[cptxguys]

My opinion is that it's fairly random and more the result of NON-visual damage than visual damage/cracking. We had two blowouts last year after our unit was 18 months old. Both on the front axle or the RV.

My belief is that it was due to a combination of heat (it was 101 degrees outside) and damage from tire 'skuff' (when you 'drag' the tires as the result of U turns and the like).

We drive our unit at 65MPH Max and previously had no issues. After the blowouts we were forced to replace the tires with China brand tires due to the Goodyear strike and redesign on the G614 tires. We also quit turning the unit around at the end of our cul-de-sac. We had no further problems.

Our experience was positive with Goodyear covering the cost of the damage to our RV, so we traded in the China brand tires and replaced them with Goodyears in February of this year. We've diven from Texas to MD over the summer, and had many trips between Austin and Stillwater, OK (Go Cowboys!) with NO issues.

Given the choice though, I would choose the 17.5" wheels/tires (and have them on our Elite Suites).

I monitor my tire and hub temperature with a temperature gun to ensure the tires are running around the same temperature.