trailer tires

[old goat travelers]

Hi everybody, my wife and I have been using our 23 foot Salem travel trailer to travel and camp through 21 states. It took us two and a half months to do the trip and we enjoyed every minute of it. We since made shorter trips from Phx to different places in California with NO PROBLEMS . We are preparing to hit the road again for a short trip of about 500 + miler. After that we will come home and get ready for a trip to the east coast( taking the long way around ) that will be a couple thousand miles. Our trailer tires still look great but... The tires are Transmaster ST205/75R15- 6 or G made in China. We've had no problems so far but when you don't know how old they are and we are old we don't want any problems. If we decide to buy new tires we were thinking Michelins, Where do you go to get the best deal on tires? Old Goat Travelers

[KMP44]

If you really want to find out how old they are, there is a date code stamped into the sidewall. You can search any tire website for the information on how to read the date code. If they are over 5 years old, I would consider replacing them.


Not sure Michelin makes any ST tires for trailers. Lots of options and lots of (passionate) opinions out there. You can find hours of reading on this site about tires. Goodyear Marathons and Maxxis tires are 2 of the more recommended ST tires. Some people have also gone to LT tires - mainly on heavy 5th wheels.


Personally, I went with new Kumho 857's on my trailer and so far so good. They are only available in 14 inch sizes.

[mjones12]

I have had kumho 857 and loved them. One of few 14-inch with D rating.

[old goat travelers]

KMP44 thanks for responding and yes I'm not having much luck finding Michelins so I guess my next question is who makes the best 15 inch trailer tire for our trailer and what load range should I look for?

[KMP44]

If I was looking for 15's I would probably go with Maxxis - just an opinion. As for load rating, what do you have now? If you have C's, it might be worth going to a D (8 ply rated). Going up a load rating won't increase your carrying capacity, but I like the idea of having a little heavier tire. If you already have LR D's, I'm not sure what might be out there for E's in 15, but if your trailer is only 23' that might be overkill anyway.


And then if you do go up a load rating - then you can open a whole new can of worms in the debate about whether to run the original pressure or go to the max pressure of the new tires...