new tires

kenmac · Jan 18, 2007

I have been using regular car tires on my trailer. The trailer 17 ft x 7 ft. tamdem axle with brakes. The trailer is used for everything including hauling my tractor. The car tires dry rotted so, I decided to go with 8 ply trailer tires ( they say trailer tires on the tires )I mounted the tires today & noticed moulded into the rubber of tire ,Made in China.

I didn't know that the chinese were into making our tires . I guess they will ok (the tires ) they have DOT on the sides so, I guess they are made to some standard.
Has anybody bought any tires made in China ? Were they any good ? This is my 1 st set from China. They were about $ 300.00 for the set. Poor Chinese guy that made the tires probably only made about .50 that day.

If that's the case there is a huge profit in Chinese tires

Bird · Jan 18, 2007

Ken, what brand name is on the tires, and are they radial or bias ply? It used to be that the ST (trailer tires) were only made in bias ply tires. Goodyear was the first company to come out with radial ST tires, and I replaced the OEM bias ply tires on my 5th wheel with Goodyear radials in 1990. In 1991, B.F. Goodrich also had radial ST tires, and I would assume most of the manufacturers do now.

kenmac · Jan 18, 2007

Bird, the name on the tire is power king. I think they are radial. It was getting dark by the time I finished so, I didn't notice.

BTDT · Jan 19, 2007

There used to be a company called CHENG SHIN that made motocross tires for motorcycles, think they were made in China. They were good tires, don't know about vehicle/trailer tires.

Bird · Jan 19, 2007

Ken, I've seen some Power King tires, but never even thought about where they were made. Apparently quite a number of the tires sold in this country are being made in China. You might find this discussion helpful. The links provided might give the name of the factory that made them.

Billy_S · Jan 19, 2007

I have sold MANY Power King, Chinese built tires. Although not up to the standards of Goodyear, they aren't up to the Goodyear price either. I don't think you will regret your decision.

Joe1 · Jan 20, 2007

They got to be a whole lot better than what you replaced.

kenmac · Jan 20, 2007

Joe1 said:
They got to be a whole lot better than what you replaced

O' yes they are alot better than I had.I was just worried about the quality as I bought them sight un-seen . I have a friend that works at a tire store & she says that she gets tires at about cost. So , I told her to get them.I had no idea that the Chinese were making ( passenger car , trailer/ light truck) tires for use here in the U.S. Like I said . They should be ok as I'am sure they are D.O.T.( or somebody) approved.Hope they last longer than regular car tires.

PAB_OH · Jan 20, 2007

I used to work for a Tire Building Machine company as a Design Engineer. Our machines were used by almost all the big tire companies here in the US. We always had several variants to account for the different regions they were to be used in, US, Europe, and others.

Several of our machines were purchased by Chinese companies and reverse engineered then brought back into the US market and sold for 25-35% LESS than we were able to sell them. China is becoming a HUGE tires making center for several reasons not the least of which is the ridiculously cheap labor.

The company I worked for started a design office in Viet Nam for this very reason, in order to tap the cheap labor and have closer coordination with the potential Chinese production facilities. I left the company before the inevitable trip to Viet Nam to train the guy who was going to take my job eventually. My manager told me when he returned from the first trip there to do hiring that he was able to get three engineers for the same salary as just me and I was not being paid anywhere near what I should have been.

It sucks but get used to it. As was mentioned, the quality might not be as high as some of the big brands but neither is the price. And the truth be told, it won't be long before they iron the kinks out in the quality control department. Then we are really up the creek without a paddle.

Embrace the global economy for it will surely embrace you, right before it swallows you. LOL.

I just bought a tri-axle and it needs some new tires, they will most likely be the same brand you just purchased.

Mahana79 · Jan 21, 2007

As long as they are DOT approved they should be fine. Me personally i dont use radial st (trailer tires) i use bias ply tires on all my multi-axle trailers.