I have Mission tires on my 5er. On the Heartland owners forum, lots of owners talk about problems with them. Was wondering if any of you have any experience with them and any suggestions. My trailer is new, bought about 7 weeks ago.

Thanks

On the Montana Owners forum some poeple said they have 15,000 - 20,000 miles on thier Mission tries with no problems and others that say they had flats on thier first trip.

So far I have 3,000 miles and no problems with mine.

I notice that NuWa is now putting these tires on some 2008 HitchHiker models.  It will be interesting to follow the forums to see what if any problems develop with this brand.  I have a lot of respect for NuWa's management so hopefully they have made a good decision to go with these tires.  Time will tell.

At least by the time we are ready to buy next year there will be a track record to look at!

One piece of advice.  Regardless of make, be sure you check the air pressure often,  keep them aired up to the proper level and don't overload them!

-- Edited by wmalefyt at 10:27, 2007-07-19

I do not know about these tires but I read somewhere that it is not always the miles you have on a tire but also the years. Some tires after 4 years should be changed out even though they have low milage. I do not know how much truth there is to that but it is somthing to think about. Joe

I have Mission Tires on my unit. It's a 2006 Montana.  I contacted Keystone about my tires before I took possession of the unit.  I was told that Keystone changed the "type" of Mission tires they are installing on their units.  They were using a Mission tire before, but it wasn't designed very well for the weight. They have upgraded the tires from several years ago. Anyway, I haven't had any problems with mine yet. I can set the air for 80lbs and it holds it in all tires. It took about 9 months for my tires to lose air (about 5 lbs).  So, mine really holds the air good.  I set them at 80lbs again in May, and drove to Arizona (where I'm at right now) and they're still holding 80lbs. They're wearing ok too.  So far I'm happy with them.

I think tires are like everything else....You'll have some good ones you'll have some bad ones, you just have to take care of the ones you have. Joe

Speedhitch wrote:

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I think tires are like everything else....You'll have some good ones you'll have some bad ones, you just have to take care of the ones you have.

Joe

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Well said! everyone just needs to keep an eye on the condition, pressure, and temperature of their tires

Ok, like I have said, we have a Keystone Challenger 5ver. They have those China Bomb Mission tires on it. Although we have traveled alot over the past year with no problems, this past Christmas had 3, yes 3, blowouts!! This was all within a 2 week time period. So they basically all went out together. Luckily no damage to the RV. I was traveling behind the hubby and saw the small pieces of rubbing starting to fly before any damage could be done. So now we are looking for new tires. We wanna replace them with something that will last awhile. We understand all the basics of tire wear, checking tire pressure, speed etc.. We just want to know what tires you have purchased on your 5vers. We have consulted with our RV dealer and local tire shops. But what do ya'll think is a good replacement tire and something that won't break the bank! The quotes we have gotten for tires are nauseating! Thanks!

We replaced the Power King E rated tires that came standard on our Carriage Cameo with Freestar FS-574 G rated tires and have been very happy with them after about 25-30K towing. Yes, they are Chinese, but I don't believe everything made in China is junk. Good luck,

Our 5th wheel had tires from General on it. Within a couple of years, weekend trips only and one 7000 mile trip the tires, one by one, began to come apart. Every Alfa owner had the same trouble. Luckily, general stood behind their tires and provided compensation towards a new set and paid for repairs to some damage caused by the tread flapping. I've put two Goodyear sets on since then, and haven't had any trouble. I had to replace the first Goodyear set after 5 years due to cracks in the sidewall due to UV damage. Even with cracks up to an 1/8 inch wide these tires stayed together on trips into California and Arizona deserts in 100+ heat. I now keep the tires covered when in storage to prevent UV damage. Another tip beside proper inflation levels is: to make sure the blocks you use to level the RV have enough surface area to cover the entire foot print of the tire. Too small or narrow blocks will damage the internal structure of the tire and cause premature failure. I use to drive up on 2X4s, now I use 2X10s.....

There are numerous reports of "bad" batches of tires and bad brands.  I suppose that this happens by the sheer volume of reports.  Also reported are the hazards of under inflation.  The report a degradation primarily due to UV exposure is true but not nearly so important as tire age.  Each tire is dated for its week and year of manufacture.  Somewhere between 5 and 7 years the vulcanization will degrade to the point of failing when put under the maximum rated stress whether it was ever put on a vehicle or not.  RV's generally apply close to the maximum rated stress to tires when traveling so you have a formula for sure failure on an old tire.  To add to the problem dealers often highly discount old tires to get them out of inventory and few RVers check the dates until it is too late.  If you bought a 2 year old tire 5 years can come very quickly.

Adding to the confusion about this, automobile tires seems to violate this fact because in many cases they are rated for the maximum vehicle load and are actually used at about 75% of that load most of the time; therefore the vulcanization degradation is usually slower than the normal tire wear.

Check your dates and replace no matter how they look at 5 years.  With luck and proper inflation you should have no trouble unless you overload your rig, but that is another problem.

Happy travels,
Larry and Jacki