ALL trailer tires made in China?

[Al-n-Sue]

That is what a local tire dealer just told me. He sells Goodyear Marathons and said they are all made in Chinese factories as well. Called another dealer and he wasn't as adamant, but said a lot were. I'm hoping to hear from wmtire who is our expert on all things tires.

I found Maxxis ST225/75R15 for $119 each (+ all the extra stuff including balance and steel valve stems) and have an appt to get those mounted on Sat. This is a load range D tire that is rated at 2540 lbs. Should be adequate for my 4240 lb 3124KB.

I can add this to our "Great Tire Experiment."

Comments pro and con welcome. I have a few days to change my mind.
Alan

[gocntry]

That is what a local tire dealer just told me. He sells Goodyear Marathons and said they are all made in Chinese factories as well. Called another dealer and he wasn't as adamant, but said a lot were. I'm hoping to hear from wmtire who is our expert on all things tires.

I found Maxxis ST225/75R15 for $119 each (+ all the extra stuff including balance and steel valve stems) and have an appt to get those mounted on Sat. This is a load range D tire that is rated at 2540 lbs. Should be adequate for my 4240 lb 3124KB.

I can add this to our "Great Tire Experiment."

Comments pro and con welcome. I have a few days to change my mind.
Alan

I Bought My 15" Goodyear Marathons Last September Or So And They Were Made In The USA

This Thread (http://www.trailmanorowners.com/forum/showthread.php?t=8926) Has The Sidewall Code And The Decoder WMTire Posted For Me To Find Out Where The Tire Was Made

[Bill]

I agree with GoCntry. Your local tire dealer - well, let's just say he is funnin' with you a bit. I'm not sure why. I gather that Goodyear has had a number of factory locations, and China was one - but not the only one. The last ones I bought were stamped "Made in New Zealand".

I hope Bobby (wmtire) chimes in with some real knowledge.

Bill

[wmtire]

Howdy, sorry I'm late to the conversation.

Although a vast majority of trailer tires are made in China (as just about everything else), it seems the winds of change are upon us. Gocntry bought some marathons that were made in the U.S. of A.

A lot of U.S. tire manufacturers/distributors are currently moving production (or pulling out of China) due to the unannounced tire 'trade war' we are having.....which you probably didn't even know about.

Late last year, our president slapped a 35% tire tariff on many tires coming from Chinese factories. The tire companies, instead of just upping the chinese manufactured tire prices, chose to spread it out over their entire lines to average it. All tires went up anywhere from 12 -20 % pretty quick. Some companies decided to move the production facilities to other countries like Taiwan, etc. to get around this tariff....along with consolidating/shrinking tire lines. Many sister line brands have been shelved.......which was kinda already being planned due to global demand slowing. The tariff just sped it up some.

It also has kind of created a shortage in some tires (as they move the molds from China), which just drives prices up. What isn't been announced (cause it's not politically expedient) is that the Chinese are buying up a lot of the world materials that are used to produce tires (which we have to buy from them)........which drives prices up more.....not even figuring in that the price of oil keeps going up (another factor in tire production) Every time I order tires now, it seems like the price has moved up. Believe it or not, Goodyear (and it's subsidiaries like Kelly tires) are now one of cheaper priced tires in the American market.

Back on topic, even though a lot of trailer tires are produced in China, not all are........and even less may be due to the tariff.....if it holds up. This will only affect tires sold in the United States, but we are one of the biggest markets.

Just google the term "chinese tire tariff" if you have experienced sticker shock, when buying tires lately, and want to learn more. It's probably going to get worse. :D

[Al-n-Sue]

Thanks Bobby - we can always count on you to provide up-todate information!

I've ordered my Maxxis tires from Discount Tire. They were actually cheaper there than the same size Marathon ($119 vs $125), although I found the Marathon at another local tire store for $100.

One link I followed in this thread lead me to believe that Maxxis is made in Taiwan. I'll document that for sure when I get the tires and can look at the codes. Will get them installed on Sat so will update with full info then.
Alan

[brulaz]

As delivered, the Marathons on on ours were made in Alabama, according to the sidewall code.

[wmtire]

As we have discussed several times, over many forums.....make sure to check the manufacture dates on your (supposedly) new tires. This goes for your trailer as well as your vehicles.

Just because you think you are paying for a new tire, doesn't mean you just got a newly manufactured tire. They can sit in warehouses, and/or dealer stock for years before being sold. A tire is similar to a battery, and the components start deteriating from day one.

With there being some shortages in some tire lines right now, with production being shifted, I am seeing more and more of these old tires making it to market. The manufacturers/distributors are selling anything they can get ahold of. A good example of this, is last week I was checking online inventory from one of my distributors and saw some tires on there that the manufacturer discontinued producing 3-4 years ago.........but they were selling these old tires at todays prices. Don't have any idea whose old warehouse they dug these out of, but I feel bad for whomever ends up with these.

Keep this in mind, and don't accept any old tires. Look at the manufacture date before allowing the tire dealer to mount them.......and definitely before you pay for them.

[RogerR]

I am a little confused on DOT codes. When I looked at my 8 month old (since installation) Goodyear Marathon 14 inch tires all I could find was DOT OHHB VLHR. Based on what I have read there should be 4 numbers indicating the date of manufacture.
Am I looking at the wrong DOT code??
If not, what does the letters mean?

[wmtire]

I am a little confused on DOT codes. When I looked at my 8 month old (since installation) Goodyear Marathon 14 inch tires all I could find was DOT OHHB VLHR. Based on what I have read there should be 4 numbers indicating the date of manufacture.
Am I looking at the wrong DOT code??
If not, what does the letters mean?

Hey Roger, check the other sidewall. The whole code will be there. The side you need to read, almost always get mounted on the inside, to make you crawl under the trailer/vehicle. :new_cussi

All of the letters are manufacture codes, which when decoded, tell the size, ply, size, etc of the tire. The first two (OH in your case is most likely the number zeroH, as the letters O,I, and Z are usually not used because they look like numbers, but they be running short of two digit combinations)) always tell what tire plant produced the tires. I'll check tomorrow with my book at the shop to see who made it.

[Harry Womack]

I replaced the blown out Marathons with Maxxis tires 2 years ago. I went with the ST225/75R15 Load range E. The load range E does not look low like the load range D did. I run 65-70 PSI in the tires. I would recommend the load range E on a 3124KB.
I replaced all 10 Marathons on our Troop trailers with the Maxxis tires also. On our summer camp trip last summer we had 5 Marathons separate.

[wmtire]

Roger, I checked my book this morning and ZeroH(0H) belongs to the factory of Triangle Tire Company, 56 Qingdao Road, Weihai China

Also, here is where we talked about why you saw a partial DOT code on one sidewall

http://www.trailmanorowners.com/forum/showpost.php?p=40049&postcount=2

[Al-n-Sue]

The salesman at discount tire was very helpful - pulled the codes off the tires for me. Here's what he told me:

DOT code same of both tires - "20ZDCBC" - from what I can find the 20 is for Maxxis based in Thailand, but made in a plant in Rayong, China. But "Made in Thailand" is stamped on the tire.

Date codes - 2009 and 2109 - so made in 20 and 21st week of 2009 - mid to late May. So almost a year old. Guess that is not too bad.

Bobby - can you verify what I've said?

Thanks and hope this info is helpful to everyone.
Alan

[gocntry]

Date codes - 2009 and 2109 - so made in 20 and 21st week of 2009 - mid to late May. So almost a year old. Guess that is not too bad.

My Marathons Were 5 Weeks Old When I Purchased Them, I Would Think You Could Find Newer Tires. Just My Opinion Though

[wmtire]

The salesman at discount tire was very helpful - pulled the codes off the tires for me. Here's what he told me:

DOT code same of both tires - "20ZDCBC" - from what I can find the 20 is for Maxxis based in Thailand, but made in a plant in Rayong, China. But "Made in Thailand" is stamped on the tire.

Date codes - 2009 and 2109 - so made in 20 and 21st week of 2009 - mid to late May. So almost a year old. Guess that is not too bad.

Bobby - can you verify what I've said?

Thanks and hope this info is helpful to everyone.
Alan

Alan, according to the 2010 "Who Makes it and Where" directory I have, you are correct. The tire factory is owned by Maxxis International (of Thailand) but is physically located in Tasit Sub-District China.

I have to wonder if that "made in Thailand" stamping is a way to get around the tire tariff. :eek:

[wmtire]

My Marathons Were 5 Weeks Old When I Purchased Them, I Would Think You Could Find Newer Tires. Just My Opinion Though

A year is OK, but 2 pushes it. It depends on where the tires come from, as to how much time will lapse between manufacture and sell. Tires produced overseas, will literally be put on a slow boat from China. Tires produced in North America (the US especially) will make it to market a whole lot faster, within weeks a lot of time. It's just the geography of the situation.

Sometimes there are other factors in getting a tire to market. I remember several years back, we had to wait a good while on some Hankook tires from Korea, because of the dock workers strike in California.

[Al-n-Sue]

Interesting question. May be seeing a lot more of that if the tarriff holds.

I guess since so many tires, even major manufactureres, are made in China (or Asia) it is pretty hard to get away from it.

I'm going to put on steel valve stems so at least I'll get away from that "Made in China" problem.

Thanks for confirming the factory location.

[RogerR]

I crawled under and found that the tires I got last August were dated 1208, so they are two years old and have less than 100 miles on them.

I am seriously thinking of upgrading with a lift to 15 inch wheels and tires. I know the kit is cheep and labor varies but can anyone estimate a good tire price and wheel price and source?

Ps. I blew both old Marathons that were three years old on a 1600 miles trip last summer. I got the new ones on a warranty adjustment but did not know to look at the DOT date. I will never buy a tire without checking the date of manufacture.

This is the best source of info that I have ever used. Thanks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[wmtire]

it seems the winds of change are upon us. Gocntry bought some marathons that were made in the U.S. of A.



And the winds shifted direction. I had a Goodyear dealer in here this morning picking up some tires. We got to talking about some of the goodyear marathon's being made here in the U.S.

He told me that he had just downloaded a new code sheet from Goodyear last nite (which he gave me a copy), that shows new marathon product codes that are going to be going in effect from April to June. This sheet shows the U.S marathons being replaced by an import marathon. :new_cussi

It also shows the 205/75R14 Load range C OWL, and the 215/75R14 Load Range C OWL marathon being discontinued all together.

He didn't know where they would be produced, but when he got some of the new ones in, he'd let us know.

[Bill]

I am seriously thinking of upgrading to 15 inch wheels and tires... can anyone estimate a good tire price and wheel price and source?
The tires (225/75R15) are listed as $95 at Tire Rack. I paid about $35 each for the wheels, again at a discount tire place. Mounting and balancing, as well as changing out the rubber valve stems for steel stems, will be a few bucks extra, of course, and you really want to do these things.

Most of the details are here
http://www.trailmanorowners.com/forum/showthread.php?t=6245

You have the option to change out all three tires (two running tires plus the spare), or of changing out just the running tires and retaining the best 14-incher for a spare, to be used for relatively short distances. If you change out the spare, you may have to modify the spare tire carrier to accept the thicker tire, which is covered in another thread.

Bill

[wmtire]

I just got this email from one of our distributors today. It kind of shows what is going on in the tire biz, and exactly what we have been discussing here with tire shortages, price increases, etc.........a lot due to the tire tariffs.

Maxxis has announced a 6% price increase for May 15th.

Our inventory is LOW! The combination of Maxxis having huge backorder problems and the added sales of mud grips because the Mud Brute is discontinued has caused us serious inventory problems. We don't think it is going to get much better in the near future. We will be getting some tires but not like we want.

If you need any Maxxis Mudders, now is a good time to get them! Beat the price increase and get them while our inventory last.

Either way, we will have plenty of BACKORDERS, please be patient with us as we work through the problems!

thanks,


Gary J. Broome

[Al-n-Sue]

Got the Maxxis tires today. Mounted, balanced, with steel valve stems. I looked at the old Marathons and they were made around the 20-22nd week of 2002 - so about 8 years old!

Hopefully no tire issues for a few seasons!