TT tire wheel upgrade?

[Chuck_S]

From the linked document:

Over the years, the Recreational Vehicle Safety & Education
Foundation (RVSEF) has weighed tens-of-thousands of motor
homes and travel trailers in conjunction with RV events.
Of the RVs checked by RVSEF, more than 50 percent had
loads that exceeded the capacity of one or more tires on the
vehicles. Other surveys have noted that many RV’s have one
significantly under inflated tire that is at risk of failure.

An under inflated tire cannot adequately carry the load placed
upon it and will be subjected to excessive stress, strain, and
heat build-up which can lead to tire failure. Also the under
inflated tire in a dual pair can cause a weight transfer to the
properly inflated tire resulting in it being over loaded which
may lead to tire failure. Often, these significantly under
inflated tires were the inner tires of dual pairs, tires that are
more difficult to see and service. On average, RVs were over
loaded by over 900 pounds, based on the RV manufacturer’s
specifications.

Average means at least some were well over this weight.

Inflating ST (trailer) tires to maximum cold sidewall pressure will mitigate some overload conditions.

-- Chuck

[TitanMike]

Originally Posted by Chuck_S

From the linked document:Average means at least some were well over this weight.

Inflating ST (trailer) tires to maximum cold sidewall pressure will mitigate some overload conditions.

-- Chuck

Yes, inflating to max cold inflation pressure will mitigate overload conditions however only if the vehicle is not loaded beyond the GVWR specified by the manufacturer. After the tires, limiting factors are springs and frame.

If you have a vehicle that when loaded exceeds the GVWR only solution is to leave some junk home ---------- or buy a bigger rig.

Making changes to handle more load should be done only after one has a scale weight with the vehicle loades "as used".

[Twohawks]

Originally Posted by ysidive

I would stay with the 14 inch wheels and go to the ST215/75R14. I did this the day I picked up my trailer. The actual size difference is so minimal that you would not know the difference. I think the price difference from the 205 is less than $10. You pick up an additional 200 225 pounds per tire rating. Well worth the piece of mind for additional capacity.

As stated in a different thread I have spent many hours researching this topic. From my research it appears that your original tire size is fine for your trailer, just hurry and get rid of those original China bombs. Mine were 6 years old and when checking tire pressures before going to the shop to get new tires I found one whith a chunk of tread missing exposing the chords and what looked like a failed sidewall. I had to put the spare on just to make it to the store. Just pure luck making it home from our last trip.

You could increase your tire size slightly if you want. Not much money. Just make sure your wheels are at least 6" wide. They probably are but the info should be on your trailer sticker or in your manufactures data somewhere. Goodyear Endurance are an excellent choice but do require a min. 6" wheel width. I noticed the difference as soon as I left the tire store. My 33.25 foot trailer towed significantly better.

Good luck and happy camping.

[Twohawks]

As stated in a different thread I have spent many hours researching this topic. From my research it appears that your original tire size is fine for your trailer, just hurry and get rid of those original China bombs. Mine were 6 years old and when checking tire pressures before going to the shop to get new tires I found one whith a chunk of tread missing exposing the chords and what looked like a failed sidewall. I had to put the spare on just to make it to the store. Just pure luck making it home from our last trip.

You could increase your tire size slightly if you want. Not much money. Just make sure your wheels are at least 6" wide. They probably are but the info should be on your trailer sticker or in your manufactures data somewhere. Goodyear Endurance are an excellent choice but do require a min. 6" wheel width. I noticed the difference as soon as I left the tire store. My 33.25 foot trailer towed significantly better.

Good luck and happy camping.

PS: I have found that the axel ratings are another component. My trailer has two 3500 lb. rated axels and a gross vehicle weight rating of just over 7,000 lbs. Wouldn't be too practical to increase load rating of tires much beyond the axel ratings.

[Boomerweps]

Today I installed the second Endurance.
Hadn’t used a tire machine for 30 years or more and couldn’t figure out getting the second bead on the rim ;(
My SIL saw the tire on the machine & mounted that one for me.
So I mounted the first tire on the TT, jacked it up & removed all the blocking.
Then I did the second side. YEA! I figured out getting the other tire bead on.

When releasing the jack pressure lowering the trailer, the TT moved a bit. The tongue jack shifted total near 2”.

Went +1 upsize. 215/75R14. Minimal increase in capacity, but gained near 1/2” in trailer clearance, better tire, & a bit more road contact patch helping stability.