Are Towmax tires any good?

[Camper_bob]

My Towmax tires were fine for a while. I watched them VERY closely because of all the stories I've read here and elsewhere. They held pressure pretty well too.

But then on a trip home from the beach, I saw an abnormality in one of them in the mirror. Luckily we made it home. I couldn't see anything wrong looking at the tire on the trailer, so I dismounted it, and could clearly see I had a broken tread. It was a time bomb.

So I had them all replaced with Maxxis and went up one load range (D to E). I don't worry about the tires much any more, though I do check them frequently and ensure I'm at max sidewall cold pressure.

[Lake Cruiser]

We just returned from a vacation to Topsail Hill State Park Florida. About 60 miles into our trip left rear Towmax China Bomb went off on I65 3 miles north of Greenville, AL. Damaged the wiring going to the slide out on our 2013 Eagle that we purchased new exactly 3 years ago. We pulled to the side of the road
but we were beside a long guard rail so we eased up about 100 feet and changed the tire. Since it was Sunday we had no luck getting a tire. We drove the remaining 2 hour on pins and needles. Monday morning we got a Goodyear Marathon. I then noticed the left front tire was rounded across the face of the tire and not flat like the other 3. So I took it off and took it to the Goodyear shop and the tech said that it was nothing to worry about. So I put it back on and I brought all of the pressures from 65 to 74 psi. Because of Hurricane Hermine we were told to evacuate the park about 5pm Wednesday which meant night driving. As luck would have it, about 30 miles into the return trip Towmax China Bomb #2 blows. No not the rounded face one but the right front. All that I had was a rachet and 3/4 12 point socket and could not get the lug nuts off. Called roadside assistance, paid $100 for about 15 minutes work. But by 9pm was headed out for a 3 hour drive home. By the grace of God we made it home. My local dealer said tough luck, they must be dry rotted (about 2000 miles and 3 years in the shade old). Googled "Towmax 235 80R16 Defect" and seen MANY complaints. Called the dealer back and the he says "yeah I heard that there were several complaints about them" but sorry man. I am replacing all of them tomorrow. TOWMAX IS CHINESE JUNK. DON"T BET YOUR LIFE ON THEM!

[bbatts]

Originally Posted by Gtoglenn

I just bought a slightly used 2013 Eagle 266RKS travel trailer and it has Power King Towmax STR tires on it. I wonder if anyone has any experience with this tire. I'd like to know if it's reliable to use as is or if I should replace them with a top grade tire. Thanks!

My Jayco 27.5 has approx. 3,000 on the Towmax tires. I am headed to sometime dealer tomorrow as 2 of them have fine wires sticking out of the tread edges. I believe they are junk. I'm going for Goodyear as I have been advised often times. Jayco should be responsible enough to put on good tires. Putting on cheap tires from china tells me about their products.

[Murff]

This thread is two years old. Just an FYI.

Murff

[norty1]

The member he quoted has not posted in a 18 months. The Towmax tires reputation has not improved during that time from what I read.

Go for the Endurance tires.

[Cannon]

x2 for the Endurance

[B5 GTX]

The ones on my fifth wheel were only rated to 65 mph, below many posted highway speeds. Even you are tooling along at 65 mph, you are running that at its max.

[Lake Cruiser]

Our 2013 Eagle came with Towmax (Blomax as our dealer referred to them later). We just got our 2018 Eagle HT and it came with Goodyear Endurance tires. We blew 2 Towmax tires with less than 2000 miles in one 400 mile trip.
Junk!

[Atlee]

I think the original OEM tires manufacturers put on trailers came with two built in problems.

1) The tires were barely adequate for the trailer they were on. The GVWR of the trailer was greater than the combined weight the 4 TT tires were supposed to carry. The manufacturer got around this by say the tongue weight took weight off the TT tires, and called it good.

2) Almost all trailers get to the dealer by being pulling by companies that specialize in that service. What we don't know is whether the guys delivering the trailer actually pulls at a speed below the speed rating on the tires, and whether the TT tires were actually aired up to the level they are supposed. The speed rating problem is being fixed by some manufacturers who put Carlisle and Goodyear tires on their trailers. Other tire manufacturers may have upped their game by now also.

Originally Posted by Lake Cruiser

Our 2013 Eagle came with Towmax (Blomax as our dealer referred to them later). We just got our 2018 Eagle HT and it came with Goodyear Endurance tires. We blew 2 Towmax tires with less than 2000 miles in one 400 mile trip.
Junk!

[norty1]

Yes the tow vehicle does support some of the weight but as soon as you disconnect, the tires and suspension have the total weight plus the campers which can add 4 to 700 more lbs.

I go for more carrying capacity than the minimum the law allows.

[Atlee]

Oh, I agree totally.

Manufacturers get away with putting marginal tires on the TT's due to that subtraction slight of hand.

I like a decent margin of error on my trailer, which I have with my Jay Flight 23RB. 4 LRD tires = 2150# each totaling 8600#. The GVWR of my trailer is 6500#. Plenty of margin for error.

Originally Posted by norty1

Yes the tow vehicle does support some of the weight but as soon as you disconnect, the tires and suspension have the total weight plus the campers which can add 4 to 700 more lbs.

I go for more carrying capacity than the minimum the law allows.

[PlayersZ28]

Originally Posted by norty1

Yes the tow vehicle does support some of the weight but as soon as you disconnect, the tires and suspension have the total weight plus the campers which can add 4 to 700 more lbs.

I go for more carrying capacity than the minimum the law allows.

If I disconnect my trailer the front end is supported by the landing legs which are closer to the axle than the pin. That would take weight off the axles/tires.

The OE standard tires are good enough to get to the dealer and if the manuf is lucky they're good enough to get past warranty

Oh, and I took off the Blowmax's before I went anywhere with it.

[pajeepman]

Well I was thinking about get some towmax 205/75r14 load range D. I have dual axles and my max gvw is around 5000 so I will have plenty of "extra" load carrying even with load range C. My trailer empty is around 3000(its not a Jayco). Reading this, I may change my mind. Also looking at Carlisle in load range D even though they are made in China, they seem to have a good reputation. Also looking at Hurcules(made by Cooper in USA) load range C. Little to no info online on them though. No Maxxis dealers near me.

[Cannon]

Goodyear Endurance made in USA and rated at 87mph. Most China bombs are rated 65 to 70 max

[oldmanAZ]

Welcome to the forum.

Most on this forum stay away from Towmax and prefer Maxxis or Goodyear Endurance. Some have picked Carlisle, but I don't recall their satisfaction with them. Haven't seen where anyone here mentioned Hercules, however.

[norty1]

I wouldn't buy Towmax with their reputation. Most that have them have suffered with them because they were on the rig when new.

I have heard of a few who claimed to not have any problems but not enough to convince me.

[Iraqvet05]

I had zero issues in 5 year with the TowMax tires that came on my 26BH.

I often see recommendations for Goodyear Endurance tires but they only available in load range D and E so if you have a rim rated for less than 65 lbs, you are out of luck.

[spoon059]

Originally Posted by Cannon

Goodyear Endurance made in USA and rated at 87mph. Most China bombs are rated 65 to 70 max

My "China bombs" are rated to 75. Your comments aren't really helpful.


OP, If I was buying tires I would spend a little more and get something that is generally considered to be much better quality. I am actually heading out this morning to get Endurance E rated tires put on my Jayco. From my research, the Endurance tires have a much stiffer sidewall than the OEM tires put on by Jayco. That should help with heat and stability. I got the tires during the Labor Day sale with $80 off a set of 4 plus $25 giftcard if you paid for installation through Goodyear.

[LabMan]

Goodyear Endurance is rated for less weight than the same size TowMaster. I wore out the first set of TowMaster's and installed Rubber Master's. The only tire that would fit in Detroit Lakes MN in November without wasteing a couple days. They now have well over 35,000 miles and are starting to show heavy wear. Don't know what I will replace them with, but I doubt the Goodyears are worth the $350 + premium based on my experiences. By the way the Rubber Masters are rated for 140#s more than the Goodyears and 81mph. A very small percentage of owners even know what tires they have and do not have problems. Most people I know never wear out their tires, so I take all the gloom and doom with a grain of salt. Kind of like GM vs Ford vs Ram etc.

[Colorado]

I switched to Towmax almost 5 years ago. I jumped up from 205/75/15 load C to 225/75/15 Load E rating on both my camper and trailer. I run them all at the Max tire pressure rating, never an issue. And because of the Load E rating The tires technically have a higher carrying capacity then the axles do.