New Tire Problem

[CapriRacer]

Originally Posted by GCinSC2

CapriRacer,

Any chance for a picture of this type damage to help identify?

Gary

Google "Torn bead on tire". There are lots of variations, but here's the one I think best describes what I was referring to:

[GCinSC2]

I think I see, it creates a path for air pressure to get in between tire construction elements and blows the tire open internally.

[grovepark]

The tire has a date stamp of 4516. I will let you know what my mechanic thinks when I take it in this week. Here are a few more pictures. I just think I want a better set of tires on my International Serenity and I think the 16 inch Michelin LT225/75R16 XPS RIB will be safer. I can’t see any damage to the inter rim that might have caused the tire to balloon like it did

[Action]

Tire was made on the 45th week of 2016
That would have been in the November time frame.
Which makes the tire almost 5 years old

Action

[CapriRacer]

Originally Posted by grovepark

The tire has a date stamp of 4516. I will let you know what my mechanic thinks when I take it in this week. Here are a few more pictures. I just think I want a better set of tires on my International Serenity and I think the 16 inch Michelin LT225/75R16 XPS RIB will be safer. I can’t see any damage to the inter rim that might have caused the tire to balloon like it did

First, those tires are nearly 5 years old. So I am wondering about where those tires were stored until 4 months ago.

Second, torn bead toes occur during the mounting process and do NOT damage the wheel. The tear occurs as the tire is buttonhooked over the rim flange - just before the bead finally slips over. The bead toe can get caught. That's why I recommend using mounting lube on both the tire and the wheel. Tire mounters all too often don't do the wheels and sometimes don't even do the tire.

[smithcreek]

When did Goodyear start making Endurance tires? I bough mine in June of 2017 and they were the new kid on the block at that point. Weird that those have been sitting around so long.

[thewarden]

Originally Posted by smithcreek

When did Goodyear start making Endurance tires? I bough mine in June of 2017 and they were the new kid on the block at that point. Weird that those have been sitting around so long.

I am not sure the tires were sitting for all that long. They were manufactured in early November 2016 and mounted on a 2017 model AS, which could very well have been built in late 2016.

[smithcreek]

Originally Posted by thewarden

I am not sure the tires were sitting for all that long. They were manufactured in early November 2016 and mounted on a 2017 model AS, which could very well have been built in late 2016.

Ah, I read the title, "New Tire Problem" as a problem with a brand "new tire", not a "new problem" with an almost five year old tire. Now I get it. I looked back at teh thread, where did the whole "four month old" tire thing come from?

[CapriRacer]

Originally Posted by smithcreek

Ah, I read the title, "New Tire Problem" as a problem with a brand "new tire", not a "new problem" with an almost five year old tire. Now I get it. I looked back at the thread, where did the whole "four month old" tire thing come from?

I can not find the post now, but (if I remember correctly) there was a post that 2 months before the start of the trip they replaced the tires and they were 2 months into the trip.

OP, can you clarify?

It would make a difference, because my first reaction to the photo was that this looked like a tread separation - the very first from a GYE - but rejected that due to how long I thought the tire had been in service. If this tire was original to the trailer, then I may change my opinion.

Oh and I thought the GYE's were introduced in the fall of 2017. To find a GYE produced in late 2016 is a surprise.

[grovepark]

I had originally posted my tire problem on some one else posting, and I asked the administrator to remove it from that thread and he did and entitled it a a "New Tire Problem" not meaning that my problem was a New Tire Problem. Hope this clears things up a little. My airstream was built in March of 2017 and the tires were manufactured in November of 2016.

[grovepark]

Bottom Line Up Front:

My tires are almost 5 years old. I have one tire that has to be replaced because of the Balloon on the inside of the rim, which means I may as well replace the other tire and the spare tire. If I'm replacing the three tires, I may as well bite the bullitt and upgrade the rims to 16" and purchase a better Tire (Michelin). Just looking for advise on what the forum's opinion is about upgrading to Michelin Tires on 16 inch rims?

[Martee]

I fully agree with you, if changing out the GE for Michelin tires, now is the perfect time to upgrade to the 16" rims. But i sure hope you can find the 16" rims for Airstreams. Some AS owners I talked to, are wanting to do the same upgrade to 16" rims, and are having a significant difficulty finding those 16" rims. They appear to be in short supply.

[CapriRacer]

Originally Posted by grovepark

I had originally posted my tire problem on some one else posting, and I asked the administrator to remove it from that thread and he did and entitled it a a "New Tire Problem" not meaning that my problem was a New Tire Problem. Hope this clears things up a little. My airstream was built in March of 2017 and the tires were manufactured in November of 2016.

Thanks for the clarification. (For a while there, I thought I was losing my mind! Posts changing and all!)

I now officially change my diagnosis. That is likely a tread separation - and the very first one for a GYE. I won't discount the possibility that there is something else going on.

That one data point isn't enough to change my position that Goodyear has fixed the problem - given that it took 5 years for the first one to show up and it is only one! Plus we think that a lot of these have been produced - way more than any other ST tire.

So now onto what to look for to confirm. It now becomes very important that you cut the sidewall where the bulge was. You want to look at the belt edges - near the tread. That will mean making the cut large enough to peel back the rubber.

If it is a tread separation, what you should see is that the ends of the belt are loose and NOT in a tight bundle.

If it is what I initially thought, the rubber will only have peeled off the fabric and the belt package will be tight to the plies.

ALTERNATIVELY!! You could contact Goodyear and tell them you have a suspected tread separation and want to have the entire set of tires replaced. It is possible that they would replace the entire set FOR FREE! More likely they will prorate the exchange. Either way, the cost to you would be small. If I was the design engineer for those tires, I would want to see them! (And you can tell them that!)

[grovepark]

Originally Posted by CapriRacer

Thanks for the clarification. (For a while there, I thought I was losing my mind! Posts changing and all!)

I now officially change my diagnosis. That is likely a tread separation - and the very first one for a GYE. I won't discount the possibility that there is something else going on.

That one data point isn't enough to change my position that Goodyear has fixed the problem - given that it took 5 years for the first one to show up and it is only one! Plus we think that a lot of these have been produced - way more than any other ST tire.

So now onto what to look for to confirm. It now becomes very important that you cut the sidewall where the bulge was. You want to look at the belt edges - near the tread. That will mean making the cut large enough to peel back the rubber.

If it is a tread separation, what you should see is that the ends of the belt are loose and NOT in a tight bundle.

If it is what I initially thought, the rubber will only have peeled off the fabric and the belt package will be tight to the plies.

ALTERNATIVELY!! You could contact Goodyear and tell them you have a suspected tread separation and want to have the entire set of tires replaced. It is possible that they would replace the entire set FOR FREE! More likely they will prorate the exchange. Either way, the cost to you would be small. If I was the design engineer for those tires, I would want to see them! (And you can tell them that!)

capriracer :
How / who would I contact At Goodyear to request a review of my tire (s) for replacement or prorate on new tires?

Respectfully
James Smelser

[Action]

https://www.goodyear.com/en-US/company/contact-goodyear

You might wan to structure your approach as .... Would you be interested in????

If you start off with the word "I" followed by an ask, it may not go over as well as, this happened and I wonder if you are interested.

If they are interested then you can approach how an exchange might work. If they are interested it would be for analysis by an engineer. However when you call you are not talking to an engineer. Your are talking to a customer service person.

An engineer doesn't care what it costs to get the right kind of real world data. Want a brand new set? Engineer says works for me, company is buying. But to get there you have to go threw some people first and it tire HAS to be something the engineer wants to see/study.

So it is not a warranty or an adjustment or a prorate thing because a 5 year old tire is beyond that. It will be an exchange for real world test that the company has not seen or seen too little of. If they are interested they will pay. But you have to find out if they are interested first. Going through a dealer is another way to the company.

I worked for a non-tire manufacturer out in the field. When some one from engineering wanted to find a specific part, the company would pay for an entire repair IF the part fit the situation that was being searched for.

Action

[grovepark]

Thanks, I will follow your advise and contact them.

[CapriRacer]

Originally Posted by grovepark

capriracer :
How / who would I contact At Goodyear to request a review of my tire (s) for replacement or prorate on new tires?

Respectfully
James Smelser

Here's what is written in the warranty booklet published on Tire Rack's website:

*********************************************
FOR SERVICE ASSISTANCE OR INFORMATION, FIRST CONTACT THE
NEAREST GOODYEAR RETAILER.

1) For assistance in locating the nearest Goodyear Retailer, call
1-800-GOODYEAR or look in the Yellow Pages under Tire Dealers – New.

2) Go to www.goodyear.com for the U.S. or www.goodyear.ca for Canada.
If additional assistance is required:

Call the Customer Assistance Center
at 1-800-321-2136 for U.S. or 1-800-387-3288 for Canada
email: goodyear_cr@goodyear.com or write:

Customer Assistance Center
Dept 728
200 Innovation Way
Akron, OH 44316-0001

*********************************

I am going to disagree with Action (see above). The tire has a 6 year materials and workmanship warranty (If the 2016 warranty is the same as today's - and that's likely! - Check with the warranty book you should have gotten when you purchased the vehicle.) - and this failure is one of those (assuming I have correctly diagnosed the failure mode.)

So I would start by calling their 800 number. Explain you have had a tire failure and request warranty assistance. They will likely direct you to a dealer. Tell them you would like to have an adjustment for all 4 tires (or is it 5?).

Action is right that you will be talking to a Customer Service representative and that person will have little technical expertise. You might suggest that this may be something a design engineer may want to look at.

They should give you some sort of way to reference the exchange, perhaps a reference number.

Since you have the tire and wheel off the vehicle and can afford the time (??), go ahead and follow their request to go to a dealer. When there, have them dismount the tire and do a quick exam. The dealer likely does not have the expertise to properly diagnose the problem, but they will likely give you their opinion. You should also mention your conversation with the 800 number.

That should trigger the dealer to call the 800 number. Request that an engineer examine the tire.

What happens after that depends a lot on your ability to negotiate. Be matter-of-fact. Loud customers are not impressive.

Good Luck!

[RamRider]

I agree this is probably road or curb damage and would stick with the GYE tire which is a superior tire for trailers which gives you better flexibility with respect to the selection of proper air pressure based on trailer wt.

[Mollysdad]

Originally Posted by grovepark

My tires are almost 5 years old. I have one tire that has to be replaced because of the Balloon on the inside of the rim, which means I may as well replace the other tire and the spare tire. If I'm replacing the three tires, I may as well bite the bullitt and upgrade the rims to 16" and purchase a better Tire (Michelin).

I wouldn't concede that the Michelins are a "better tire" than the Endurance. The Michelins are a light truck tire since Michelin makes no approved trailer tires. (I switched to Michelin Defenders on my truck and couldn't be happier, but I kept the Endurance on the trailer and also couldn't be happier.

Just looking for advise on what the forum's opinion is about upgrading to Michelin Tires on 16 inch rims?

It come's down to the Benjamins. Do you want to spend on new rims? I didn't. Many do.
Also there's a slight benefit in that the 16" rims will not spin as fast as the 15" rims, so you'll have less wear and heat. Not sure it's measurable.
You might offset the cost of Michelins and rims if you sell the old tires/rims on Craig's List.

[Buckless]

In the past I have had tires on automobiles to do the same thing. I could not afford new tires. It is usually due to a problem in manufacturing process and can happen to any brand if not done correctly.
If caught early while bubble is small I have used a straight pin to poke a small hole only through the outer rubber to let the air out of the bubble only.
The tire pressure will stay up.
Not advising you to do that but can help out of bad situations without a spare or ability to change tire at the moment.