Bad Tires on Forest River

[kwargo61]

Hi,

I'm new to the forum. We purchased a Forest River Hemisphere 22 ft. in Nov. 2019 and used it twice. Then the end of Dec., we took it back to dealer to fix minor bugs that were wrong with it. Due to Covid, they had it 5 months. We finally got it back in April and today, we were headed out on our first camping trip! Well we had a blown out and the tire is a "Castle Rock". The entire top came off down to the wires. It did damage to the fender, undercarriage, flooring and damage to the wrapping that holds the water lines. It's unbelievable how much damage a blowout can cause. I think these Chinese tires are unsafe, has anyone else had problems with them? The dealer replace our spare when we took it in in Dec. 2019, it had a bubble on it. What are the best tires to put on?

 

[Neal]

Hello @kwargo61 and welcome to RVForums. I'm not familiar with those tires, maybe someone else is. Tires are so critical to RVing I would only trust a name that I'm comfortable with, we each have our favorite brands. You may want to consider replacing all of your tires with a reputable brand as you learned a tire blowout has tremendous side effects. I'm glad you're okay and hope the RV can get patched back up soon.

 

[TJ&LadyDi]

Welcome to RVF, @kwargo61; glad to have you here.

Sadly, your tire experience is all-too-common. RV manufacturers will put the cheapest tires they can find on their units to save a few dollars. The big issue is that these tires are usually rated to barely carry the weight of an unloaded RV. When you get all your "stuff" (food, water, clothes, dishes, utensils, et al) loaded, the tires can be badly overloaded. And, overloaded tires generate excessive heat that results in blowouts.

My first suggestion is to take your fully loaded trailer to a local truck scale and have it weighed. Divide the total weight by the number of wheels/tires to get the tire loading information you need. Check the tires you have and see what their weight rating is. I'm betting you will be shocked. Then, check your total weight against the GVWR that you'll find on a plate or sticker on your RV. Again, I think you will be, at least, surprised.

My second suggestion is to go back to the dealer where you purchased your RV with your weight data and negotiate for a properly rated set of tires. If the dealer won't do anything, then you'll need to consult a reputable tire dealer and replace them yourself.

Tires are about the most important factor on an RV when underway. You want good tires between you and the road!

TJ

 

[Neal]

Your tires may be under warranty, don't forget to look into that as well.

 

[Jim]

A quick 'duckduckgo" search on Castle Rock brings up a bunch of negative posts. I'd like to say they're a few degrees above junk, but apparently they are several degrees below junk. Are you taking the RV back to the dealer and getting them to repair the damage or is the damage yours to repair? I'd be quite irritated if they said no to the repairs (but they probably will.) I'm sure they knew these tires were garbage when they installed them.

But anyway, I use Toyo's and am happy with them. Never heard anything bad about Michelin's either, except for maybe the price.

Good luck and welcome to RVForums!

 

[kwargo61]

Hi Everyone,

We did get our spare fixed. On the way home today, we had another blowout. So we definitely will be calling the dealer tomorrow. Both blowouts have caused damage now on both sides of the under carriage. It's one of those weekends, when I wish we would have stayed home. Just one thing after another happened. My mother passed away on July 3 and I'm going home to see my sister. I'll let you know what the dealer says. Thank you for all your advice.

 

[Neal]

I'm sorry to hear of your loss and challenges @kwargo61 and wish you and your family my deepest condolences. I hope your RV'ing situation improves once you get that tire situation resolved and related repairs. I hope the dealer stands up for you and shows proper customer service.

 

[TJ&LadyDi]

We're sorry for your loss and for the troubles you are experiencing with your RV. Stay strong and safe.

TJ

 

[Akdare]

I’m so sorry about your loss. Always tough, but harder when you’re out of town, and compounded by tire failures.

 

[Shawz 2020 Coachmen]

Hello @kwargo61 and welcome to RVForums. I'm not familiar with those tires, maybe someone else is. Tires are so critical to RVing I would only trust a name that I'm comfortable with, we each have our favorite brands. You may want to consider replacing all of your tires with a reputable brand as you learned a tire blowout has tremendous side effects. I'm glad you're okay and hope the RV can get patched back up soon.

Hi,

I'm new to the forum. We purchased a Forest River Hemisphere 22 ft. in Nov. 2019 and used it twice. Then the end of Dec., we took it back to dealer to fix minor bugs that were wrong with it. Due to Covid, they had it 5 months. We finally got it back in April and today, we were headed out on our first camping trip! Well we had a blown out and the tire is a "Castle Rock". The entire top came off down to the wires. It did damage to the fender, undercarriage, flooring and damage to the wrapping that holds the water lines. It's unbelievable how much damage a blowout can cause. I think these Chinese tires are unsafe, has anyone else had problems with them? The dealer replace our spare when we took it in in Dec. 2019, it had a bubble on it. What are the best tires to put on?

I too have had this problem with castle rock ST205 75R 14 on aluminum rims. . We bought our brand new 2020 Coachmen by Forest river in Dec 2019. We have about 3000 miles on it and last week our first tire blew out and took out my whole inner wheel well with it. I changed out on the hiway and made it home on my spare. Upon getting home I checked the remaining tires and found that the other 3 had steel belts showing, bulging and twisted threads meaning they too were about to blow. All tires were made in same month with the same DOT number. I contacted my dealer they said contact the tire manufacturer. I did, lions gate sent me a form with a bunch of conditions and told me they would not replace the tires until all the conditions were met. I completed the form and conditions (pics, vin, description etc) a few days ago and still waiting for them to contact me back. Mean while I contacted my dealer about the damage and they said that they were not responsible because I'm beyond my year warranty and that they could not look at it till Dec. I contacted Forest river and they said contact the tire company. I asked them for the parts to replace and they told me they would not help me out. I'm at a loss. This Forest river customer service is garbage and so is any warranty they apply. Its buyer beware. If you have these castle rock tires DOT JUJT 1119 change them immediately!

 

[Joe Hogan]

How Good Are Castle Rock Trailer Tires? (Problems And Review)

Some have had good experiences using Castle Rock, while others have had nothing but bad. The reputation sides with those who have had bad experiences...

thecampingadvisor.com

 

[Skipper N Martha Bishop]

First welcome to the forum. We bought our travel trailer in May of 2020. It came with Castle Rock tires. I changed them out and went with Goodyear Endurance. That was my choice of trailer tire. There are many other American made trailer tires out there. I would replace those tires asap. Sorry about all the trouble you have had with the Castle Rock. Skipper

 

[Kevin D Pem]

To much on brand. Maybe even on build country. Not enough on failure causes. Let me name a few.

To low of a weight rating! If your axle is a 3500# axle load rating of "C" is likely to low.

Seldom is a trailer run across the scale after it is loaded, it should be when you first setup so you know the pressure your tires should be inflated to. That brings me to the greatest reason tires fail,UNDER INFLATION!!!

I have used top brands that were made in the orient, go figure!

 

[Fish]

To much on brand. Maybe even on build country. Not enough on failure causes. Let me name a few.

To low of a weight rating! If your axle is a 3500# axle load rating of "C" is likely to low.

Seldom is a trailer run across the scale after it is loaded, it should be when you first setup so you know the pressure your tires should be inflated to. That brings me to the greatest reason tires fail,UNDER INFLATION!!!

I have used top brands that were made in the orient, go figure!

Not really. 5th wheel and travel trailer manufacturers put on the cheapest tire they can find. Stories of these tires failing are all over the internet.
The only cause of failure I can think of due to these tires that isn't on their cheap construction is the fact that some of the delivery drivers abuse them running 80 mph, these idiots pass me on the highway all the time.

 

[maglijs1]

Hi,

I'm new to the forum. We purchased a Forest River Hemisphere 22 ft. in Nov. 2019 and used it twice. Then the end of Dec., we took it back to dealer to fix minor bugs that were wrong with it. Due to Covid, they had it 5 months. We finally got it back in April and today, we were headed out on our first camping trip! Well we had a blown out and the tire is a "Castle Rock". The entire top came off down to the wires. It did damage to the fender, undercarriage, flooring and damage to the wrapping that holds the water lines. It's unbelievable how much damage a blowout can cause. I think these Chinese tires are unsafe, has anyone else had problems with them? The dealer replace our spare when we took it in in Dec. 2019, it had a bubble on it. What are the best tires to put on?

I had the Castle Rock tires as well. I had the first catastrophic blow out in Utah at 8200 miles. I check pressures and adjust before EVERY start and I have an integrated TPMS. There was no abnormality or warning before the failure. The trailer was not overloaded and I never drive over 60 MPH.
At 15000 miles I was doing my normal inspection and rotation. I found flat spots on two of the tires and cracking in tread of another and they all wore as if they were underinflated. The tire dealer said these were sign of belt separation. I've been to two tire dealerships and no one had ever heard of Castle Rock.
Needless to say, I have replaced them all. A few dollars is not worth a failure in the middle of Montana or North Dekota.
The Castle Rocks are junk.

 

[AbdRahim]

Also, it is a good idea to check tire pressures on a new unit propiorto leaving the dealer. When .I got home with my first MotorHome, the tires were 40 lbs low. Go figure!

 

[Engleman]

Hi,

I'm new to the forum. We purchased a Forest River Hemisphere 22 ft. in Nov. 2019 and used it twice. Then the end of Dec., we took it back to dealer to fix minor bugs that were wrong with it. Due to Covid, they had it 5 months. We finally got it back in April and today, we were headed out on our first camping trip! Well we had a blown out and the tire is a "Castle Rock". The entire top came off down to the wires. It did damage to the fender, undercarriage, flooring and damage to the wrapping that holds the water lines. It's unbelievable how much damage a blowout can cause. I think these Chinese tires are unsafe, has anyone else had problems with them? The dealer replace our spare when we took it in in Dec. 2019, it had a bubble on it. What are the best tires to put on?

Not familiar with that brand but stay away from Carlisle tires as well. When we were towing we went thru 3 or 4 of them and new too And! And yes blow outs do do damage when it happens!!

 

[maglijs1]

Yes, same experience here.

 

[Bob K4TAX]

Also, it is a good idea to check tire pressures on a new unit propiorto leaving the dealer. When .I got home with my first MotorHome, the tires were 40 lbs low. Go figure!

AS I've said before "new does not guarantee good, nor correct". Ya gotta check em yourself with good known accurate gauges. Those $2 things are Walmart are junk. And just because it is "digital" doesn't mean it is accurate. It is just digital.