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Old 05-31-2011, 07:14 PM   #1
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Tire size

I have a 2001 Forest River Shamrock hybrid 21'. Over the years, we have had numerous tire blowouts. It has 13" tires and we noticed that newer models all have 14" tires. Visually, it looks like it would be possible to put 14" tires on our trailer. Does anyone know if that has been done?
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Old 05-31-2011, 08:05 PM   #2
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The tire size is not the cause of your blowouts.
We had a camper with 13" tires and put a pile of miles on it. Never had one problem.
Are you running the proper air pressure?
What make of tire?
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Old 05-31-2011, 08:09 PM   #3
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I dont see why not. The mini lite come standard with 13 inches wheels and the 14 inches wheels are an option. Nothing is changed on the axle set up except that it comes equiped with a 2 step entrance instead of one step for the 13 inches wheels. These 13 inches size 175 80r13 are very small tires for these heavy weight trailers. The 205 75r14 makes more sense and make the trailer looks much better. It is an option that I dont regret even if it makes your trailer heavier.
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Old 05-31-2011, 09:16 PM   #4
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Heck, if you are going that far might as well change to 15 inch wheels and tires. Places like trailertiresand wheels.com are a wealth of information and worth doing some research before plunking down your money for the first thiught.
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Old 06-03-2011, 07:04 PM   #5
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Donn: the dealer where the rockwood is sold in my city dont order any mini lite ( micro lite) with 13 inches wheels. All his orders are with 14 inches wheels. There must be a reason for this. For my part if my trailer would have 13 inches I would replace them with the 14 inches. You should see the difference it makes on the highway.
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Old 06-03-2011, 08:12 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ahalen View Post
I have a 2001 Forest River Shamrock hybrid 21'. Over the years, we have had numerous tire blowouts. It has 13" tires and we noticed that newer models all have 14" tires. Visually, it looks like it would be possible to put 14" tires on our trailer. Does anyone know if that has been done?
What size tire are you thinking??? The 205 75R14 raises the camper about an inch... the outer diameter 26" vs 24" for the stock tire with the 13" rim.

A little look-see to see that you have some fender clearance (between the tire and top/side of the wheel well) should tell you if you have room for the larger tire.

Good luck.

Darren
M/L 23LB with 13" rims, but moving to 14" and a little lift.
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Old 06-04-2011, 09:58 AM   #7
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Thanks so much for your input! I think the problem has had multiple issues. The original tires were Carlisle which I have heard were known to have problems. After the first couple of blowouts, we knew to inflate them at their max, and then we expected the problem to be resolved with getting rid of the Carlisles. When the problem continued - even with a Maxxis - we knew we had more "work" to do. We were complete novice to trailering when we bought our rig, so didnt know to question the rather significant forward pitch the trailer had with the hitch the dealer set us up with. We have since replaced the hitch with one that has a stabilizer bar and allows the trailer to ride much more level and steady. We haven't had a blow out since replacing the hitch, but have also refrained from driving over 55-57 miles/hour, and keep the trailer as light as possible. (We're still alittle spooked.). We've been told that we can get a higher quality of tire in the 14" vs what's available in the 13". From looking at the wheel well, it looks like there should be plenty of room for the 14". We're wondering if, by switching to the 14", we might be increasing the overall road worthiness of the trailer, and possibly be able to drive just a bit faster (65) without any problems. We love our trailer in every other way, but want to be able to continue our cross country excursions without fear of a major blowout that might cause extensive damage to our trailer. A couple of our blowouts have caused some pretty extensive damage to the inside of the trailer. And, driving just 10 mi/hr faster can make a real difference on a long drive.
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Old 06-05-2011, 06:02 AM   #8
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Ahalen: our trailer was equipped with TRIANGLE 14 inches tires but my son new roo is equipped with KARRIER 14 inches tires. All these tires are made in China. The quality of our Triangle tires is not bad to tell you for an imported tire. They are 6 plies tires and I am not afraid at all for blowouts.
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Old 06-05-2011, 09:21 AM   #9
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Ahalen, most 14"radial trailer tires are load range C, and state on the tires "Max.speed 65 MPH." Inflate to 50 LBS. cold, and I keep mine at that. Most places also state the max life of a trailer tire is 5 years, regardless of mileage, due to dry rot. I never exceed 65 mph, or at least try hard not to, and I have the world famous problem prone Carlisle tires. No blowouts yet, BTW. (knock knock) I wonder how old the tires are when they sell you the new camper??? Somehow the manufacturing date is coded on the tires. The tire stores know how to decode this number. Good luck with your decision, and larger tires/rims would help you, due to a slower roll at the same speed, in my opinion. Randy
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Old 06-05-2011, 11:43 AM   #10
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I think your problem was caused by the trailer not being towed "level". This puts too much weight on one axle. You were probably exceeding tire capacity on that axle; evidence is that a change in tire brand didn't fix the problem. The solution is not necessarily bigger tires. Trailer balance and load are key. How much excess capacity do you have with the current tires? It might be possible that the GVW of the trailer is being exceeded? As for bigger tires, how much room do you have between your tires now? Our Surveyor is only 2"!! There is no way we could put bigger tires on because of the increase in diameter. Check your situation before going that route. Make sure of tire diameters and clearance. IMO, you need to make sure the cause for you blowouts is addressed first. You don't want to "patch over" a problem. Best of luck to you.
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Old 08-01-2011, 02:12 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ahalen View Post
I have a 2001 Forest River Shamrock hybrid 21'. Over the years, we have had numerous tire blowouts. It has 13" tires and we noticed that newer models all have 14" tires. Visually, it looks like it would be possible to put 14" tires on our trailer. Does anyone know if that has been done?
I did exactly this on my 2000 Roo about 2 years ago. Here's the thread on this with some pics - http://www.forestriverforums.com/for...ions-2760.html

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Old 08-11-2011, 02:08 PM   #12
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Thanks for your help! Did you end up using the Kumho tires? How did they work for you?
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Old 08-11-2011, 02:34 PM   #13
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Yes, I used the Kumho Radial 857 tires on it and have had zero problems to date. Since I've changed those out, we've put around 10k miles on them and they still look and run excellent. I keep the air pressure at 62psi before each trip to and from our destination and I also keep them covered with the white vinyl looking tire covers that I bought at the local RV store when it's in storage or if we're on an extended stay. If I remember right, I believe that I chose the 185R14's and I mounted them onto 14" 5 spoke HiSpec (HWT) aluminum rims with a high pressure valve stem (the ones with a metal sleeve inside that typically go on the E rated truck tires - 80psi) that I bought separately from the local Firestone dealer.

The only parts that I have not replaced yet are the center covers that cover up the bearing dust cover cap and the lug nuts. I could use some longer lugs for the lug nuts to grab onto, but for now, they are holding just fine and I check the torque on them each time I get ready for a trip. Can't have those flying off while I'm going down the highway.

Oh...good point too - they are D rated.
Here's the specs (meant for reference only) - http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....del=Radial+857

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Old 08-11-2011, 03:06 PM   #14
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i think if i were replacing the tires on mine and they were 13 in and i could stuff 14's in there i would .
and use the highest ply rating possible .
my flagstaff 832 bhss did not have very good tires on it they allways looked low on air and everyone said hey your tires are low. trailer was plenty under loaded capacity .
with that being said my new sabre 32bhok-6 got the upgraded axles and tires . 6000 lb axles and Radial Tires ST235/80R16 .
thing pulls awsome
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