Goodyear Tires again!

[Dieselnerd]

I just completed my trip home after a winter on the road. We left Las Vegas on Friday, April 11. The third day on the road when we stopped overnight in Eagleville, MO we noticed that everything in the 5th wheel trailer was moved around, dining table moved about 2 feet and chairs moved several feet as well. The weather was quite hot and I thought maybe the tire pressure was too high and causing a bounce since I had inflated them to 80 pounds in much cooler weather. I waited until early the next morning so the tires were nice and cool again. Three of the tires had 81 pounds and the fourth had 75. Thinking I had a nail or other leak I looked closely at the tire and noticed it was much larger than the others! It was also very rounded at the tread instead of flat. I knew then that the tread was coming off. I got out my spare and when the 2 tires were side by side, the bad one was almost 3 inches larger than the good one! I'm home now, only 335 miles from where I changed the tire and upon inspection, I now have another one that has developed the same problem. These are 1998 tires, they look like new and Goodyear says they are the new and improved version that doesn't throw the treads because they added nylon belts to hold it together. They did hold together but that's about all the good I can say. The tires are Goodyear Wrangler HT, LT 235/85R16, load range E. They are original equipment on the trailer. I had a similar problem with Goodyears on my truck that threw the tread and caused a lot of damage. Goodyear gave me another set of tires that also went bad in a short time and I replaced them with Michelins which have been trouble free. I am now going to put Michelins on my trailer for a little peace of mind.

 

[Boldt's Wagon]

I had the same tires (1996 production) do the same thing 2 years ago, we got the same life.



I replaced them with 235/85R16 Michelin XPS ribs. Steel side wall cords. The toughest tire Michelin has in that size. Bought the tires at Costco.



A tire failure on a trailer can cost you thousands.

 

[RustyJC]

I had a tread separation problem with the Marathons on my 1996 5ver, but the Wrangler HT/S LT235/85R-16E's on my 2000 36' 5ver haven't given any problems yet. What is the total number of actual plies on your Wrangler HT tires?



I'll probably be going with the Michelin XPS Ribs as well when the Goodyears are ready for replacement, but ours are OK so far.



Rusty

 

[Dieselnerd]

Rusty, total actual plies are six. 2 polyester, 2 steel and 2 nylon. The nylon was added by Goodyear after about 1996 to prevent tread separation. The sidewalls are 2 plies of polyester. The tread looks like new on the tires, actual miles on them after 5 years are about 20-25 thousand miles total. They are 2 years older than yours so when you get to that 5 year point, keep a close eye on them.

 

[willyslover]

just a note do here...



The XPS are not "trailer" tires as the do not have the UV protection added that a "trailer" tire has... so best to cover them when parked for long periods

 

[dewdo]

I have had to run Goodyear on my 35' fiver and have had nothing but problems throwing tread and not being smart enough to pick up the tread from the highway and taking it along with the tire to a dealer. I talked to a couple of dealers and they suggested changing tires every four years. I have 950x16. 5's and not too many people manufacture that size anymore.



Anyone have any idea who else might make 16. 5's? I use Michelin on my truck (16") and have been very satisfied with them. I have nearly 60,000 on my OEM's and they still look like they have about 5,000 plus more miles left before I get to the wear bar.

 

[roadranger]

BOYCOTT GOODYEAR! Oo. #@$%!

 

[Underdog]

Without going into a long story about the tread separations,

blowouts,torn-up fender wells and crawling around in the

mud,I'll say this. Cooper Tire Company, treated me better

than I ever expected to be treated by a large company.

Again,without going into details,I will tell you that my 5th.

wheel is equipped with five (5), C 120, all steel, commercial

grade tires. I have towed thousands of miles with these

tires and no problems. My 5th. wheel has a GVW of 12,720#.

Because of the way that I was treated by Cooper Tire,I now

have Coopers on all my vehicles.