My Take on ST Tires

[acadianbob]

Originally Posted by Oaklevel

Sorry I disagree with you on the reliability of ST tires. No problem with reliability and not unpredictable.

Brands maybe but not on ST tires in general........ I have been running ST tires since they came out and have never had an issue, / blowout, no odd tread wear.

Totally agree with you.

[acadianbob]

These Kumho tires are fantastic. D rated 14" and 99 mph.

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires...del=Radial+857

Here's another that looks interesting. American made Goodyear.

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires...odel=Endurance

I've also had these Goodyear Marathons. 25K miles. All day 95 heat. Forest Service rocky back roads. Never a problem. Replaced them with the Kumho's because they got to be 6 years old.

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires...arathon+Radial

Good luck.

[HONDAMAN174]

Ran the kimho's for two years on our pop up. Nice deep tread for channeling water/rain away.

[Tom48]

Since most ST tires are made in "Asia" which mostly means China, normal that most crap tires will be from China, thus CHINA BOMBS. But not all are created equal. My factory tire are soft or gummy even in compared to The Carlisle's that I will " upgrade to". These things are about one third of the way to the tread wear warning with only about 6-7000 miles. Even wear at least and I watch them, always leave home at 63-65 psi depending on how cold, cold is here in the morning during predeparture check. And I run TST 507's which caught my leaking tire withe the nail before it was a problem.. But make no mistake, these thing are CHINA BOMB CRAP and will be replaced within another 5000 miles, with 80psi, load range E Carlisle's.

[byrdr1]

Originally Posted by doc73

I have towed 15,000 miles on my China bombs. I check the pressure every day I am on the road, have tpms and inspect before I leave for each trip. Never had an issue. I also set my cruise to 63 and do not hail the whole house with me.

We live in a set and forget it world. Someone is expected to do all the work for us. Besides those who are anal about this.. Think about it when is the last time most people ever checked the tire pressure in their let alone the trailer that sat all winter long. How many just abuse the heck out of the tires dues to a lazyness or being g in a rush until they explode, litterly.

I am getting ready for first trip of year. Pressure on covered tires checked, wheel bearings repacked, brakes adjusted. I check tire pressure every trip leaving house. Don't check leaving campground due to not having air compressor with me. But most trips 3-6 nights. Never tow over 65 mph. Never had blow out but have seen tire separation on treads and side walls. Replaced them..
Maintenance is required.
JMHO
Randy

[Springerdad]

To the OP - if you do anything, you should consider going to a D rated tire. I'm sure that's been mentioned here already. Having a 200lb leeway on your tire loading is, in my opinion, too close for safety and the risk of overloading those tires. How do you know the actual weight of your trailer, and how even is the loading side to side?

[genehorn]

I can't make any claims as to expertise but it is my understanding that ST tires have much stiffer sidewalls than LT's and other tires. This helps reduce side to side sway. I keep mine covered when parked to prevent UV damage, often called dry rot, and I check the air pressure anytime I hook up. I also check lug torque every other pull when making three day trips of 300 miles or less. Tow speed is always kept at 65 mph or below.

[spock123]

Buy a TPMS that you trust and try not to overload the camper. I had Westlake tires on my first Cedar Creek and TST 507 TPMS and never had a problem. On this Cedar Creek I have Goodyear G614 tires but they are not cheap. I have been told by my tire man that the LT tires are overkill, that the ST tires were made for trailers. Unfortunately most tires are now made overseas, Goodyear has just came out with a st tire that's made in America. I wish everything was made in America. I try to buy products made in America when I can, the tires on my truck and camper are made here. But buy what you like.

[meandmylabs]

Originally Posted by genehorn

I can't make any claims as to expertise but it is my understanding that ST tires have much stiffer sidewalls than LT's and other tires. This helps reduce side to side sway. I keep mine covered when parked to prevent UV damage, often called dry rot, and I check the air pressure anytime I hook up. I also check lug torque every other pull when making three day trips of 300 miles or less. Tow speed is always kept at 65 mph or below.

This is one of the points the tire guy made to me when replacing the tires on my last unit. The other point he made is that on a tandem axle trailer, one of the axles is the drag axle when turning short, especially backing up. The increased sidewall strength is designed to handle that sideways drag.

[Airdale]

I don’t know where to start this. You have obviously misinterpreted a regulation or two.

As someone has already pointed out, OEM 14” tires are very hard to replace with other tire designs.

The new Goodyear Endurance has 14” ST tires with a LRD rating as high as 2200#. They are currently being made in one of Goodyear’s USA plants.

The tire in your original post is a passenger tire. When passenger tires are used on RV trailer axles their maximum load capacity MUST be reduced by about 10%. It’s done by dividing the “P” tire load capacity of 1664# by 1.1 which will reduce its maximum load capacity for trailer service to 1542# at 44 PSI.

I doubt very seriously that the Tire Rack or any other well known tire retailer would knowingly install tires with less load capacity than has been recommended by your trailers’ manufacturer.

When you do decide on replacement tires make sure you become familiar with the tires’ warranty package. The one you have chosen as an example would not be covered by their warranty if installed on your trailer - Wrong Size!

https://www.tirerack.com/images/pdf/warranty/HK0116.pdf

Like any other DOT certified highway tire, the ST will perform up to its potential when it is not stressed with excess loads. Of course it must be properly maintained, with diligence. They often get bad reviews because they are different. Once an owner figures out the difference and adds a little extra load capacity reserves with their replacements, the replacement tire will get all the accolades. Well, it’s stronger, why not? But, again, many misunderstand and blame the tire that was legally installed with a very limited reserve load capacity - if any at all. The rules protect our car and truck tires by requiring a percentage of load capacity reserves. That protection does not exist with trailer tire fitments.

[Restcure]

Originally Posted by itat

OP has 14" tires in load range C so he has a light trailer. You won't find 14" LT tires and 15" LTs are rare.

OP should buy good quality ST tires like Maxxis M8008 or Carlisles. I've also had good luck with Duro.

Carlisle is now making the Radial Trail HD (Load Range D) in size ST205/75R14 - those are the replacements we're eyeing for this year.

[Restcure]

Originally Posted by Restcure

Carlisle is now making the Radial Trail HD (Load Range D) in size ST205/75R14 - those are the replacements we're eyeing for this year.

A quick update - I couldn't source the Carlisles locally so I opted for Goodyear Endurance tires... same size, same load range. New for this year and made in the US.

[Tireman9]

Originally Posted by jeffnick

I had a request on another thread asking which tire I was going to use to replace the brand new 14" ST tires on my Wolf Pup.

The current tires are: ST 205/75R14/C These tires typically have a load range around 1750 lbs each or 3,500 lbs trailer gross.


I've found ST tires to be unreliable, unpredictable and they have an extremely poor service life so even though my tires have only about 1,000 miles, they'll be replaced by non-ST tires. My choice in this case is:
Hankook Optimo H724 All-Season Tire - 215/75R14 98S

The 98S indicates the load range which is 1,653 lbs or about 100 lbs less than the ST tire and 200 lbs less for the gross weight of the trailer. In addition, DOT says if one uses non-ST tires on a trailer the rating must be reduced by 10% so now we're looking at a load capacity of a little less than 1,500 lbs each which means my loaded trailer max should be a hair under 3,000 lbs. instead of the 3,500 lbs the ST tires would allow.

So what does this mean to me? Well, nothing really. It's a much bigger gamble to use ST tires than it is to run a few hundred pounds over rating with non-ST tires (if in fact I do load the trailer to 3,500 lbs).

Here's some background on my ST tire experiences:

One More Time Around: "ST" Tires On Your Trailer -or- Passenger Car/Truck Tires?

One More Time Around: Trailer - Tires & Brakes

One More Time Around: Finally Got Rid Of Those POS ST Tires On My Trailer

The Hankook tires are actuallyP215/75R14 XL 98S. That "P" and XL are important characters and leaving it off your "complete" tire size description could cause problems. When placing a passenger tire in trailer application you need to de-rate the load capacity by dividing by 1.10. This is tire industry standard.
Where did you find the XL (98 Load Index) tires? Hankook doesn't list them HERE. I am wondering if you bought based on an incorrect web listing. What does your tire say on its sidewall for Max inflation and Max Load?


Your ST205/75R14 LRC tires are rated for 1760# @ 50 psi and a P205/75R14 XL 98S would be rated for 1653 @ 41 psi but when de-rated the load capacity is 1502# so yes you are loosing 254# load capacity per tire or 508# of max load capacity for the TT.

[CaptnJohn]

Most people, make that every person, I ever heard of when changing to a non-st tire went to a bigger tire. This is a 1st going to a lesser capacity tire. If noticed they would not pass inspection in NC being less capacity than the camper builder noted on the sticker on the slide of the unit. Good luck to any that believe lesser capacity is a good choice.
Not one went to a Passenger tire either, they went to an LT.

[spock123]

Originally Posted by CaptnJohn

Most people, make that every person, I ever heard of when changing to a non-st tire went to a bigger tire. This is a 1st going to a lesser capacity tire. If noticed they would not pass inspection in NC being less capacity than the camper builder noted on the sticker on the slide of the unit. Good luck to any that believe lesser capacity is a good choice.
Not one went to a Passenger tire either, they went to an LT.

First time I have ever heard of North Carolina inspecting campers. I have never had to have my camper inspected in NC.

[CaptnJohn]

Originally Posted by spock123

First time I have ever heard of North Carolina inspecting campers. I have never had to have my camper inspected in NC.

NC does not inspect campers, only motorized vehicles . I was not clear meaning if like Pa and some others it would not pass.

[Tireman9]

Also a definate liability issue if there ever was an accident.

I have consulted as an expert on such a case of change in tire size.