Adding Shocks to 36RL

[Dave&Ginny]

Sorry, I can't help much with the tires. I have the Goodyear G tires and I'm very happy with them and I'm pulled my trailer all over the U.S..

I strongly recommend following the thread I had for lubricating the slide motors (electric slides). This will save you a bunch of problems later.

As for the ride.....we all have different levels of comfort. I replaced my pin box (did it myself), installed the "air lift" bags and then put air ride on my truck from Kelderman (front and rear axles). I can honestly say "it's rare that I get any chucking". Keep in mind, my wife reads going down the road and this was important to her (And now it sounds like I might be selling the truck off after all of these adaptions).

[rob_fla]

As far as an alternate tire recommendation to the Goodyear G614, look at Sailun S637.
I ran them on my last 5th Wheel coast to coast, great 14 Ply G Rated very heavy tire that is reasonably priced.
There are lots of good reviews on the Sailun S637 even though it is made in China.
I bought mine from Simpletire.com, good price and fast shipping.
Sailun S637 Tires at SimpleTire.com

[atom ant]

I have never heard a bad thing about Sailun tires, but the Jury is still out for me. I've always believed in you get what you pay for, and at $160 for Sailun vs $380 for a G614, its almost too good to be true.

[rob_fla]

I know Heartland has been using the Sailun on some of their product lines, much better tire than the Westlake Tire Redwood has been using.
As far as a alternative tire to the G614, I think currently the Sailun is probably the best alternative with a good track record.


I agree AA, I like the Goodyear G614 better but some of the price difference is the advertising and marketing Goodyear spends as compared to Sailun.
Somebody has to pay for all those Nascar Tires and Commercials

[travelin' texans]

My last RV was a Heartland & it came with G rated Freestars, don't know where they were made but served their purpose well in 5+ years of fulltiming.

[mhs4771]

Question: Any body know if Sailun will pay for damage to you coach if a tire fails like Goodyear does??

[Dan]

Originally Posted by atom ant

I have never heard a bad thing about Sailun tires, but the Jury is still out for me. I've always believed in you get what you pay for, and at $160 for Sailun vs $380 for a G614, its almost too good to be true.

Are they regroovable like the G614's????

[rob_fla]

I am pretty sure Sailun will not pay for damage like Goodyear will, but that is part of the higher price you pay, Goodyear has to recoup that cost somehow.

Regroovable, not sure I have heard of anybody regrooving a Goodyear Trailer Tire, I have always assumed when the tread is worn out, it is time to replace the tires anyway.

[atom ant]

Originally Posted by travelin' texans

My last RV was a Heartland & it came with G rated Freestars, don't know where they were made but served their purpose well in 5+ years of fulltiming.

Ooooh you were lucky! Freestar's are at the bottom of the pile with Westlake. Freestar's were the Mission replacement from Keystone when Mission folded.

[atom ant]

Originally Posted by rob_fla

I agree AA, I like the Goodyear G614 better but some of the price difference is the advertising and marketing Goodyear spends as compared to Sailun.
Somebody has to pay for all those Nascar Tires and Commercials

Hahaha ya right - it's the cost of the blimp that makes them so expensive

This is that narley fork in the road when you have to decide if you want your product line dominated by imported products to save a buck, or do you want the product lines hearty and healthy with US made products by supporting the US corporations - "choose wisely" as my daughter always says

Ask yourself this - why are you expecting to pay $185 for a 14 ply LRG tire when you wouldn't pay less than $225 a tire for your truck tires that aren't near as sophisticated as a LRG trailer tire?

[Jeff&Sandy]

Ordered the Firestone Ride-Rite Air Lifter Kit to help with the chucking I've always kept my money inside the US, but with all tire companies farming all trailer tires out overseas, it's not possible to purchase a trailer tire made in the US. One can purchase a LT tire in the US but to get one that will handle the weight of the 16000# minus the Pin weight, will cost more that one should have to pay. The RW 36RL of mine has all the cabinets, TV and electronics, Pantry (wife like to carry lots of can goods), Stove, Fridge, Washer and Dryer on one side of the trailer. This puts way more that half the weight of the 7,000# axle and the 3420# tire on one side. All I could see when I looked at it was, boy is that pretty!!!! Got to have this!!!! Seen a new one yesterday just like mine new for $40,000 less than I paid) that hurts. I would have thought the engineers that designed these units, had weight distribution on their mind (NOT). US made (maybe) GY G614 LT235/85/r16 G DOT stamped approved 5ea @ $2,043.27 mounted, balanced and road hazard. Sailun S637 China made LT235/85/r16 G all position, DOT stamped approved 5ea @ $1,345.50 mounted, balanced and road hazard, minus 5% military discount. Yes, it is hard to buy things that are not made in the US, but looking at the quality of work that some of the workers in the US produce, makes one wonder what you will get. The DOT stamp on the side of a foreign made tire has the same requirement as that of a US made one. Crossroad put China made tires E rated 3420# at 80 PSI on my unit and other tire companies rate their E rated tire 3160# at 80 PSI. I will be replacing my China E rated tires with a china 75 MPH G rated 3750# at 110 PSI tire . I'll be more comfortable having one pass me on the road with a RW36RL having these tires than one with the Marathons. I can't find any negative reviews yet on the S635. I have a real good insurance policy out on my 5ver and would never rely on any tire company to cover repairs outside of the tires. Not that I expect to but all things are possible. Thanks to all for their input on shocks, tires and air lift suspension. I'll keep all informed of performance. O, I'm going to try somehow to shift some weight off the heavy side.

[5th_Time]

I was wondering how this thread got hijacked from shocks on an RL, to airbags for tow vehicles, to finally trailer tires. The journey has been a long one, grasshopper...

I kept checking back to learn more about retrofitting shocks on a Redwood...

[mhs4771]

One sure way to get Shocks on a RW is to upgrade to the Mor/ryde IS, but does make for rather expensive shocks, but your RW will surely thank you for the ride improvement.

[Jeff&Sandy]

Regrooving and recapping tires. Some of the commercial tires sold are regroovable but if you regroove it, it cannot be recapped. I drove tractor trailer rigs in the Army and the tires on all but the front tires were recapped. We ran a lot of different big named tires recapped hauling bullets, beans, troops and some classified stuff. This practice is not seen now as it use to be. I would feel very good about riding on a tire that I knew was new and with regroovable stamped on the side. This tells me that there is a lot of rubber left on it when it gets worn down to a normal replacement depth. Thread patterns of tires now days cuts down on the regrooving. Food for thought.

[Jeff&Sandy]

Well it has been a long journey, but it all ties together with safe towing of the 5ver down the road. Does one use shocks, air lift suspension, air pin box, heavier tires, maybe all? Personally I learned a lot and all in the name of safe RVing.

[mhs4771]

Well we have all but the Air Lift suspension, instead we have Independent Suspenion riding on Rubber Shear Springs (aka Mor/ryde IS).

[Shane Wood]

Originally Posted by 5th_Time

I was wondering how this thread got hijacked from shocks on an RL, to airbags for tow vehicles, to finally trailer tires. The journey has been a long one, grasshopper...

I kept checking back to learn more about retrofitting shocks on a Redwood...

5th time
This is what happens when you have a bunch of us old people talking on a subject and we forget where we started

[Shane Wood]

Originally Posted by 5th_Time

I was wondering how this thread got hijacked from shocks on an RL, to airbags for tow vehicles, to finally trailer tires. The journey has been a long one, grasshopper...

I kept checking back to learn more about retrofitting shocks on a Redwood...

Also in regards to installing shocks on your suspension it will definately help with the rebound when the trailer bottoms out and launches back up. It would Definately smooth out the ride. There is a reason why all vehicles have shocks