Tire question - I know, I know...

[SusanO]

I know this is answered someplace on the site, but searching the forums for something specific like this is maddening. And I know this might not be the right forum to post this on, so I'm sorry for that too, in advance.

Having said all that, we want to replace the tires on our 2015 Mini Lite 2104s. The current ones are ST205/75R14, load range C. Is there a load range D tire that will fit the 14" rims? Anything we find online in 14 is still a load range C. We've been made paranoid by the tales of China bombs and undersized tires and want to do the right thing, but just don't know what that is.

Thanks in advance for any direction you can provide!

[dannyabear]

Hankook RA-08 or Kumho 857 is THE tire to buy; probably have to order online though, most tire dealers don;t carry them/ Also you will need a 195R14 to be the same physical size as ST205; but they carry 300# more per tire, are 8 ply rated, D, and good for 99 mph. 4 shipped to my house was $510.00 from busdepot.com.

[SeaDog]

Check online D rated tires are available in the 14" rim size I've looked at them for replacement of my C rated when the time comes.

[SusanO]

We haven't seen anything online from a manufacturer we would trust. We will definitely check out the Hankooks. This site is just terrific for getting quality info.

[dannyabear]

I've had the Hankooks on my 2703ws for almost 2 years and 0 problems

[uhduh camping]

Not sure where you can buy them, but Dura brand tires have D rated 14".

[Springerdad]

Kenda Karrier. I run them on my work trailer. Good solid tire.

[stevejahr]

I think the first thing is that you should probably get over the Internet hype around China Bombs. It is virtually impossible to avoid stuff made in China these days and doing so is definitely NO guarantee you will get a product that is functionally better.

I suspect that most of the hype is undeserved blame shifting. When you run a tire overloaded (quite easy to do actually...), beyond its speed limits, under its proper air pressure for the load, or any combination of these you are playing with dynamite and really should not go blaming the tire if something goes BOOM!

With a 7000+ lb trailer running ST205R14 tires i do understand wanting a bit more safety margin though. So here are a couple I have my eye on:

I have always gotten great service from these folks:
Karrier ST205/75R14 Radial Trailer Tire - Load Range D Kenda Tires and Wheels AM10235

I bookmarked this one from an earlier post for when the time comes:
ST205/75R14 LRD 8 PR Kenda Karrier Radial Trailer Tire

You can find other suggestions here if you search and have a bit of patience to wade through all the China Bomb hype

[Springerdad]

Originally Posted by stevejahr

I think the first thing is that you should probably get over the Internet hype around China Bombs. It is virtually impossible to avoid stuff made in China these days and doing so is definitely NO guarantee you will get a product that is functionally better.

I suspect that most of the hype is undeserved blame shifting. When you run a tire overloaded (quite easy to do actually...), beyond its speed limits, under its proper air pressure for the load, or any combination of these you are playing with dynamite and really should not go blaming the tire if something goes BOOM!

With a 7000+ lb trailer running ST205R14 tires i do understand wanting a bit more safety margin though. So here are a couple I have my eye on:

I have always gotten great service from these folks:
Karrier ST205/75R14 Radial Trailer Tire - Load Range D Kenda Tires and Wheels AM10235

I bookmarked this one from an earlier post for when the time comes:
ST205/75R14 LRD 8 PR Kenda Karrier Radial Trailer Tire

You can find other suggestions here if you search and have a bit of patience to wade through all the China Bomb hype

X2

[BusyRetirees]

Originally Posted by Springerdad

X2

x3 and by the way, Hankook are South Korean. They will be opening a plant in the US sometime soon according to Wikipedia. I put Hercules tires on my fiver. They are made by Cooper and built in the US.

[Springerdad]

And don't forget, many Fords, both passenger and truck come with Hankook tires on them.

[Iwannacamp]

Originally Posted by BusyRetirees

x3 and by the way, Hankook are South Korean. They will be opening a plant in the US sometime soon according to Wikipedia. I put Hercules tires on my fiver. They are made by Cooper and built in the US.

You may be correct, but Cooper tire says they don't build trailer tires in the US.


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[RusLwt001]

Try etrailer.com. I have used them and they are very dependable. I bought 4 range d tires for my previous camper. They sell Karrier and Task Master brands,

[AFDON]

Originally Posted by BusyRetirees

x3 and by the way, Hankook are South Korean. They will be opening a plant in the US sometime soon according to Wikipedia. I put Hercules tires on my fiver. They are made by Cooper and built in the US.

That plant is expected to produce tires starting this December. Its in Clarksville TN. Hope I can get some good prices as it's about 10 miles from my sticks and stone home!

[rockfordroo]

Originally Posted by BusyRetirees

x3 and by the way, Hankook are South Korean. They will be opening a plant in the US sometime soon according to Wikipedia. I put Hercules tires on my fiver. They are made by Cooper and built in the US.

Look for your DOT number (e.g., mine is 7BAY AT5). The first 2 digits are the manufacturing facility (e.g., for me, it's "7B").

Then go here and look for the place your tires are made.

Tire DOT Plant Codes – Sorted by Plant Code - Tire Safety Group

If Iwannacamp is correct, you may very well find your Cooper tires were made in China.

[Airdale]

Maxxis Bravo Series UE-168;

European designed commercial 14” LRD tires.

Check them out, read their specs.

Bravo Series UE-168(N) | Maxxis Tires USA

[satdog01]

Had Duros on my previous tt, put over 18.5 k on them over 4 years. Upgraded from "c" to "d". Had Gateway Tire order them for me and changed out stems to short metal one. No issues with Duro the five years I ran them for over 21k .

[OldBob]

I put Kenda Load Range D tires on my Wildwood that came with the 14" load range c tires. I ordered them from www.simpletires.com. Kenda tires are very highly rated and we've had excellent results with them. Here is something amazing: Since buying them (a year ago) they have not lost any air pressure! To me that's astonishing. Our previous no name Chinese tires were losing air continually. Every few weeks I had to add about 5 pounds or so.