Westlake Tire Failure

[TucsonJim]

I have yet to see any tire shops use a safety cage when airing up tires.

When I was a young guy, I worked for Goodyear. We only used the cage if we were inflating split ring truck tires.

Jim

[carguytx]

I have read some articles that have suggested that you can use LT tires on your RV. Is there any truth to this?

[Second Chance]

I have read some articles that have suggested that you can use LT tires on your RV. Is there any truth to this?

There are folks who do - but the sidewalls in an LT tire are very different from those in an ST tire. I personally would not do it. You'll also have a hard time finding a load range G in an LT tire - if at all.

Rob

[Country Campers]

I have read some articles that have suggested that you can use LT tires on your RV. Is there any truth to this?

I have done this. When truck tires got low I would move to my utility trailer , 10,000 3 gross. This was only used locally. ST tires , or Special Trailer tires , have a much stiffer side wall providing much better sway control. Low profile trailers are not affected by this as much as our tall trailers. I would not do this on any RV style trailer unless an emergency.

Brian

[Cate&Rob]

I have read some articles that have suggested that you can use LT tires on your RV. Is there any truth to this?

About 20 years ago, trailer tire manufacturing moved "off shore" and quality was abysmal. Hence, the term "china bomb" came into being for those tires. The only alternative was LT tires (at the time) and some towable RVs of that era are actually designed and spec'd (on the tire label) with LT tires. Current towable RVs are spec'd with ST tires which have the attributes previously described. There is no current tire manufacturer that recommends LT tires rather than ST tires for a towable RV.

Rob

[phillmb74]

I just had a horrible experience with the Westlake tires.
I have a 2019 Transcend 28mks. The tires were in good shape with plenty of tread, maybe 5 to 8k miles on them.
Anyways I was driving CA 395 and in a work zone, I was only going 45 to 50 mph. Suddenly I felt shaking, and looked in my passenger side mirror, to see all sorts of dabre and stuff flying down the highway. I pulled over a soon as I could. When I got back to the passenger side of my TT, I seen wood and installation hanging out my wheel well. The tire was still inflated, but the entire rubber tread had separated from the tire, all of it. Never seen that before.
The tread had exploded through my floor and destroyed are drawers cabinet. It was like a bomb went off inside my RV. It was a catastrophic failure of the tire. They were in good shape and all at 80 psi. I was able to get to a RV park down the road in bishop CA. Where several RV owners, especially Grand design owners told me Westlake tires were the worst, and said it happens more than you think. Now a call to insurance and a lot of work to do.
"Pictures below" thanks for reading and be safe.

[howson]

phillmb74 -- unfortunately not the first time I've seen this on a Westlake tire.



Do an internet image search and I'll bet you'll find more examples.

Hope you're fixed up and back on the road soon.

Howard

[TucsonJim]

I just had a horrible experience with the Westlake tires.
I have a 2019 Transcend 28mks. The tires were in good shape with plenty of tread, maybe 5 to 8k miles on them.
Anyways I was driving CA 395 and in a work zone, I was only going 45 to 50 mph. Suddenly I felt shaking, and looked in my passenger side mirror, to see all sorts of dabre and stuff flying down the highway. I pulled over a soon as I could. When I got back to the passenger side of my TT, I seen wood and installation hanging out my wheel well. The tire was still inflated, but the entire rubber tread had separated from the tire, all of it. Never seen that before.
The tread had exploded through my floor and destroyed are drawers cabinet. It was like a bomb went off inside my RV. It was a catastrophic failure of the tire. They were in good shape and all at 80 psi. I was able to get to a RV park down the road in bishop CA. Where several RV owners, especially Grand design owners told me Westlake tires were the worst, and said it happens more than you think. Now a call to insurance and a lot of work to do.
"Pictures below" thanks for reading and be safe.

What a terrible way to welcome you to the forum. I had the exact same failure in 2016. Fully inflated but the tread came off. Please share how your resolution with insurance works out.



Jim

[Yoda]

We were traveling on I-81 in VA @ ~65-70mph when I heard a huge BANG!
Sean
Davie, FL (currently Williamsport, PA).

Also keep on mind the Westlake speed rating is only 67 MPH I believe. Sorry for your experience but what is important everyone is safe. I upgraded from the 15" Westlakes to 16" GY Endurance. They have a speed rating of 87 MPH I believe. I needed a bit of lift for the new truck so that why I changed tire sizes.. I always run max COLD PSI of 80. Remember your tires will increase in pressure after running down the road. If checking at a rest stop DO NOT REDUCE the tire pressure if it is over 80. This could result in under inflation.

Now due to bending my axles on the Alaska trip I will soon need new tires. I am seriously considering the Michelin XPS Rib LT tire https://www.discounttire.com/buy-tir...221023150620:s

I ran LT tires on my previous trailer without issue.

Just food for thought
Keith

On edit I see the Westlakes are now rated at 75 mph - I am pretty sure the ones I had (2017 manufacturer) were less than that.

[TucsonJim]

On edit I see the Westlakes are now rated at 75 mph - I am pretty sure the ones I had (2017 manufacturer) were less than that.

Keith - Prior to February 2015, they were rated for 65 mph. After the second week of Feb 2015, they were approved and rated for 75 mph. I was in the factory when they got their first batch of 75 mph tires in.

Jim

[trkester]

What a terrible way to welcome you to the forum. I had the exact same failure in 2016. Fully inflated but the tread came off. Please share how your resolution with insurance works out.



Jim

+1 on the tread unwinding right off the tire. 63-64 mph, tires properly inflated, ~4000 miles, 4 years old. I WAS going to replace the 15" Westlakes at the end of the summer. Ended up replacing them all when we had the destruction. I didn't want more damage and another episode of laying under the trailer along side I-94 getting out the spare, and changing a tire. Fortunately the Discount Tire in Benton Harbor, MI had 5 Endurance in stock and handled me in under an hour between campgrounds on a 2 week trip.

Damaged the skirting, a tiny but of scrape on the bottom of the floor and ripped the gas line right out of the back of the stove and gas distribution block. (line runs under the slide and up the wall) I never did find the hose.

Insurance is paying $1500 in damages. We'll see if that's the final amount once I get in for my Nov 23rd appointment. Parts are in but multi-month wait for an appt. 😔

An observation (not fully Howard'ish documented) looking at my TPMS is that the Goodyears are running cooler and not ramping up as high a pressure when driving like the Westlakes did.

Terry

[Cate&Rob]

Reigniting a “tire wars” discussion . . . how unusual, LOL!

I am one of the many owners who never had a problem with Westlake. I ran the original Westlake E tires for two seasons and about 10,000 miles with no problems. Because of all the Westlake drama, I replaced these earlier than I probably needed to and went to Maxxis (Endurance were not in the market yet) and after three more seasons and another 15,000 miles without problems (other than road debris punctures) I replaced these with another set of Maxxis tires.

Despite discussions on RV forums (a small percentage of RV owners) Westlake supplies the OE tires for the vast majority of towable RVs and has statistical data that their failure rate is as good as or less than other tire manufacturers. There are more failures because they sell more tires. Who should we believe ?? An internet search will find pictures of trailer tire failures for every brand of tire.

Any tires that live in the US southwest or travel at over their rated speed or below their rated pressure are at greater risk of failure. When a tire fails on a new trailer, one has to wonder what that tire experienced on its trip from the factory to the dealer.

Yoda Keith . . . be careful with the LT tire idea. You will not likely find any tire manufacturer still recommending LT (light truck) tires on a trailer. There was a time (20 years ago now!) when ST (trailer) tire quality was so bad (the era of the "China Bomb" reputation) that LT tires were the only option. Since then, ST tire production has improved dramatically and these tires have sidewalls designed for the twisting action of tandem axle trailers. LT tires do not.

There is no "right answer" to this debate. If another brand of tires gives you “peace of mind”, the expense of replacing tires is probably worth it. I do think that 3 years is the maximum time to run a set of trailer tires. This is less than most manufacturers recommend. There is always a good market for used trailer tires with reasonable tread depth and date codes only 3 to 4 years old.

Rob

[Jlawles2]

Also keep on mind the Westlake speed rating is only 67 MPH I believe. Sorry for your experience but what is important everyone is safe. I upgraded from the 15" Westlakes to 16" GY Endurance. They have a speed rating of 87 MPH I believe. I needed a bit of lift for the new truck so that why I changed tire sizes.. I always run max COLD PSI of 80. Remember your tires will increase in pressure after running down the road. If checking at a rest stop DO NOT REDUCE the tire pressure if it is over 80. This could result in under inflation.

Now due to bending my axles on the Alaska trip I will soon need new tires. I am seriously considering the Michelin XPS Rib LT tire https://www.discounttire.com/buy-tir...221023150620:s

I ran LT tires on my previous trailer without issue.

Just food for thought
Keith

On edit I see the Westlakes are now rated at 75 mph - I am pretty sure the ones I had (2017 manufacturer) were less than that.

Keith, one of my co-workers has a side company that does hot shot. they run https://www.discounttire.com/buy-tir...uravis-m700-hd on both truck and trailers. Says they have good service out of them. Speed rated up to 106 MPH .

[TucsonJim]

Cate&Rob - I think there is a very unique failure mode with the Westlake tires. I know you don't participate too much on FB, but there are dozens of examples of this failure mode posted there. I've never seen another brand that has the cap pull off while still inflated. It's almost like they are assembled similar to a recap. It starts with a small crack between the tread, and blossoms into a wider crack, and then the tread separates completely. As it's separating, the tread will remain partially attached for several revolutions, and the flapping remnants beat the tar out of the underside of the trailer. And when the owner pulls over, the damage is done and the tire is still fully inflated.

But the best one I've ever seen happened to me. I had a Tow Master ST tire that was mounted in the spare position on my last brand of RV. It was only four months old and had never been on the ground. The spare on that rig was on one of those bumper mounts. So I had a spare tire cover over it to protect it from sun damage. Ginnie and I were sitting in the back yard and heard a sound like a very large firecracker. When we investigated, the Tow Master had blown into dozens of little pieces. Strangest thing I've ever seen when it comes to tires.

Jim

[Jlawles2]

Mom and Dad's 1982 model motor home had similar tire failure to the Westlake's. BF. Goodrich tires IIRC. They were similar to a class 8 tire in tread design with a wide center section and 1 groove on each side. The center section would de-laminate and do just as Jim mentions. BEAT everything around it as it came off. We were going through tires at the rate of 300 miles between pit stops.

Come to find out from an old school tire guy, the chassis was supplied with generic UNDER RATED tires, then someone went and built a motorhome on top and never thought to check the tires and change to the proper load rating. We ended up with a couple of used in extremely decent shape tires off a News Station van that lasted a couple of years before they replaced all 6.

Funny thing with loosing the center like Jim says, the tire stayed fully inflated. Even more strange is it worked out that just about every location on the RV was changed at 300 mile intervals.