During one of his walkarounds, Bill noticed that our trailer tires had some weird wear (sorry pic went MIA) on them, and decided to get new tires before moving on from OBX. He found Kitty Hawk Commercial Truck and Auto Repair. They didn’t have the tires Bill wanted, Sailun S637 215/75R 17.5’s, so they ordered them and had them within a few days.
These would be replacing our almost 5-year-old Goodyear G114’s. Replacing them was on the to-do list for TX (January or February 2022), but with the weird wear pattern, he didn’t want to wait. There has been a lot of debate about Goodyears vs Sailuns on all the forums Bill reads. Back in January 2017, when we got new tires and upgraded tires and wheels from 16″ Goodyear G614’s to 17.5″ Goodyear G114’s, Bill and I debated Sailun’s then. They were still fairly new and didn’t have a lot of longer-term feedback/reviews, so we decided to go ahead and stay with Goodyear. The cost difference then was significant, (don’t remember exact numbers) but the reliability and reputation of Goodyear was not easily challenged. Until the recent wear pattern, we hadn’t had a single issue with the Goodyear tires and we had been very happy with them.
We really would have preferred to buy American-made Goodyears this time but decided to save a few dollars (actually almost $200 per tire or $800!) and go with the Sailun’s. With five more years of consistently good reviews, the choice to switch was not too difficult, although it was a debate. Especially right now, we both feel like buying American made whenever possible is the best option, but the price difference this time was too large to ignore.
On the day we were leaving the Oregon Inlet campground, we were up and out early so we had time to use the dump station and arrive in time for our 8 am appointment. Even though we were a little late, they still had us on our way by about 10:45 am! Excellent service! Thanks to the guys at Kitty Hawk Commercial Truck and Auto Repair. We recommend them to anyone who might need anything done in the OBX area.
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I follow every blog but don’t always comment. Good job on the tires. They should last you awhile. Have a great time going west. I’ll be with you as long as you post. lol
Thanks Dee! It’s always great to hear from you!
I noticed cupping and outside wear on our towable tires, turned out I had tweaked the axel! Ouch!
Glad you did your research on the Sailun tires. In the event of a flat one tire may need to carry the weight and it’s the only thing keeping your home off the ground.
Hi Jeff! I think you know Bill well enough to know – he does NOTHING without ample research! Time will tell how the new tires hold up!
I’m overdue to replace my G114’s so may consider a change after your post. That’s a considerable savings!
We were truly torn when making the decision – but the savings ultimately won out. If the difference hadn’t been so significant we may have stayed with Goodyear. Let us know what you decide!
Tires and brakes are where we don’t hesitate to spend what we need to get the best. Sounds like you found a great deal on good tires.
I agree that getting the best is best – and Goodyears have always been best. Our confidence in them has been tarnished a bit with the uneven/weird wear. Time will tell if the Sailun’s hold up to their good reviews.
Good call on the Sailun’s. A few of their tires were recalled back in 2020 I believe but other than that I’ve heard nothing but good things about them in my research. I’m changing to them this month myself.
I’ve had good luck with our TST 507 ire monitoring system if you are looking for suggestions.
Mark
Hi Mark! Bill did a bunch of research – the recall didn’t include our size tires at all, so we are good. I’ll let him know about the TPMS. Thanks!