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Thread: Toss the Westlakes?
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06-19-2019, 05:24 PM #11
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Tough decision.
I threw my Westlakes out and put on Saliuns. I have better peace of mind now.
Far fewer (almost none) complaints about Saliuns than Westlakes (here and other RV forums). And if folks report only bad things then, all things being equal, Westlakes get far more on line complaints than Saliuns.
Most likely it’s probably a very personal decision driven more by peace of mind than hard facts (which, these days, can be sort of hard to find & verify).Larry KE4DMG
2022 F-350 KRU SRW LB - Airlift 5000+, ForScan, 37 RDS Aux Tank,
2019 310GK-R - Sailuns; MorRyde IS; Disc Brakes; 20K Reese Goosebox
Search kalakamods for my mods
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06-20-2019, 06:02 AM #12
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I'm leaving them on my Reflection but keeping a close eye on them.
2019 Reflection 315RLTS
2019 Ford F250 Lariat SuperCab PSD SRW
Former set up:
2013 Kodiak 291RESL
2017 Ford F150 Platinum
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06-20-2019, 08:15 AM #13
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Charlie - at the outset I apologize for the long post but I think some history for our newer members is helpful to explain what we have learned about Westlake tires and the general consensus that Westlake tires are serving owners quite well.
You being a long time master tech certainly has provided you with considerable training, experience, and knowledge. Being a forum member for some time you also have read the many posts on tires filtering through feedback weeding out the simple biases of Chinese products and/or Westlake tires vs actual factual posts trying to learn why there have been failures.
We have learned that the prior generation Westlakes (and other brands) manufactured 10 years ago or so did have a flaw with the gum strip (as I recall) process resulting in a high failure rate. Many negative posts have been attributable to this history not applicable to the current generation Westlake tires of the last 8 or so years. We have also learned about the "E" rated issue as touched on by Brian in post #3 as a very relevant item. We also have learned that GDRV and other manufacturers have had some models designed and built with very marginal room (if any or possibly negative when trailer loaded at or near maximum GVWR) in the tire capacities. We have also learned that toy haulers seem to have a higher % of reported tire failures due to (see previous sentence) along with probable excessive load/load balance issues, more tire abuse, excessive speeds, etc.
All this said, the reports of failures seem to have decreased greatly over the last couple of years even though the number of GDRVs on the road has increased significantly. Much of this is attributable to higher load rated tires (E rather than D and G rather than E) being used at RV build to better match the RV GVWR.
Diligent monitoring of air pressure; avoiding impacts from curbs/pot holes/road debris/etc.; avoiding exceeding speed ratings; and monitoring tire wear all are important to having owner inflicted failures. Yes, there will be unexplained failures but these are rare.
98% of we Westlake owners (GDRV reported a 2% failure rate a few years ago at a rally and addressed in many posts/threads on the forum over the years) have had no issues. I ran my first set of factory "D" rated 15" Westlakes for nearly 5 years/14000 miles. I now have "E" rated 16" tires installed last June with much more load margin and have no concerns.
I worry more about Carol's wine supply or my craft beer supply running low !
DanDan & Carol
2014 303RLS Reflection #185 (10/2013 build)
2012 Silverado LTZ Crew Duramax 2500HD
2700/16K Pullrite Superglide
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06-20-2019, 09:07 AM #14
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We also have this informal poll here on our forum that provides some additional perspective. Unfortunately this poll didn't specify E or G rated tires but as far as I know Grand Design started shipping RV's with G rated tires last year so most Grand Design RV's on the road at the time the poll was taken had Westlake E rated tires.
https://www.mygrandrv.com/forum/show...013#post176013
I'm not trying to start the Westlake tire debate all over again. Just trying to share some information for those who are new here.Last edited by bertschb; 06-20-2019 at 09:24 AM.
Brian & Kellie
2020 Solitude 310GK-R, FBP, 1,460w solar, 540ah BBGC3, MORryde IS w/disc brakes
2020 F-350 Platinum SRW Powerstroke Tremor, 60g TF fuel tank, Hensley BD3-F air bag hitch
Previous setups:
2019 Solitude 373FB-R, 2019 F-350 Platinum DRW Powerstroke, Hensley BD5 air bag hitch
2016 Reflection 318RST, 2016 GMC 3500 Denali SRW Duramax, Hensley BD3 air bag hitch
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06-20-2019, 11:28 AM #15
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I really wish they had specified the E # G ratings in the survey. We have had our 303 since 2014 and ran our E-rated tires for 3 or 4 years before we replaced them. When we took them off we did find a split in one of the tires. There was no way to know if it was a defect or caused from an impact when going down the road. I suspect probably an impact. If it had a defect I would think it would have happen much sooner. From the beginning I have always thought most of the failures were from putting E-rated tires on too heavy of trailers. Since they have gone to G-rated tires on the heavier trailers I haven't read of any failures with the G-rated tire. Not to say there haven't been any but most people that have a failure don't say what tires they have. Wish they would, then we could get a better picture of what's going on.
Marcy & Gary
2014 Grand Design - Reflection 303RLS
2022 GMC 3500 Denali Duramax Longbed SRW
2015 GMC Denali 3500 - Retired
2003 F350 - retired
Michigan
We're in trouble now, the dog are bloggin'!
https://3dogsandatrailer.wordpress.com/
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06-20-2019, 11:52 AM #16
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Check out post #12 from Dallas. He recently had a Grated Westlake come apart (never deflated) and did $3,500 in damage.
https://www.mygrandrv.com/forum/show...727#post238727
Personally too many stories about Westlake tires for me to feel comfortable. I tossed my E-rated Westlake s and put on Goodyear G614s on my Reflection.
Picture Dallas posted.
Last edited by Jerryr; 06-20-2019 at 11:56 AM.
Jerry & Linda
Emma & Abby our Mini Golden Doodles & JR our Amazon Parrot
2017 Reflection 337RLS, Build Date 01/2017, Titan Disk Brakes, Goodyear G614s 235/85/16 G Rated tires
2022 F-450 King Ranch Ultimate, 4,868 lb Payload, Bedrug Bedliner, Andersen Ultimate II Aluminum 5th wheel hitch
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06-26-2019, 02:34 PM #17
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I just purchased a Transcend with e rated Westlakes on them. My concern was the sidewall flex on them. Watched a video where the sidewall flex was compared between Westlake and Goodyear Endurance. The Goodyear was much stiffer. I have replaced the Westlakes with the Goodyears and immediately noticed improved track ability. (Less side to side motion). I had Goodyear Endurance on my previous trailer; a Jayco and put over 6000 miles with zero issues. Jayco makes a bill deal about putting them standard on all their units.
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06-27-2019, 04:09 AM #18
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Have not have had issue with Westlake tires( around 7,000 miles) on our camper but when time comes to replace will go with Goodyear Endurance tires made in USA - never have liked China made tires. Have TPMS on my camper and would encourage everyone to use, unlike truck or car you can't feel camper tire going flat - my camper buddy learned this on one of our trips. He had one tire(came with D rated tires should have been at least E on his camper) go down and shred and then steel belt went into other tire. Luckily he caught before 2nd tire went completely flat, lost one rim and had minor damage to his camper. After this we got TPMS. We one tire goes flat the other one soon follows (can't handle weight on just one tire) and then camper and rims get damaged.
https://www.amazon.com/TireTraker-TT...gateway&sr=8-3
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06-29-2019, 10:39 AM #19
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I just replaced my 5 yr old E Westlakes on my 2015 337 with Goodyear Endurance tires. We had about 10k miles on the Westlakes with absolutely no problems. I don't think I ever had to add air either! 80 psi every time I checked them. The old Westlakes are going on an utilty trailer I have so I will continue to watch them.
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06-30-2019, 01:10 PM #20
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25G fresh water capacity?
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