My wife and I have been full timing for the past 3 1/2 years. For the first 3 years we were in a Jayco Eagle fifth wheel. This past March we upgraded to a 2015 Jayco Pinnacle fifth wheel. I realized that the unloaded weight was about 600 pounds heavier than our Eagle but we were over 1000 pounds under GVWR on the Eagle I was not concerned when we moved our stuff into the Pinnacle. The Pinnacle came with Towmax 235/80 16 tires (10 ply, E rating). We have driven 6000 miles on them in the past 7 months and had three of them fail over 3 days this past week. I went ahead and got the trailer weighed, by itself, and it came in at 16,200 pounds. The trailer certification shows GVWR as 15,900 pounds. As I was pressed for time and in small towns I replaced the blowouts with whatever the store had in stock which ended up being HI-Run tires, same size and rating as the Towmax. I realize we do need to monitor the weight better and make some changes. I am not very knowledgable on tires or weight issues for fifth wheels and am wondering if I could get some advice on the weight issue, should I go with a better type of tire (is so what?) or could there be some other issue going on here.

What is the unloaded/dry weight of your pinnacle? Per the sticker. What are your axle ratings? Were your holding tanks empty when you weighed it? Did you get pin weight and separate weights of the axles when you scaled it? This is all good information to know. It sounds like you need to lighten the load bit and move up to load range G tires.

What is the highest speed you pull the trailer at?Bruce

You might want to invest in a Tire Pressure Monitor System, saved us thousands of dollars in possible damage.

First and foremost, you need to properly calculate your pin weight and do all of the math as suggested by others in order to know exactly where you are with things. Generally speaking, Towmaster E rated tires are a known problem, and at your weights and considering the dynamic forces at play, you would be well served with a G rated tire whether or not you are overweight or even close to rated weights. My rig is around 15000 lbs with almost 3000 lbs of pin weight and I made the change. Trailer tows much better as the tire is much stiffer....not like towing a trailer on balloons anymore. Your issue will be your wheels and whether they are rated for 110 psi.If the wheels are appropriately rated (look for stamp on inside of wheel or on backside of rim visible from under the rig) then the tire change is easy. If not, you will need new wheels and the cost goes up. IF you need new wheels, you will need to know the offset of the wheels you buy and ensure they are with the axle manufacturers specifications. There is a lot of info on here about folks that have changed wheels and what they got and where they got them....they will be lots of help if you have to go that route.Best of luck.

Advice on tire issue with fifth wheel | Good Sam Community

30 Replies

Lantley
Nomad
Oct 25, 2014
Replace those ST tires with Goodyear G614 or you can save a few dollars and get Sailun 637 LT tires.
Cummins12V98
Explorer III
Oct 25, 2014
For my money I will stick with top quality Michelin/BFG tires on my truck and GY on my RV. No monitoring system for me.

Top quality hitch don't feel the need for a bed saver either.
Me_Again
Explorer III
Oct 25, 2014
JIMNLIN wrote:
I've seen reports from folks with a TPM system that the tread came off with resulting damage to the underside or side of the trailer but the tires carcass was still holding max pressure.

If I was using ST tires or any tire type known to have issues a TPMS makes cents/sense.

Given that a high percentage of ST failures happen out the blue, I am not sure that a TPMS has that much value other then to tell you that a tire just failed. Damage is already done at that point!
JIMNLIN
Explorer III
Oct 25, 2014
I've seen reports from folks with a TPM system that the tread came off with resulting damage to the underside or side of the trailer but the tires carcass was still holding max pressure.

If I was using ST tires or any tire type known to have issues a TPMS makes cents/sense.
ReneeG
Explorer
Oct 24, 2014
RVSteve23 wrote:
guidry wrote:
You might want to invest in a Tire Pressure Monitor System, saved us thousands of dollars in possible damage.

Well worth the money! We've had out rear saved a couple of times from additional damage when our PressurePro system alerted us. We've had ours for over a year and I love it. The folks at L&S Safety Solutions are great.

This is true, but for an instant failure, you will not be alerted till the tire has failed. How do I know? Because it's happened to us.
Michelle_S
Explorer III
Oct 24, 2014
Another option if you find you would need to replace the rims before running the G614s, would be to look into moving all the way up to a 17.5" rim and G114 H rated tires.
Fulltimer57042
Explorer
Oct 24, 2014
Thanks for the advice. The last tire shop I was at recommended going with the G rated tire so I just need to find out if the Goodyears or Saliuns will work on our Pinnacle. Some of you mentioned getting a Tire Pressure Monitoring system. I have had one for 2 1/2 years but in a blowout situation the system alerts you the moment the tire blows and is causing damage. The warning does get you to pull over faster as prior to having this system I had a blowout on my previous rig and did not know it until I noticed rubber bouncing on the highway in my rear view mirror.
RVSteve23
Explorer
Oct 21, 2014
guidry wrote:
You might want to invest in a Tire Pressure Monitor System, saved us thousands of dollars in possible damage.

Well worth the money! We've had out rear saved a couple of times from additional damage when our PressurePro system alerted us. We've had ours for over a year and I love it. The folks at L&S Safety Solutions are great.
Cummins12V98
Explorer III
Oct 20, 2014
NHIrish wrote:
Cummins12V98...I certainly respect your position and I know it is shared by many others. I can only tell ya what I have read and experienced....but if it works for you, then who am I to argue!

For sake of discussion and for the OP, here are my thoughts on the issue:

I've got about 30,000 miles on my G-614's aired to 110 with my 15,000 lb fifth wheel and they look brand new, so I'm a happy camper. No excess wear on sides or center and never a problem. I know that there have been reports of excess edge wear at lowered pressures but I have no first hand experience of that.

The downside to running less air is less carrying capacity...the upside to less air is a softer ride.

The downside to airing at max is a stiffer ride and the upside is max carrying capacity for the tire.

For me, the maximum carrying capacity is why I bought the G614 tire. It is pretty darn important with the dynamic forces at play in top heavy trailers being pulled down the road.

As they used to say...you be the judge...but I don't care a bit about a smoother ride in my fifth wheel...nobody in there. I definitely value the max carrying capacity at the weight of my fifth wheel. In fact, one of the advantages to me of a stiffer tire is better towing performance...there is significantly less sway based on my experience.

One of the disadvantages to static weighting is that it does not factor in the forces at play when you are swaying, cornering etc. while driving down the road.

The dynamic forces of the weighting/un-weighting are, in my opinion, one of the major factors in the tire issues experienced with minimum spec tires on trailers.

Many will argue that tire manufacturers build reserve capacity into their tires, but I say read the threads on here about tires and decide if you want to rely on that.

Hey, I'm no tire expert. Either way, I suspect the OP will be much better off without the towmax.

Another recommendation for max psi.....
http://www.etrailer.com/faq-trailer-tire-frequently-asked-questions.aspx

Thanks!

The set I ran that replaced my GY E's had around 20K running at 85PSI and the tread was perfectly even. GY Tech told me if I ran the pressure at 110 the ride would be harsh and the braking would suffer and the centers would wear.

That is my experience.
C-Bears
Explorer
Oct 20, 2014
You have gotten tons of advise already. If your fiver actually weighs close to 16,000 pounds you need a G rated tire. It doesn't really matter what the manufacturer put on it, you need more tire or they will constantly fail.

I am pulling almost 16,000 pounds and mine did not leave the dealers lot when new until they installed Goodyear G614's. I also have a TPMS. I purchased the flow-through sensors. I run my G614's at 100 pounds. My rims are stamped for the higher pressure. Most rims put on units after around 2011 will be, but you need to check for the stamping on the inside.

I have had this exact set up for the past two Montana FW's and have never had any type of tire issue.