Sailun Tires?

[maggie blair]

Does anyone know the quality of Sailun tires? A dealer sent me to a tire shop and they installed 6 of these tires and told me the tires are middle grade tires. I went out this morning and noticed the tires are made in China. The dealer did not give me a written guarantee but told me the tires should run 50,000 miles or 5-7 years. I am bit concerned about the quality. anyone have any suggestions?

[Kirk W]

I will say that I have never been one who is willing to save money in choice of tires as I consider them to be much too important. I have no knowledge of the brand you now have, but did find this review of them. Digging more I found another and it may be worth a look, but neither of these address the truck tires that they sell, which is no doubt what you have. Since you already have them I doubt that there is much you could do now to change tires so my advice is to watch them very carefully, be sure to keep them properly inflated at all times and take all of the precautions that any of us take when parked.

[Yarome]

I've heard of them, but don't personally have a very high opinion. Since they are already installed I don't know that there is much you can do, but I would certainly keep a VERY close eye on them and would not take their 50,000 mile 5-7 year life expectancy too close to heart. A lot of the "big boys" would have a hard time living up to a claim like that.

 

From a recent excerpt: ""We're not Michelin, we're a value tier tire" acknowledges Brian Mielko, VP of Marketing.

But value-priced tires represent a whopping 41% of overall sales, with the big name brands such as Michelin, Bridgestone and Goodyear constituting 75% of that. So far, none of the smaller tire companies have exceeded more than 3% of those sales.

"Sports cars, luxury cars and SUVs are a great market to be in, but it's not our market" says Mielko.

Instead, the company is focusing on economy and family cars for the bulk of their passenger tire sales."

[maggie blair]

I will say that I have never been one who is willing to save money in choice of tires as I consider them to be much too important. I have no knowledge of the brand you now have, but did find this review of them. Digging more I found another and it may be worth a look, but neither of these address the truck tires that they sell, which is no doubt what you have. Since you already have them I doubt that there is much you could do now to change tires so my advice is to watch them very carefully, be sure to keep them properly inflated at all times and take all of the precautions that any of us take when parked.

Thanks Kirk. I am pretty upset with the tire shop and the RV dealer. I will be back to both of those places tomorrow to follow up. This is my problem for not asking more questions at the tire shop. Thanks again.

[Yarome]

I will say that I have never been one who is willing to save money in choice of tires as I consider them to be much too important.

 

X2... Absolutely! I think the first link Kirk posted sums it up nicely... "Sailun pretty wholeheartedly embraces their position as a third-tier company"

[maggie blair]

I've heard of them, but don't personally have a very high opinion. Since they are already installed I don't know that there is much you can do, but I would certainly keep a VERY close eye on them and would not take their 50,000 mile 5-7 year life expectancy too close to heart. A lot of the "big boys" would have a hard time living up to a claim like that.

 

From a recent excerpt: ""We're not Michelin, we're a value tier tire" acknowledges Brian Mielko, VP of Marketing.

 

But value-priced tires represent a whopping 41% of overall sales, with the big name brands such as Michelin, Bridgestone and Goodyear constituting 75% of that. So far, none of the smaller tire companies have exceeded more than 3% of those sales.

 

"Sports cars, luxury cars and SUVs are a great market to be in, but it's not our market" says Mielko.

 

Instead, the company is focusing on economy and family cars for the bulk of their passenger tire sales."

 

I am returning tomorrow to the tire shop and will be asking questions etc. and wanting something in writing about he warranty. Thanks.

[57becky]

You don't say what they were installed on. A tow vehicle or a three axle trailer. If it is a trailer, and these are the S637 14 ply rated tires, they are getting some good reviews. All their specs are the same as the Goodyear G614 tire, and they appear to have equal weight and construction. They are also built in an ISO rated plant, yes in China, but getting an ISO rating does say something about their quality. They were originally labelled as an LT tire, the same as the G614, but due to new import taxes, they are now labelled an ST tire, still with the same specs. They are also now, according to their literature, available in both 235/80R16 and 235/85R16 sizes. We would have installed them on our 5th wheel a couple years ago, except for them not being available where we were at the time, so went with the Goodyear. These tires are also part of their commercial tire line, so not the same as their lighter automobile tires. http://www.sailuntires.ca/MRT/S637.html

[Chad Heiser]

57becky beat me to it. If they are the Sailun trailer tires, they are very high quality and are used extensively in the trucking world. While they are manufactured in China, they meet ISO standards so they aren't your typical "China bombs." http://www.trailertiresandwheels.com/ sells a lot of Sailun tires in the 17.5 size. I purchased a set of them at the beginning of last year and have been very happy with them. I intended to buy Goodyears, but after talking with the people at http://www.trailertiresandwheels.com/ and doing my own research, I decided to go with the Sailun's. It saved me significant money and I have been very happy with them.

[maggie blair]

You don't say what they were installed on. A tow vehicle or a three axle trailer. If it is a trailer, and these are the S637 14 ply rated tires, they are getting some good reviews. All their specs are the same as the Goodyear G614 tire, and they appear to have equal weight and construction. They are also built in an ISO rated plant, yes in China, but getting an ISO rating does say something about their quality. They were originally labelled as an LT tire, the same as the G614, but due to new import taxes, they are now labelled an ST tire, still with the same specs. They are also now, according to their literature, available in both 235/80R16 and 235/85R16 sizes. We would have installed them on our 5th wheel a couple years ago, except for them not being available where we were at the time, so went with the Goodyear. These tires are also part of their commercial tire line, so not the same as their lighter automobile tires. http://www.sailuntires.ca/MRT/S637.html

I had the tires installed on my 2007 Fiesta Fleetwood motorhome. I sure hope the tires are reliable. Thanks for the information and the website information.

[TireHobby]

You have to be very carful buying Sailun S637 tires right now. They in a transition period and some of the S637 tires are being built in two different designs. So it's a buyer be ware situation and you need to look carefully at the sidewall sizes, materials and load capacities molded into the side wall. The LT235/85R16G is steel cased and what could be called a GY G614 knock-off. It's rated at 3750# at 110 psi and like the GY only fits 16x6.5" rims. Their new ST235/85R16G is a polyester tire and is rated at 4080# at 110 psi.

[Yarome]

One other thing you might consider when making a tire choice is how readily available a particular tire brand/size, etc. is on the road. Saving a little money now is all good, but it doesn't help much when you have a blowout in 'podunkville', no local shop carries that brand, and it will be 5-10 days to ship one in at your own expense.

 

With the "big guys", even if a shop doesn't have one in stock, it's generally not more than a day or two away and shipping it in is on THEIR dime.

[Ray,IN]

I ran Sailun 16" tires on our 40' 5er for our trip to AK, they performed very well. They eliminated all tire problems on the 5er. I'm now considering buying Sailun 22.5" tires for our MH. Their only lacking is U.S. dealer network, Canada dealers are widespread, but from what I've discovered, dealers that handle Cooper tires also handles Sailun tires. The local Cooper tire dealer quoted $2,200 for 6 Sailun tires for our MH, mounted,balanced, installed, + sales tax.

Tire failure is always possible, but I'll not be negative and count on one, instead I try to be proactive, keep my tires inflated to what the vehicle mfgr. recommends, inspect them prior to every trip, avoid curbing tires, etc.

FWIW, over 90% of all tire failures are the result of underinflation/overloading, according to the Rubber Manufacturers Association.

[mohamer]

I have Sailun tires on my Motorhome,, S637 Rib Tire 225/70R19.5

I think they are a very good tire. I have a friend in New Jersey that has a tire shop, he has sold them to local fleets there and has yet to have a return on a single Sailun like the ones on my MH.

 

I would be slow to get rid of them if I were you.

 

Ymwv

John in Joplin

[Jim Seward]

I totally agree with Kirk's post. The tires on your coach are the weakest link between it and the pavement. Therefore, I'm not willing to spend a few less $$$ on unfamiliar tire brands especially those manufactured in China. However, it's your own business which brand of tire you choose to purchase.

 

Good luck with your choice of tires & safe travels.....

[champ_49]

Sailuns come on my 2011 40' 5th wheel weighing in at 16,000 lbs. Ran them for 4 yrs and not one problem with them. How many miles is only a guess, because I didn't keep track. But I did go all the way around the USA in one stint, and many trips back and forth from Michigan to Alabama/Florida. Not one failure and tires were still in great shape. But they were 5 yrs old and it was time to change them out.

 

I elected to go with the Goodyear 614's because of the reviews but I now think back and say why did I do that as the Sailuns did me right.

 

Dave

[maggie blair]

I've heard of them, but don't personally have a very high opinion. Since they are already installed I don't know that there is much you can do, but I would certainly keep a VERY close eye on them and would not take their 50,000 mile 5-7 year life expectancy too close to heart. A lot of the "big boys" would have a hard time living up to a claim like that.

 

From a recent excerpt: ""We're not Michelin, we're a value tier tire" acknowledges Brian Mielko, VP of Marketing.

 

But value-priced tires represent a whopping 41% of overall sales, with the big name brands such as Michelin, Bridgestone and Goodyear constituting 75% of that. So far, none of the smaller tire companies have exceeded more than 3% of those sales.

 

"Sports cars, luxury cars and SUVs are a great market to be in, but it's not our market" says Mielko.

 

Instead, the company is focusing on economy and family cars for the bulk of their passenger tire sales."

 

Sailuns come on my 2011 40' 5th wheel weighing in at 16,000 lbs. Ran them for 4 yrs and not one problem with them. How many miles is only a guess, because I didn't keep track. But I did go all the way around the USA in one stint, and many trips back and forth from Michigan to Alabama/Florida. Not one failure and tires were still in great shape. But they were 5 yrs old and it was time to change them out.

 

I elected to go with the Goodyear 614's because of the reviews but I now think back and say why did I do that as the Sailuns did me right.

 

Dave

Thanks so much!

[maggie blair]

Sailuns come on my 2011 40' 5th wheel weighing in at 16,000 lbs. Ran them for 4 yrs and not one problem with them. How many miles is only a guess, because I didn't keep track. But I did go all the way around the USA in one stint, and many trips back and forth from Michigan to Alabama/Florida. Not one failure and tires were still in great shape. But they were 5 yrs old and it was time to change them out.

 

I elected to go with the Goodyear 614's because of the reviews but I now think back and say why did I do that as the Sailuns did me right.

 

Dave

Thanks so much!

[maggie blair]

I totally agree with Kirk's post. The tires on your coach are the weakest link between it and the pavement. Therefore, I'm not willing to spend a few less $$$ on unfamiliar tire brands especially those manufactured in China. However, it's your own business which brand of tire you choose to purchase.

 

Good luck with your choice of tires & safe travels.....

 

I totally agree with Kirk's post. The tires on your coach are the weakest link between it and the pavement. Therefore, I'm not willing to spend a few less $$$ on unfamiliar tire brands especially those manufactured in China. However, it's your own business which brand of tire you choose to purchase.

 

Good luck with your choice of tires & safe travels.....

Thanks so much!

[maggie blair]

I have Sailun tires on my Motorhome,, S637 Rib Tire 225/70R19.5

I think they are a very good tire. I have a friend in New Jersey that has a tire shop, he has sold them to local fleets there and has yet to have a return on a single Sailun like the ones on my MH.

 

I would be slow to get rid of them if I were you.

 

Ymwv

John in Joplin

Thanks John.