Poll: Have you had a Westlake tire fail?

**bertschb** · 08-13-2018, 07:15 PM

This is a forum poll folks. It's not meant to be scientific. It's simply a fun way to gather non scientific data from other members. Nothing more. Each of us can draw whatever conclusions we want with this data.

**MidwestCamper** · 08-14-2018, 03:54 PM

No problem. It is good to track and I apologize for being critical. Is it possible for you to add a category that folks had a failure and had a TPMS operating at the time of failure?

**DougW9876** · 08-14-2018, 04:27 PM

I'll go ahead and mark a "No" even though I only have about 200 miles on them so far so good.

**BigGuy82** · 08-14-2018, 04:43 PM

We can all argue statistics, averages, etc all day. End of the day, on the two forums I am currently active on ( and maybe a bunch I am no longer active on), two brands stand out as having a lot of problems - Towmax and Westlake. One brand stands out as having zero problems -Sailun S637ST (that's these two sizes, NOT the LT tires http://www.gosailun.com/MRT/Tire/S637T. Next in line is Goodyear which has very few problems. All the statistics are very nice but they don't replace experience and mine is that my Sailun tires are (in my opinion) the most robust trailer tire on the road today. If you have a big fiver, you won't go wrong.

Blaming all of these Westlake failures on alignment, tire pressure, road debris, etc. is disingenuous. Why? Because the same things apply to a certain percentage of Sailun owners and I don't see their complaints here. Here's my experience. My brand new Solitude leaves the factory - perfect alignment and I hope the correct air pressure after GD's extensive post manufacturing PDI. Tire blows in less that 490 miles while the transporter is pulling it and damages my brand new coach. Road debris causing a catastrophic (explosive) failure on a tubeless tire on only the center skin on a triple? I don't think so. So all of the polls and statistics aside - you can keep your Westlakes if you're happy but in my opinion, they are lightweight tires that don't belong on a quality coach. However, as I always say, your money your choice.

**DougW9876** · 08-14-2018, 04:51 PM

Originally Posted by BigGuy82

... Tire blows in less that 490 miles while the transporter is pulling it and damages my brand new coach. Road debris causing a catastrophic (explosive) failure on a tubeless tire on only the center skin on a triple? I don't think so....

The center axel on a 3 axel trailer is the MOST likely one to get road debris damage. A screw or nail laying on the road surface normally won't cause a problem if it is run over but it will bounce and in so doing it can stand up at the perfect time to impale the second tire to come along. Ask folks at a tire repair place and they will tell you that the tires with nails or screws are mostly in the rear tires of cars and pickups and the second axels on trailers.

**BigGuy82** · 08-14-2018, 05:31 PM

Read my post carefully. A screw or a nail on a tubeless tire does not cause a CATASTROPHIC failure - it causes a flat and unless the driver is napping, you will pick that up well before it destroys the tire causing coach damage. Of course, if you had a TPMS like every trailer hauler should, you'd pick that up immediately. Tires EXPLODE catastrophically because they are flawed, overheated (due to sidewall construction or low inflation), badly designed or a combination of these. A road hazard that would cause a center tire to explode would blow the front tire first due to it's very size - it's not at all like kicking up a nail or screw. A nail did not cause the Westlake on my coach to explode and damage the coach - a bad tire caused that. Short answer - nails and screws don't cause explosions in tubeless tires. Shorter answer - Westlakes are not good tires.

**Cate&Rob** · 08-14-2018, 06:03 PM

Dick (BigGuy82) - Your perspective on Westlake tires is clearly explained and understood. Please respect the fact that many other GDRV owners have travelled tens of thousands of miles over several years with absolutely no problems with their Westlake tires.

Rob

**greenjeans** · 08-14-2018, 06:45 PM

We notice a Westlake tire on our 2019 337 was low when we were looking to purchase it, the salesman said it would be taken care of. We bought the coach a week later and picked it up a week after that, didn't notice any low tires, towed it home and it sat with tire covers on it for 5 weeks before we went to use it and discovered the same tire nearly flat, 30lbs. Dealer wants me to bring it in (120mi 1 way) to have it fixed, Haven't replaced them yet but probably will before heading south

**DougW9876** · 08-14-2018, 06:56 PM

Dick,

I did read your post. A catastrophic failure (explode) of a tire is normally caused by overheating due to underinflation. It happened on a tire that is quite likely to be damaged by road debris. As I explained earlier, the first tire to hit a nail or screw even, possibly, a flat piece of steel, is not the one that will normally be damaged. If you refuse to acknowledge this possibility and continue to let your hatred of Westlake Tires cloud your judgement there is no further need to present facts or alternative possibilities.

**BigGuy82** · 08-14-2018, 07:47 PM

Originally Posted by DougW9876

Dick,

I did read your post. A catastrophic failure (explode) of a tire is normally caused by overheating due to underinflation. It happened on a tire that is quite likely to be damaged by road debris. As I explained earlier, the first tire to hit a nail or screw even, possibly, a flat piece of steel, is not the one that will normally be damaged. If you refuse to acknowledge this possibility and continue to let your hatred of Westlake Tires cloud your judgement there is no further need to present facts or alternative possibilities.

Of course, I don't "hate" Westlake tires - I just think they are an inferior product - kind of like how some people don't trust certain Chinese products. I also disagree with your opinion on why the Westlake on my coach failed based on the actual experience of many other Westlake owners and my own personal experiences gained over 20 years and 4 RV's. I don't think the level of failures expressed on this forum can possibly be due to road debris, under inflation and alignment problems. Incidentally, just my personal life experience - I have never had a flat on a rear tire (at least that I can remember) in 55 years of driving (and only one flat on the front tire of a two axle rig). Now, that doesn't prove much other than your statement about the predominance of flats being on rear tires may not be universally true. And, as I said previously, your money - your choice.

Anyway, it's probably time to close this thread but at any rate, I'm done with it.