New Tires - TT or TV

MikeT5200 · 07-01-2019, 02:41 PM

Hey All.... Looking for a little advice on what would be best for my situation. I have enough in the budget to buy a new set of tires for the Roo OR the F150.

So here is the situation: We took it on a 1600 mile trip to So Cal and back. It seems to tow fine EXCEPT that I get pushed around by big semis, etc. Although it's not every time one passes.

Could this be a problem with the WDH set up (it's Equalizer 4-Point)? Or... Could it be because of having the stock tires?

The Roo (21SS) has Castle Rock ST205/75R14 LRD (which are good for 2040/tire at 65 psi). Axles are 3500 lb each. And GVWR is 6449. So they seem to be enough tire as long as it's not overloaded.

The F150 has Goodyear Wrangler 275/65R18 with in index of 116T (which is 2756 lb at 51 psi). The GAWR (rear) is 3800 lb. So plenty of room there too.

There are not a lot of tire choices for Roo due to they are 14's. However there are a lot of different choices for the F150.

So... What would be better... New tires for the Roo or F150?

We are planning a cross country trip within the month.

Thanks!

SeaDog · 07-01-2019, 02:49 PM

You need to include a couple of valuable pieces of information, how old are the trailer tires and how many miles on the truck tires. Then you may get some good answers

babock · 07-01-2019, 03:21 PM

Personally, I really doubt different tires on either or going to help you that much when semis pass you at a much higher speed. It's just physics at work.

Hersbird · 07-01-2019, 03:23 PM

Is it one of the newer aluminum F150s? This is sort of a tradeoff, the lighter truck can handle more weight, but if you aren't loaded it's going to feel more moved around by the trailer. I don't think tires will do anything. Moving more weight to the front of the trailer will help if you have lots of payload, or even put some of that stuff up behind the cab or even in the back seat if not occupied. We have the same trailer in the Palimino line and have towed with 3 different rigs and I don't notice trucks passing hardly at all. I mean, there definitely is a big, moving, cross wind created, but it doesn't require much if not any steering correction.

The last trip home I even had used all the freshwater in the front and the black and grey tanks in the back were mostly full. If anything was going to cause problems, that 200+ pound weight shift should have and it didn't.

clarkbre · 07-01-2019, 03:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SeaDog

You need to include a couple of valuable pieces of information, how old are the trailer tires and how many miles on the truck tires. Then you may get some good answers

Based on the OP's signature, the trailer is a 2020 and the truck is a 2018.

The most bang for the buck will be to spend $10 at a CAT scale and keep the 8 tires you currently have.

I highly doubt the feeling of "getting blown around" is due to the tires you have. It's very likely that the truck and trailer look fine, but the hitch is doing too much or not enough to keep the combination in unison.

Start by putting all 8 tire pressures as indicated by the vehicle that they are on.

The truck will have it in the driver door jamb and the trailer will be towards the front on the driver side.

After that, take it to a scale and plug your numbers into this Truck and Trailer Weights Calculator Template to see if your hitch is adjusted properly or not.

You will be spending time, not money, but your towing experience will be much better.

SeaDog · 07-01-2019, 04:06 PM

[QUOTE=clarkbre;2130366]Based on the OP's signature, the trailer is a 2020 and the truck is a 2018.

Date of a trailer has no bearing on the year of the trailer tires, best to read the date code on the tire. If the two vehicle is a daily computer it could have a ton of miles on the tires, that is why I asked that question.

trailer tires usually time out before they wear out
Two Vehicle tires usually wear out before they time out

JMHO

MikeT5200 · 07-01-2019, 04:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SeaDog

You need to include a couple of valuable pieces of information, how old are the trailer tires and how many miles on the truck tires. Then you may get some good answers

The TT tires have a DOT of 2818 and the TV's are 0918. So they are both fairly new. The TV tires have 16K on them.

mopwr4me2003 · 07-01-2019, 05:17 PM

Tongue weight between 10-15%? Have you gone to a scale and weighed everything as if you We heading out loaded? It is possible that something could be off a little. If everything is within the specs weight and measurements then if it were me I would go for tires on the TV. I went from P rated to a XL rated tire. It gave me a stiffer sidewall and I was able to put more air in as well. I didn’t go with the LT mainly cause I was not sure what the rims would handle for pressure but regardless it helped a lot getting rid of the stock tires. So if you can go LT I would. Also if you are ok with your numbers maybe a set of airbags could help? Just a few ideas to throw around as well.

lbrjet · 07-01-2019, 05:35 PM

I would save your money. You are still going to get pushed around a bit now and then no matter what. You are pulling a sail behind you and it is the nature of the beast.

SeaDog · 07-01-2019, 05:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MikeT5200

The TT tires have a DOT of 2818 and the TV's are 0918. So they are both fairly new. The TV tires have 16K on them.

In my estimation your tires are fine. I would air the TT tires to the max posted on the sidewall and the trucks to the MFG listed pressure.

As others have said I don't believe changing tires will make any difference for what you are looking for. Make sure your hitch is set up correctly and the sway control you use is set correctly then relax and enjoy. Good luck.

AndreTheGiant · 07-01-2019, 08:00 PM

You may be doing yourself disservice with the WDH.

You are probably making the tongue too light. A simple hitch and a sway-bar should be all you need.

As far as push from semis - no way around that.

Boomerweps · 07-01-2019, 08:24 PM

If the WDH is properly setup, then I would try running with the TV tires at or near their maximum pressure as marked on the sidewalls. Stiffens them up for less sidewall play. The stock TT tires are usually recommended to be kept at their maximum sidewall listed pressure.
Yes, indeed, get thee and thy rig to a proper scale to KNOW the weights on all axles, with and without the WDH spring bars attached. See what the WDH is (or isn't) doing for you.

**Tireman9** · 07-02-2019, 09:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SeaDog

In my estimation your tires are fine. I would air the TT tires to the max posted on the sidewall and the trucks to the MFG listed pressure.

As others have said I don't believe changing tires will make any difference for what you are looking for. Make sure your hitch is set up correctly and the sway control you use is set correctly then relax and enjoy. Good luck.

^x2

Tundra 2014 · 07-02-2019, 03:38 PM

I would first weigh @ CAT scale and see what your load is on your tires. Is this over the tire specs? Can you adjust WDH to improve performance? Equilizer and B&W both have good worksheets to help walk you thru adjusting. You will have some sway, but should be able to reduce. As others said, tires are probably not a big cause of sway. Castle Rocks changes would be my 1 st change on tires, and going from a C rated tire to D rated. I made these change on my trailer and it did improve sway slightly. I found that w/ GY Endurance I could also go from 215/14" to 225/14" to increase load cap and only gain 3/16" in diameter. Measure 1 st.

Pecosriver · 07-02-2019, 08:14 PM

Hello, I have a Cedar Creek Silverback 33ik pulled by a F250. The original tires michelen are not good for towing. I got 3 out of 4 tires with tread separation. I replaced them with BFG K02. Fantastic tires. Going on my second set of tires. First set got 45k miles. These tires are also great for off roading. They were used in the baja 1000. They also ride better and quieter than the original tires..

clarkbre · 07-03-2019, 12:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pecosriver

Hello, I have a Cedar Creek Silverback 33ik pulled by a F250. The original tires michelen are not good for towing. I got 3 out of 4 tires with tread separation. I replaced them with BFG K02. Fantastic tires. Going on my second set of tires. First set got 45k miles. These tires are also great for off roading. They were used in the baja 1000. They also ride better and quieter than the original tires..

Funny, I was told on this forum how great those michelins were......in fact, I was told how wrong I was for thinking they were garbage tires......I'm with ya, I thought they were terrible on my F250 and were anything but the all terrains they were advertised to be. Switched to Goodyear Wrangler ATs and love them. They ride great, are quiet and have great wet and snow traction....like an AT should!

lewisra · 07-03-2019, 08:57 AM

Switching TV tires from P rated to LT made a big difference for me.

Retired1stTimer · 07-03-2019, 10:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MikeT5200

Hey All.... Looking for a little advice on what would be best for my situation. I have enough in the budget to buy a new set of tires for the Roo OR the F150.

So here is the situation: We took it on a 1600 mile trip to So Cal and back. It seems to tow fine EXCEPT that I get pushed around by big semis, etc. Although it's not every time one passes.

Could this be a problem with the WDH set up (it's Equalizer 4-Point)? Or... Could it be because of having the stock tires?

The Roo (21SS) has Castle Rock ST205/75R14 LRD (which are good for 2040/tire at 65 psi). Axles are 3500 lb each. And GVWR is 6449. So they seem to be enough tire as long as it's not overloaded.

The F150 has Goodyear Wrangler 275/65R18 with in index of 116T (which is 2756 lb at 51 psi). The GAWR (rear) is 3800 lb. So plenty of room there too.

There are not a lot of tire choices for Roo due to they are 14's. However there are a lot of different choices for the F150.

So... What would be better... New tires for the Roo or F150?

We are planning a cross country trip within the month.

Thanks!

we have a salem cruise lite with the exact same tires. we replaced them with new GoodYear Endurances. purchased at CW. much better looking tire and lots of good tread depth. our castle rocks only lasted, the one that blew out and the other 3 were going to last not much longer, 16 months. I'm not an expert on tires, but if I were to do it all over again I would have gotten new tires asap.

MikeT5200 · 07-03-2019, 02:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tundra 2014

I would first weigh @ CAT scale and see what your load is on your tires. Is this over the tire specs? Can you adjust WDH to improve performance? Equilizer and B&W both have good worksheets to help walk you thru adjusting. You will have some sway, but should be able to reduce. As others said, tires are probably not a big cause of sway. Castle Rocks changes would be my 1 st change on tires, and going from a C rated tire to D rated. I made these change on my trailer and it did improve sway slightly. I found that w/ GY Endurance I could also go from 215/14" to 225/14" to increase load cap and only gain 3/16" in diameter. Measure 1 st.

Thanks for ALL the replies.

So... Within the next couple of weeks I'll go to the CAT Scales to weigh the TT and TV. IF the weights are good then I'll probably put tires on the TT. If not, then I'll do some more adjusting on the WDH.

The tires on the TT are already a LR D. And the GY Endurance and the Maxxis 8008 are only available in LR D (in the 205/75R14 size). The LR D tire (2040 lb/tire) looks to be plenty for the weight of the trailer and axles (GVWR 6499 and 3500 for the axles). Any other good TT tires in that size?

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