]

Have 2020 cougar 30rls, Had trailer King tires with about 1000 miles, was going to replace them but had to make a 200 mile trip. I had 3 complete blowouts within 100 miles. Destroyed both fenders and propane gas line, I had to buy 2 tires just to finish the trip. I went to first Discount Tire and bought 5 and replaced all of them with Endurance which are probably the best on the market. Just completed a 9000 mile trip and never had to add air to them, I also use tire monitors. If you have tire king drive at your own risk.