I was introduced to TrailBuilt Offroad by Youtube videos. In those videos, TrailBuilt portrays themselves as off road enthusiasts and a well experienced resource for off road knowledge. That may be so. However, I did not know that purchasing a wheel and tire package from TrailBuilt Offroad would be a huge mistake for me. I want to share my negative experiences with TrailBuilt Offroad and Kenda Tires to warn you.

I wanted to change my 2015 Jeep JK wheels and tires from 35x12.5x20 to 35x12.5x17. I researched online reviews of TrailBuilt Offroad and various wheels and tires. Most reviews were positive.

After considering all my options, I settled on ordering 17" Anthem Viper wheels and 35x12.5x17 Kenda Klever R/T tires from TrailBuilt Offroad. I placed the order for 5 wheels and 5 tires. Also, I chose only one of the many add-ons that TrailBuilt offered. I went with the $49 Balancing Beads. I am convinced this is where I made my mistake.

When TrailBuilt mounted the tires to the wheels, they placed a sealed bag of balancing beads into each tire and aired up. TrailBuilt did not turn the wheels and tires before shipping because the balance bead bags were not busted until the wheels and tires were mounted on the vehicle and the vehicle driven. I have the unbroken balance bead bag from the tire that I chose to be mounted to the spare tire mount. This spare wheel and tire has never been driven.

When I installed the wheels and tires on my Jeep and drove down the road, the tires bounced like basketballs and vibrated in a dangerous manner. I could not maintain a safe speed. Understanding that balance beads have to migrate inside the tire to balance the tire, I drove for approximately 40 miles. The bouncing eventually calmed but the heavy vibrations never went away and continued.

I contacted TrailBuilt customer service and was told to take the wheels and tires to a professional tire shop, have the balance beads removed, and have the tires remounted and balanced. I called a local Jeep shop and they quoted $250 ($50 per tire) to perform the work. TrailBuilt said in an email that it was customary for a tire shop to only charge $16 per tire and they would refund me that amount and the $49 cost of the balance beads. Before I could question TrailBuilt's $16 estimate, they quickly refunded me $129. That was 16x5+49=$129. Meanwhile, I found a local tire shop that would do the work for $200 ($40 per tire) and had them do the work. I sent TrailBuilt an invoice from the tire shop for the $200 dollars and they refunded me another $71 dollars to bring the refund total to $200. However, they should have refunded me $249 because they offered to refund the $49 for the balance beads in the beginning. I have the emails and still have not been refunded that $49.

While the professional tire shop was removing the balance beads and remounting and balancing the tires, they found that 2 of the 5 tires will not balance and have a hop because they are out of round. These are new tires that were defective on arrival. So, I contacted TrailBuilt to get two replacement tires and I sent them the invoice verifying the tire shop's finding.

This is where things get worse. The tire shop said they had stopped selling Kenda tires because Kenda would not honor warranties when the tire shop found defective tires. The owner of the tire shop said he would have to lose money to replace the defective tire for the customer. This is Kenda's reputation with this local tire shop.

You need to understand this, if you chose to do business with TrailBuilt. ONCE THE WHEEL AND TIRE PACKAGE IS MOUUNTED AND DRIVEN, THE WHEEL AND TIRES ARE UNRETURNABLE. That's okay with me if, TrailBuilt and Kenda honors the tire warranty and replaces the new defective tires with out a charge. These are new tires and no tread wear prorating should be applied.

Here is the problem. TrailBuilt said they would work between me and the Manufacturer to get the warranty claim processed. After a long delay and slow responses to emails, TrailBuilt has decided they will only send two replacement tires if I send them a $765 deposit. An amount that is more than the cost of purchasing two new tires.

I questioned if this deposit would be refunded when they receive the defective tires. I was told this deposit may not be refunded if the Manufacturer receives the defective tires and decides not to honor the warranty. I don't have a problem returning the defective tires to TrailBuilt or Kenda but I will not put myself in a position to possibly lose $765 on top of the $3,362.18 for the wheel and tire package.

When I ordered the wheel and tire package, TrailBuilt sent me an invoice that had a statement on it, " We appreciate you trusting us to help build your custom ride." I did put my trust in TrailBuilt. In reality TrailBuilt violated my trust when they failed to refund the $49 for the balance beads even though they said they would. Why should I trust Kenda to refund the $765 with their reputation for not honoring warranties?

I have searched TrailBuilt's and Kenda's disclosed warranty information and there is no mention of a required deposit to perform a warranty claim. To require a deposit is unacceptable and possibly illegal.

Unfortunately, I've learned my lesson and suggest you DO NOT purchase wheels and tires from an online resource. Beware many of the online resources are the same company operating under different website names. I believe their email process is built to wear you down. I've asked for phone calls but have not got a response to those requests.

Don't be me. You just might receive a wheel and tire package where the tires are defective on arrival. Just buy local. You'll be glad you did.

One more thing. When an email arrived from TrailBuilt requesting a review on the wheels and tires, I gave a negative review on the tires. When I submitted the review a pop-up stated, "Your review has been submitted successfully and will be validated by our content moderation team." As of the writing of this review, my negative review has not been posted on TrailBuilt's website. Now I question if TrailBuilt censors their reviews.