General concensus on USA vs. China Tires?

[Lou C]

Re: General concensus on USA vs. China Tires?

Same here, I have a set on my old Load Rite that are 6 seasons old and they have no cracks at all. I don't trailer much but tires can get cracks just sitting around. Load Star does seem to be one of the better trailer tire brands, they come on new Load Rites, 5-Starrs and Ventures...

 

[Mark42]

Re: General concensus on USA vs. China Tires?

I have no problem paying double, just for the sake of "made in America". My concern was that I heard too many negative comments on the USA Trail, while the comments on the Load Stars are generally good.

This is a very overlooked point. The fact that both the H188 and Loadstar brands have had no reported problems makes it very difficult to justify spending twice the price on a "made in America" brand. In this specific case, the "Made in America" label does not buy me anything for my extra (100% more) dollars. If Carslile (or any other brand) wants us to be patriotic and "buy American", they need to get more competitive than costing 100% more than the competition. Maybe at a 20% premium I would chose an American brand. But in today's economy, and with the current administration running the country, I have to watch every penny.

For those of you prosperous enough to be able to afford paying 100% more for tires, I applaud you. Nothing wrong with having a plentiful income. The rest of us will watch our pennies so our kids can go to college, etc. Gotta look at the big picture.

 

[eli_lilly]

Re: General concensus on USA vs. China Tires?

Sow what's the verdict for Kenda Load Stars?

It's the only decent Chinese trailer tire. You could almost say that they are good.

-E

 

[wbc1957]

Re: General concensus on USA vs. China Tires?

I find is interesting that people still try to find a better answer for something so simple to understand. The St's (special trailer service) and trailer tires are made with more natural rubber in their construction, which allows them to last longer without dry rot. An LT tire (light truck) is only giving you more load capacity and offers no more lasting dry rot than a standard passenger tire. As for bias versus radial, the answer was simply made decades ago. A bias tire has construction with the grain running bias to each ply, and threfore it runs hotter at high speeds. The radial is constructed with the grain running its radius, which allows it to run cooler and therefore with less fuel consumpsion. Natural rubber trailer tires last longer due to the natural rubber not rotting as fast due to the ozone. Synthetic rubber tires, like passenger, LT light truck, and any other wrong application tire, is going to rot faster. As for China versus American, it still boils down to quality. Case closed.