Trailer Tire Question.

[ultrarunner]

Has nothing to do where they are made, its what they are made of. The EPA makes us take all the good stuff out of tires, paint, fuel, ect.

Chris

Some of the longest lasting tires I have are Nylon... at least that is what it says on the sidewall... no cracks at all and guessing from the 1960's.

They will take a "Set" from sitting that quickly goes away after a minute or so in CA mild climate... heard they could get really hard and stiff when it's really cold.

 

[Krewz]

Thank you all for your responses.

I spoke with a guy from Appalachian today and he told me that they bought a truckload of tire/wheel combo's to install on a batch of "price point" trailers. I guess that means low cost? He said that they are not seconds and are indeed MILEST brand tires. I Googled MILEST and couldn't find them. He also told me that these tires do not have a warranty at all. He offered to sell me tire/wheel combo's for $70.00/per.

I have the one year warranty paper from when I bought the trailer. I hate the thought of small claims court, but what other option do I have?

If it worked, I attached a picture of the spare tire. Like the other four, you can see the name appears to have been altered.

It also appears that the cords are already showing on the side wall.

I have to wonder if they used "price point" parts anywhere else on the trailer.


Krewz

 

[Krewz]

I had this happen on a Tennessee Trailer. Turned out to be the U-Bolts were loose on the leaf-springs. When empty everything was tight because of the arch of the springs. When loaded the bolts were so loose I removed 14 of the 16 nuts with my bear hands.

Load your trailer down then tighten everything up. Go over each nut and bolt on the trailer. Mine ate tires just like yours did till I found out what was going on. Ate up 2 sets of tires in the mean time.

The issue is trailer manufactures have no quality control. Using a impact wrench to put them together is RED-NECK. Its fine to snug them up but you need quality control where a torque wrench is employed to assure everything is at spec. Heck, using a impact wrench it could be going south and say on day its set at 100 FT LB and the next day its at 65 FT LB and the following 30 FT LB before they realize the problem. In the mean time trailers have been shipped.

Chris

Thanks Chris.

I'll do that this weekend. :thumbsup:

Krewz

 

[Diamondpilot]

I have been in the trailer business and seen lots of shoddy things but this has to take the cake.

I would contact the better business bureau in the town that manufactures the trailers. I have done this twice, and both times gotten the results I wanted.

As for tire warranties, they are worthless. Its one of them things you just can not warranty due to abuse, ect. In your case your tires were junk to start with.

I would not want tires from the manufacture. I would get my own tires and keep the old ones for proof. Keep a detailed log of everything you do and receipts. Also, make sure they balance your new tires. Many believe trailer tires do not need to be balanced but it makes a big difference. I am guessing yours are not balanced currently.

Chris

 

[greasemonkeyok]

Have the DOT numbers been ground off? Those will tell you if you got a straight answer from the dealer.

How to Decode a Tire Identification Number to Determine Tire Age | eHow.com

 

[ultrarunner]

Once I bought a set of tires and they all went bad from Firestone... they were not expensive tires. They would split in the tread and develop lumps... well, two did and I wasn't going to wait for the other two.

I quickly replaced them with Michelins and no more problem...

Several years later I read there was a massive recall... all you had to do was bring in the tire for a full refund or exchange... you had to physically have the tire... which I no longer did...

 

[TheTrailerGuy]

Sad but true. The last four years have not been fun for the trailer industry and many companies are 'shaving the edge' of things too much. With 3,500lb axles, i would say that it is very likely your right rear spindle has gotten 'tweaked'.

It happens a lot more often on the right side than the left, because people have a tendency to hop over curbs with trailers while turning right. Go find something extremely straight and lay it front to back across the faces of both wheels on that side. If the spindle has gotten a little bent, then the tire will not be straight with the front one.

The funny thing is that i usually have people bend the FRONT right side spindle. Doing on the rear is a little unusual, but well within the realm of possibility.

Hope this helps.... now, go spring for a new set of steel belted st205/75R-15 C rated trailer tires and you will be good to go.

Craig Hull
AKA the trailer guy
Stateline Trailers

 

[TheTrailerGuy]

Thank you all for your responses.

I spoke with a guy from Appalachian today and he told me that they bought a truckload of tire/wheel combo's to install on a batch of "price point" trailers. I guess that means low cost? He said that they are not seconds and are indeed MILEST brand tires. I Googled MILEST and couldn't find them. He also told me that these tires do not have a warranty at all. He offered to sell me tire/wheel combo's for $70.00/per.

I have the one year warranty paper from when I bought the trailer. I hate the thought of small claims court, but what other option do I have?

If it worked, I attached a picture of the spare tire. Like the other four, you can see the name appears to have been altered.

It also appears that the cords are already showing on the side wall.

I have to wonder if they used "price point" parts anywhere else on the trailer.


Krewz

That is CRAZY! What kind of crap is that? Grinding off part of a tires name? Like... REALLY? Unheard of

 

[TheTrailerGuy]

I'll bet if you read your 1 year warranty it excludes wheels, tires, flooring and paint. Because those all things that get horribly abused on trailers and no one warrants them. It still stinks, but Caveat here... you have to LOOK at what you are paying for BEFORE you buy it. Hope you can get past it.

The Trailer Guy

 

[ultrarunner]

I'll bet if you read your 1 year warranty it excludes wheels, tires, flooring and paint. Because those all things that get horribly abused on trailers and no one warrants them. It still stinks, but Caveat here... you have to LOOK at what you are paying for BEFORE you buy it. Hope you can get past it.

The Trailer Guy

Even when I did a lot of auto arbitration cases... tires were always in a separate category and the manufacturer's written warranty most often referenced the separate tire manufacturer's warranty card.