New 14" tires for an Imagine 22MLE

[huntindog]

The failure rate due to the tire and not user abuse I believe is less than .5 percent

The only thing I agree with is that other tires likely take abuse more than westlakes


2021 Imagine 2400 BH
2018 GMC Sierra 4x4 crew

A tires JOB is to take abuse! Nobody hits a pothole on purpose. or curbs a tire etc..... Yet these things happen all the time. Only when it comes to trailer tires are many willing to accept failures due to these types of common occurences.
Worse, many believe that trailer tire pressures need to be monitored at least daily..... Nobody does this on their daily commuter vehicle tires!

It seems that a lot of people are into making excuses as to why trailer tires fail.... Putting the blame on the owners...
It doesn't have to be this way. Spend some money on good tires, and enjoy the same trouble free performance you get from your automobile tires.
In Load range E, I am partial to Michelin XPS RIBS. Not cheap. But very, very, good.
The only Load range E tires I used on TTs that lasted more than 2 years! I actually aged out on 3 sets of them. Not a single issue in 15 years. I replaced them at 5 year intervals (probably could go longer, but I am in Phoenix, and the sun/heat here is brutal).... I then put them on Craigs list for 300.00. The first person to look at them bought them each time. That helped defray the higher cost.

[bertschb]

Worse, many believe that trailer tire pressures need to be monitored at least daily..... Nobody does this on their daily commuter vehicle tires!

That's a good point. I think the reason many people with RV's pay closer attention to their trailer tires is because of what a tire failure on an RV can do. Not only can it cause a lot of damage to the RV but there usually isn't a very safe place to pull over to replace the tire. It's pretty common when a trailer tire fails to have parts of it wrap around the axles, leveling jacks and propane lines. Laying on the side of the road under the RV while trying to make these repairs is not my idea of fun. When a tire fails on a car, you just pull over anywhere and change it. Piece of cake.

There are other differences with trailer vs car tires. Cars tires are used daily. Most trailer tires sit for months between uses. In most case, when you get the oil changed in your car or have other service done, they check the tire pressure for you. Not so with RV's. Car tires generally get replaced every 3-4 years. Since trailer tires typically have very few miles on them, many people run them for many, many years without replacing them because the tread looks good. Finally, there are dozens of excellent passenger car tires available. By comparison, there are only a couple of good 16" tires for RV's.

IMO, there are only two quality trailer tires with a high enough load index rating for a heavy 5th wheel. One is the Sailun S637 (up to 132) and the other is the Westlake G. The Goodyear G614 is an excellent tire. I replaced my E rated Westlakes with these tires the day I bought my Reflection. But, it's low load index rating of 126 isn't suitable for heavier RV's IMO.

Because of the penalty for a tire failure on an RV, I pay close attention to them. When I'm towing, I spend 80% of my monitoring time looking at my trailer tire pressures.

So yeah, many people don't pay attention to their car or trailer tires but you pay a steeper price for doing the latter.

[huntindog]

That's a good point. I think the reason many people with RV's pay closer attention to their trailer tires is because of what a tire failure on an RV can do. Not only can it cause a lot of damage to the RV but there usually isn't a very safe place to pull over to replace the tire. It's pretty common when a trailer tire fails to have parts of it wrap around the axles, leveling jacks and propane lines. Laying on the side of the road under the RV while trying to make these repairs is not my idea of fun. When a tire fails on a car, you just pull over anywhere and change it. Piece of cake.

There are other differences with trailer vs car tires. Cars tires are used daily. Most trailer tires sit for months between uses. In most case, when you get the oil changed in your car or have other service done, they check the tire pressure for you. Not so with RV's. Car tires generally get replaced every 3-4 years. Since trailer tires typically have very few miles on them, many people run them for many, many years without replacing them because the tread looks good. Finally, there are dozens of excellent passenger car tires available. By comparison, there are only a couple of good 16" tires for RV's.

IMO, there are only two quality trailer tires with a high enough load index rating for a heavy 5th wheel. One is the Sailun S637 (up to 132) and the other is the Westlake G. The Goodyear G614 is an excellent tire. I replaced my E rated Westlakes with these tires the day I bought my Reflection. But, it's low load index rating of 126 isn't suitable for heavier RV's IMO.

Because of the penalty for a tire failure on an RV, I pay close attention to them. When I'm towing, I spend 80% of my monitoring time looking at my trailer tire pressures.

So yeah, many people don't pay attention to their car or trailer tires but you pay a steeper price for doing the latter.

I have been towing TTs for 30 years. Early on I had many such failures with ST tires.(and the associated damage)The final straw was when a brand new Goodyear Marathon exploded with less than 100 miles on it. That is when I made the expensive jump to the Michelins. New rims, and 6 lug drums in addition to the tires. Best move I ever made. I gradually became able to trust them. As I said before, I had 3 sets over 15 years with no failures. The previous 15 years were riddled with failures. None of those tires made it to their second birthday. I am not your "normal RVer" My TTs got used at least once a month, and I have a 80 gallon two stage compressor in the garage. I never moved the TT without making sure the pressures were correct. It did not make a difference. Country of origin made no difference either. My advice is get into a 16" LT tire. Do whatever it takes to make them fit. The TT, I made the swap on started life on 14" rims and 205 LRC tires. It can be done if one wants it badly enough.

[AZMike]

Westlakes are a "Great Tire"? but don't go over 65 MPH

Now, that's funny!

[FT4NOW]

That's a good point. I think the reason many people with RV's pay closer attention to their trailer tires is because of what a tire failure on an RV can do. Not only can it cause a lot of damage to the RV but there usually isn't a very safe place to pull over to replace the tire. It's pretty common when a trailer tire fails to have parts of it wrap around the axles, leveling jacks and propane lines. Laying on the side of the road under the RV while trying to make these repairs is not my idea of fun. When a tire fails on a car, you just pull over anywhere and change it. Piece of cake.

There are other differences with trailer vs car tires. Cars tires are used daily. Most trailer tires sit for months between uses. In most case, when you get the oil changed in your car or have other service done, they check the tire pressure for you. Not so with RV's. Car tires generally get replaced every 3-4 years. Since trailer tires typically have very few miles on them, many people run them for many, many years without replacing them because the tread looks good. Finally, there are dozens of excellent passenger car tires available. By comparison, there are only a couple of good 16" tires for RV's.

IMO, there are only two quality trailer tires with a high enough load index rating for a heavy 5th wheel. One is the Sailun S637 (up to 132) and the other is the Westlake G. The Goodyear G614 is an excellent tire. I replaced my E rated Westlakes with these tires the day I bought my Reflection. But, it's low load index rating of 126 isn't suitable for heavier RV's IMO.

Because of the penalty for a tire failure on an RV, I pay close attention to them. When I'm towing, I spend 80% of my monitoring time looking at my trailer tire pressures.

So yeah, many people don't pay attention to their car or trailer tires but you pay a steeper price for doing the latter.

I had the G614s on my Momentum, came from the factory when that was still an option. We put probably close to 20k miles in the 4 years we owned it, and I will say I was very happy with them. I checked tire pressure before every trip and they always held 110psi, I'd purchase them again without any hesitation.

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[Dadeo6472]

Where does the 0.5% number come from? What source are you using for such statistics?

Secondly, why would anyone settle for Westlakes if other tires "likely take abuse more than westlakes"?

You aren't making much sense.

The failure rate due to the tire and not user abuse I believe is less than .5 percent

The only thing I agree with is that other tires likely take abuse more than westlakes


2021 Imagine 2400 BH
2018 GMC Sierra 4x4 crew

[Dadeo6472]

Again with the "I believe" and a number based on nothing. You need to stop posting such fiction. No source means the number has no cred. None. If you wrote such a sentence in my high school stats class, your paper would get an F. You are sounding like a sales rep for a manufacturer.

[RV Sailor]

Again with the "I believe" and a number based on nothing. You need to stop posting such fiction. No source means the number has no cred. None. If you wrote such a sentence in my high school stats class, your paper would get an F. You are sounding like a sales rep for a manufacturer.

Please turn down the animosity level of your rhetoric . We are adults and don’t need your chiding us like “ your students” Besides It am curious to see none of you posts contain statistical metrics ....especially because you state you teach this for high schoolers. Anyone can copy and past old internet statements.

While I may agree with your assessment of Westlakes overall I am not foolish enough to believe that all their branded tires are substandard. I changed my 205 /75 out to Goodyear Endurance the day I purchased our trailer because I saw first hand of the Westlakes sidewall inferior construction.