Not really an "enjoyable" video BUT an important video explaining why tires with their corresponding components relate to safety and a pleasurable RV/trailering experience. Thank you JD!
I always buy tires from major tire manufacturers. I replaced the Westlake tires on my TT with GY Endurance the weight and quality difference were amazing. But, like all things some people have good Westlakes some like me had bad ones. I didn't suffer a blowout. I have seen posts on social media where people only buy trailer kings because they have had good luck with them. My dad had them and within 500 miles had 2 blow out. The best thing you can do for tires is maintenance. Maintain air pressure and inspect for defects. and cover them from the direct sun.
LT tires, while having much longer tread life often don't have the sidewall strength for RV applications. As you've noted weight matching is critical, but inflation on LT tires is extremely important. Under-inflated tires cause sidewalls to heat up and then fail. I would generally recommend staying away from LT tires unless you're towing a very light trailer.
@@bw6078 I don't believe so, but I could be wrong. I think the fact that LT tires need to be more laterally flexible should they end up as steer tires makes them naturally less rigid on the sidewall. It would be a good conversation to have with a tire manufacturer rep.
@@mikebrooks6126 Not sure extra rigid sidewalls on a tandem axle trailer is such a good idea, after all in any tighter turn the tire either has to drag sideways across the pavement or flex. Max load on my truck is 10K, max load on my 5th is 10K, so I'll be going LTs as soon as my china bombs show any signs of degradation!
After 25k miles, I’m on my 3rd set of trailer tires, they are Goodyear Endurance. Easily my best set over the Trailer King originals and the Carlisle replacements. They just have a better feeling of control when you’re on the road. I kept a set of tires on my old truck way too long and experienced a blowout on I-37S. The last thing you want to do is change a drivers side tire when 18 wheelers are blowing past you at 70 mph.
I found out that keeping track of the age of your tires is important. I had two blowouts on a single 120 mile trip and was upset because "I just put those on a couple years ago!" and they looked perfectly fine. When I got home I found the purchase receipt and discovered they were 10+ years old. Even though they were not weather-checked and had plenty of tread, they should have been replaced.
Trailer or 'ST' tires have a different sidewall construction vs an LT tire. trailer tires are designed to with stand the Scrub you get with tandem axles. I also considered LT tires until I did extensive research on tire construction.
Just purchased a Jayco single axle trailer but haven't picked it up yet. I'll be paying attention to the tire information on the stock tires. A good talk on tire selection and safety. Many thanks for sharing.
The age of the tire and speed the tire is designed for also come into play. Tires can be several years old even before you by them. Also after you buy them most tires spend most of there time just sitting which can harder on them then going down the road which helps with keeping the compounds in the rubber. A lot of time the tire set outside in the sun which can bleach out the compounds as well. Some tires are rated at maximum speed 55 or 65 mph and most people pull there trailer much faster then the tire maximum speed. What i am trying to say is there are a lot variables that can cause a tire to fail or last a long time .
I have heard many people say it is not necessary, but I always balance my trailer tires. In my opinion/ experience, it helps with handling and tire reliability (tire temps)
I have been in the tire manufacturing business for the last 20 years and I can say many TS tires I have invested are manufactured in China; including Goodyear and Carsile. I cant speak to Australia imports, because I have not seen any TS tires from Australia. I agree that tire pressure and alignment is very important.
Goodyear Endurance for my enclosed car trailer and Goodyear G614's for my living quarter horse trailer. Changing a tire on the side of the road is dangerous. Spend the money and then maintain them. Yup, went up to load range E on car trailer and range G on my horse trailer.
I have run E rated truck tires on all my RVs. Thus far I have never had a tire failure. The weight rating is typically higher than the trailer tires I have looked at for my sizes.
I have a new camper. Tires started blowing out two in one day within one mile of each other. 1 tire was made in 2017 2015 2016 2018.This is on a 2020 camper. This is a Forest River trailer.
I have had my forest river surveyor voing into its 4th summer. It has " what everyone considers" China bombs on it. We have traveled about 15,000 miles with them. I feel you can get lemons in everything. I work for a major class 8 truck manufacture. These trucks for the most part are good vehicles. But every once in a while we get a transmission or even a motor that breaks coming off the line. It happens. That being said, I am going to get new tire for my camper. I liked this video, it was very informative. Thank you.
We have over 6300 miles on the Westlake tires that came in our Imagine with no issues. They’re a little over a year old. We travelled across the country last summer towing through desert heat, mountains, and super bumpy interstates. I have a TPMS for the trailer, and do a walk around checking the tires on the trailer and truck at each fuel stop. I don’t tow at more than 65mph typically. Are they the best tires? Probably not. But with proper maintenance and keeping an eye on everything, they’ve worked well for us. With all that said, I will consider a different brand in a load range E to get a little further away from the weight limit of the current load range D tires.
I thought you liked Goodyear endurance trailer tires, that’s why I put 4 on today on my windjammer. Got rid of the Hercules ST tires, they were only 2 years old and less than 4000 mi on them. Had a blowout on I95 not fun.
Second time I watched this important video. So glad my travel trailer came with Goodyear Endurance tires. No issues so far. However, my Chinese made spare tire did suffer a tread separation while mounted to the bumper and having never touched the ground.
Can you do a video of tires for dummies? Explain what the numbers mean? The difference on different ratted tires? If different RV should use different ratted tires? Etc
Bought a used fifth wheel last year. It had E rated tires, which made me nervous. Going to get the bearings repacked in a couple of weeks and going to change out to a G rated tire. Which will make me a bit more confident.
The tires that are supposed to come on the travel trailer are supposed to be cheap "china bombs" and I plan on changing them but holy smokes $500 a tire!
I bought a cardinal luxury in February of this year and it come with sailing Tires and it’s good to know that they are good tires you give a lot of good information out I’ve been watching your channel for a while keep putting them out be safe happy camping
I posted this on Keystone fifth wheel forums. I have bought 3 more tires to replace the ones that a bent rear axle had scrubbed off. The last two are wearing just fine. No problem with the other tires. I just bought a set of China Bombs. I ordered 5 new Trailer King RST tires for my new to me Cougar. The reason I did was the tires on it where a mix of two brands. It had two of the TK with a date code of 3913 and the spare is the same but had never been on the ground. It had two Goodyear ST tires with a date code of 2218. Both were worn down to about 4/32 of tread left. When I purchased it in August of 2020 I was told that they had replaced the tires two years ago. I figured they had replaced two tires. So it’s apparent that the original tires out lasted the Goodyear’s. I figure to stick with what worked. I thought of going to the 12 ply over the 10 ply but decided to stay with the original. A little tire shop tried to talk me into 14 ply but besides the cost and needing to replace the wheels I figured the sidewall would have almost no flex. I did order 5 tires so I could replace the 7 or 8 year old spare but FedEx decide to loose one so I waiting to hear back if they have found it. I had a mobile installer do the work, I also purchased 4 tires for the rear of my truck.
Do you have a video about a truck ride? Our truck is very jarring. We just bought it in November, but have only driven it a very few times because of covid and now, the price of diesel. Our roads are just thawing from winter and in bad shape, but still, it seemed like an awful ride home from Spokane last week! 3 hr ride. It is a 2018 RAM 3500 Tradesman no frills. Very low mileage. The tire tread looks fine. For a newer truck it just seemed very bumpy. Hard on an arthritic body. And now we can get the travel trailer going, but it for sure needs new tires. After watching your vids, i realized my tires were 3 yrs old when i bought the thing in 2020! I had hope to trade it in on a 5th wheel, but since we have still not sold our place, that has not happened. And lrices have just soared. Looks like we hold onto it another year. Anyhow, i am older and have no one to turn to for advice but you. Could you give some links about the bumpy ride? Glad i watched this before getting new tires on the RV.
To be honest I have good luck with a lot of different tire brands. One thing to consider is how many miles do you put on every year. I don't travel to far from home(maybe 300 miles) so I don't put a ton of miles on every year. I've had cheap tires last just as long as higher end tires. You always take a gamble with tires doesn't matter what brand you go with.
Speed rating on heavy ply tires usually drop after G rated to around 70mph max. I don't run that fast but would prefer a cushion. Eventually I will upgrade from 16 to 17.5 commercial
I have been pulling RVs for the last 10 years I am a commercial driver I have pulled upwards of over 20,000 trailers and I’m not exaggerating please believe me when I say an LT tire is not a good tire for RVs! An LT tire has a weaker and more pliable sidewall it is not meant for the Side to side stresses and load requirements of a trailer tire the more that tire flexes like an LT tire will do the more likely you are to have a blowout please people do not use an LT tire for your trailer it is designed differently than a heavy haul type of tire! As far as tire inflation goes I always run my tires at max inflation if it’s an 80 pound tire run it at 80 if it’s 110 run it at 110 psi if you under inflate your tires again you’re inducing sidewall flex which will heat up and blow your tire overtime! Some will say yes but if it’s too hot outside you should run them a little lower my answer to that is that tire was designed to run at that temperature so always run your tires at the maximum psi check them daily refill as needed! You might be saying to yourself who do you think you are some kind of an expert!…..yes I am I do this every day!
Remember if you are going to tow your trailer at 75mph you need to make sure the tire is rated for those speeds. A lot of trailer tires are not where Lt tires are. Just make sure the tire is within the rated specifications for your rv.
This is off subject, but 3 years ago you did a dash cam review. The Owl company has had some issues. Would you be able to do an update for dash cams? Thanks. Yes, tires do matter.
I’ve just purchased my first RV travel trailer 2014 Jayco Hybrid X19H and the current tire on it is ST185/80R13. The weight of the travel trailer is a dry weight of 3310 and a GVWR of 4950. Could you recommend a tire brand for my application?
I would go with one of these three. Hankook VANTRA TRAILER Load range C. Maxxis M8008 PLUS Load Range C or the Kenda Karrier Load Range D. The Kenda would be my choice as it's a Load Range D and can carry a little more load than the other two. These three are all well rated and from major tire manufactures.
I run 12ply Generals and I replace them every 3 years and those tires I run on my car hauler trailer and get 4 more years out of those tires on my 20 ft flat and 16 ft flat car haulers just make sure the air pressure is where the tire says it is to be at.
I like my Carlisle road trail tires for my 7k pound boat and trailer. My next set I’ll upgrade the ply rating. The key is to keep the speed within the rating.
I get concerned about weather, like heavy rain shich we can have in our State. Also, black ice that can suddenly surprise. Does that matter like it does for the tow vehicle?
I've had really good luck with westlake tires even though the known to be cheap chinese tires. My first set got over 100,000 miles on m years Lawncare trailer I'm on my 3rd set on that trailer and I have them on my TT as well as boat trailer with 0 issues.
I've had many brands of tires on my trailers over the years, and the reason they have failed prematurely were either because of debris in the road or my fault for overloading them or exceeding speed ratings. The overloading/speed rating failures always happened on long trips on hot days. Never had a problem on short highway trips or running around town. I'll bet 90% of tire failures are probably for these reasons, if people were honest.
The topic of the tires is of importance. But I would like to point out the lack of quality in these rv suspensions. Not to pick on this particular trailer in this video but it shares the same flaw I have noticed in about every video I have watched concerning large heavy fifth wheels and travel trailers. The manufactures pretty well use the same size, same grade of steel and same dimension spring shackles on a 5000 lb trailer as a 15000 lb trailer. You ever notice UA-cam videos where shackle failures always seem to fail and require modification on big trailers. At least the trailer in this video had V gussets in the shackles. This a large flaw in the production of large trailer.
Absolutely great video it is so true about keeping your axles and stuff aligned and sometimes like truck tires are better you're absolutely right I do not like Goodyear endurance stars because I'm failed Indian times with them
I buy my tires from a friend that happens to own a tire and alignment shop. When it came time to buy new tires for my fifth wheel (13,500 GVWR) I asked him about using LT tires. He told me that he doesn't recommend using LT tires on trailers because the belts are wrapped differently than trailer tires. He said that for tires that are going to sit for long periods of time and/or be used near max payload he would only recommend trailer tires. Maybe I missed it, but have you ever talked about how the belts in various tires are wrapped, what materials are used for belts, etc?
At one point, I was thinking about putting some cool BFG All-Terrains on my camouflage wrapped & lifted 5th wheel to match the look of the truck and be better off-road. Upon further research, the bottom line was that LT's are designed more for ride comfort & handling than constantly carrying heavy loads. The softer sidewalls flex more each revolution than trailer tires, creating a lot more heat, and the open tread pattern also creates a lot of heat. A mechanic friend of mine also told me NEVER put LT's on a trailer!
Cany anyone give me an honest answer to if the Towstar STR trailer tires from Les Schwab are worthwhile or not please? I would be going up a load rating which I like and their reviews are good but I am planning some big trips this summer and want to get new tires to put my tpms system on.
Buying a Basecamp next week, which comes with Goodyear LT's. Would you suggest replacing with ST's off the bat and selling the others as new, or keeping them?
I can attest to the GY Endurance as not being a very good tire. Two failures within 400 miles of one another and GY told me they would not warranty it. As a result, GY lost all my business (personal and business) forever. I may try these Continental's on our 5th Wheel next go around.
How soon would you consider replacing Rainier tires that are on a new travel trailer. Some people say they had no trouble at all with them while others say first time out they had blowouts. Is it true rainier tires are made by good year but manufactured in china? Bottom line is how soon would you recommend upgrading them ?
The travel trailer I had years ago had truck tires with 6 ply sidewalls so a stiff tire. But the the spring mountings were a lot heavier gauge material and a thicker wall frame. None of the light duty stuff made now. Either the frames crack or even just poor welds fail. Sad the industry has gone so far down hill.
I have some HiSpec tires. Im sure theyre garbage but i keep the load light and the speed below 68. I dont know anything about that brand but ive never heard of them before so im assuming they're not great. Will change them soon.
You mentioned last longer several times. Is that longer road miles or longer time? I was taught to always replace trailer tires about every 8 - 9 rears regardless of what the tread looks like. My car trailer I wear out the tires about every 4 years due to miles towed and the scrubbing that goes on when turning tight. I do not ever anticipate replacing my 5th wheel tires due to miles towed (I simply do not get out as much as I would like).
Better compounds may make them last a longer time, but time is the enemy of all tires. Depending on the vehicle, how its stored, temps/sun exposure, etc., time can vary widely. The rule of thumb I hear most often is 5-7 years. That time sure flys by fast!
Hi JD, I have a 40ft fifth wheel that runs sixteen inch wheels that are six lug, my Trailer loaded is running at about 12,800 pounds, so not super heavy for a 40ft 5'er. It currently has E rated tires. I would like to upgrade to
I have E rated tires but my fifth loaded is only 10000 pounds so I think I’m good for now but I do want to upgrade my suspension. I have a 30 ft Dutchman Colorado and RV about 6-7 times a year what you think leave it or upgrade suspension.
Always! Unbalanced tires may not cause your tires to noticeably bounce, but the will wear out faster, and put excess stress on you suspension/axles. Not something worth saving a couple on...
Is it time for a new tire video? Good years vs Hankook Vantra and others. My WestLakes are going on there 4th year and I’m debating on one more year vs new tires.
I fully agree with your commentary but I really think tha the speed rating should also have been mentioned and explained. I also run G rated tires on my 5th wheel and I rarely exceedv70 mph unless down hill in the hill country. This said I often get blown off the road by RV enthusiasts that far exceed some of the ratings. These ratings are for constant travel speed and don't have a negative response to short spurts but they should be kept in mind at all times. With the G rated tires I can run the higher psi air pressures that keep the tires a bit cooler because the tire flex is minimized. Thank you for bringing this subject to our attention.
Make sure you check your speed rating. You can have a G rated higher pressure tire with a lower speed rating than an E rated lower pressure tire. The speed rating should be marked as such on the tire, or it is the letter after the weight rating (e.g.: E weight rated 125/121N is a N speed rating of 87mph).
Good episode but feels like we skimmed the service. Wish I knew how to get more knowledge on RV tired, wheels, brakes, suspension, etc. MAYBE my exteriors class at NRVTA in May will help. Fingers crossed!
I have a question off topic alittle but I have a 2012 sandpiper 365saq. And I have 14 ply tires on the rig with the factory rims the tires call for 110psi but will the rims be good for the much?
Here's the question I can't get an answer to. Transeagle makes a tire that is 2 weight ratings above the tires currently on my Grand Design Imagine travel trailer. I want those tires but I believe they call for 110lb psi while my trailer calls for 80psi. I know many companies supply inflation charts for different loads but I can't find one for Transeagle. I don't think 110psi would be good for my trailer or my wheels and I'm pretty sure I could safely run 80 psi in that uprated tire. However I'd really like to know for sure and the info doesn't seem to be available. Great video JD!
@@CPTTango30 yeah but that has never been true when I've bought higher weight rated tires before. You base your inflation pressure on what the vehicle manufacturer tells you. In the past it was generally okay to run a pressure lower than the tire was labelled for if the vehicle called for a certain PSI and the tire was rated for a higher weight rating. That is why some manufacturers provide inflation charts.
I would like to upgrade to the transeagle g rated tires, would this work on a 16" rim that run at 80 pounds max? 0r just go with a good e- rated Goodyear tire?
We've been watching your videos for a while, and am looking at replacing our 5th wheel tires (16,800 GVWR) . We have G rated ST235 80R16's and I am having limited success finding tires that size and rating. Where do you go to find better tire options? We are up in Minnesota, not down in Texas. Most of the bigger tire stores do not even show any G or H rated tires in my size.
I have been ordering all my trailer tires from Priority Tire. They usually have the best prices, fast shipping, and tires are always fresh (no old date codes). Take a look at the TransEagle All-Steel, they come in that size/weight rating. I think they're on sale for ~$190 right now. I'm in northern IL, and usually get them within a week.
Be great to understand the alignment side of this. How is it checked and who would make the alignment? Obviously it would be an RV repair shop but viewing an alignment issue and how it is fixed would be very informative. See what you do on that. Thanks for the info on your videos.
This is very good information for anyone owning an RV or trailer in general. I do have a question and am only looking for input from the community. We have a 2020 Riverstone Legacy with a GVWR or 19,150. I just found out that the tires (Good Year G114 H rated 17.5 inch wheels) have a manufacturing date of 3918 on them, which I understand is the 39th week of 2018. That means that they were over a year+ old when they were placed on the RV when we bought it in October 2019. We have only traveled about 500-600 miles with the unit and the rest of the time it was in storage with the tire covers in place. There isn't any visible drying, cracking or wear on them, but this year they will be 5 years old. We just sold our home and hope to be on the road full time by the end of May 2022. They still had 101 psi on them last week when we took it to the local service center for a once-over in preparation for our pending lifestyle changes. Any recommendations whether we should replace them or just give them a try for a few months and see how they are after a thousand miles or more?
My Opinion Only. Why risk everything you own on a set of questionable tires, you will have enough to worry about as a full timer. Put that to rest with new tires. I’m about to embark on a cross country trip from Oregon to Pennsylvania and back and do not want to worry about tires, breaks or bearings. Safe travels my friend 🇺🇸
I recently installed Hankook Vantra tires on my travel trailer. I have 14 inch rims there were not many options for tires. Have you heard anything about these tires?
I have a 28 foot travel trailer that came with castle rocks on it. bought it new in 2017 and im looking to upgrade the tires. Im so confused as to what would be a good tire. they are 225/75r/15 . the RV has a GVWR of 7760 lbs and a cargo carrying capacity of 1320lbs. Im really considering the goodyear endurance tire? im just not sure still, any assistance would be great. Keep the great content coming JD. thanks
After having way too many blowouts with numerous brands of ST RV tires, I switched to LT full steel belted truck tires. That was 7 years ago, and have bot had a blowout since. FYI I constantly monitor tires pressures and conditions. ST tires are garbage, period.
The biggest problems with trailer tires is most likely ...the operator... People don't maintain/monitor their tire pressures or operate them in a manner the tire was not designed for. Most people I talk to have no idea what the speed rating of their tires are. Couple that with overloading that trailer a little, and a failure is bound to happen....but it's the crappy tire's fault!!! 😩... I have the GY Endurance (E-Rated, N-Speed Rated / 87mph, 80psi, $216/ea) on my triple axle toy hauler, which is what it came with, and they've been fine. Only thing I don't like is that the sidewalls are not very stiff, and they bend A LOT when making tight turns. When I replace them, I will be getting TransEagle All-Steel (G-Rated, M-Speed Rated / 81mph, 95psi, ~$180/ea.) tires like I put on my last 5th wheel. I also use TransEagles on my utility trailers now, never had a problem. That tire setup will give me a 30% cushion over GVWR, as opposed to only 5% over GVWR with the GY's, giving up a little speed rating is irrelevant since I never operate my trailer at the rated 87mph vs. 81mph anyway, and it saves me $260 on seven tires. Stiffer sidewalls/higher pressure=less sidewall flex=less rolling resistance=less heat=better fuel economy. Stiffer sidewalls also don't bend as drastically in those tight turning maneuvers. I will be looking at possibly reinforcing the spring hanger brackets, and may add shocks as well.
You sound like a sensible person. Take a look at Lippert centerpoint air suspension. It ain’t cheap but you’ll be very happy with it. Look at the UA-cam video and you will be amazed. 🇺🇸
@@mikeg1593 I have the CRE3000’s on my toy hauler, and had them on my previous 5th wheel as well. I have been happy with them. I stayed away from the air suspension primarily because of adding more potential failure points/things that can leak/need to be maintained/monitored. If I ever go that route, I would put a TPMS Sensor on it for sure! Not sure what would happen if you lost pressure going down the road…
Do you think upgrading to an air suspension on a fifth wheel or travel trailer would be helpful with tires lasting longer? I ask because I'm looking into the lipert Center Point Air ride for my New Cougar.
Unless you're going to be putting a ton of miles on your Cougar every year, the tires will probably age-out before they wear-out. Upgrading the suspension is a good idea for any trailer. It'll save you a lot more on wear-and-tear on the trailer and contents than it will on the tires.
It seem very unfortunate in my opinion that there are seemingly no American tire companies taking the steps to create a quality trailer tire for the smaller wheels (16" and under). The options open up a bit more once you get to the 17.5" wheels, but there is a large market opportunity for those running the 16" that just want a bit better tire without supporting the overseas companies. I'm don't have experience with trailers with anything smaller than a 16" wheel, but I'd imagine those folks might be in the same situation. But I completely agree with you, supporting American companies is great, but not if they can't supply the product I truly need. I'm not willing to sacrifice performance for the sake of saying I contributed to an American company.
It's a very bad idea to replace trailer tires with LT tires. They do not have the sidewall strength that a trailer tire has. I have personally seen this. My buddy ran LT tires on his big old dual axel trailer, and couldn't understand why he kept blowing tires. After he finally went to proper trailer tires. No more problems. Just saying....
For the cheap import tires, load / “ply” rating is not the whole story. Look at the weight of the cheap imports versus a more reputable tire of the same load rating. The cheaper ones sometimes have a third less weight, meaning less rubber / belt and less resilience. They just claim a higher ply rating in the same way a lot of other products from that region make claims that aren’t true.
I had an issue with my RV, after research I have seen it happen to a lot of folks. I never thought about blowing out my black tank flush until now. I must have had some left over water in it, as it was leaking around where it goes into the black tank after this winter. Some leak from the seal area and others like mine from where the hose attached. I did not know if you wanted to do some research on this and maybe a video on it! I would enjoy if you did.
personally i dont prefer that style of tread i like to have a d-couper ring to get better wear on edges easier to see if corners r being cut off b4 its 2 late
Every tire has a 'maximum cold PSI' inflation number...and then running down the road, that increases by 10 to 20 lbs. which I know is OK...but what is the optimal cold inflation number to use? On hot days, is it different than colder days. Always confusing to me.
Hi jd I’m a good year guy on my truck and travel trailer but I have no control on my work truck it is a 10 ton tandem rollback they run Michelin on the front and Chinese on the back and to tell you the truth they have been doing well thanks
Tire talk never gets old. It may get boring at times, but is always relevant.
Not really an "enjoyable" video BUT an important video explaining why tires with their corresponding components relate to safety and a pleasurable RV/trailering experience. Thank you JD!
I always buy tires from major tire manufacturers. I replaced the Westlake tires on my TT with GY Endurance the weight and quality difference were amazing. But, like all things some people have good Westlakes some like me had bad ones. I didn't suffer a blowout. I have seen posts on social media where people only buy trailer kings because they have had good luck with them. My dad had them and within 500 miles had 2 blow out. The best thing you can do for tires is maintenance. Maintain air pressure and inspect for defects. and cover them from the direct sun.
Great information. Safety always first and foremost, not only for the RV owner/driver, but also everyone else on the road.
LT tires, while having much longer tread life often don't have the sidewall strength for RV applications. As you've noted weight matching is critical, but inflation on LT tires is extremely important. Under-inflated tires cause sidewalls to heat up and then fail. I would generally recommend staying away from LT tires unless you're towing a very light trailer.
I was under the assumption that LT tires actually had stronger sidewall strength due to a greater number of layers no?
@@bw6078 I don't believe so, but I could be wrong. I think the fact that LT tires need to be more laterally flexible should they end up as steer tires makes them naturally less rigid on the sidewall. It would be a good conversation to have with a tire manufacturer rep.
@@mikebrooks6126 Not sure extra rigid sidewalls on a tandem axle trailer is such a good idea, after all in any tighter turn the tire either has to drag sideways across the pavement or flex. Max load on my truck is 10K, max load on my 5th is 10K, so I'll be going LTs as soon as my china bombs show any signs of degradation!
Just make sure you have the correct load range tire. The higher the load range, the stiffer the sidewall.
After 25k miles, I’m on my 3rd set of trailer tires, they are Goodyear Endurance. Easily my best set over the Trailer King originals and the Carlisle replacements. They just have a better feeling of control when you’re on the road.
I kept a set of tires on my old truck way too long and experienced a blowout on I-37S. The last thing you want to do is change a drivers side tire when 18 wheelers are blowing past you at 70 mph.
I'm amazed that you have needed three sets of tires in 25K miles.
When tires on a car last for 50K why are your trailer tires wearing out so quickly.
I found out that keeping track of the age of your tires is important. I had two blowouts on a single 120 mile trip and was upset because "I just put those on a couple years ago!" and they looked perfectly fine. When I got home I found the purchase receipt and discovered they were 10+ years old. Even though they were not weather-checked and had plenty of tread, they should have been replaced.
I’ve always had great success with Carlisle brand 10 ply speed rated to 87 mph. Made in Tennessee 🇺🇸 USA
I run Gladiators 14 ply G rated tires, with 110# of air in them, and am very happy with them
Trailer or 'ST' tires have a different sidewall construction vs an LT tire. trailer tires are designed to with stand the Scrub you get with tandem axles. I also considered LT tires until I did extensive research on tire construction.
Just purchased a Jayco single axle trailer but haven't picked it up yet. I'll be paying attention to the tire information on the stock tires. A good talk on tire selection and safety. Many thanks for sharing.
The age of the tire and speed the tire is designed for also come into play. Tires can be several years old even before you by them. Also after you buy them most tires spend most of there time just sitting which can harder on them then going down the road which helps with keeping the compounds in the rubber. A lot of time the tire set outside in the sun which can bleach out the compounds as well. Some tires are rated at maximum speed 55 or 65 mph and most people pull there trailer much faster then the tire maximum speed. What i am trying to say is there are a lot variables that can cause a tire to fail or last a long time .
So, you are saying that some RV tires can be akin to RV mattresses?
😬
Maybe get a few miles out of them, but be shopping for an upgrade. 👍
I have heard many people say it is not necessary, but I always balance my trailer tires. In my opinion/ experience, it helps with handling and tire reliability (tire temps)
I have been in the tire manufacturing business for the last 20 years and I can say many TS tires I have invested are manufactured in China; including Goodyear and Carsile. I cant speak to Australia imports, because I have not seen any TS tires from Australia. I agree that tire pressure and alignment is very important.
Are you talking about ST tires or is there a TS tire that I’m not familiar with.
Goodyear Endurance for my enclosed car trailer and Goodyear G614's for my living quarter horse trailer. Changing a tire on the side of the road is dangerous. Spend the money and then maintain them. Yup, went up to load range E on car trailer and range G on my horse trailer.
Having a Gee range for a horse trailer makes a lot of sense. Now if you need to go to the Hay range, you've got it made.
I have run E rated truck tires on all my RVs. Thus far I have never had a tire failure. The weight rating is typically higher than the trailer tires I have looked at for my sizes.
I have a new camper. Tires started blowing out two in one day within one mile of each other. 1 tire was made in 2017 2015 2016 2018.This is on a 2020 camper. This is a Forest River trailer.
I have had my forest river surveyor voing into its 4th summer. It has " what everyone considers" China bombs on it. We have traveled about 15,000 miles with them. I feel you can get lemons in everything. I work for a major class 8 truck manufacture. These trucks for the most part are good vehicles. But every once in a while we get a transmission or even a motor that breaks coming off the line. It happens. That being said, I am going to get new tire for my camper. I liked this video, it was very informative. Thank you.
Good job explaining how the reaction of the tread of the tire is eventually transmitted to the dishes in the cabinets.
This is the tires I recommend: Michelin X Multi T2 215/75R17.5 Load J 18 Ply Commercial Trailer Tire
You can thank me later.
We have over 6300 miles on the Westlake tires that came in our Imagine with no issues. They’re a little over a year old. We travelled across the country last summer towing through desert heat, mountains, and super bumpy interstates. I have a TPMS for the trailer, and do a walk around checking the tires on the trailer and truck at each fuel stop. I don’t tow at more than 65mph typically. Are they the best tires? Probably not. But with proper maintenance and keeping an eye on everything, they’ve worked well for us. With all that said, I will consider a different brand in a load range E to get a little further away from the weight limit of the current load range D tires.
I thought you liked Goodyear endurance trailer tires, that’s why I put 4 on today on my windjammer. Got rid of the Hercules ST tires, they were only 2 years old and less than 4000 mi on them. Had a blowout on I95 not fun.
Second time I watched this important video. So glad my travel trailer came with Goodyear Endurance tires. No issues so far. However, my Chinese made spare tire did suffer a tread separation while mounted to the bumper and having never touched the ground.
Can you do a video of tires for dummies?
Explain what the numbers mean?
The difference on different ratted tires?
If different RV should use different ratted tires? Etc
Bought a used fifth wheel last year. It had E rated tires, which made me nervous. Going to get the bearings repacked in a couple of weeks and going to change out to a G rated tire. Which will make me a bit more confident.
The tires that are supposed to come on the travel trailer are supposed to be cheap "china bombs" and I plan on changing them but holy smokes $500 a tire!
The trailer I’m looking at, comes with a Goodyear Endurance H rated tire. They say it’s a solid 14 ply tire so hopefully it will be solid.
I bought a cardinal luxury in February of this year and it come with sailing Tires and it’s good to know that they are good tires you give a lot of good information out I’ve been watching your channel for a while keep putting them out be safe happy camping
I have been using Maxxis for years with no problems
I posted this on Keystone fifth wheel forums. I have bought 3 more tires to replace the ones that a bent rear axle had scrubbed off. The last two are wearing just fine. No problem with the other tires.
I just bought a set of China Bombs.
I ordered 5 new Trailer King RST tires for my new to me Cougar. The reason I did was the tires on it where a mix of two brands. It had two of the TK with a date code of 3913 and the spare is the same but had never been on the ground. It had two Goodyear ST tires with a date code of 2218. Both were worn down to about 4/32 of tread left.
When I purchased it in August of 2020 I was told that they had replaced the tires two years ago. I figured they had replaced two tires. So it’s apparent that the original tires out lasted the Goodyear’s. I figure to stick with what worked. I thought of going to the 12 ply over the 10 ply but decided to stay with the original. A little tire shop tried to talk me into 14 ply but besides the cost and needing to replace the wheels I figured the sidewall would have almost no flex.
I did order 5 tires so I could replace the 7 or 8 year old spare but FedEx decide to loose one so I waiting to hear back if they have found it. I had a mobile installer do the work, I also purchased 4 tires for the rear of my truck.
I run Michelins on my car, truck, Pete, and 5th wheel. NEVER had an issue since 1973.
Do you have a video about a truck ride? Our truck is very jarring. We just bought it in November, but have only driven it a very few times because of covid and now, the price of diesel. Our roads are just thawing from winter and in bad shape, but still, it seemed like an awful ride home from Spokane last week! 3 hr ride. It is a 2018 RAM 3500 Tradesman no frills. Very low mileage. The tire tread looks fine. For a newer truck it just seemed very bumpy. Hard on an arthritic body. And now we can get the travel trailer going, but it for sure needs new tires. After watching your vids, i realized my tires were 3 yrs old when i bought the thing in 2020! I had hope to trade it in on a 5th wheel, but since we have still not sold our place, that has not happened. And lrices have just soared. Looks like we hold onto it another year. Anyhow, i am older and have no one to turn to for advice but you. Could you give some links about the bumpy ride? Glad i watched this before getting new tires on the RV.
Our Grand Design Imagine 2970 RL came with Goodyear Endurance tires. The spare was a Westlake. Thanks For The educational video.
To be honest I have good luck with a lot of different tire brands. One thing to consider is how many miles do you put on every year. I don't travel to far from home(maybe 300 miles) so I don't put a ton of miles on every year. I've had cheap tires last just as long as higher end tires. You always take a gamble with tires doesn't matter what brand you go with.
Sampson 10 ply bias on mine damn good tire for local towing.
A video on what dry rot really is, also I see many rv's letting air our their tires at stops.
Speed rating on heavy ply tires usually drop after G rated to around 70mph max. I don't run that fast but would prefer a cushion. Eventually I will upgrade from 16 to 17.5 commercial
Goodyear endurance tires recommend different psi based on the load that each tire supports
I have been pulling RVs for the last 10 years I am a commercial driver I have pulled upwards of over 20,000 trailers and I’m not exaggerating please believe me when I say an LT tire is not a good tire for RVs! An LT tire has a weaker and more pliable sidewall it is not meant for the Side to side stresses and load requirements of a trailer tire the more that tire flexes like an LT tire will do the more likely you are to have a blowout please people do not use an LT tire for your trailer it is designed differently than a heavy haul type of tire! As far as tire inflation goes I always run my tires at max inflation if it’s an 80 pound tire run it at 80 if it’s 110 run it at 110 psi if you under inflate your tires again you’re inducing sidewall flex which will heat up and blow your tire overtime! Some will say yes but if it’s too hot outside you should run them a little lower my answer to that is that tire was designed to run at that temperature so always run your tires at the maximum psi check them daily refill as needed! You might be saying to yourself who do you think you are some kind of an expert!…..yes I am I do this every day!
Wise words from a wise man! 🇺🇸
@@armoredsaint6639 If that's true then why do manufacturers publish tire pressure/ weight tables?
Remember if you are going to tow your trailer at 75mph you need to make sure the tire is rated for those speeds. A lot of trailer tires are not where Lt tires are. Just make sure the tire is within the rated specifications for your rv.
Towing at hi speed is not safe.
This is off subject, but 3 years ago you did a dash cam review. The Owl company has had some issues. Would you be able to do an update for dash cams? Thanks. Yes, tires do matter.
I’ve just purchased my first RV travel trailer 2014 Jayco Hybrid X19H and the current tire on it is ST185/80R13. The weight of the travel trailer is a dry weight of 3310 and a GVWR of 4950. Could you recommend a tire brand for my application?
I would go with one of these three. Hankook VANTRA TRAILER Load range C. Maxxis M8008 PLUS Load Range C or the Kenda Karrier Load Range D. The Kenda would be my choice as it's a Load Range D and can carry a little more load than the other two. These three are all well rated and from major tire manufactures.
I run 12ply Generals and I replace them every 3 years and those tires I run on my car hauler trailer and get 4 more years out of those tires on my 20 ft flat and 16 ft flat car haulers just make sure the air pressure is where the tire says it is to be at.
Great video! We ordered the same ones a few weeks ago, cannot wait!
My new North Point has the Goodyear tires factory, I’m hoping they work out for the summer. However I’ll be upgrading to the Sailun 637 tires.
Love our Saluins so much more beefy than the factory Hispec tires.
I like my Carlisle road trail tires for my 7k pound boat and trailer. My next set I’ll upgrade the ply rating. The key is to keep the speed within the rating.
I think everyone should do a pre trip inspection…
I get concerned about weather, like heavy rain shich we can have in our State. Also, black ice that can suddenly surprise. Does that matter like it does for the tow vehicle?
I've had really good luck with westlake tires even though the known to be cheap chinese tires. My first set got over 100,000 miles on m years Lawncare trailer I'm on my 3rd set on that trailer and I have them on my TT as well as boat trailer with 0 issues.
I've had many brands of tires on my trailers over the years, and the reason they have failed prematurely were either because of debris in the road or my fault for overloading them or exceeding speed ratings. The overloading/speed rating failures always happened on long trips on hot days. Never had a problem on short highway trips or running around town. I'll bet 90% of tire failures are probably for these reasons, if people were honest.
The topic of the tires is of importance. But I would like to point out the lack of quality in these rv suspensions. Not to pick on this particular trailer in this video but it shares the same flaw I have noticed in about every video I have watched concerning large heavy fifth wheels and travel trailers. The manufactures pretty well use the same size, same grade of steel and same dimension spring shackles on a 5000 lb trailer as a 15000 lb trailer. You ever notice UA-cam videos where shackle failures always seem to fail and require modification on big trailers. At least the trailer in this video had V gussets in the shackles. This a large flaw in the production of large trailer.
Is axle alignment something your supposed to have done routinely? I’ve never heard anyone mention this before.
Absolutely great video it is so true about keeping your axles and stuff aligned and sometimes like truck tires are better you're absolutely right I do not like Goodyear endurance stars because I'm failed Indian times with them
I buy my tires from a friend that happens to own a tire and alignment shop. When it came time to buy new tires for my fifth wheel (13,500 GVWR) I asked him about using LT tires. He told me that he doesn't recommend using LT tires on trailers because the belts are wrapped differently than trailer tires. He said that for tires that are going to sit for long periods of time and/or be used near max payload he would only recommend trailer tires. Maybe I missed it, but have you ever talked about how the belts in various tires are wrapped, what materials are used for belts, etc?
At one point, I was thinking about putting some cool BFG All-Terrains on my camouflage wrapped & lifted 5th wheel to match the look of the truck and be better off-road. Upon further research, the bottom line was that LT's are designed more for ride comfort & handling than constantly carrying heavy loads. The softer sidewalls flex more each revolution than trailer tires, creating a lot more heat, and the open tread pattern also creates a lot of heat. A mechanic friend of mine also told me NEVER put LT's on a trailer!
@@OOMAN And yet Airstream optional tires are LTs
Cany anyone give me an honest answer to if the Towstar STR trailer tires from Les Schwab are worthwhile or not please? I would be going up a load rating which I like and their reviews are good but I am planning some big trips this summer and want to get new tires to put my tpms system on.
Great video that most people don't really pay attention to
Buying a Basecamp next week, which comes with Goodyear LT's. Would you suggest replacing with ST's off the bat and selling the others as new, or keeping them?
Have you tried any of the air tire monitors for trailers/rv's?
Also is there any air valve extension that you prefer or reccomend?
I'd love to know the answer to this. Hopefully he responds. I don't want to buy it until I know for sure💯
Hi
How did you like the Sailun tires the 637 ? Im looking at
ST 235/85R-16 Thank you have a good day
I can attest to the GY Endurance as not being a very good tire. Two failures within 400 miles of one another and GY told me they would not warranty it. As a result, GY lost all my business (personal and business) forever. I may try these Continental's on our 5th Wheel next go around.
How soon would you consider replacing Rainier tires that are on a new travel trailer. Some people say they had no trouble at all with them while others say first time out they had blowouts. Is it true rainier tires are made by good year but manufactured in china? Bottom line is how soon would you recommend upgrading them ?
The travel trailer I had years ago had truck tires with 6 ply sidewalls so a stiff tire. But the the spring mountings were a lot heavier gauge material and a thicker wall frame. None of the light duty stuff made now. Either the frames crack or even just poor welds fail. Sad the industry has gone so far down hill.
I’m your opinion what’s the best 225/75/15
I have some HiSpec tires. Im sure theyre garbage but i keep the load light and the speed below 68. I dont know anything about that brand but ive never heard of them before so im assuming they're not great. Will change them soon.
You mentioned last longer several times. Is that longer road miles or longer time? I was taught to always replace trailer tires about every 8 - 9 rears regardless of what the tread looks like. My car trailer I wear out the tires about every 4 years due to miles towed and the scrubbing that goes on when turning tight. I do not ever anticipate replacing my 5th wheel tires due to miles towed (I simply do not get out as much as I would like).
Better compounds may make them last a longer time, but time is the enemy of all tires. Depending on the vehicle, how its stored, temps/sun exposure, etc., time can vary widely. The rule of thumb I hear most often is 5-7 years. That time sure flys by fast!
Hi JD, I have a 40ft fifth wheel that runs sixteen inch wheels that are six lug, my Trailer loaded is running at about 12,800 pounds, so not super heavy for a 40ft 5'er. It currently has E rated tires. I would like to upgrade to
I have E rated tires but my fifth loaded is only 10000 pounds so I think I’m good for now but I do want to upgrade my suspension. I have a 30 ft Dutchman Colorado and RV about 6-7 times a year what you think leave it or upgrade suspension.
Do you recommend balancing trailer tires ?
Always! Unbalanced tires may not cause your tires to noticeably bounce, but the will wear out faster, and put excess stress on you suspension/axles. Not something worth saving a couple on...
I will balance my new tries when the time comes. Yes!
Is it time for a new tire video? Good years vs Hankook Vantra and others. My WestLakes are going on there 4th year and I’m debating on one more year vs new tires.
I fully agree with your commentary but I really think tha the speed rating should also have been mentioned and explained. I also run G rated tires on my 5th wheel and I rarely exceedv70 mph unless down hill in the hill country. This said I often get blown off the road by RV enthusiasts that far exceed some of the ratings. These ratings are for constant travel speed and don't have a negative response to short spurts but they should be kept in mind at all times. With the G rated tires I can run the higher psi air pressures that keep the tires a bit cooler because the tire flex is minimized. Thank you for bringing this subject to our attention.
Make sure you check your speed rating. You can have a G rated higher pressure tire with a lower speed rating than an E rated lower pressure tire. The speed rating should be marked as such on the tire, or it is the letter after the weight rating (e.g.: E weight rated 125/121N is a N speed rating of 87mph).
Good episode but feels like we skimmed the service. Wish I knew how to get more knowledge on RV tired, wheels, brakes, suspension, etc. MAYBE my exteriors class at NRVTA in May will help. Fingers crossed!
I have a question off topic alittle but I have a 2012 sandpiper 365saq. And I have 14 ply tires on the rig with the factory rims the tires call for 110psi but will the rims be good for the much?
My Westlake tire popped on highway. I replaced all tires with Goodyear Endurance.
Here's the question I can't get an answer to. Transeagle makes a tire that is 2 weight ratings above the tires currently on my Grand Design Imagine travel trailer. I want those tires but I believe they call for 110lb psi while my trailer calls for 80psi.
I know many companies supply inflation charts for different loads but I can't find one for Transeagle.
I don't think 110psi would be good for my trailer or my wheels and I'm pretty sure I could safely run 80 psi in that uprated tire.
However I'd really like to know for sure and the info doesn't seem to be available.
Great video JD!
Running under inflated is just as bad as running over inflated. Also make sure your wheels are rated for 110 PSI.
@@CPTTango30 yeah but that has never been true when I've bought higher weight rated tires before. You base your inflation pressure on what the vehicle manufacturer tells you. In the past it was generally okay to run a pressure lower than the tire was labelled for if the vehicle called for a certain PSI and the tire was rated for a higher weight rating. That is why some manufacturers provide inflation charts.
Do you put air in your RV using the label on your Door or what it is on the tire? Class C Entegra Esteem 2019
You ALWAYS have to go by the tire if you have a different tire on it than came stock on it. Every brand, rating, size change can impact that info.
I would like to upgrade to the transeagle g rated tires, would this work on a 16" rim that run at 80 pounds max? 0r just go with a good e- rated Goodyear tire?
We've been watching your videos for a while, and am looking at replacing our 5th wheel tires (16,800 GVWR) . We have G rated ST235 80R16's and I am having limited success finding tires that size and rating. Where do you go to find better tire options? We are up in Minnesota, not down in Texas. Most of the bigger tire stores do not even show any G or H rated tires in my size.
I have been ordering all my trailer tires from Priority Tire. They usually have the best prices, fast shipping, and tires are always fresh (no old date codes). Take a look at the TransEagle All-Steel, they come in that size/weight rating. I think they're on sale for ~$190 right now. I'm in northern IL, and usually get them within a week.
Be great to understand the alignment side of this. How is it checked and who would make the alignment? Obviously it would be an RV repair shop but viewing an alignment issue and how it is fixed would be very informative. See what you do on that. Thanks for the info on your videos.
This is very good information for anyone owning an RV or trailer in general. I do have a question and am only looking for input from the community. We have a 2020 Riverstone Legacy with a GVWR or 19,150. I just found out that the tires (Good Year G114 H rated 17.5 inch wheels) have a manufacturing date of 3918 on them, which I understand is the 39th week of 2018. That means that they were over a year+ old when they were placed on the RV when we bought it in October 2019. We have only traveled about 500-600 miles with the unit and the rest of the time it was in storage with the tire covers in place. There isn't any visible drying, cracking or wear on them, but this year they will be 5 years old. We just sold our home and hope to be on the road full time by the end of May 2022. They still had 101 psi on them last week when we took it to the local service center for a once-over in preparation for our pending lifestyle changes. Any recommendations whether we should replace them or just give them a try for a few months and see how they are after a thousand miles or more?
My Opinion Only.
Why risk everything you own on a set of questionable tires, you will have enough to worry about as a full timer. Put that to rest with new tires.
I’m about to embark on a cross country trip from Oregon to Pennsylvania and back and do not want to worry about tires, breaks or bearings.
Safe travels my friend 🇺🇸
Who aligns your axles / tires?
I recently installed Hankook Vantra tires on my travel trailer. I have 14 inch rims there were not many options for tires. Have you heard anything about these tires?
Oh lord help me because I’m truly mixed up now.
Continental tires are built all over the world. Company is based in Germany.
I have a 28 foot travel trailer that came with castle rocks on it. bought it new in 2017 and im looking to upgrade the tires. Im so confused as to what would be a good tire. they are 225/75r/15 . the RV has a GVWR of 7760 lbs and a cargo carrying capacity of 1320lbs. Im really considering the goodyear endurance tire? im just not sure still, any assistance would be great. Keep the great content coming JD. thanks
After having way too many blowouts with numerous brands of ST RV tires, I switched to LT full steel belted truck tires. That was 7 years ago, and have bot had a blowout since. FYI I constantly monitor tires pressures and conditions. ST tires are garbage, period.
Does Les Schwab sell them? If so what do you recommend for a 36ft forest river salem hemisphere travel trailer? Thanks for the awesome video💯🇺🇸💯!
What kind of tpm you have?
Thanks
Awesome video!!!
What is your opinion of Hercules Strong Guard ST 235/80r16 ?
The biggest problems with trailer tires is most likely ...the operator... People don't maintain/monitor their tire pressures or operate them in a manner the tire was not designed for. Most people I talk to have no idea what the speed rating of their tires are. Couple that with overloading that trailer a little, and a failure is bound to happen....but it's the crappy tire's fault!!! 😩... I have the GY Endurance (E-Rated, N-Speed Rated / 87mph, 80psi, $216/ea) on my triple axle toy hauler, which is what it came with, and they've been fine. Only thing I don't like is that the sidewalls are not very stiff, and they bend A LOT when making tight turns. When I replace them, I will be getting TransEagle All-Steel (G-Rated, M-Speed Rated / 81mph, 95psi, ~$180/ea.) tires like I put on my last 5th wheel. I also use TransEagles on my utility trailers now, never had a problem. That tire setup will give me a 30% cushion over GVWR, as opposed to only 5% over GVWR with the GY's, giving up a little speed rating is irrelevant since I never operate my trailer at the rated 87mph vs. 81mph anyway, and it saves me $260 on seven tires. Stiffer sidewalls/higher pressure=less sidewall flex=less rolling resistance=less heat=better fuel economy. Stiffer sidewalls also don't bend as drastically in those tight turning maneuvers. I will be looking at possibly reinforcing the spring hanger brackets, and may add shocks as well.
You sound like a sensible person.
Take a look at Lippert centerpoint air suspension. It ain’t cheap but you’ll be very happy with it. Look at the UA-cam video and you will be amazed. 🇺🇸
@@mikeg1593 I have the CRE3000’s on my toy hauler, and had them on my previous 5th wheel as well. I have been happy with them. I stayed away from the air suspension primarily because of adding more potential failure points/things that can leak/need to be maintained/monitored. If I ever go that route, I would put a TPMS Sensor on it for sure! Not sure what would happen if you lost pressure going down the road…
Do you think upgrading to an air suspension on a fifth wheel or travel trailer would be helpful with tires lasting longer? I ask because I'm looking into the lipert Center Point Air ride for my New Cougar.
Unless you're going to be putting a ton of miles on your Cougar every year, the tires will probably age-out before they wear-out. Upgrading the suspension is a good idea for any trailer. It'll save you a lot more on wear-and-tear on the trailer and contents than it will on the tires.
It seem very unfortunate in my opinion that there are seemingly no American tire companies taking the steps to create a quality trailer tire for the smaller wheels (16" and under). The options open up a bit more once you get to the 17.5" wheels, but there is a large market opportunity for those running the 16" that just want a bit better tire without supporting the overseas companies. I'm don't have experience with trailers with anything smaller than a 16" wheel, but I'd imagine those folks might be in the same situation.
But I completely agree with you, supporting American companies is great, but not if they can't supply the product I truly need. I'm not willing to sacrifice performance for the sake of saying I contributed to an American company.
It's a very bad idea to replace trailer tires with LT tires. They do not have the sidewall strength that a trailer tire has. I have personally seen this. My buddy ran LT tires on his big old dual axel trailer, and couldn't understand why he kept blowing tires. After he finally went to proper trailer tires. No more problems. Just saying....
For the cheap import tires, load / “ply” rating is not the whole story. Look at the weight of the cheap imports versus a more reputable tire of the same load rating. The cheaper ones sometimes have a third less weight, meaning less rubber / belt and less resilience. They just claim a higher ply rating in the same way a lot of other products from that region make claims that aren’t true.
I had an issue with my RV, after research I have seen it happen to a lot of folks. I never thought about blowing out my black tank flush until now. I must have had some left over water in it, as it was leaking around where it goes into the black tank after this winter. Some leak from the seal area and others like mine from where the hose attached. I did not know if you wanted to do some research on this and maybe a video on it! I would enjoy if you did.
Where did you get the 17.5 inch wheels? thanks
It doesn't matter one iota until it does!
personally i dont prefer that style of tread i like to have a d-couper ring to get better wear on edges easier to see if corners r being cut off b4 its 2 late
Every tire has a 'maximum cold PSI' inflation number...and then running down the road, that increases by 10 to 20 lbs. which I know is OK...but what is the optimal cold inflation number to use? On hot days, is it different than colder days. Always confusing to me.
Hi jd I’m a good year guy on my truck and travel trailer but I have no control on my work truck it is a 10 ton tandem rollback they run Michelin on the front and Chinese on the back and to tell you the truth they have been doing well thanks
Is tire wear the only way of knowing if your axle(s) is aligned?