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Old 06-20-2022, 04:46 AM   #1
Rocketsled
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Cheap tires claim another sideskirt

Form your opinions, make your judgements, I woulda-coulda-shoulda heeded your warnings, and very nearly paid for it with my life.

Two years ago, we were caught with tires rapidly disassembling themselves in the Colorado High country. The only shop in town with tires had a set of power king towmax tires. I wasn't happy with the situation, but they were fresh, they had them, and we wouldn't have made it home without them.

Being a cheap bastard I figured 'hey, they're fresh, I can get a season or two out of them.
  1. I kept them covered in winter
  2. I kept a TPS on them and watched them like a hawk
  3. A couple of weeks ago, I noticed one was 5 PSI down, topped it up. (This should have been the warning I heeded)
  4. Last week, the tire dropped 15 psi after sitting a week. (I wrote it off as not tightening the TPS when I filled the tire)
  5. I filled it and the spare the night before the trip, I was prepared to hold off on the drive if anything was off. Within the precision of the tool, the tire held air overnight

Temperatures were fine, pressures were even and fine, and there was NO warning when the bomb went off.

We set up the cones, grabbed the tire ramp to jack the other tire up, and got to work swapping it out. Wife was watching down-road for traffic and keeping me notified.

What neither of us had accounted for was cars coming the other way, passing the cars in their lane. I got up to hear my wife shout something just as an Excursion blew past me, with my back turned to it, and it had to have been going 80.

And I realized I wouldn't have even felt it, I would have been dead, instantly, had I stumbled, or he'd have been a foot - maybe two, closer. Leaving my wife 450 miles from home with a flat tire and a dead husband on Father's Day.


So: China bombs suck, but look both ways if you're on the side of the road for any reason.
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Old 06-20-2022, 05:29 AM   #2
bsmith0404
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Yes China bombs suck and there definitely is no shortage of idiots on the roads these days.
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Old 06-20-2022, 05:51 AM   #3
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After your post I remember your dilemma back then. No judging here as one is stuck with what's available but this is another exclamation point on buying "those kind" of tires.

Thankfully nothing happened to you. I will say I had a flat on my TV pulling the RV several weeks back on the side of an interstate highway. There is no such thing as slowing down, giving a wider berth or anything else anymore and yep, they go past you 2' away at 80+ without a thought. Like you said, you can't afford to stumble, misstep or anything else (and at my age that's very possible anymore). If you get close to that white stripe your a goner. Glad you and the missus made it back in one piece and BTW.....when you have that fender fixed put on some GOOD tires!!
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Old 06-20-2022, 06:09 AM   #4
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Glad you're still here

They simply dont care anymore

I hat honked and flashed Fri night after work PA rt 283. Truck at side rubber everywhere for the last couple miles I hit the hammer lane doing 70 that's when the honking and flashing started ( I'm assuming I should have killed a man rather than make that guy disengage the cruise )
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Old 06-20-2022, 06:11 AM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sourdough View Post
Like you said, you can't afford to stumble, misstep or anything else (and at my age that's very possible anymore).
Likewise, I’m not near as steady on my feet as I once was.

Got 5 Goodyear Endurance being installed as we speak.
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Old 06-20-2022, 10:19 AM   #6
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Good to hear you survived that dilemma.

Not to be a Debbie Downer but looking at that last pic it appears your TT has the dreaded Darco they used to try and seal out and moisture/water from intruding the floor bottom. I would address that ASAP if you tow in the rain much or your floor will be ruined before you know it.
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Old 06-20-2022, 10:25 AM   #7
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Originally Posted by Socaldave View Post
Good to hear you survived that dilemma.

Not to be a Debbie Downer but looking at that last pic it appears your TT has the dreaded Darco they used to try and seal out and moisture/water from intruding the floor bottom. I would address that ASAP if you tow in the rain much or your floor will be ruined before you know it.
Man did I not need to hear that. We have a delaminating wall, and we dropped $3200 last year to upgrade the suspension and $1200 this year to upgrade the batteries...$1100 in new real tires and I'm beginning to wonder if I really got the right trailer or if everyone experiences these bumps in the road.
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Old 06-20-2022, 10:31 AM   #8
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Originally Posted by Rocketsled View Post
Man did I not need to hear that. We have a delaminating wall, and we dropped $3200 last year to upgrade the suspension and $1200 this year to upgrade the batteries...$1100 in new real tires and I'm beginning to wonder if I really got the right trailer or if everyone experiences these bumps in the road.

As far as I know if you own an RV you are going to experience "bumps in the road"...at least I have.

When you are getting things repaired I would seal up that darco that Socaldave mentioned. There are several posts/threads on the forum on ways to cover that darco up so it doesn't get perforated and leak then ruin your floor. Now would be an excellent time to do it. It's not prohibitively expensive nor difficult, just a little work intensive.
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Old 06-20-2022, 11:18 AM   #9
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This thread help you understand the issue and ways to address it. Not an expensive task but as SD mentioned somewhat time consuming to accomplish.

https://www.keystoneforums.com/forum...ad.php?t=51705
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Old 06-20-2022, 12:02 PM   #10
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At every turn though I think 'This isn't the trailer I want to end up with' and think jettisoning it for that two axle 5th wheel Toy Hauler might be preferable...

...and then I see what it would cost in Colorado Taxes and....ugh.
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Old 06-20-2022, 12:04 PM   #11
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And I'm at post 3 (dear god don't get it wet) when I remember that it's ALREADY BEEN DRIVEN through the wet, because it rained 200 miles after the blowout.

(Now I'm off to feel the wheelwell)

Edit: Stuff's bone dry, Good...the floor in the garage is deformed from the event: BAD.
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Old 06-21-2022, 06:42 PM   #12
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At the suggestion by the insurance inspector, I've taped over the hole with Eternabond...however...the aluminum has pulled away from the wall, you can feel poly styrene on the wall.

We've got a short jaunt tomorrow with a low chance of precip, then the trailer is parked until August, I'll probably try to reduce the gap in the aluminum with precision percussive maintenance then seal.
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Old 06-22-2022, 11:26 AM   #13
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Good luck.
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Old 06-22-2022, 01:28 PM   #14
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I sent you a PM. Please let me know if you didn’t receive it.
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Old 06-26-2022, 07:35 AM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Rocketsled View Post
At every turn though I think 'This isn't the trailer I want to end up with'
My Wife and I bought a brand new 2019 Keystone Cougar and all I can say about it is that it is a complete POS! The self leveling system broke after a few months. The water pump leaked first, then failed. The washer/dryer water connection leaked. The electrical receptacles are cheap China crap that are just waiting to catch fire. One of the TV's failed. The kitchen sink faucet failed. The fresh water tank water level sensor failed. We have to light the oven with a long fire stick because the pilot light system doesn't work. Some of the overhead trim keeps falling off. BTW, we have been using this trailer as a temporary home. We're not even towing on the road!

So, yes I agree with you that this isn't the trailer you want to end up with.

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Old 06-26-2022, 07:58 AM   #16
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Bpttle jack

You can use the bottle jack out of your pickup truck. The most important thing is to NOT put the jack in the center or to far out from the tire. You can bend your axle. I use bottle jack out of 3500 pickup. Sit it on a 3" concrete landscape stone so I don't have to extend hydraulic jack to far out. Imperative to make sure block is concrete. Make sure you do not use a haydite block ( if you decide to use a block) haydite is not strong enough to support a camper. Some one mentioned using the rv landing gear. I would not get underneath the rv in anyway if you go this route. Also Salune tires are a good brand of China tires, widely acknowledged as superior China tires at reasonable price. I have put Salun(e) tires on 2 different 5th wheels. I currently have 17.5" Saluns on a 42' Redwood 5th wheel.
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Old 06-26-2022, 10:11 AM   #17
Rocketsled
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We had a ramp we could drive the other tire up on (hood thing it didn’t take out both of them) and I used the truck Jack to convince the lug nuts an additional 1/4” off the ground.

I’d say our keystone was pretty reliable, but that’s only because I’ve forgotten all the crap I’ve fixed on it. RV Amnesia.
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Old 06-26-2022, 10:53 AM   #18
CWtheMan
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Rocketsled View Post
Form your opinions, make your judgements, I woulda-coulda-shoulda heeded your warnings, and very nearly paid for it with my life.

Two years ago, we were caught with tires rapidly disassembling themselves in the Colorado High country. The only shop in town with tires had a set of power king towmax tires. I wasn't happy with the situation, but they were fresh, they had them, and we wouldn't have made it home without them.

Being a cheap bastard I figured 'hey, they're fresh, I can get a season or two out of them.
  1. I kept them covered in winter
  2. I kept a TPS on them and watched them like a hawk
  3. A couple of weeks ago, I noticed one was 5 PSI down, topped it up. (This should have been the warning I heeded)
  4. Last week, the tire dropped 15 psi after sitting a week. (I wrote it off as not tightening the TPS when I filled the tire)
  5. I filled it and the spare the night before the trip, I was prepared to hold off on the drive if anything was off. Within the precision of the tool, the tire held air overnight

Temperatures were fine, pressures were even and fine, and there was NO warning when the bomb went off.

We set up the cones, grabbed the tire ramp to jack the other tire up, and got to work swapping it out. Wife was watching down-road for traffic and keeping me notified.

What neither of us had accounted for was cars coming the other way, passing the cars in their lane. I got up to hear my wife shout something just as an Excursion blew past me, with my back turned to it, and it had to have been going 80.

And I realized I wouldn't have even felt it, I would have been dead, instantly, had I stumbled, or he'd have been a foot - maybe two, closer. Leaving my wife 450 miles from home with a flat tire and a dead husband on Father's Day.


So: China bombs suck, but look both ways if you're on the side of the road for any reason.
The following link provides Keystone FAQs and procedures for many repair/maintenance projects.

https://www.keystonerv.com/owners-ho...year=&keyword=
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Old 06-26-2022, 11:33 AM   #19
Gunny Mike
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We were lucky to discover our flat on our one Carlisle at the campgrounds the day before our departure. I saw it going down 20 miles before arriving at our campsite. Now i have a mismatch going on with three diffrent tire mfgs on it. I thought it would be better to have a new tire put on then plugging the tire. I was lucky to buy a HF 12 ton air hydraulic bottle jack just before the trip. Was planning on buying four new tires in Sept for our trip to Gulf Shores.
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Old 06-26-2022, 02:58 PM   #20
dietzldub
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We had two blow outs in one day with a Wind Jammer we had that had china bombs on it. Thankfully there was two different tire shops within 50 miles that had Good Year Endurance’s and changed all 4 tires before we would go anywhere. So know how you feel.

We bought a Cougar fifth wheel and wouldn’t drive it 10 miles after we got it. Changed the tires out for Good Year Endurance’s and we’ve put approximately 10,000 miles on them in the last 3 1/2 years and they have been wonderful.

I have always tried to tell my self I would sacrifice a rim to get to a safe spot to change a tire. I know everybody’s situation and road conditions are different. But hopefully I never need to change a tire in a very risky spot on the side of the road.
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