Things to know about trailer tires

[Canonman]

Originally Posted by herk7769

Certainly!

In fact the wear patterns on my 5th wheel are pretty interesting.

I have been inflating all 4 tires to the same air pressure. However, I just got back from an 8,000 mile cross country trip and due to the angle of my 5th wheel when connected, the leading axle's tires are showing slightly OVER inflated wear while the trailing axle's tires are showing slightly UNDER inflated wear.

This spring I will be weighing each axle individually and setting the pressures by axle and not by the aggregate trailer weight (both axles summed together on the scale pad).

Thanks Herk, you were Right ON with your idea about the wear issues I'm experiencing. Load range C tires say 1640 max load in dual config. That's only #6560 total weight that can be carried by the 4 tires. Looking at the wear pattern and especially the wear on the tire under the slide says these tires should definitely be upgraded to load range D and inflated to #65.
Can't tell you how much your information and this forum in general has helped this first time owner. Will follow your suggestion and get a set of Marathon's for the next season.
Thanks again!

[Mike Bullard]

Why would you ask if I still worked for Continental Tire?

After 38 years, I retired. Just prior to my retirement, we did not produce any ST tires, however, over the years we have. And they have been in production in some of the many plants I have visited or worked in over the years.

Originally Posted by herk7769

Mike,

Do you still work for Continental Tire? I looked at their web page and they not only do not make an ST tire; they don't even make a true LT tire.

The closest tire with an actual load rating is for an SUV and they stress TRACTION not load carrying capability.

Continental USA Car / Light Truck / SUV -*CrossContact

[Herk7769]

Originally Posted by Mike Bullard

Why would you ask if I still worked for Continental Tire?

After 38 years, I retired. Just prior to my retirement, we did not produce any ST tires, however, over the years we have. And they have been in production in some of the many plants I have visited or worked in over the years.

The advice you were giving concerning the use of passenger type tires on trailers was so radical that I thought some investigation into your background was in order.

Were you in sales or engineering?

[Airdale]

Originally Posted by BigBaron

Tireman has written about weighing each tire individually. Sometimes the front axle has significantly different loading.
After reading a thread about a fiver that was 1,000 lbs. heavier on the driver side, I think that would be the only way to go.
An LT tire is the only option to an ST, but you have to reduce the load capacity by 10% if using it as a trailer tire.
A pressure monitoring system would be a good idea, too.

The only tire that requires a 10% reduction of load capacity for use on the RV trailer axles is the Passenger tire. It can be used on trailers under 10,000# GVWR.

Airdale

[Mister]

Did I miss something? "LT tires are not designed for use on light trucks?"

Is there an LT class of trailer tire I am unaware of? But I do agree about not using ST tires on anything with a drivetrain.

[rattleNsmoke]

The question I have is....why do so many heavy trailer owners, with emphasis on HEAVY have had horrific failures with ST tires then after switching to LT's have had no further issues? On paper, ST tires prove a perfect match for those trailers, but after exhaustive searches not only this message board but others, apparently LT's have solved their problems time and time again. Why is that? Perhaps the LT tire converts are STILL having as many issues but are embarrassed to admit their waste of $$ ? I.....really don't think so. Not to dump on overseas rubber manufacturers, but if the ST's were made in the good ol' USA like many of their LT brethren, there would not be nearly as many ST incidents as we are hearing today. Just my .02.

[Mike Bullard]

rattleNsmoke, I'm glad to read your post. I'm rather tired of being picked apart for expressing my opinion. To be specific, I believe, if you stay in the same load rating, PT and LT tires are generally much superior than ST tires. Additionally, I have no confidence in tires produced in the far east. I would again suggest anyone to cut a section on comparable load tire, buff the cut on a grinder and compare components, sidewall stiffness, the thickness of the tread, end counts of fabric and steel belts, etc. With those two sections in your hand, form your own opinion. Decide from that, which tire you want supporting your load.

[Herk7769]

Originally Posted by Mike Bullard

cut a section on comparable load tire

Therein lies the "rub." Finding one of these might take some time.

Many "heavy" campers come with LT tires not because they are better, only because they are cheaper than a similarly load rated ST tire. NONE come with "passenger tires" because they would never get them approved by DoT as "road legal".

OEMs are nothing if cost conscious...

Here is a quote from a Wildcat Representative on this Forum:

A note on the "Chinese made tires": currently, I'm not aware of an American made (USA or Canada) tire that is available to us for our specific tire requirements (ST235/80R16/E). It's a common complaint I hear, but I think there's a lot of misinformation out there as well. There are many US companies that offer their tire brands, but are not manufactured in the US. For instance, Maxxis tires, an RV trailer tire upgrade popular with many consumers, is currently manufactured in Thailand. Does that mean they're inferior? I don't think so -- and neither do many of their fans on this forum. However, judging tires simply by country of origin seems to be a common theme. I would challenge our customers to instead look at the attributes of the specific tires: Wildcat uses standard 16" LRE (Load Range 'E') 10-ply radial tires on custom aluminum wheels. Our current Provider brand tire is available at Discount Tire stores nationwide. Here's a bit more info about our wheels and tires from our supplier, HiSpec: Wheel University - HiSpec Wheel & Tire, Inc. - The Safety Wheel (Wheel University - HiSpec Wheel & Tire, Inc. - The Safety Wheel)

Herk

[acadianbob]

Originally Posted by Mike Bullard

A case in point, the rear of a front wheel drive vehicle is nothing more than a trailer. Those tires will see the same forces, wear and stress as those on a trailer. Why is it those passenger tires outlast trailer tires by tens of thousands of miles?

This analogy might work for a single axle trailer but I don't think it works for a multi-axle trailer. Sheer forces on turns are experienced that are not on any automobile that I know of.

[Airdale]

Originally Posted by rattleNsmoke

The question I have is....why do so many heavy trailer owners, with emphasis on HEAVY have had horrific failures with ST tires then after switching to LT's have had no further issues? On paper, ST tires prove a perfect match for those trailers, but after exhaustive searches not only this message board but others, apparently LT's have solved their problems time and time again. Why is that? Perhaps the LT tire converts are STILL having as many issues but are embarrassed to admit their waste of $$ ? I.....really don't think so. Not to dump on overseas rubber manufacturers, but if the ST's were made in the good ol' USA like many of their LT brethren, there would not be nearly as many ST incidents as we are hearing today. Just my .02.

Most large, heavy, RV trailers can easily hold twice as much cargo weight than they are designed for. Add that factor to someone that's a little lackadaisical about their tire pressures and early tire failures are easy to predict.

Often owners with early ST tire failures will "plus size" with their replacement tires. When done properly a nice (extra amount) increase in tire load capacity reserve will be a byproduct of the replacement tire regardless of design.

When the upgrade is complete the pocketbook is lighter. The light bulb goes off and the owner's lackadaisical habits with trailer tires will diminish.

Better maintenance habits = less problems and longer tire lifespan.

Airdale

[Herk7769]

Originally Posted by Mike Bullard

rattleNsmoke, I'm glad to read your post. I'm rather tired of being picked apart for expressing my opinion. To be specific, I believe, if you stay in the same load rating, PT and LT tires are generally much superior than ST tires. Additionally, I have no confidence in tires produced in the far east. I would again suggest anyone to cut a section on comparable load tire, buff the cut on a grinder and compare components, sidewall stiffness, the thickness of the tread, end counts of fabric and steel belts, etc. With those two sections in your hand, form your own opinion. Decide from that, which tire you want supporting your load.

I assume you have done this "section" trick. Some photos would help explain why you think passengers tires will handle a trailer camper's load better than a tire specifically designed to do that...

I would also like to see a real world example of a specific passenger tire that has the same load range as an equivalent ST tire of the same size.

For example, my camper uses ST225/75R15 Load Range D tires rated to carry 2450 pounds at 65 PSI. I would LOVE to know which passenger car tire can do that.

http://www.treaddepot.com/tire/90000...FWrNOgodfxIAZA

This tire is a "similar" passenger tire but has a maximum load of 1874 at 44 PSI (the maximum the tire can handle).

[rattleNsmoke]

Originally Posted by Airdale

Most large, heavy, RV trailers can easily hold twice as much cargo weight than they are designed for. Add that factor to someone that's a little lackadaisical about their tire pressures and early tire failures are easy to predict.

Often owners with early ST tire failures will "plus size" with their replacement tires. When done properly a nice (extra amount) increase in tire load capacity reserve will be a byproduct of the replacement tire regardless of design.

When the upgrade is complete the pocketbook is lighter. The light bulb goes off and the owner's lackadaisical habits with trailer tires will diminish.

Better maintenance habits = less problems and longer tire lifespan.

Airdale

That sounds good but after reading many tire failure posts, more owners HAVE indeed taken care and precautions and still had ST failures. A friend of mine bought MY 2 year old Powermax Blowmaster's since I did not feel comfy using ST's on The Beast when it was placarded for LT's. He installed them on a 32ft Montana fiver. The trailer was packed lightly for just he and his wife. Second trip out he had one explode. This spring, we were on our way to a CG. A half hour out, he had the r\r tire tread literally peel off the carcass and rip apart his fender skirt and damage his underbelly liner. He got the tires real cheap and I forewarned him I took no responsibility if he had a blow out. I felt bad he had such bad luck, but he was warned. He now rides on Cooper LT's. There are plenty of stories out there. Take the time a do a search.

[Herk7769]

Originally Posted by rattleNsmoke

That sounds good but after reading many tire failure posts, more owners HAVE indeed taken care and precautions and still had ST failures. A friend of mine bought MY 2 year old Powermax Blowmaster's since I did not feel comfy using ST's on The Beast when it was placarded for LT's. He installed them on a 32ft Montana fiver. The trailer was packed lightly for just he and his wife. Second trip out he had one explode. This spring, we were on our way to a CG. A half hour out, he had the r\r tire tread literally peel off the carcass and rip apart his fender skirt and damage his underbelly liner. He got the tires real cheap and I forewarned him I took no responsibility if he had a blow out. I felt bad he had such bad luck, but he was warned. He now rides on Cooper LT's. There are plenty of stories out there. Take the time a do a search.

I, for one, would have liked to know the load range on the ST tires and the weight of the Montana. Some of those Montana campers are really heavy normally, and with all that cargo space; easily overloaded.

[rattleNsmoke]

Herk, That info can prolly be found on the manufacturers web page. Powermax Towmaster 235/85/16. His Montana IIRC is several thousand lbs lighter than mine Dry and gross. I know he was not overloaded because he packed very scarce. I was quite surprised.

[Herk7769]

Originally Posted by rattleNsmoke

Herk, That info can prolly be found on the manufacturers web page. Powermax Towmaster 235/85/16. His Montana IIRC is several thousand lbs lighter than mine Dry and gross. I know he was not overloaded because he packed very scarce. I was quite surprised.

Without the complete facts (actual weight, load range, and inflation pressure), this is anecdotal evidence at best.

[ependydad]

Originally Posted by herk7769

Without the complete facts (actual weight, load range, and inflation pressure), this is anecdotal evidence at best.

That said- manufacturing defects do occur and people do have issues. It doesn't, however, meant that an entire class of tires or brand or country of origin are instantly to blame.

[rattleNsmoke]

Anecdotal?? Stuff happens and unfortunately it happens all too often and you hear about it from owners using the ST tires. That is undeniably factual by reading the threads. Very rarely do you hear a peep from the ones running LT's. Re-enacting the actual weight on the trailer ain't gonna happen anytime soon since we're all batted down and emptied out for the winter. The lbs were set on 80 'cause I witnessed him checking\verifying. Those POS Blowmasters were a load range 'E'. Hey, the guy is not on trial here but maybe the crappy tire manufacturer should be.

[OldCoot]

Originally Posted by rattleNsmoke

Anecdotal?? Stuff happens and unfortunately it happens all too often and you hear about it from owners using the ST tires. That is undeniably factual by reading the threads. Very rarely do you hear a peep from the ones running LT's. Re-enacting the actual weight on the trailer ain't gonna happen anytime soon since we're all batted down and emptied out for the winter. The lbs were set on 80 'cause I witnessed him checking\verifying. Those POS Blowmasters were a load range 'E'. Hey, the guy is not on trial here but maybe the crappy tire manufacturer should be.

Need to keep it civil here, no one said anyone was on trial. There are hundreds of thousands of trailers riding on ST tires and in comparison, relatively few trailers riding on LT tires. About all you hear about are those that have blowouts or problems. No one writes about the thousands that have no problems. I have towed all sorts of racecar trailers and rv trailers since 1976 and all but 1 had Goodyear ST tires and the one that didn't had a blowout to the tune of $1800+ damages. I still swear by ST tires as long as they are from a major brand mfg.

[Herk7769]

I did not mean to offend. It is just we hear a lot of repeated "gossip" presented as fact because it was read off an internet site and repeated as first hand. I am sure this does not apply to any one here currently.

It just gives more weight (pardon the pun) to be as complete as possible. Just as I blamed my only blowout to "crappy foreign tires" until it was pointed out that a curb strike can cause damage that only shows up miles later. I had had a pretty severe hit a month earlier on that tire and it took a while for the broken belt to come apart.

Like I said, complete disclosure helps understand what is going on. It is far easier to blame "THEM" when sometimes the finger should be pointed at "US".

[OldCoot]

Originally Posted by herk7769

...when sometimes the finger should be pointed at "US".

Once had a wise man tell me that "Remember when you point a finger at someone or something else, you have 3 pointing back at yourself."