Buying "G" tires

[mstan]

I read through most of the pages of this thread. Having just purchased a 2015 38 GK Redwood I am looking at everything to see if I done the right thing. LOL! Buyers remorse I guess. I owned for the past 10 years a Carriage Carri-ite which as not as heavy as the GK. My carriage had the Goodyear G614's on my carriage. I had more trouble than I have time to recount with these tires. I know many vouch for them being very dependable. But I had 2 delaminate and totally tear up the side of my Carriage within the first 2 years of ownership. Then replace all four tires and lost 3 more over the next 3 years. I always run my tires at max air pressure. I have TPMS and proved to Goodyear that they were at max air because the failure was not due to air pressure but the tread would separate. Sure Goodyear pays for em and the repairs that the insurance didn't cover. But once the side of your RV is tore up due to tire failure it is never fixed right nor looks the same again. Ironically the last failure I pulled into a Truck Tire center and could not find a Goodyear anywhere within a 350 mile radius that could be shipped to me. This was up in Texarkana Tx. They sold me some E rated Bridgestone Duraves that they put on Ambulances and some trucks. These tires were on my Carriage when I sold it. 4+ years. They out performed the Goodyear hands down. Now I was nervous everything I towed because I know that technically those tires should have not been rated for the RV. But it worked. Now my new GK has those same tires on it. What is blowing my mind is that my dealer which I purchased from told me they only run 80 Psi in them. Is that right guys? Max air is 110 psi. Maybe that is what I was doing wrong huh?

[Dad & The Boys]

Things just got worse for us and our tire situation. So far, we have had 4 Goodyear tires blow apart or loose the tread in less than a 1 and 1/2 year span. The last blowout, damaged the side of our 2013 Redwood, along with the braking system. Goodyear made good on the tire and damage to our rig, and we filed a complaint with Redwood. Of course Redwood told us there was nothing they could do. We finally, had enough of Goodyear and bought 5 "g" rated tires that were NOT Goodyear. I did notice that on the 2014, our model Redwood, the tires were changed to Goodyear "g" rated tires. I guess Redwood decided there may be a problem. Thanks to all who gave us advice on the tire situation.

[sinder]

I've been running my G14 tires at 110 since 2012. We've got approximately 16k miles on them. I had read somewhere previously that Goodyear had both China and U.S. models. I was informed that I should definitely look at the country of mfg and the date.

[rob_fla]

Originally Posted by Dad & The Boys

Things just got worse for us and our tire situation. So far, we have had 4 Goodyear tires blow apart or loose the tread in less than a 1 and 1/2 year span. The last blowout, damaged the side of our 2013 Redwood, along with the braking system. Goodyear made good on the tire and damage to our rig, and we filed a complaint with Redwood. Of course Redwood told us there was nothing they could do. We finally, had enough of Goodyear and bought 5 "g" rated tires that were NOT Goodyear. I did notice that on the 2014, our model Redwood, the tires were changed to Goodyear "g" rated tires. I guess Redwood decided there may be a problem. Thanks to all who gave us advice on the tire situation.

The Goodyear tires that blew apart, were they the Goodyear "E" rated Marathon's ?

[ltcmiller]

Ok, as I just posted on another thread about tires, I just had my 5th blow out! First three were GY E-rated. Last two were G's. After the first 4 dropped my speed and was doing 65 with posted limit of 80 in west Texas. TP all around was 110 and after the last one in April I had the rig weighed and I was under by about 3K so that wasn't the issue. This GY 614 blew on the inside side wall on the left rear tire. Also blew out the valve stem. Tire was smoking better than a Texas BQ pit so suspect heat was the issue. Was only 1 hour into a 5 hour trip home. Five hrs because now with no spare I dropped my speed to 60 for the remainder of the trip. I have followed all the solutions on this site or others for two years, had four damage claims to USAA, Goodyear paying for new tire and my $1000 deductible each time. But at some point, having GY make good is no longer my main concern. I am making another claim to them, but going to "H" rated in either the GY G-114 or the Hercules H-902.

[piper guy]

A question, and this is a long shot, what type of brakes on coach ? Disk or drum, and is there a chance the brakes are dragging to the point of trnsfering heat through the wheel ? I know, really long shot.


I'm also presuming alignment has been checked and the tire wear is even.


Can't figure this one, my RL has G's and I've towed over 16,000 miles with no issue. Tire wear is even and every time I stop I check all 4 with a digital temp gauge. Have never had one over 140 degrees even in July.


I'm totally stumped.

[Dave&Ginny]

Look at your suspension. Something is causing extra heat buildup and in all probability it's either going to be your bearings or suspension.

[ltcmiller]

Originally Posted by piper guy

A question, and this is a long shot, what type of brakes on coach ? Disk or drum, and is there a chance the brakes are dragging to the point of trnsfering heat through the wheel ? I know, really long shot.


I'm also presuming alignment has been checked and the tire wear is even.


Can't figure this one, my RL has G's and I've towed over 16,000 miles with no issue. Tire wear is even and every time I stop I check all 4 with a digital temp gauge. Have never had one over 140 degrees even in July.


I'm totally stumped.

Not sure, but am going to have them check the bearings. Thanks.

[markw]

That was caused be too much heat that caused pressure to build until the tire failed. I think critical temp is about 157+ deg. A tire can also lose pressure and then heat up, which will raise the pressure again till it blows. And as said the heat can be from brakes or bearings.

Mark

[superdav]

Well we just had our first blow out with our Redwood 36FL. The tires all got replaced (under warranty) about a year and half ago due to an alignment issue from the factory....long story.

The tires are E Series Goodyear Marathon. Before we came home from a short trip we noticed that the Left Rear tire was about 5 lbs low....couldn't find a nail or anything so I just inflated it back to 80 PSI like the others...after about 20 minutes we hit a small chuck hole that gave a bigger bump than I expected and the same tire blew.

I'm taking it in tomorrow to get a new tire. We think there must have been something in it and the chuck hole pushed it through.

I'm sure they are going to try and push us in to a G series....I don't want to do it yet since the tires are just over a year old.....We are not overweight. Was 80 PSI too much? Should I check the heat temperature often?

[hoosierguy]

Originally Posted by ltcmiller

Ok, as I just posted on another thread about tires, I just had my 5th blow out! First three were GY E-rated. Last two were G's. After the first 4 dropped my speed and was doing 65 with posted limit of 80 in west Texas. TP all around was 110 and after the last one in April I had the rig weighed and I was under by about 3K so that wasn't the issue. This GY 614 blew on the inside side wall on the left rear tire. Also blew out the valve stem. Tire was smoking better than a Texas BQ pit so suspect heat was the issue. Was only 1 hour into a 5 hour trip home. Five hrs because now with no spare I dropped my speed to 60 for the remainder of the trip. I have followed all the solutions on this site or others for two years, had four damage claims to USAA, Goodyear paying for new tire and my $1000 deductible each time. But at some point, having GY make good is no longer my main concern. I am making another claim to them, but going to "H" rated in either the GY G-114 or the Hercules H-902.

I would recommend that you need to be having the wheel / axle / suspension system completely checked. Something is dramatically wrong there.

I have Goodyear G614's that were balanced at the time of our purchase nearly 4 years ago and we have pulled nearly 15K miles from Indiana to Colorado to Washington State to Florida with no issues (so far). The only thing that I have done is to make sure the pressures are 110 PSI before any major pull and I rarely drive over 63 MPH.

[Rosey]

Originally Posted by hoosierguy

I would recommend that you need to be having the wheel / axle / suspension system completely checked. Something is dramatically wrong there.

"The only thing that I have done is to make sure the pressures are 110 PSI before any major pull and I rarely drive over 63 MPH" .

I'm convinced that sustained speed over 65mph is a contributing factor (heat buildup) with these heavy 5er tire failures ( got into a tiff tiff with another member about this who claimed that his disk brakes & G rated tires were the answer to everything). I try to maintain between 55 to 60mph.

[coloradolivin]

Originally Posted by Rosey

I'm convinced that sustained speed over 65mph is a contributing factor (heat buildup) with these heavy 5er tire failures ( got into a tiff tiff with another member about this who claimed that his disk brakes & G rated tires were the answer to everything). I try to maintain between 55 to 60mph.

So our 14 GK has the GY G tires and drum brakes. With 2 major vacays under our belt, numerous trips to the dealer 3 hrs one way and a bonus trip to the manufacturer 1400 miles each way, we now have about 8000-9000 miles on the rig. Suspension sucks, but the tires are still in good shape. Have had to redo the backing plates and repack once.

[Rick and Mindy]

I believe the "E" rated tire is only rated for 65mph max. Anyone doing over that speed with those tires is asking for problems. Personally, I just set my cruise between 55 and 60 and let everyone pass me if they don't like it. I'm not taking any chances on the "E" tire and it's no big deal if I get there 30 minutes or an hour later. I also get 12 - 13 mpg's when cruising at 55-57.

[coloradolivin]

Originally Posted by Rosey

I'm convinced that sustained speed over 65mph is a contributing factor (heat buildup) with these heavy 5er tire failures ( got into a tiff tiff with another member about this who claimed that his disk brakes & G rated tires were the answer to everything). I try to maintain between 55 to 60mph.

Oh, I forgot, last trip in April, I ran 70mph + on some of the interstates.

[Titan Guy]

I don't think properly working electric brakes are the or any problem. As electric brakes go thru heat & cooling cycles the magnets are de-magnetized at different rates so you end up re-adjusting your in cab controlled to try to compensate for the change in braking. This results in each position grabbing at different rates hence more heat build up in certain positions.

[Rosey]

Originally Posted by Rick and Mindy

I believe the "E" rated tire is only rated for 65mph max. Anyone doing over that speed with those tires is asking for problems. Personally, I just set my cruise between 55 and 60 and let everyone pass me if they don't like it. I'm not taking any chances on the "E" tire and it's no big deal if I get there 30 minutes or an hour later. I also get 12 - 13 mpg's when cruising at 55-57.

Agree Rick ......& I'm running H rated Goodyears.

[mstan]

Originally Posted by rob_fla

SOB = Some Other Brand
Usually referring to a previous different brand RV

If you have 7,000 lb. axles like we do and a GVW of 16,500 lbs. like we do, the calculation assumes at least 2,500 lbs. of the weight is on the pin box / truck bed and not on the axles.

So it would be 14,000 lbs. on the axles and 2,500 lbs. on the Pin Box for a total of 16,500 lbs. but most of our Pin Box weights are really closer to 3,500 lbs. plus, so only approx. 13,000 lbs. or less is actually on axles.

Robert this is why I contend that the G rated Tires are not the proper rated tires for the RW. Especially mine which is a the 38 GK. I had the GY G-614's on my previous Fiver and it was not as heavy as the RW. Multiply tire separations. I run TPMS and they can do nothing for you with a tread separation issue. The RW need to come standard with the 17.5 H rated tire. I would like to up grade to them and will asap. But another concern is the height of the frame from the ground. It is already setting very low.

[mhs4771]

On new RWs, if you order the 8K axles they come with GY G114 17.5" tires and wheels.

[mstan]

Yes! I noticed that while looking at the RW website this week. But that wasn't available when I purchased mine just a month ago. I have approached my dealer about making the upgrade. They scratch their heads and act like they don't know what I am talking about. The overwhelming majority of RV's sold are to people who have little or no knowledge about the most important components and life of their towing experience.