Tires Again!

Rubber compounds in tires are usually proprietary.  Tire rubber is not a fungible.  The chemical engineering that goes into tire rubber can make the difference between a tire that can withstand the heat and flexion a trailer tire experiences or doesn't.  The higher quality the rubber the more reliable the tire.  The same is true with the adhesives and the vulcanization process in building the tire.  A manufacturer can use lower or higher quality adhesives and shortcut the vulcanization process, thus producing a lower quality tire and saving cost of production.  

I bought a new Honda Civic in 1975 for about $3500. The comparable entry level Honda today is the Fit (the Civic is a much larger and more luxurious can now), about $17000. That increase closely matches the general inflation rate. So cars are about the same price in real dollars today as they were 45 years ago. They are a much much better value today though due to remarkable engineering, gear technology, efficiency, and manufacturing improvements.

One power tool or grill or other product can certainly be objectively better or have more desirable features than another. But you can’t tell by looking at a tire what rubber compound is in it.

Bottom line is that unless you have actual data supporting that a more expensive tire is better quality than another less expensive one you are making an assumption based on brand and price alone that one is better than another. I refuse to do that, absent other data I’ll go low cost. That way I have at least one actual data point I’m basing my decision on. And I won’t spend money on a brand out of fear. I’ve taken a couple of postgrad marketing courses so I know how marketers focus on consumer’s fears to extract your money. Fear of making a mistake, fear of missing out, fear for safety. Consumer marketing is all about fear.

So, if you have data on trailer tire performance and reliability then let’s review that, otherwise we simply have different philosophies for how we make purchasing decisions. Let’s leave it at that.

I agree that it is wise to avoid manufacturers that are new entrants. But many inexpensive tire companies have been in business for a long time. Car owners in other countries buy tires too and need them to do their job.

Volume also counts because it accelerates the learning curve. When China first entered the solar market in the early 2000’s there were many problems with their products. Now they dominate the market making well over 50% of the total global supply. The major solar companies in China make excellent products. Probably in reality better than low volume manufacturers in the US or EU in many cases. And the big players who are competing on operational excellence never sit still, they can’t do that and survive. The bar is continuously being raised. This is why it’s next to impossible to regain dominance in a key technology once you’ve lost it.

I buy quite a lot of Harbor Freight stuff. Most of it does it’s job just fine. A few items don’t and I’ll replace them with something eIse and smile all the way to the bank because of all the money I’ve saved not buying the name brand stuff all those other times. It’s also very often possible to look at an electromechanical product and/or its specs and see how well made it is or isn’t.

As for trailer tire risk management as I said I buy tires that are well over rated for the load. My current tires have about a 43% safety factor in their load rating. I check them for proper inflation daily while on the road and check their temps every fuel stop. I think those steps are going to enhance safety and reliability more than just buying name brand tires with a lower load rating and not paying attention to them, and do so more cost effectively.

The argument regarding risk management would be convincing were it not based on an unfounded premise.

The assumption you are making is that buying Brand A’s trailer tire over Brand C’s trailer tire reduces safety risk. But there has been no data presented to support that assumption. So, I don’t accept it. We simply don’t know whether one is better than another or if their failure rates are statistically the same.

But if rolling on Brand A makes you feel good, that’s fine. Their marketing group has done its job. Personally, I feel better with more money in my bank account😜

This is quite different from some of the other risk topics we have discussed on the forum, such as using a catalytic heater. That has a well documented safety risk (CO poisoning) with a well understood mitigation strategy (proper ventilation). So, anyone can review that information and make an informed decision.

OG, by your logic, if there is no data, there is functionally no difference between one product and another.  Though marketing may color the beliefs of people, the reality is that not all manufacturers produce products of equal quality.  That there is so little information on trailer tires is unfortunate and puts everyone at risk in choosing which tire will serve best.  Anecdotal information is pretty much all that is available and it is certainly not the best basis for making a choice, but it's all we have to go on.  If you go to sites such as the National Transportation Safety Commission and try to find information about trailer tires, you'll be disappointed.  There is nothing there.