Ridgway Sport tires?

Movike · 03-21-2016, 08:11 PM

I have a 2015 Rockwood 8315 BSS travel trailer. It came with Ridgway Sport tires. Does anyone else have these tires? Does anyone know anything about them? Are they common on Rockwood or other Forest River trailers? I can't seem to find any info on them at all. I do know they are made in China as stated on the sidewall. They are ST225/75R/15 load range C. What I can't find is a speed rating. I'm assuming they are rated at 65 mph, but I'd like to know for sure. The only thing I can find is H178 after the tire size, but my searches didn't tell me anything as to what that means. I'm doubting that it has anything to do with the speed rating, but what does it mean? I'm planning a trip to Montana this summer and was trying to find some reviews on this brand.
Also a tire pressure question. The sidewall says 50 psi. But I remember reading an article in Trailer life by Bob Livingston, and he said that number is the "minimum amount of pressure required to carry the maximum load". And he recommends inflating the tires something like 5 or 10 pounds above what the sidewall says. Has anyone else heard this? What do you do? I've been towing RV's for many years, but this will be my first trip of this magnitude, and I'm just trying make sure I've got all of my ducks in a row, especially with the tires.

OldCoot · 03-21-2016, 08:30 PM

I wouldn't worry about them, just take it to your local GY dealer and have GY Marathon LR D put on all 5 wheels. Better to bite the bullet before one of those blow and tear up the trailer or cause an accident.

Airdale · 03-21-2016, 09:35 PM

Lionshead Specialty Tire & Wheel, LLC. is located in Goshen, IA and provides OEM tires for the RV trailer industry. That includes the newly minted Ridgway Super Sport ST in Radial and Bias ply designs.

They will be hard to find if replacements are needed on the road.

The recommended inflation pressures for your tires is found on the tire placard and in your trailer's owner manual. The tire pressure found on the tire sidewall is the maximum amount needed to get the maximum load capacity from the tire. In the trailer industry it's normally the same value as recommended by the trailer manufacturer.

youroo · 03-21-2016, 09:47 PM

Movike,are you sure they say "Radial" there website says they are Bias ply? Youroo!!

Movike · 03-22-2016, 04:10 AM

Youroo, I assume they are radial because of the R in front of the 15 on the tire size. I guess I didn't realize anybody was still using bias ply tires. How would I know if they are radial or bias ply? If the R isn't for radial, could that be the speed rating?

Movike · 03-22-2016, 04:27 AM

Airdale, thanks for finding that, I'll check it out. I was pretty sure I read that the sidewall pressure was the minimum pressure needed. I believe it was in Trailer Life magazine that I read it, but it was some time ago and I couldn't find it in the archives. In fact I was surprised to read during my search for the Ridgway tires that one brand, Carlisle I believe, said that you can increase the speed rating by like 10 miles per hour by inflating the tires to 10 psi over what is shown on the sidewall. That's the first I'd ever heard anything like that, which I thought was odd.

acadianbob · 03-22-2016, 05:18 AM

I have the same brand of tire on my new Forest River trailer. Mine are load range D and have plenty of excess capacity. I'm going to run them and am not concerned about it. Have a TPMS and will just watch them and do visual inspection. Everyone should be doing that anyway regardless of the brand of tire.

You have radial tires.

I'm not planning to over-inflate my tires. Doesn't seem like a good idea to me. Don't need to go 75 mph either. Planning to tow at 60 mph.

Asrabbit · 03-22-2016, 05:53 AM

My trailer came with Ridgway. I have put about 800 miles on them since we picked up the trailer. I have no idea if my trailer was pulled to the dealer on the tires or trailered to the dealer. Looking at the tires when I picked them up seems to suggest the unit must have been trailered to the dealer. Regardless, the tires still look good. Also, I have a bent axle which the dealer has on order so I sure that is putting a little extra wear on the inside of the tire, but I can't tell it.

Movike · 03-22-2016, 06:04 AM

AcadianBob, I was wrong about the Carlisle's. It was on the Tire Rack website and it is the Good Year Marathon and the Power King Towmax STR tires that you can increase your speed rating to 75 mph by increasing the cold pressure by up to 10 psi above what is shown on the sidewall.
Like you, I'm leaning on just going with these tires. I will however, probably have them balanced before I go. I don't plan on exceeding 65 mph either. I was actually concerned that with the load range C tires, that my speed rating might be LESS than 65 mph, but I don't believe that's the case. I do have to admit that for the haul across either Kansas, Nebraska, or South Dakota, which ever route we choose, I'm secretly wishing I could bump my speed up to around 70 just to get across there a little quicker. But I'm not as brave as I was 20 or 30 years ago, so I probably won't push it.

**wmtire** · 03-22-2016, 06:16 AM

The 65 mph for ST tire 'one size fit's all' thinking, is falling by the wayside.

You are going to see many China made ST tires are starting to have a load index/speed rating on them. This is due in most part to the final import tariffs that are being assessed against Chinese tire imports in 2015.

ST designated tires from China were exempted from this tariff, as long as they met certain requirements, and having the load index/speed rating on the sidewall was one of them.

You can read about it here under #6 of the exemptions:

http://enforcement.trade.gov/downloa...nal-061215.pdf

You may also notice that the Chinese made Goodyear Marathon ST tire now has a speed rating of 75 mph, as per the description note on tire racks webpage for tires made in the second half of 2015.

GoodyearÂ*Marathon Radial

And this from Carlisle tire stating the speed rating has changed on many of its ST tires

http://www.carlstargroup.com/about-us/faq

acadianbob · 03-22-2016, 09:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Asrabbit

My trailer came with Ridgway. I have put about 800 miles on them since we picked up the trailer. I have no idea if my trailer was pulled to the dealer on the tires or trailered to the dealer. Looking at the tires when I picked them up seems to suggest the unit must have been trailered to the dealer. Regardless, the tires still look good. Also, I have a bent axle which the dealer has on order so I sure that is putting a little extra wear on the inside of the tire, but I can't tell it.

To the best of my knowledge, virtually all trailers are towed to the dealer from the factory. So, my Minnesota trailer probably had 1,000 miles on it before I ever even saw it!

m2kamp · 03-22-2016, 09:21 PM

My 2015 Wildwood 26TBSS came with 205/75/15 Ridgway SuperSport ST Load Range C Bias Ply tires.

I replaced them the first week with 205/75/15 Power King TowMax STRII Load Range D Radial "L" speed rated tires, after reading about all the China Bomb stories on the net. These TowMax are still made in China.

I did not notice any dramatic difference in the way the trailer pulls (Ridgeways at 50 PSI, TowMax at 60 PSI (65 is Max sidewall)), but I did notice that the TowMax did not heat up near as much as the Ridgeways after highway driving.

greytraveler · 04-26-2016, 01:17 PM

We have exactly the same tires as Movike stated in his original post. Our rig is a 2016 model year 8280WS Rockwood. Dry weight 7,604 for GVWR add 1,454. Not sure what the individual tire weight rating is, will have to go back out and see if I can find it.

I have always believed that tires delivered by the manufacture, for the most part, are crap. There are exceptions I guess. I was planning to replace right away but now perhaps will wait a bit and try and learn more.

Given where we live and the roads we most often take, 55 to 60 is as fast as we travel. Not in any hurry so it seems everyone roars past us. We start early and stop early so not concerned about finding a spot.

Since 1994 we have only had one tire go. Problem was, I never felt it and was flagged down or would have kept on going. Bummer. It was a new tire with less than a 1,000 miles on it. Under inflation? Perhaps. So, it seems a TPMS is in the future.

The plan is to relax and give the Ridgeway Sports a try until I learn more, or lose one.

Suggestions re. TMPS like whose and where to find?

GT

Movike · 04-26-2016, 01:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by greytraveler

We have exactly the same tires as Movike stated in his original post. Our rig is a 2016 model year 8280WS Rockwood. Dry weight 7,604 for GVWR add 1,454. Not sure what the individual tire weight rating is, will have to go back out and see if I can find it.

I have always believed that tires delivered by the manufacture, for the most part, are crap. There are exceptions I guess. I was planning to replace right away but now perhaps will wait a bit and try and learn more.

Given where we live and the roads we most often take, 55 to 60 is as fast as we travel. Not in any hurry so it seems everyone roars past us. We start early and stop early so not concerned about finding a spot.

Since 1994 we have only had one tire go. Problem was, I never felt it and was flagged down or would have kept on going. Bummer. It was a new tire with less than a 1,000 miles on it. Under inflation? Perhaps. So, it seems a TPMS is in the future.

The plan is to relax and give the Ridgeway Sports a try until I learn more, or lose one.

Suggestions re. TMPS like whose and where to find?

GT

I'm about 500 lbs lighter than you are. But my tires are 225/75/R15 load range C, with a weight rating of 2150. The only reason I was considering replacing them is because we plan to take the camper to Montana this summer, and didn't know if I should trust them. As of right now, I plan to just run them and see how they do. Keep an eye on my tire pressure, don't overload, and stay under 65mph. However, I do think I will have them balanced before we go.

greytraveler · 04-26-2016, 02:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Movike

I'm about 500 lbs lighter than you are. But my tires are 225/75/R15 load range C, with a weight rating of 2150. The only reason I was considering replacing them is because we plan to take the camper to Montana this summer, and didn't know if I should trust them. As of right now, I plan to just run them and see how they do. Keep an eye on my tire pressure, don't overload, and stay under 65mph. However, I do think I will have them balanced before we go.

We have the same tires and the weight rating sounds right. We also do not add much stuff to the trailer of any weight, a 3rd or less of water is the heaviest. I plan to post this in a new thread re. TPMS shopping:

Tire Pressure Monitoring Systems

A 2011 article but a place to start.

You may also like: