Help with new tires

[njcamper]

Ok. I'm a new owner of a Rockwood ultra lite fifth wheel. New to the forum also. I have to tell ya, all these posts about cheap Chinese tires is scaring me. I have some pretty big trips planned this season, so I think I'm going to change the tires right out of the box!

So my question is. What do I buy? Good year or maxxis ( I think that's the name) or is there something else?

[lbrjet]

I read the same horror stories 5 years ago when we got our trailer. Some things just don't change. I decided to give the OEM tires a try and got 4 1/2 years and 9K miles out of them. They were still in good condition, but getting older and I was gearing up for an eight thousand mile trip so I changed them out and also upgraded load range. I took good care of them (keep em aired up and was careful not to hit curbs) and they took care of me. Your results may be different but I doubt it.


2010 F250 5.4L 3.73
2011 Flagstaff 831FKBSS
Equal-i-zer 4pt 12K

[njcamper]

Now I'm really confused! Hahahha. Thank you for your response. A year ago I did experience a blow out in my TT, and it was scary. It was a used trailer and I chalked it up to old tires. So I changed all 5. ( spare) and bumped up from 8 to 10 ply. So I'm
Just wondering if I should do the same now.

[lbrjet]

Not going to hurt but hard to say whether it is necessary. I would suggest a TPMS which ever way you go.


2010 F250 5.4L 3.73
2011 Flagstaff 831FKBSS
Equal-i-zer 4pt 12K

[fonzie]

What size and manufacturer tires do you have on trailer now? Before changing tires, I would get a Tire pressure monitoring system first and go from there.

[Docgeo]

We bought our Americana GS39 new in 2007 and only got 50 miles before losing a tire, they were Chinese tires. I immediately replaced them with Goodyear G rated G614 tires and ran them until 2013. Then while coming back from Wisconsin one tire tread separated and did some damage to my rig. We pulled into Elkhart, IN and I went to the local Goodyear Dealer I took in the Tire and they sent it in and determined it was a tread separation defect and they would replace it and Pay my insurance Deductible. Then I told them the other three tires were the same date code and they replaced them all. Bottom line " Go with Goodyear".

[elind]

A lot of stories out there about China bombs. Most of the ST tires are made in China are so-so, good, or better. Many of the tires installed on RVs go 10-20k without problems. What percent really go bad prematurely and blow up? TPMS is a good idea to monitor the tire pressure. But if a tire starts to separate the TPMS may not tell you anything till the pressure goes down. When it starts to shed rubber it becomes a China bomb and it's over. But how many miles before this happened did it start? If we had a camera on each side of the RV maybe it catch it when it started instead of after it rips every thing apart. Just a thought!

[dcheatwood]

After four trail express blowouts on two 5ers, I have Goodyear marathons now, with Tpms. I don't think tts are as bad about blowing as 5ers but not sure. My 26' TT came with maxxis. No blowouts in 5 yes. Both 5ers came with trail express. 3 blowouts on load Es within 5000 miles and 1 on load range c @ 5000 miles. Upped them to GY lr D now.

[Rodgers]

I would never claim to know everything there is about trailer tires. I think no matter the brand,There are a few things that you can do to make them last longer 1 tire pressure maintain the proper pressure. 2 Instead of air use Nitrogen most trailers are coming with it from the factory. It will help maintain proper pressure, and help reduce heat it the tires. which is the main reason for blow outs, you can also add air if you need to if nitro isn't available. 3 How fast you go, and check them every time you stop for how hot and any defects.

[johntaylor]

Originally Posted by Rodgers

Instead of air use Nitrogen most trailers are coming with it from the factory. It will help maintain proper pressure, and help reduce heat it the tires. which is the main reason for blow outs,

Nitrogen will help maintain pressure, because (1) it contains no water vapor, so there is no drop in pressure below the dew point temperature, and (2) 100% nitrogen permeates through rubber somewhat slower than air's 78% nitrogen/21% oxygen mix.

However, the thermal conductivity of nitrogen and oxygen are almost identical, so it has no effect on heat removal.

TireRack - Clearing the air about nitrogen inflation
Are nitrogen molecules really larger than oxygen?
List of thermal conductivities

[dcheatwood]

[QUOTE=johntaylor;837473]100% nitrogen permeates through rubber somewhat slower than air."

Probably would matter more if the several cubic feet of ambient air was vacuumed out of the tire before nitrogen was introduced. After a few compressor top-offs, or filling station top-offs of air its pretty much normal air. Just have doubts about the nitrogen hype.

[Rodgers]

Well I'll just keep using Nitro and others can use what they want. My tires stay inflated better and longer with Nitro. both Truck and trailer.

[DrippingDuo]

I had enough tire blowouts from tires made in China! Plus on one occurrence it was going to take 4 hours to get someone to change it out. Buy some good LT truck tires and solve your issue. TPMS is great too except when its too late. Peace of mind is great when you are pulling. I purchased Goodyear 14 ply and no problems vs a blowout from bubble from inside the China made tires.

[B and B]

I did not have blowouts on my Trail Express tires. After 1 season and 5,000 km I changed them out. What I found inside was broken and rotten rubber on the bead. They would fail soon, looking at towing last summer changed them. In the end I am glad i did.

[njcamper]

14 ply! Wow. Ok thanks. I will proceed to change these tires. Thanks

[Zolin]

Just check your factory tires for stress cracking. Check at every stop, inflate to full pressure, keep your speed to 60 or below, keep your load under 15 percent of their maximum rated load and you might get one year out of the "Trail Exploders". Weigh your new trailer loaded. If you are within 500 lbs of the gross weight of your trailer your tires will probably start to show stress cracks around the rims. The bead of these tires is made of inferior rubber and deteriorates rather quickly and will start cracking around the rims. So, inflation,speed, weight bearing are all critical factors to consider. I would not run cheap China OEM tires past a year. You are borrowing trouble. A blowout will cause more damage than the cost of replacement. I prefer Maxxis over Goodyear although I understand Goodyear has made some positive changes in their materials. Many owners are very satisfied with them.

[Tireman9]

Tire "Blowouts" are really Run Low Flex Failures that occur when a tire looses air while running down the road. A TPMS will probably give you a warning.

Tread Separation is completely different and occurs when heat and age degrades the rubber around the steel belts. Heat comes from overload, low inflation high speed and long term direct exposure to a heat source.

Tread separations are aggravated by increased Interply Shear (Google it)
which can be over 20% higher on multi axle trailers than other vehicles.

You can lower the Interply Shear by running the tire sidewall max inflation and lowering the load and increasing the inflation pressure.

If you have a tire failure and do not learn the real reason for the failure you have no way of knowing what needs to be changed to avoid a re-occurrence.

[GreenImp]

Most people won't go to as much effort as I often do, but between some extensive shopping and selling of the tires removed, I was able to upgrade from 1-2 year old Trail Express C range to GY Marathon D range for $137 out of pocket. My Trail Express tires looked like new inside and out, but
I feel much better about what I have now, and at that price, it was a "no brainier".

[Tireman9]

Originally Posted by DrippingDuo

I had enough tire blowouts from tires made in China! Plus on one occurrence it was going to take 4 hours to get someone to change it out. Buy some good LT truck tires and solve your issue. TPMS is great too except when its too late. Peace of mind is great when you are pulling. I purchased Goodyear 14 ply and no problems vs a blowout from bubble from inside the China made tires.

You do realize that there are not 14 actual "ply" or body ply layers.

Ply Rating is an outdated (25 years ago) method used when tires were converted from cotton body cord to much stronger Nylon, Polyester or steel.

I suggest you read the tire sidewall to see what you actually have. The information is there by law.

Now Load Range G is capable of holding more air pressure than Load Range F and it is the air that carries the vast majority of the load not the tire sidewall, so unless you inflate a LR-G to its higher inflation it is no "stronger: than a LR-F when it comes to load capacity.

[njcamper]

Alright. Obviously there are quite a few opinions about tires, I'm not quite sure about the "ply" rating thing. I know I went from 8 to 10 ply on my previous TT after experiencing a blow out. But those were old tires that blew.

My Rockwood is brand new. The only mileage on it is from Indiana to NJ when it was delivered to me. I cant remember the name of the tires, but they are not anything I've ever heard of. So, that said. Is there a need to change these tires right now before I start using my camper or will they "probably be ok" for a season?

I know there is no guaranteed answer either way. Maybe its just a silly question all together.