Can tires have too much reserve capacity?
I had a blowout on my way home on Memorial Day. I had gone over 1,800 miles of our 2,000 mile trip and was getting close to home. Rear tire on passenger side blew. Got the estimate yesterday and damag...
Forum Discussion
Yes.....thats been my experience when I pulled GN trailers to make a living. Especially when the tire can't be ran at max pressures.
Max pressure = a cooler running tire and less parasitic drag on the tow vehicle. Now RV folks don't have to worry about getting the most mpg from the tow vehicle or worry about tires lasting only 35k instead of the usual 50k-60k miles.
Tireman9 talks about no benefit of a higher load range tire above a 15 percent reserve capacity in his tire blog such as a G tire derated to 80 psi. Check out his tire blog.
This poster found out what can happen when too much tire is put on a trailer.
Senior Member
When it came time for me to replace our tires, I researched many different ways to go. I wound up purchasing 17.5" J rated medium duty truck tires and wheels. When all done and said, it was $5.00 per wheel and tire combo more than just replaceing the 16" tires. This tire and wheel combo is good for 6005 pounds each. Using the inflation chart to get the pressure for the load, I inflated to 80 psi which was good for 4500 pounds per tire. With the first tow with these tires to Kansas City, I have made this trip to the speedway several times before, I was down almost 2 mpg both ways. The tires were 20*-25* hotter than the truck, which I have never experienced before. I inflated them to the side wall pressure, 125 psi for max load, before our trip to Florida. Now the tires run 5*-10* cooler than the truck and my fuel mileage is back where it used to be. I have always run max pressure up until I installed these tires, with what I have experienced, I will continue to run what the side wall indicates.
For 2500-2700 lb loaded 6k axles the commercial grade R250 all steel ply carcass would be my top pick and run them at 80 psi.
Max pressure = a cooler running tire and less parasitic drag on the tow vehicle. Now RV folks don't have to worry about getting the most mpg from the tow vehicle or worry about tires lasting only 35k instead of the usual 50k-60k miles.
Tireman9 talks about no benefit of a higher load range tire above a 15 percent reserve capacity in his tire blog such as a G tire derated to 80 psi. Check out his tire blog.
This poster found out what can happen when too much tire is put on a trailer.
Senior Member
When it came time for me to replace our tires, I researched many different ways to go. I wound up purchasing 17.5" J rated medium duty truck tires and wheels. When all done and said, it was $5.00 per wheel and tire combo more than just replaceing the 16" tires. This tire and wheel combo is good for 6005 pounds each. Using the inflation chart to get the pressure for the load, I inflated to 80 psi which was good for 4500 pounds per tire. With the first tow with these tires to Kansas City, I have made this trip to the speedway several times before, I was down almost 2 mpg both ways. The tires were 20*-25* hotter than the truck, which I have never experienced before. I inflated them to the side wall pressure, 125 psi for max load, before our trip to Florida. Now the tires run 5*-10* cooler than the truck and my fuel mileage is back where it used to be. I have always run max pressure up until I installed these tires, with what I have experienced, I will continue to run what the side wall indicates.
For 2500-2700 lb loaded 6k axles the commercial grade R250 all steel ply carcass would be my top pick and run them at 80 psi.
