Trailer tires vs. truck tires.

csc · 11-11-2018, 10:40 AM

When I eventually have to replace my 4 tires , should I go with a better truck tire and not those china bombs?

5er_tom · 11-11-2018, 11:26 AM

I did that and I think it was a mistake. I am now back to ST tires. The truck tires do not flex as much as ST tires and that adds a lot of stress to the RV suspension that it is not designed to handle. I broke shackle spring supports 3 times, requiring a welder to come fix it.
I recommend you go to a higher rated ST tire. From C to D, or E to F, etc.

csc · 11-11-2018, 12:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 5er_tom

I did that and I think it was a mistake. I am now back to ST tires. The truck tires do not flex as much as ST tires and that adds a lot of stress to the RV suspension that it is not designed to handle. I broke shackle spring supports 3 times, requiring a welder to come fix it.
I recommend you go to a higher rated ST tire. From C to D, or E to F, etc.

Thanks.

NMWildcat · 11-11-2018, 12:29 PM

About half our RV group stay away from ST tires and go with LT tires. Just have to watch load rating is sufficient. No problems that I have heard of in thousands of miles with either the tire or the suspension. These folks usually have larger fifth wheels.

The rest of the group stay with ST tires but go up at least one load range when possible.

Maxxis M8008 seems to be the favorite. Carlisle next and then the new Goodyear ST.

saus · 11-11-2018, 12:35 PM

Just as 5er Tom stared. When I went to purchase new tires for my fifth wheel I asked the gentleman which tires to get. He stated, definitely ST tires for the same reasons 5er tom stayed.

saus · 11-11-2018, 12:35 PM

Stated

RandyN · 11-11-2018, 01:16 PM

Just to muddy the waters a bit, I've had truck tires on my last 3 fifth wheel rigs and driven the units many, many thousands of miles without a problem. Sorry, not being contrary, just another opinion.

DrippingDuo · 11-11-2018, 01:41 PM

I grew tired of the China bombs and went to truck tires. No problems with them and we've put over 15K miles on them over 5 years. I'll stick with truck tires.

FrankinKane · 11-11-2018, 01:57 PM

I've run Firestone Transforce LT tires and have put about 80K on them without issue. They still look good and probably run them a bit longer. I keep my speed down and check tire and air pressure often....

Huntnfishn · 11-11-2018, 02:47 PM

The advantage of trailer tires over truck tires is that truck tires are not designed to handle the sidewall loads associated with sharp turns with multiple axels. If you are pulling single axel trailers or never turning sharp to cause side load, truck tires usually work fine but it only takes getting in a bind one time to cause problems.
Safe travels.

juice5 · 11-11-2018, 03:40 PM

A Fact....99% of tires supplied with a new trailer are china bombs slightly intended to hold up till you get home ! They are built with " Load Flotation aspect only ! '' ( China Bombs even less. Truck tires are built for Load, Flotation , Sidewall and most importantly " Applied Tourque " It is the interior weaving of cable belts , fibre belts ,steel belts ,matting & layering f temperature responsive materials that MAKE TRUCK TIRES YOUR BEST BET ! Just imagine that you can safely pull your trailer through terrain that the truck pulling it is rated to go ! Do like I did...take a sawsall n cutup a trailer tire and a truck tire n compare...Ive run truck tires on four trailers..and they give you longer wear...better control...better mileage

rlocicero · 11-11-2018, 03:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by csc

When I eventually have to replace my 4 tires , should I go with a better truck tire and not those china bombs?

Stick with the trailer tires. Goodyear has a new tire called the endurance which is made here in the United States and so far is rated pretty good. The trailer tires have a different side wall Then the truck tires and can take the turning a lot better.

NMWildcat · 11-11-2018, 04:00 PM

I guess the posters that say that the LT tires can't handle sharp turns and sidewall stress always drive their trucks in a straight line? I know my truck makes sharp turns with it's LT tires just fine. Work great on trailers also

5er_tom · 11-11-2018, 04:39 PM

Three of the four wheel rims cracked after about 3,000 miles of LT tires. I replaced all four rims with steel rims. They were nowhere as pretty as the aluminum rims but obviously safer.

Just my experience, but no more LT tires for me.

BigH · 11-11-2018, 04:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 5er_tom

I did that and I think it was a mistake. I am now back to ST tires. The truck tires do not flex as much as ST tires and that adds a lot of stress to the RV suspension that it is not designed to handle. I broke shackle spring supports 3 times, requiring a welder to come fix it.
I recommend you go to a higher rated ST tire. From C to D, or E to F, etc.

This would require me to believe an RV suspension is so barely engineered that the soft crappy st tires are required to keep it from suffering damage under normal use...and I can't do that because nothing about these RV's show that much engineering thought.

----------------------------------------------------------------------
I also refuse to believe that an st tire is in any way superior to a truck tire. I can toss my truck into a round-about until the front tires are screaming and not think twice about it. (and I do so regularly) -how is that less side load?

For years I've had to back over a curb to park my truck(S) and it never gives me pause (or required a premature tire replacement) but I built ramps to pull the RV over the same curb.

NMWildcat · 11-11-2018, 04:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 5er_tom

Three of the four wheel rims cracked after about 3,000 miles of LT tires. I replaced all four rims with steel rims. They were nowhere as pretty as the aluminum rims but obviously safer.

Just my experience, but no more LT tires for me.

Sorry you had such problems with your rims and suspension. I just find it hard to place the blame on the LT tires. Nobody in my group has experienced any like issues. What made you decide it was the LT tires to blame?

SailorSam20500 · 11-11-2018, 05:24 PM

When I replace mine, I will stay with ST. More importantly, I will go with a load range that is >20% over my actual trailer weight (with no deduction for tw).
It's my belief that most folks who have had trouble with "China Bombs" had tires that were rated for very close to the actual weight the tires were carrying. Most have said that they increased the load capacity when they changed.

5er_tom · 11-11-2018, 06:32 PM

Now that I have ST tires all all around, and have another 6,000 miles on the unit with no issues, I can only "assume" the LT tires were the problem.

Springerdad · 11-11-2018, 06:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by juice5

A Fact....99% of tires supplied with a new trailer are china bombs slightly intended to hold up till you get home ! They are built with " Load Flotation aspect only ! '' ( China Bombs even less. Truck tires are built for Load, Flotation , Sidewall and most importantly " Applied Tourque " It is the interior weaving of cable belts , fibre belts ,steel belts ,matting & layering f temperature responsive materials that MAKE TRUCK TIRES YOUR BEST BET ! Just imagine that you can safely pull your trailer through terrain that the truck pulling it is rated to go ! Do like I did...take a sawsall n cutup a trailer tire and a truck tire n compare...Ive run truck tires on four trailers..and they give you longer wear...better control...better mileage

A lot of assumptions in this post without much data to back up the 'facts' stated.

phillyg · 11-11-2018, 06:52 PM

As stated, many folks swear by LT tires. OTOH, those whom upgrade their ST tires to Sailun, Endurance, etc., seem to have solved the "China bomb" problem. So.......

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