Can O' Worms discussion: Tires

[drdave]

It seems like people usually have strong opinions on tires, regardless of vehicle/use.     Being that (all? almost all?) ST trailer tires are made in china/taiwan/korea, etc.  and are frequently bashed and blowouts are blamed on "Chinese quality" does anyone have a strong preference to brand/type?   DId you immediately swap out your OEM tires for something else?   Anyone put LT or P rated tires on their trailers?  would that even be safe? just wondering and planning for a replacement before these chinese ones dryrot or fail on me.......    

[geezer]

[p][font size="4"]We recently took delivery of a 21BHS. I requested radial tires.  I'm [/font][/p][p][font size="4"]far from a tire expert but I think radials are superior to bias ply in a[/font][/p][p][font size="4"]trailer application.  The trailer ended up delivered with the standard[/font][/p][p][font size="4"]bias ply.  Because radials were specified in the purchase contract the[/font][/p][p][font size="4"]dealer drove to the factory and picked up four mounted ST radials.[/font][/p][p][font size="4"]I am suspicious of Chinese tires radial or not. Mine are Chinese.  It[/font][/p][p][font size="4"]seems that the only option is to put light truck tires on, if and when[/font][/p][p][font size="4"]these fail or wear out.[/font][/p][p][font size="4"]
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[thudd3r]

i dont think the issue is with all chinese tires, just the cheap ones ll (and most companies) use.

i think the fact that manufacturers generally uses a lower load range tire to cut costs (my toyhauler came with load range c tires) contributes to common blowouts as well

[charliem]

[font size="3"]LL supplies BF Goodrich LT195/75R14 All Terrain T/As with their off road packages. They're made in Mexico by off duty drug runners. I like them so much I'm going to put a similar set on my truck as soon as the OEM Goodrich p-metrics wear out.
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[billmoore]

My Bearcat has the offroad package, but it came with Westlake radial tires in a tread pattern that looks somewhat all terrain, deeper tread than a normal trailer tire anyway. Don't remember the exact size, but it has 15" rims...

[geo92128]

If you are buying new LL trailer demand radial tires. LL buys from local supplier, Lions Head and buys the cheapest bias tires available. If they fail LL does not warranty the tires the supplier does; so no skin in the game  for LL as they force you to deal with one of their suppliers. We had cracked tires on a brand new trailer!!
I sold thef our replacement tires for $100 and bought four new radials at $100 each. We have now been about 3000 miles in the past three months and very happy with new tires and piece of mind. No tire is perfect and all need to be properly maintained with proper air pressure.  We bought Maxxis radial tires, again piece of mind is key as i have rolled them over a curb two times, a few rocks etc. Gotta swing wide on all turns even more than you think!

[stevesanders]

I used to work for a family owned local tire company that was the only General Tire dealer in Birmingham, AL.  We were one block from a Buick dealership and many Buick vehicles came with General Tires.  The dealer sent all customers with tire issues to us.  It's not at all uncommon for manufacturers not to handle tire warranty issues.

I prefer bias ply trailer tires. The stiffer sidewalls mean that they don't tend to follow groves in the road as much as radials do, but it's a personal preference issue.  They don't ride as smooth as radials, but I'm not riding back there anyway.

Inflation is another volatile topic.  Most trailers are designed based on axle capacity which is matched to tire capacity. This means that for most trailers on the road, the loaded trailer weight is close to the axle's rated capacity, which is close to the rated capacities of the tires on that axle.  Therefore, the proper inflation is the maximum pressure marked on the sidewall. Many people have come to think that the only safe inflation pressure for trailer tires is the maximum pressure  listed on the sidewall, but this is not true.  The proper pressure is whatever is required to properly support the load that's on the tire. Trailer tire pressure charts are available, but can be difficult to find. The other option is to observe very carefully how the tread is wearing.  If the edges of the tread are wearing more than the center, it is underinflated.  If the center of the tread is wearing more than the edges, it's over inflated.  As light as most Quicksilver campers are, 40 to 45 PSI is plenty and will keep it from bouncing too much.

I'm about to replace the OEM tires on my 2010 6.0 just because they are getting too old.  I have been very happy with the tires that came on it from LL.

[sandyu]

Quick question, if my 10.0 weighs between 1500-1600 pounds fully loaded what is the correct air pressure? It has a 1500lb axle.       I have been using max air pressure.

[stevesanders]

Not really a quick answer, but...

If you can find a tire inflation chart that matches the size and construction type (bias or radial) of the tires on your camper, it would get you very close.  Tires from different manufacturers are all built about the same, so a chart from any manufacturer would be close enough, but I don't have one.

The weight rating of the axle isn't significant for this discussion, look at the weight rating of the tires.  The Towmaster tires that came on my 6.0 are rated for a max load of 1,045 pounds at 80PSI.  So, at 80 PSI the two tires could carry 2,090 pounds or easily twice the weight of my fully loaded 6.0.  80 PSI is way too much pressure for the load.  I think I run about 45 PSI in them, and that's probably a little more than I need.

The profile of the tire (sidewall bulge) where the tire contacts the ground is how to answer the question. If you are running bias ply tires, you want to make sure that the profile of the tire is the same all the way around the tire. No sidewall bulge at all.  If you are running radials, there should be a little bulge. Inflate the tires on your car according to the sticker on the door post and look at what the tires look like. (The manufacturer of your car has looked up the proper pressure for the max rated weight of your car to get those inflation ratings. If you have low profile performance tires on your car, this comparison won't work.)  Make the profile of your trailer tires look like your properly inflated car tires, assuming that the car tires are proportionally similar to the trailer tires.

After towing the camper for a while, you will be able to look at the tire tread and see where the tread is wearing. (This requires towing far enough to actually produce some wear, so it's not just across town.) You can also tell which areas of the tread are designed to receive wear.  The edge of the wear pattern on the tire should match the wear area of the tread. It's really that simple.  If it's not wearing to the edge of the wear area, it's over inflated and rounding out the tread too much.  If it is wearing beyond the edge of the wear area, onto the side wall, it's under inflated and the center of the tread is collapsing away from the pavement.  On a properly inflated tire, the tread will be flat where it contacts the pavement. Over inflation makes the tread too rounded, like a "U". Under inflation makes it more like a "W" shape.

[sandyu]

Your quick, good information. I pretty sure I have the same tires.

[david2015]

Me?  I'm a bit of an info-seeking nerd, so I start with the manufacturer's web site.

Can you get support?  How much educational info do they provide?  Do them make it easy to check for recalls?  Can you register your tires?

Anyway, I usually wind up with most expensive ones at Costco for my car.  Have not had to shop for trailer tires yet.

David

[stevesanders]

Tire manufacturers websites are more interested in selling their product than educating their potential customers.  I doubt you will find much, but please post links here if you do.

You can't register your tires because they don't have a unique identification number.  The only code on them is the DOT code that's a manufacturing date stamp.  Traditionally, the date code was a five digit Julian date value (two digit year followed by the sequential day of the year).  I have seen some seven digit dates with four digit year values, but every tire made on the same day will have the same code.

At Costco, you will normally get either Michelin or Bridgestone passenger tires which are quite good and my preferred brands.  However, their trailer tires seem to be about the same as everywhere else.  I have received good service from Carlisle bias ply trailer tires, and that's what I typically try to get.

I prefer bias ply tires on my trailer.  Radials are designed to have more sidewall flex for a better ride, but that flex on a trailer results in the trailer wandering around and following grooves in the pavement more than the bias ply stiff sidewall.  Neither is more prone to failure.  The materials and construction are very similar.  The biggest difference is the direction that the body cord "material" is cut.  I can't think of a way to describe it in few words, but I'm sure you can find some good explanations pictures on the internet.

[david2015]

Goodyear, Yokohama, and Michelin have pretty informative sites, and all three allow you to register your tires.  Look for "FAQ", "Owners' Circle", "Tires 101", that kind of thing.  Carlisle has a pretty good PDF that you can google-up called "Trailer_Tires__Tips_Best_Practices.pdf", and they accept registrations, too.


David

[spot1]

Purchased Kenda Karrier ST radials from etrailer for the CampLite and boat trailer, like them so far. Have used Kenda bias ply tube tires on a couple motorcycles and bias ply ST tubeless on a motorcycle trailer without issues. Have about 15,000 miles on the Kenda ST radials on the CampLite and they are looking good, too. When I purchased the tires from etrailer, they had late DOT codes too, so they had not been sitting on the shelf very long. Have purchased ST tires for the lowest price from other distributors, and the DOT codes show the tires had been on the shelf for a couple years.

[djsamuel]

Made it to Tennessee and home with the Vail tires, but that's it.  The tire I posted about in the other thread that I had to patch when a 22 gauge brad nail went through it was fine, although the rubber is softer than the others and is wearing faster (it was a new tire replaced under warranty when the original split in the sidewall).  When we got home last week, I checked the tires and saw a 4" split in  another tire, in the center of the tread. At first I thought something cut the tire, but I can see a definite bulge and it looks like the start of tread separation.  It is even worn pretty good in the area of the cut.  I'll post a picture if I get the chance.  The other tires are showing small slits in the tread now,, so tomorrow I take the wheels to Discount Tire and get them replaced.  I got over 7,000 miles on them, and they took me to Arizona and Utah as well as Tennessee and back to Florida both times.  I'm getting the Carlisle RH radials which are supposedly much better than previous Carlisles, so time will tell.They should be better than these tires though.