Tire Travail

[kevin_standlee]

Today, Lisa and I are starting the process of getting her trailer road-worthy again. It hasn't turned a wheel in seven years, and the tires are fifteen years old and the sidewalls are cracking, so clearly we need to replace all five (including the spare). We don't have the heavy jack-stands that would be needed to take them all off at once, so we'll have to do it in stages: spare + 1 tire, then two more, then the last one. (The jack itself holds up the one blank space in any given case.) So this afternoon we're taking the first two tires in for replacement.

Much to Lisa's frustration (and mine), even the theoretically best brand trailer tires (Goodyear Marathons) are being made in China now. There are no remaining non-Chinese-based trailer tire manufacturers. Yes, these are US (and other) companies who own and run plants in China, but she (and others I've read) are concerned about the lack of "quality culture" in many of the Chinese plants. It's one thing when you're dealing with pieces of equipment that, when they fail, will cause you annoyance and expense. It's entirely another when dealing with tires, which, if they fail catastrophically, can kill you.

Comments

[dd-b.livejournal.com]

But then, I'm rather concerned about the lack of a "quality culture" in many American plants,too.

[kevin-standlee.livejournal.com]

True, but Lisa also is very concerned about sending more and more US money into China. Even if the US-made quality was no better than the Chinese, she'd rather spend the $700-plus on US products than sending it to a country that she doesn't trust.

[howeird]

Looks like there may be one brand made in the USA:
http://www.easternmarine.com/Carlisle-Trailer-Tires-Only/
But don't all tires sold here have to pass federal safety standards?

[kevin-standlee.livejournal.com]

That's limited to what they had on hand, and we'd have to have them shipped here. I actually called Carlisle, and they admitted that all their new tires are made in China.

Sure, they're supposed to meet federal standards, but I don't trust the standards to be enforced. At some point it's cheaper to just pay off a few claims.