Tires (again)

[AZMike]

I was just on the GD website to look at the current prices, and my 2600RB increased by about $8000. What I found interesting is that Good Year tires are now listed as MANDATORY, with a $391 upcharge. I would have gladly paid this upcharge, but it was not an option when I purchased in November 2020. I guess GD finally made an intelligent decision based on the many complaints about the "other" tires. Whether there is really a problem or not, they have responded positively. 'nuff said.

 

[NB Canada]

I was just on the GD website to look at the current prices, and my 2600RB increased by about $8000. What I found interesting is that Good Year tires are now listed as MANDATORY, with a $391 upcharge. I would have gladly paid this upcharge, but it was not an option when I purchased in November 2020. I guess GD finally made an intelligent decision based on the many complaints about the "other" tires. Whether there is really a problem or not, they have responded positively. 'nuff said.

Is that why they did it?


2021 Imagine 2400 BH
2018 GMC Sierra 4x4 crew

 

[Buckskin]

Amazing how much your camper list price increased since 2020 model. Goodyear Endurance tires would very well be worth the upcharge price; cost me lot more than that to switch to Goodyear Endurance last December after blowout with China Bombs. Be interesting to see when school starts back in September how many campers will be up for sale; that is if school year is like it was a few years ago before Covid - 19. That is if we get through Covid - 19 and things return somewhat near to normal.

 

[abartleman]

I just picked up my 2970RL yesterday and it came with the Goodyears. They are nice to have but really if it came the Westlakes I wouldn't change them out until they needed to be.

 

[NB Canada]

I just picked up my 2970RL yesterday and it came with the Goodyears. They are nice to have but really if it came the Westlakes I wouldn't change them out until they needed to be.

Some of us have the ability to not drink the koolaid


2021 Imagine 2400 BH
2018 GMC Sierra 4x4 crew

 

[jleonard]

I was just on the GD website to look at the current prices, and my 2600RB increased by about $8000. What I found interesting is that Good Year tires are now listed as MANDATORY, with a $391 upcharge. I would have gladly paid this upcharge, but it was not an option when I purchased in November 2020. I guess GD finally made an intelligent decision based on the many complaints about the "other" tires. Whether there is really a problem or not, they have responded positively. 'nuff said.

I agree. Our replacement trailer is currently being built and it will have the GY endurance tires.
Has nothing to do with koolaide.

 

[OurNewEra]

I think the rules of the forum should be amended - no politics, no religion, and no tires.

 

[Buckskin]

Myself and my camping buddy both had blowouts with China Bombs and we replaced with Goodyear Endurance tires. Mine was Westlake and his was another brand of tires made in China. We both said we would never use a tires made in China again - except maybe a wheel barrow tire, we both had damage to our campers. We both always checked tire pressure before every trip. If that's drinking Kool aide; give me some more.

 

[dkayak]

Failure rates of recently made Chinese tires seem fairly low. On the other hand, the 87 mph speed rating of the GY Endurance vs 75 mph for my stock Westlakes confirm the GY is a more robust tire. I’m the first to admit anecdotal accounts don’t trump statistics, but they can sure nudge one to act.

In April I helped my buddy change a two year old Castle Rock after a blowout on a cool spring day. His tires were properly inflated, nowhere near overloaded, and we were following him at 61 mph (his standard towing speed) when the sidewall blew out without warning. His TPS was useless in this catastrophic failure, but the huge bang told him everything he needed to know. Fortunately there was no damage as there was enough shoulder to pull over immediately. This tire was obviously defective. There were 3 radial tears across the sidewalls and right through the bead! We each visited Discount Tire for upgrades to Goodyear Endurance within two weeks.

 

[goducks14]

I've never understood the "Mandatory" part of an option. Why don't all manufactures just add the cost in and list them as standard features? I see it both ways when looking at different brands feature lists.
It's like quality and RV in the same sentence.

 

[JKellerJr]

I've never understood the "Mandatory" part of an option. Why don't all manufactures just add the cost in and list them as standard features? I see it both ways when looking at different brands feature lists.
It's like quality and RV in the same sentence.

Then the "starting from" number has to be much higher! Even though in reality it is higher. Its like Fuel Surcharges that came in years ago when the prices shot up but then never left. All smoke and mirrors in marketing.

Its all BS

Another fav. "Do to customer feedback" were going to remove features and make it more expensive.

 

[59 Apache]

True story.
On Sunday, June 13th we were heading to a large family and friends week long camping trip. This was the first time out with our new Imagine 2600RB. The destination was 150 miles away and mostly all interstate. My brother in-law left about an hour before we did and had his 1st blowout 50 miles into the trip. He put on his spare and forged ahead. Less than 20 miles later he lost his second tire and sent out a mayday for one of us that might have a spare that would fit. We were the 3rd group to arrive and luckily my spare (brand new Westlake) was the same size wheel and tire. We went on ahead as he had one other group with him for support in case he needed additional help. The other group that had arrived was headed to the next town as they needed to buy a battery.

Now back on the road with my spare, he made it 50 more miles before he had his 3rd tire blow. Once again a call for help. He managed to contact the group that was buying the new battery and were now 15 miles behind him. They were fortunate to find a replacement wheel/tire combo at Menards of all places. After replacing his 3rd tire he made it the rest of the way without issue. The next day he took all 4 original tires/wheels to town and had them mount up Goodyear Endurance's.

No, my Westlake spare didn't blow, nor did he have Westlake's on his rig. His were 4 year old Castle Rocks (made in China) that came with his camper when he purchased it new. The worst part of the whole situation is the damage to his camper. Both sides were pretty torn up with one that had ripped through the floor.

My Westlake's will be coming off sooner rather than later as I do not want to risk having my camper get damaged. Especially after reading about so many other China made tires failing.

In another fairly recent post I mentioned that I contacted the GD factory and tried to get them to upgrade my tires before it was shipped. They declined my request and said they do not offer tire upgrades. I was very disappointed, to say the least.

It is nice to hear that they are no longer shipping Imagines with Westlake tires. I just wish they would have seen the light and honored my request before mine was shipped.

John

 

[NB Canada]

My Westlake's will be coming off sooner rather than later as I do not want to risk having my camper get damaged.Especially after reading about so many other China made tires failing.

In another fairly recent post I mentioned that I contacted the GD factory and tried to get them to upgrade my tires before it was shipped. They declined my request and said they do not offer tire upgrades. I was very disappointed, to say the least.

It is nice to hear that they are no longer shipping Imagines with Westlake tires. I just wish they would have seen the light and honored my request before mine was shipped.

John

“Especially after reading about so many other”??

What about the hundreds of thousands you didn’t hear from that had no issues?

And you say they “seen the light”

You know the reason why they changed?


2021 Imagine 2400 BH
2018 GMC Sierra 4x4 crew

 

[DECelt]

Even with a brand-name tire, if your weight ratings are at or near the tire ratings you may be at risk of a failure. The dynamics of a trailer traveling on a road, cornering, etc. place significant short-term stresses and overweight conditions on tires. Get as much excess capacity as you can. Many of these rigs are set up for failure right from the factory with cheap tires right at their limit.

 

[59 Apache]

In my 24 years of owning travel trailers, I have never had a flat tire let alone a blowout. My first travel trailer came with Goodyear, and after 11 years I replaced them with Goodyear and they're still on it today.

I've seen first hand the damage caused by blowouts and I choose not to take that risk. Tires are not an item where one should look to cut cost's.

Purchase good tires with a proven track record and keep them properly inflated (this includes the tow vehicle and spares).

IMO, those who choose not to heed this advice will (at the very least) have a much greater chance of having to pull over and change a tire under less than ideal conditions.

John

 

[NB Canada]

Purchase good tires with a proven track record and keep them properly inflated (this includes the tow vehicle and spares).

John

With a rough guesstimate of over a million westlakes on the road I guess their track record is quite good


2021 Imagine 2400 BH
2018 GMC Sierra 4x4 crew

 

[Steve & Sheryl]

True story.
On Sunday, June 13th we were heading to a large family and friends week long camping trip. This was the first time out with our new Imagine 2600RB. The destination was 150 miles away and mostly all interstate. My brother in-law left about an hour before we did and had his 1st blowout 50 miles into the trip. He put on his spare and forged ahead. Less than 20 miles later he lost his second tire and sent out a mayday for one of us that might have a spare that would fit. We were the 3rd group to arrive and luckily my spare (brand new Westlake) was the same size wheel and tire. We went on ahead as he had one other group with him for support in case he needed additional help. The other group that had arrived was headed to the next town as they needed to buy a battery.

Now back on the road with my spare, he made it 50 more miles before he had his 3rd tire blow. Once again a call for help. He managed to contact the group that was buying the new battery and were now 15 miles behind him. They were fortunate to find a replacement wheel/tire combo at Menards of all places. After replacing his 3rd tire he made it the rest of the way without issue. The next day he took all 4 original tires/wheels to town and had them mount up Goodyear Endurance's.

No, my Westlake spare didn't blow, nor did he have Westlake's on his rig. His were 4 year old Castle Rocks (made in China) that came with his camper when he purchased it new. The worst part of the whole situation is the damage to his camper. Both sides were pretty torn up with one that had ripped through the floor.

My Westlake's will be coming off sooner rather than later as I do not want to risk having my camper get damaged. Especially after reading about so many other China made tires failing.

In another fairly recent post I mentioned that I contacted the GD factory and tried to get them to upgrade my tires before it was shipped. They declined my request and said they do not offer tire upgrades. I was very disappointed, to say the least.

It is nice to hear that they are no longer shipping Imagines with Westlake tires. I just wish they would have seen the light and honored my request before mine was shipped.

John

you know, I'd check the axles/wheels for alignment.

 

[Skiddy]

I was just on the GD website to look at the current prices, and my 2600RB increased by about $8000. What I found interesting is that Good Year tires are now listed as MANDATORY, with a $391 upcharge. I would have gladly paid this upcharge, but it was not an option when I purchased in November 2020. I guess GD finally made an intelligent decision based on the many complaints about the "other" tires. Whether there is really a problem or not, they have responded positively. 'nuff said.

Interesting observation. The $391 mandatory option is on the whole Imagine line except the Transcends. Wonder if Westlakes still come factory equipped on Transcends? BTW only checked a couple of Transcends.

Chinese manufactured LT and P rated tires, including LT and P rated Westlakes, have been assessed anti-dumping tariffs since 2015 I think. Given HZRC has seen a downturn in shipping tires to North America, I wonder if there is a supply issue for ST tires?

GDRV’s competitors like to point out the use of Made in USA tires, locally Arctic Fox and Passport come to mind. Maybe GDRV has negotiated a better deal to use GY.

 

[Petrovsky]

Interesting observation. The $391 mandatory option is on the whole Imagine line except the Transcends. Wonder if Westlakes still come factory equipped on Transcends? BTW only checked a couple of Transcends.

Chinese manufactured LT and P rated tires, including LT and P rated Westlakes, have been assessed anti-dumping tariffs since 2015 I think. Given HZRC has seen a downturn in shipping tires to North America, I wonder if there is a supply issue for ST tires?

GDRV’s competitors like to point out the use of Made in USA tires, locally Arctic Fox and Passport come to mind. Maybe GDRV has negotiated a better deal to use GY.

Following this thread I would suspect that there is a supply issue with the Westlakes as there are with many items coming from China these days. The Goodyears are made in USA. My 2600RB came with Westlakes this year. I will likely use them this year and next.....rebuild my budget and replace with Good Year tires as well.

It will not be inexpensive, 5 tires but the security will be worth the price. Note that the dealer also sells Westlake tires for vehicles among the many good brands and he doesn't seem to have an issue with them!! As I mentioned to him.....a car tire vs trailer tire is likely less demanding considering the stress considerations.

 

[more tired since retired]

True story.
On Sunday, June 13th we were heading to a large family and friends week long camping trip. This was the first time out with our new Imagine 2600RB. The destination was 150 miles away and mostly all interstate. My brother in-law left about an hour before we did and had his 1st blowout 50 miles into the trip. He put on his spare and forged ahead. Less than 20 miles later he lost his second tire and sent out a mayday for one of us that might have a spare that would fit. We were the 3rd group to arrive and luckily my spare (brand new Westlake) was the same size wheel and tire. We went on ahead as he had one other group with him for support in case he needed additional help. The other group that had arrived was headed to the next town as they needed to buy a battery.

Now back on the road with my spare, he made it 50 more miles before he had his 3rd tire blow. Once again a call for help. He managed to contact the group that was buying the new battery and were now 15 miles behind him. They were fortunate to find a replacement wheel/tire combo at Menards of all places. After replacing his 3rd tire he made it the rest of the way without issue. The next day he took all 4 original tires/wheels to town and had them mount up Goodyear Endurance's.

No, my Westlake spare didn't blow, nor did he have Westlake's on his rig. His were 4 year old Castle Rocks (made in China) that came with his camper when he purchased it new. The worst part of the whole situation is the damage to his camper. Both sides were pretty torn up with one that had ripped through the floor.

My Westlake's will be coming off sooner rather than later as I do not want to risk having my camper get damaged. Especially after reading about so many other China made tires failing.

In another fairly recent post I mentioned that I contacted the GD factory and tried to get them to upgrade my tires before it was shipped. They declined my request and said they do not offer tire upgrades. I was very disappointed, to say the least.

It is nice to hear that they are no longer shipping Imagines with Westlake tires. I just wish they would have seen the light and honored my request before mine was shipped.

John

He had 4 year old tires. I'd bet he did nothing to protect them from sun exposure when parked. UV exposure dries out the rubber compounds. So leaving his tires exposed to UV sunlight for 4 years doesn't surprise me he had issues.

I've put Endurances on my 2020 2600RB, but the Westlakes had over 12k on them and were showing wear. We protect them with a double tire cover when parked. And we live in southern GA, where the sun bakes everything. Proper protection helps extend the life of the tires and keeps the sidewalls in good condition.

Everyone worries about the tread, but you have to protect those sidewalls. Not just from curbs but from that UV exposure. And remember, UV exposure is going to get worse as the seasons get hotter.