why not car tires

[RKR]

I know one thing for sure. If I ever decide to go with LT tires in the future I ain't telling nobody....lol , heck no.

[Iwannacamp]

Originally Posted by RKR

I know one thing for sure. If I ever decide to go with LT tires in the future I ain't telling nobody....lol , heck no.

lol...me either

[sidney]

Originally Posted by 05CrewDually

Of coarse they say that. They don't want to lose sales.

If you read my previous post you'll see I already addressed this:


"There is a lot of good information in the PDF... but keep in mind... Carlisle does not make on road "passenger" tires. Their marketing may be a bit bias and skewed a tad towards selling ST tires."

[sidney]

Originally Posted by RKR

I know one thing for sure. If I ever decide to go with LT tires in the future I ain't telling nobody....lol , heck no.

I hear ya... there are some very heated tire debates on other RV forums.

[garbonz]

Originally Posted by sidney

Here's a link to Trailer Tires: Tips & Best Practices

http://www.carlisletransportationpro..._Practices.pdf

There is a lot of good information in the PDF... but keep in mind... Carlisle does not make on road "passenger" tires. Their marketing may be a bit bias and skewed a tad towards selling ST tires.

I agree with the obvious LOAD requirements, i.e. always use tires that meet or exceed the GAWR of the trailer.

I have ST tires on our trailer now... when its time to replace them I may go to an LT tire for a number of reasons.

1. As RKR mentioned... there are numerous accounts of premature catastrophic ST tire failures vs. LT failures.

2. wmtire mentioned cost: "If passenger designated tires were the answer (and legal), then trailer manufacturers would use them, since they are usually cheaper in price and more readibly available."
A good LT tire with a load rating that meets the GAWR of the trailer is considerably more expensive than an ST tire.

In the Cedar Creek line of 5th wheels the heavier models come with G rated LT tires, "8-Lug, LT, “G” Rated, Goodyear Tires on 7000 Axle Units" and is available as an expensive option on the lighter models.

3. Per the link above... the life expectancy of ST tires is 3-5 years regardless of mileage. If ST tires are so superior to LT tires why is there life expectancy so short?

4. Side wall stress... if you understand physics think about the side wall stress of your front steering tires while cornering at typical driving speeds. There is an incredible amount of side wall stress generated when supporting a heavy duty diesel pick up's 5000 lbs of front axle weight while cornering.

5. ST tires are not required to meet the same government safety test standards as passenger tires. Which makes sense... passengers don't ride in trailers.

So far my ST tires are holding up well... but I'm not convinced ST tires are the only way to go.

Happy Holidays

#4. You are not considering that the trailer tire is being "scrubbed" sideways and that is WAY MORE STRESS, than a rolling tire in a turn. Physics says so. Most of this stress occurs in the tight 0-5 MPH turns that trailers experience when pulling or backing into a parking site. This has been mentioned repeatedly by WMTIRE in this forum and is backed up by tire research. Just saying.

Lots of opinions here but 90% or more are just empirical rantings that have no basis in engineering, and there is the not so subtle undercurrent that all the mfg's are out to screw is, but the RV mfg's and the tire mfg's.

[18CrewDually]

Originally Posted by sidney

If you read my previous post you'll see I already addressed this:


"There is a lot of good information in the PDF... but keep in mind... Carlisle does not make on road "passenger" tires. Their marketing may be a bit bias and skewed a tad towards selling ST tires."

Of coarse I did. But thanks for the double reiteration.

[sidney]

Originally Posted by garbonz

#4. You are not considering that the trailer tire is being "scrubbed" sideways and that is WAY MORE STRESS, than a rolling tire in a turn.

Yes I am considering this.

I am claiming a steering tire turned at an angle to the trucks forward direction of force is creating a substantial force perpendicular to the side wall.

Think of it this way... if you are driving on a sheet of wet ice and turn your tires to the right and they lose all traction you will travel in a straight line and not turn to the right. Even though your front tires are still rolling and turned right.

When you make the same turn on drive pavement the same forces exist. Your truck wants to go in a straight line. But it turns because of the traction/friction between the tires and road surface. The tires are angled away from the straight line direction (vector) the truck wants to travel.

This creates a substantial force on the side walls...similar to the trailer tire side wall force you are referring to... and keep in mind the trailer axle and suspension is designed to flex and twist to help absorb some of these forces.

[davel1971]

right or wrong, given the track record of most "trailer tires", I think I would take the chance using LT tires. Look at all the abuse some people put their trucks through with no tire failures. I just wont tell Sidney when I do

[Oakman]

Not trying to start the LT vs. ST argument again but some high end fifth wheels come with LT tires as standard equipment. I would never put a "P" tire on a trailer.

[sidney]

Originally Posted by davel1971

right or wrong, given the track record of most "trailer tires", I think I would take the chance using LT tires. Look at all the abuse some people put their trucks through with no tire failures. I just wont tell Sidney when I do

Why?

What's the problem?

[davel1971]

Originally Posted by sidney

Why?

What's the problem?

I know we are all trying to help each other here, but you are trying a little to hard with all the engineering "facts". If high end trailers are coming with LTs, that to me just means even they know that the Chinese STs they put on most trailers don't stand a chance. I think we all are in agreement that any P tire would not be sufficient, but most of us think that regardless of what it was "made" for, a LT would not be a bad choice.

[Ford Idaho]

Originally Posted by davel1971

I know we are all trying to help each other here, but you are trying a little to hard with all the engineering "facts". If high end trailers are coming with LTs, that to me just means even they know that the Chinese STs they put on most trailers don't stand a chance. I think we all are in agreement that any P tire would not be sufficient, but most of us think that regardless of what it was "made" for, a LT would not be a bad choice.

What do you figure the odds are that the LT's would be made someplace other than China?

[davel1971]

Originally Posted by Ford Idaho

What do you figure the odds are that the LT's would be made someplace other than China?

pretty common knowledge, I thought, that it is the Chinese made ST tires that have a substantially higher failure rate.

[Ford Idaho]

Originally Posted by davel1971

pretty common knowledge, I thought, that it is the Chinese made ST tires that have a substantially higher failure rate.

Based on posts on this site?
If so that would be a very, very small percentage of total tires on the road.

[sidney]

Originally Posted by davel1971

I know we are all trying to help each other here, but you are trying a little to hard with all the engineering "facts". If high end trailers are coming with LTs, that to me just means even they know that the Chinese STs they put on most trailers don't stand a chance. I think we all are in agreement that any P tire would not be sufficient, but most of us think that regardless of what it was "made" for, a LT would not be a bad choice.

Fair enough.

I apologize if I offended any one with thoughtful analysis.

Happy Holidays

[davel1971]

Originally Posted by sidney

Fair enough.

I apologize if I offended any one with thoughtful analysis.

Happy Holidays

no need to apologize. Was just trying to say that no matter how much engineering stats and other info we read, its the real world use of the tires that determine its integrity. That's why we participate in these forums. To find out what works and what doesn't work. In lots of cases, the consumer knows more about a product than the people who make it or sell it.

[OldCoot]

Originally Posted by jlbreaux

That LTD probably weighed more than the Coachman! Especially if it was a 4 door. LTD's were the mac daddy of hoopties, although the 72 4 door Impala my parents had was quite the beast also.

Don't think so, the Coachman had a structural steel I beam and was pretty heavy. It strained the LTD to pull it, so he bought my 78 Silverado Heavy 1/2 with a 350 cid that I had retarded the camshaft 4° and had the distributer re-curved per Smokey Yunick's advice to increase torque.

[Sirsea]

Of all the owners participating in this forum there must be a number who have switched to LT tires. It would be interesting to hear from some of them as to why they switched and if they have had any problems/failures with the LT tires. And as someone else asked earlier, has anyone ever switched back from LT to ST and why.