Cardinal RV Club

I know that there has been alot written about Kenda tires, and most all of it is negative. We have a 2008 Cardinal and I’m wondering if there any positive comments about these tires.

I sure don’t want to be worrying all the time about these tires; on the other hand I hate to replace new tires if only a few are having problems. If I keep them properly inflated will they be OK, or should I replace them now. I’ve talked to both my dealer and the factory, they tell me not to worry about it.

Sure like to hear from those that have had a good experience.

Thanks.

I ran mine about 9000 mi with no problems, but the worry was getting me so I changed them out when my warranty expired. Your call.

Jim

The new one's are supposed to be good a lot of members have had no problems .Just check and check the air .

I had to change mine before I could use the trailer . They were a bad bach the inter liners leaked bad . Kenda bought my tires back right a way ,but it took them two months to act. Seams a shame the are some meatie tires . Put tubes in them and now on a Bob-Cat trailer .

Good Luck Wayne

Hello Jim,

Read some of the post on this site about the tires, will yours give you problems ? who really knows, the question you need to ask is can I live with the damage repairs if one blows. Can I drive anywhere on a trip and not think about the tire ripping the side off my new Cardinal in the prime time of camping season and six weeks of repairs and non-use of your camper after waiting all winter.

I could not stop thinking the next trip was going to be the blow out trip, so I took the factory new tires off my Cardinal and put name brand tires on that I could feel good about driving on and never looked back. (Piece Of Mind !!!)
Look at it this way the Kendra tires cost less for FR that is way they go with them to keep the unit cost down. We all know they make better tires and many have decided to change them and many choose to live with the Kendra's and other names they make them under, Loadstar, etc.

Like others say it your call.

George:

Mine lasted 2.5 years before the first one blew with about 5 thousand miles. Replaced all five and sure feel good about it and don't miss the anxiety of waiting for the Karriers to blow. Your rig is not going to go very far in a MN winter so take that money you can't spend on diesel/gas or campground fees and replace the Chinese tires with good made in the USA tires.

Thanks to all of you for your comments. Yes, we do live in Minnesota and because of that, and also we’re retired, we plan the first of the year to head out West for about 3 months with our new Bird. I’ve decided that for piece of mind I will replace these tires.

George and Tim would you please tell me what kind of tires you purchased.

Jim, I put Firestone Transforce HT E rated tires on my rig. Would have rather gone the Michelin route, but at that time and place, it was not possible. Am happy with them so far. The bill came to $650.00. BTW, worked out of the Federal Building at Ft. Snelling back in 70-71.

Hello Jim,

For your size rig and axle ratings go with Michelin, they are great tires that are under rated and will run forever. I had to go with Goodyear because I had to have a higher load rating than Michelin makes. I think the Michelin would carry the load of my rig but I just could not make myself install a tire that is labeled at a lower rating then the rig requires.

George:

Thanks for the information, I have checked with the Michelin web site and they came back to me and said they do not make a trailer tire for my rig. I think I will check with a local dealer.

PS We're in this area in the 70's, lived in St. Paul at the time.

Traveler II wrote:Thanks for the information, I have checked with the Michelin web site and they came back to me and said they do not make a trailer tire for my rig. I think I will check with a local dealer

True Michelin very limited on trailer tires, however many of us received trailers with LT tires (light truck). The Michelin XPS Rib works fantastically on my rig, over 30,000 miles with no problems and expecting to get 30,000 more miles judging by tread depth (I travel enough I will not go past 7 year age limit). I plan to put the same on my truck soon as it is the strongest and best performing tire I have found.

Many of the new 5th wheels are now coming from the factory with LT tires.
A lot of them are an extra cost option. I changed my Kendas for the Michelin Ribs and am extremely pleased with the results. Michelin has chosen to not promote trailer use, probably because of there cost, but many of us out here are using them and I haven't heard of anybody that is not happy with them.

Hello Jim,

Bruce is correct Michelin calls them light truck, The Michelin XPS Rib LT tire is what everyone is using provided you not over the tire rating and your rig shold not be over the ratings.

If you notice I said in a different post Michelin is under rating these tires because if you go to any trailer forum site you will find great reviews for these tires. They are high in cost but as Bruce has stated and he should know he has pulled his Cardinal across this great country on those Michelin's with no problems. Many others also on this site also stand behind them. Many are using Firestone Transforce so it your choice.

George:

10k on my Michelins and no problems so far plus had over 30k on the set I had on my last 5er

You could easily substitute my name for George's first reply!!!! I feel the exact same way. My Karrier's had about 6000 miles on them; one of them lost a piece of tread, started to split, so I just replaced them with Michelin XPS Ribs. They are slightly larger (85 vs. 80s) and I've just driven them 10 miles so far, but they "look" so much beefier.

Last summer on a trip to Yellowstone, I had the mirrors pointed at my Karriers alot--and I DON'T want that worry anymore! Cost--about $800. Mark

I use the Firestone Transforce HT's on my Duramax and have been pleased with them.