Anyone hear of H188 brand tires?

[Mark42]

Looking at new tires in a 5.30 x12 LR C and found brand H188 at two different retailers. They are a dollar or two more than the Load Star brand. I have Load Star on one trailer now, and they perform fine.

Just wondering if H188 brand is good or has problems.

 

[starcraftkid]

Re: Anyone hear of H188 brand tires?

I just bought a pair of them in that size with rims down in DE.
They looked better in hand than the other brands they had. They look like a copy of some of the older tires we used to see. They're a nylon cord tire with a sawtooth tread pattern in load range C.
They really didn't look much different than the Load Star tires, and they only had the size I needed in the H188 tires.

Maybe they will last longer than the Load Star tires will? I've had dryrot issues with all the imported tires here. They often dryrot and crack in only a few years. I had one set of Load Star tires dryrot and crack while I worked on the boat, they were new at the end of 2008, I noticed some pretty severe dryrot cracks in the sidewalls the other day, and they were kept indoors in a garage. They are both 13" radials, under a rather light boat. I have one set of Carlisle tires that have about 100 miles or so on them, and about 6 years of age, have very little signs of age or cracking. The cracks on the Load Star tires are wide and most likely won't be usable, if they even continue to hold air. The tires are date coded 0607.

 

[pmillar]

Re: Anyone hear of H188 brand tires?

Be aware if you have a washer/dryer or any other large electric motor in a garage, they (electric motors) can create ozone which in turn breaks down the rubber in your tires. Another problem can be purchasing old new tires. By that I mean purchasing new tires that were manufactured years prior. It's something I learned about in the motorcycle world... date of manufacture should be stamped on the sidewall if you know how to decifer it. I'm not sure if trailer tires have a different code or if it's universal for all tires in the U.S. It's worth knowing and checking before buying new tires though.

 

[Mark42]

Re: Anyone hear of H188 brand tires?

I just bought a pair of them in that size with rims down in DE.
They looked better in hand than the other brands they had. They look like a copy of some of the older tires we used to see. They're a nylon cord tire with a sawtooth tread pattern in load range C.
They really didn't look much different than the Load Star tires, and they only had the size I needed in the H188 tires.

Maybe they will last longer than the Load Star tires will? I've had dryrot issues with all the imported tires here. They often dryrot and crack in only a few years. I had one set of Load Star tires dryrot and crack while I worked on the boat, they were new at the end of 2008, I noticed some pretty severe dryrot cracks in the sidewalls the other day, and they were kept indoors in a garage. They are both 13" radials, under a rather light boat. I have one set of Carlisle tires that have about 100 miles or so on them, and about 6 years of age, have very little signs of age or cracking. The cracks on the Load Star tires are wide and most likely won't be usable, if they even continue to hold air. The tires are date coded 0607.

Thanks for that assessment. I may have no choice, the dealer is out of the LoadStar I wanted.

Be aware if you have a washer/dryer or any other large electric motor in a garage, they (electric motors) can create ozone which in turn breaks down the rubber in your tires. Another problem can be purchasing old new tires. By that I mean purchasing new tires that were manufactured years prior. It's something I learned about in the motorcycle world... date of manufacture should be stamped on the sidewall if you know how to decifer it. I'm not sure if trailer tires have a different code or if it's universal for all tires in the U.S. It's worth knowing and checking before buying new tires though.

Yes, that is true. Have had that same issue with some small tractor tires I stored next to a washer/dryer. Two years later I went to use them and they started cracking apart.

 

[ifallsguy]

Re: Anyone hear of H188 brand tires?

I had a tire specialist tell me several years ago the normal life of a tire is 6 years from the date of manufacture. That is when it came off the mold machine. Voilatial oils and chemicals will be given off by the tire. Think of those new tire smells.

That means even if not used and stored well, tires age. So keep that in mind when storing tires. Being in the sun speeds the process---storing correctly does stretch it out a bit.


The guy is a friend of mine and wasn't trying to sell me anything. I wish I still had the article he refered to when we spoke about it.

 

[Mark42]

Re: Anyone hear of H188 brand tires?

I ordered the Load Star tires on Friday. Got an email that they are out of stock, so I went with the H188 tires that they do have in stock. A buck more a tire, so no big deal as long as they perform well.

BTW, when I called to change the order from Load Star to H188, the owner said that they were having problems getting the Load Star tires. Quantities just were not to be had. That is why he added the H188 brand to the lineup.

If they last 5 or 6 years, I'll be happy.

 

[Mark42]

Re: Anyone hear of H188 brand tires?

The tires came yesterday. They look good. They have a manufacture date of 11th week, 2010, so they are fresh. One nice feature is a heavy wrap around tread so the sidewall has tread that helps protect them from abrasion by rubbing curbes and the like. Not that I ever do that....