Tires Again, for real this time

[luckeyd1]

I have the Reflection 303RLS. It came with 15in tires, load range E. My previous trailer had 15in tires as standard, but when I bought it on factory order, I ordered the 16in tires upgrade. Well worth it in my opinion. I did have a blowout on one tire, but they were end of life, it was ambient temp of 104F and I was running fast. All my mistakes, and I took the hit for a blown tire, but no damage except to my wallet as when I got the chance, I replaced all remaining tires with new ones. By the way all the tires were Goodyear Wrangler HT LT 245/75R16 Load range E.

Lots of older threads abound about ChinaBombs (which considering our tires are made in China), I currently have ChinaBombs. There was recently a post in another forum showing a brand new Reflection with the spare tire on one rear axle. According to driver, it just blew. Now I know that tires don't just blow unless they are defective during manufacturing process, so let's look at other possibilities. Was he running above the recommended speed (65MPH by the way), driver states he was running below limit. Unit could not be overloaded as it was being delivered from factory. Was tire pressure low, driver states he checked that morning, but again take it for a grain of salt. Did he hit debris or pothole? Driver states no. Driver did not want to be identified due to possiblity of losing additional business, again makes me wonder about whole thing. Anyway purpose of this thread is to post a poll. Have you changed out your 15in tires for 16in tires that are NOT made in China? If you have not changed out tires, how many miles have you towed with the factory original 15in tires? This poll is really for the Reflections with 15in tires. Others may answer if they so desire, but please identify your trailer/model.

Thanks

 

[2hams]

We transferred our B/F Goodrich Commercial T/A 16" LT 225 75R16 tires from our trade in onto our 303 before we drove away from the dealer lot.

 

[Mr Lucky]

I have ordered a 303 also and GD told me if I want I can get the 16 inch rims and tires {e rated} delivered to my house for $1100 plus shipping. This way I have the rims that come on a new Reflection. Did not find out price yet if I just want the rims but I will. I will probably try the 15's and go from there. This is what I was told by GD as follows: We also put on the longer leaf springs, which give you the same ground clearance you would get with the 16 inch aluminum rim. Essentially with the GD 293 RES, 303 RLS, and 323 BHS, you will get the same ground clearance and load capacity as a 16 inch aluminum rim for less money. How ever since we offer the longer leaf springs you can upgrade at any time to a 16 inch aluminum rim. He also said you are better off going to a discount tire type of store and purchasing aluminum rims with tires already on them. I Give him credit for being honest! I still prefer the Reflection rims! I drive between 60-65 miles per hour on the highway. No hurry I'm retired!

 

[notsosan]

The subject of the Reflection's 15 inch wheels is getting some attention over on the RV.net forum. Let's just say it is not a good selling feature. Ours will be getting the 16's swapped over from our trade.

 

[2hams]

I haven't see the latest post on rv.net, but will see what folks are saying. For what it's worth, one of our B/F Goodrich Commercial T/A 16" LT 225 75R16 tires blew out yesterday. Must have been some road damage to the tire, looked fine 30 miles earlier, were traveling under 60, actually slowing to 45 when it blew out. Tire were about 4 yrs old, 30K miles. Getting new tires this week. Hope the damage isn't too bad, will be going to dealer next week. I do know that we did not have problems with the LT tires losing air like our China bombs did.

 

[Boomer]

We have the original factory tires! At the en of this trip we will have about 3000 miles on them. I check the pressure before each trip, don't overload and tow between 55 - 60 mph. I will buy new tires when these wear out or they are damaged by debris or potholes. I will then consider changing to 16s and LTs.

 

[TucsonJim]

Our 337 comes with 16" Westlake Chinese tires. I plan on keeping them and watching how they do on the road this summer. We purchased an aftermarket tire pressure monitoring system. I'd recommend one to everyone, no matter what size or type of tire you have. It's nice to be able to continuously monitor the tire pressure and heat as were going down the road. And if the tire loses too much pressure or gets too hot, an alarm will sound to warn us of the problem.