I gambled this afternoon.....

[33IMP]

...and bought some off-brand trailer tires at Sam's.
I generally hate "trailer" tire, I've always had light truck or load-c tires on my trailer.
But when I went shopping, and found the Coopers I liked were $170, and the Toyo's I found that were similar were $130, (over $625 m&b at discount tire), I decided to see what Sam's had on the shelf.
Well, Greenballs, with a nice look, a very nice price, and a BIG load rating. And $200+ cheaper out the door than the Toyos, and $450 less than the Coopers. Unfortunately, the greenballs ARE made in China.
So, did I f#@k up? Anybody have experience with these tires?
Trailer tire stories have scared me for years. I guess I'll find out, one way or the other.......

 

[nutz]

ha green balls ....better then blue balls
my trailer tire normally dryrot before wearing out
how much and what do you tow....
as long as you have a spare/jack for $200 you get a spare too

 

[el5dart]

you f’d up by spending a nickel at sams.

i took what once was an awesome 2000 dodge van into sams and spent $600 on a new set of tires. while i was waiting i noticed the lift didn’t look right my van was on. i called their shop floor guy over and said hey are you lifting my van by the pinch welds!! i told him your supposed to lift it by the frame rails! he said we lift all cars this way. after they finished installing tires and put my van in the parking lot none of my doors would shut. i went to speak with the store manager and they called the police on me for gods sake. my van was totaled and i almost went to jail after i sent $600+ dollars there.

i promptly cancelled my membership and never went back. no training at sams just a bunch of dumb asses

 

[HemiSSDart]

I get the new Goodyear Endurance for $165 a tire at Discount Tire, they are by far and away better then the Marathon's ever were. Greenballs are the best Chinese tire made though...

 

[Demonracer]

@el5dart, don't feel left out when you saw them lifting your vehicle on the pinch welds. I was at Discount Tire not once, but twice with my Caravan and they lifted it with 4 floor jacks on the pinch welds. The first time I didn't catch, but the second time I did and noticed that the welds were crushed in two places. I called the manager out about this and got the same story you did. I took the van to a reputable body shop and got an estimate to fix the damage. The store manager was surprised when I presented him with a $1500.00 estimate to correct their screw up. He referred it to corporate and I got a call from the area manager and the district manager wanting to know if there was another was to fix my van a little cheaper. I told bot managers that if they wanted to cheap out on the repairs that I would be taking them to court. I had a friend who is an attorney send them a "Letter of Demand" stating they had 60 days to settle with me of a lawsuit would be filed. LO and behold, I got a check from them 31 days later and coupons for 10% and 20% off of my next 2 purchases. I never redeemed to coupons, nor have i gone back to Discount Tire.

 

[el5dart]

@el5dart, don't feel left out when you saw them lifting your vehicle on the pinch welds. I was at Discount Tire not once, but twice with my Caravan and they lifted it with 4 floor jacks on the pinch welds. The first time I didn't catch, but the second time I did and noticed that the welds were crushed in two places. I called the manager out about this and got the same story you did. I took the van to a reputable body shop and got an estimate to fix the damage. The store manager was surprised when I presented him with a $1500.00 estimate to correct their screw up. He referred it to corporate and I got a call from the area manager and the district manager wanting to know if there was another was to fix my van a little cheaper. I told bot managers that if they wanted to cheap out on the repairs that I would be taking them to court. I had a friend who is an attorney send them a "Letter of Demand" stating they had 60 days to settle with me of a lawsuit would be filed. LO and behold, I got a check from them 31 days later and coupons for 10% and 20% off of my next 2 purchases. I never redeemed to coupons, nor have i gone back to Discount Tire.

i’m so happy you got some restitution. i got squat.

now i take my wheels off of my cars when i need tires. at least they can only destroy the rims that way.

 

[nutz]

@el5dart, don't feel left out when you saw them lifting your vehicle on the pinch welds. I was at Discount Tire not once, but twice with my Caravan and they lifted it with 4 floor jacks on the pinch welds. The first time I didn't catch, but the second time I did and noticed that the welds were crushed in two places. I called the manager out about this and got the same story you did. I took the van to a reputable body shop and got an estimate to fix the damage. The store manager was surprised when I presented him with a $1500.00 estimate to correct their screw up. He referred it to corporate and I got a call from the area manager and the district manager wanting to know if there was another was to fix my van a little cheaper. I told bot managers that if they wanted to cheap out on the repairs that I would be taking them to court. I had a friend who is an attorney send them a "Letter of Demand" stating they had 60 days to settle with me of a lawsuit would be filed. LO and behold, I got a check from them 31 days later and coupons for 10% and 20% off of my next 2 purchases. I never redeemed to coupons, nor have i gone back to Discount Tire.

We have a Mavis...they put the wrong size tires on a 4 wd bmw blew the front diff...
They paid me to fix it ...funny cause they send me anything harder then a brake job
Then I had a guy come i. With a explorer
Some one put 2 wrong tires on it
They said he told them the size...he said no i told you the size I had ....as soon as he left he said it made a noise ..he went back ...they said it ok...he took it somewhere else they couldn't find the noise ...the gear box blew in my yard ...if they did 4 tire it would have been fine....not sure what happened to that guy

 

[nutz]

i’m so happy you got some restitution. i got squat.

now i take my wheels off of my cars when i need tires. at least they can only destroy the rims that way.

Thats why I use a friend wth a 15k tire machine....so they don't damage the wheels

 

[33IMP]

ha green balls ....better then blue balls
my trailer tire normally dryrot before wearing out
how much and what do you tow....
as long as you have a spare/jack for $200 you get a spare too

Well, I have had a 1ton dually on my open trailer, with the outers removed, but I think it may have been overloaded, now that I look back.
Usually, no more than a 3500-3800 lb car.
The new tires have a 2000+lb rating, which means the dually wouldn't be an overload (trailer is around 1200 lbs)
Coincidentally, I now have three spares for the trailer. Till I'm confident with what I bought, a couple spares and a floor jack are coming along.

 

[33IMP]

you f’d up by spending a nickel at sams.

i took what once was an awesome 2000 dodge van into sams and spent $600 on a new set of tires. while i was waiting i noticed the lift didn’t look right my van was on. i called their shop floor guy over and said hey are you lifting my van by the pinch welds!! i told him your supposed to lift it by the frame rails! he said we lift all cars this way. after they finished installing tires and put my van in the parking lot none of my doors would shut. i went to speak with the store manager and they called the police on me for gods sake. my van was totaled and i almost went to jail after i sent $600+ dollars there.

i promptly cancelled my membership and never went back. no training at sams just a bunch of dumb asses

I've had good luck with batteries and tires at Sam's.
But then, I'M the one picking out sizes and doing battery installs, and the tires I've bought get put on loose wheels I bring in in the bed of my truck.
I'd probably prefer Costco, I have a membership there too, for when I'm in california, but Sam's is 20 miles away, Costco is 125.

 

[413]

Yep I bought a tire machine and balancer because of these fools. Never again.

Brought in restored rallies and new Polyglas tires, they scratched up the paint on the face of wheels. Tried to say it was like that when it came in! Basically said sorry and nothing more.

 

[33IMP]

I needed a pair of tires for the only front driver I've ever owned. I picked out a pair at Costco, told then to put the new ones on the front. The told me they wouldnt/couldn't. They had to put new tires on the rear.
I said, if you can't do what the customer TELLS you to do, the customer goes elsewhere, and I did.
I ended up getting better tires cheaper from a friend's shop, and they were put where EYE wanted em!

 

[missing linc]

I needed a pair of tires for the only front driver I've ever owned. I picked out a pair at Costco, told then to put the new ones on the front. The told me they wouldnt/couldn't. They had to put new tires on the rear.
I said, if you can't do what the customer TELLS you to do, the customer goes elsewhere, and I did.
I ended up getting better tires cheaper from a friend's shop, and they were put where EYE wanted em!

I've had that argument with more than one tire shop, it makes no sense to me why anyone would require that new tires be installed on the rear axle.
One place tried to tell me that it's because of the potential for hydroplaning, that if the rear end has traction it is easier to maintain control.
I called bullshit.

 

[33IMP]

On a REAR drive car I can see it.
On a front driver, the fronts do ALL of the steering, All of the propulsion, 70% or more of the braking and a large part of the handling. I want new tires on the end of the car that does 90% of the work, and wears out three times as fast!
Bottom line: the tire shops have to assume that the driver is a TOTAL incompetent, doesn't know enough to drive safely in the rain or how to handle a skid.
I know MY abilities FAR MORE than some doofus in a tire shop. Put the f#@king tires on where EYE want them, where they'll do the most good!

I had one tire shop try to tell me they had to put the new pair on the rear. I said okay, if you can get the FIFTEEN INCH WIDE rear tires currently on the back, onto the front.

 

[ProjectBazza]

...and bought some off-brand trailer tires at Sam's.
I generally hate "trailer" tire, I've always had light truck or load-c tires on my trailer.
But when I went shopping, and found the Coopers I liked were $170, and the Toyo's I found that were similar were $130, (over $625 m&b at discount tire), I decided to see what Sam's had on the shelf.
Well, Greenballs, with a nice look, a very nice price, and a BIG load rating. And $200+ cheaper out the door than the Toyos, and $450 less than the Coopers. Unfortunately, the greenballs ARE made in China.
So, did I f#@k up? Anybody have experience with these tires?
Trailer tire stories have scared me for years. I guess I'll find out, one way or the other.......

Funny you should post this, as I’m going through a somewhat similar dilemma right now. Need four new tires for my trailer, and I have four good Michelin Truck tires on my rusty F150 (that I’ll be parting out soon-ish). Can’t remember the rating, but I THINK they’re Load Range E. Wife took the truck to yard waste, otherwise I’d go and look.

Subscribed/

 

[33IMP]

Funny you should post this, as I’m going through a somewhat similar dilemma right now. Need four new tires for my trailer, and I have four good Michelin Truck tires on my rusty F150 (that I’ll be parting out soon-ish). Can’t remember the rating, but I THINK they’re Load Range E. Wife took the truck to yard waste, otherwise I’d go and look.

Subscribed/

If those E-load tires are good, I'd 100% use them on the trailer...... if they fit, and the bolt pattern is right.

 

[Darter6]

Anybody have experience with these tires?

Yes. I ram 'um on my car trailer.1 failed at around the 10,000 mark. But so did my Maxis,Goodyear,Hercules, ETC.
Talked to the Greenball rep at the SEMA show and felt confident they would hold up. And they may have but at the time I was traveling about 10-15,000 miles a season. Oh I went with 10 ply 16'' truck tires too. Even they failed with tread separation. Seems common now-a-days.

Greenballs are the best Chinese tire made though...

I'd have to agree.

 

[HemiSSDart]

LT tires will get you a ticket in Illinois, your mileage may vary in other states...

 

[33IMP]

LT tires will get you a ticket in Illinois, your mileage may vary in other states...

I've never even had a cop look sideways at my trailer, hauling something or not. It helps that I usually travel in Cali at the same speed as the 18 wheelers, about 7mph over.

 

[nutz]

I've had problems with that too
But had my BIL loop his mazda
Idea is if front hydro pla

On a REAR drive car I can see it.
On a front driver, the fronts do ALL of the steering, All of the propulsion, 70% or more of the braking and a large part of the handling. I want new tires on the end of the car that does 90% of the work, and wears out three times as fast!
Bottom line: the tire shops have to assume that the driver is a TOTAL incompetent, doesn't know enough to drive safely in the rain or how to handle a skid.
I know MY abilities FAR MORE than some doofus in a tire shop. Put the f#@king tires on where EYE want them, where they'll do the most good!

I had one tire shop try to tell me they had to put the new pair on the rear. I said okay, if you can get the FIFTEEN INCH WIDE rear tires currently on the back, onto the front.

Yeah agree I like the fwd to have better traction....but 90% of the people that are wearing out the front is cause they haven't been rotating them ..or can't cause of stagger

 

[nutz]

Truck tires on a trailer will make it sway
Or could ......
Trailer tires are made so the side walls don't flex as much thats the main difference

 

[famous bob]

@el5dart, don't feel left out when you saw them lifting your vehicle on the pinch welds. I was at Discount Tire not once, but twice with my Caravan and they lifted it with 4 floor jacks on the pinch welds. The first time I didn't catch, but the second time I did and noticed that the welds were crushed in two places. I called the manager out about this and got the same story you did. I took the van to a reputable body shop and got an estimate to fix the damage. The store manager was surprised when I presented him with a $1500.00 estimate to correct their screw up. He referred it to corporate and I got a call from the area manager and the district manager wanting to know if there was another was to fix my van a little cheaper. I told bot managers that if they wanted to cheap out on the repairs that I would be taking them to court. I had a friend who is an attorney send them a "Letter of Demand" stating they had 60 days to settle with me of a lawsuit would be filed. LO and behold, I got a check from them 31 days later and coupons for 10% and 20% off of my next 2 purchases. I never redeemed to coupons, nor have i gone back to Discount Tire.

yeah , they laid my chrome ram wheel covers on the concrete floor and scratched 2 of them , I know they did it , because there wasnt a scratch on anything ...

 

[ProjectBazza]

LT tires will get you a ticket in Illinois, your mileage may vary in other states...

That’s what I was afraid of. Haven’t looked into this myself, but my brother is an OTR driver who has to keep his rig “legal” in case he gets pulled over or inspected. Based on what he’s told me, not sure I want to go through anything like that.

 

[HemiSSDart]

I got kicked out of California but I was driving this, they didn't think it was funny at 89' long...

 

[Sublime one]

LT tires will get you a ticket in Illinois, your mileage may vary in other states...

So will a pistol!