LT tire upgrade Cougar 327RES

With 6K axles it was no brainer to switch to LT (BFG Commercial TA; U.S. made by Michelin) the week we took delivery. We couldn't get La Mesa to do it at the price we were willing to pay for an orphan Titanium so I paid for it myself less trade in for the STs. Still a good total price for the trailer and tires. AND...no ST worries like I had with my previous trailers.

LT 245/75 R 16 is almost an exact size match for ST 235/80 or 230/85 .. 16.

MO_Trout_Bum wrote:
Has anyone out there upgraded tires to LT on this fiver or a similar model? I.e. going from 235/80R16 to 235/85R16. Just want to make sure there would be no concern with distance between tires or tire to fender.

Not looking to spend a fortune as we will be trading in a year or two, so looking at going with something similar to the Coopers I am running on my truck.

My fiver is very similar in size. I put a set of 235/85R16 Firestone Transforce LTs on it when I bought it new. There is about 1.5 to 2 inches clearance between the tires and never been a problem.
Good call on the LTs.

Thanks to everyone for the thoughtful advice. If I would have been totally on top of things, I would have replaced all 5 tires with LT's last year and been done with it. Now things are complicated in that we already had to replace 2 in January with what our roadside assistant had at the time (Sotera ST's) at 9:00 PM on the way home from a winter trip. Now we have to decide whether to just buy 3 ST's to get us by until we trade rigs or bite the bullet and buy 5 LT's. Time to do some serious thinking.

Thanks again to all!

Allworth wrote:
With 6K axles it was no brainer to switch to LT (BFG Commercial TA; U.S. made by Michelin) the week we took delivery. We couldn't get La Mesa to do it at the price we were willing to pay for an orphan Titanium so I paid for it myself less trade in for the STs. Still a good total price for the trailer and tires. AND...no ST worries like I had with my previous trailers.

LT 245/75 R 16 is almost an exact size match for ST 235/80 or 230/85 .. 16.

BFG discontinued the Commercial TA and now has a new Commercial TA2 which is three pounds lighter. Chris

bogart661 wrote:
When I changed my ST235/80R16's to LT's I went with 245/75R16's. They have a slightly wider tread but the diameter stayed the same.

Is a wider tread a good thing? I get a lot of scrubbing in the turns and especially when backing. Better braking-perhaps-but what about the suspension stress. Just saying ...

TakingThe5th wrote:

bogart661 wrote:
When I changed my ST235/80R16's to LT's I went with 245/75R16's. They have a slightly wider tread but the diameter stayed the same.

Is a wider tread a good thing? I get a lot of scrubbing in the turns and especially when backing. Better braking-perhaps-but what about the suspension stress. Just saying ...

Likely a little better weight rating, but wider will equal greater rolling resistance. Likely the 10MM will not make any real difference.

Russ, the LT245/7516E and LT235/85R16E both have the same 3042 weight rating. The narrower 235's are the preferred choice if axles have at lease 33" center to center. Only if one has less than 33" would I go to 245's.

The Bridgestone Duravis R250 has about the best rib tread for anti scrubbing issues. All the A/S type treads with breaks in the outer ribs will grab the pavement more. Tires like the LTX M/S2 with a lot of sipes will grab the pavement more. So if one is concerned with scrabbing it is XPS Ribs or R250s. Both also have very hard rubber compounds also that allows them to skid more in tight turns.

I still think one of the issues with just about all ST tires is the A/S type tread pattern! And that they rip themselves apart because of it!

Chris

greende wrote:

rattleNsmoke wrote:
That was a good suggestion going with the 247/75's. The recommended rim diameter is 1/2" more though, 6.5" vs 6.0". Cooper makes a fine LT tire for trailer purpose. I'm currently running SRM II's and the are a commercial ribbed tire. Supposedly the SRM's are no longer being made, but you can find them if you try or go to a suitable Cooper replacement. Do a search, it's on here.

Most here that recommend Coopers use the Discoverer HT3. I plan to get these in a few weeks just before we go to Myrtle Beach as our current ones are greater than 3 years old.

The SRM II are no longer in production. I emailed Cooper which tire replaced the SRM II as I've used them with good success. They said their commercial service Discoverer HT3 is the replacement for the old SRM II tires.

JIMNLIN wrote:

greende wrote:

rattleNsmoke wrote:
That was a good suggestion going with the 247/75's. The recommended rim diameter is 1/2" more though, 6.5" vs 6.0". Cooper makes a fine LT tire for trailer purpose. I'm currently running SRM II's and the are a commercial ribbed tire. Supposedly the SRM's are no longer being made, but you can find them if you try or go to a suitable Cooper replacement. Do a search, it's on here.

Most here that recommend Coopers use the Discoverer HT3. I plan to get these in a few weeks just before we go to Myrtle Beach as our current ones are greater than 3 years old.

The SRM II are no longer in production. I emailed Cooper which tire replaced the SRM II as I've used them with good success. They said their commercial service Discoverer HT3 is the replacement for the old SRM II tires.

The Discoverer HT3 has a lot of sipes! Tread looks a lot like the LTX M/S2.



For a poly carcass LT I think the Bridgestone Duravis R500HD is a good choice. It is a hard rubber commercial grade tire with two poly sidewall plys. Most other poly ply tires have a single ply sidewall.



There is quite a weight difference between the two in LT235/85R16E.

HT3 40.4 lbs
R500HD 47 lbs

I would put the HT3 in the running with the Transforce HT, LTX M/S2, BFG Commercial TA2 etc. The Bridgestone Duravis R500HD is it's own class above those!

Here is what Cooper says about the HT3

BENEFITS
1. Continuous shoulder rib provides superior resistance to irregular wear for longer life and a quieter ride.
2. Interlocking tread elements provide improved handling.
3. Increased lateral slots increase traction in both wet and snow conditions.
4. 3D Micro-Gauge™ siping provide an interlocking geometry to increase tread element stability for improved vehicle handling and all-season performance.
5. Utilizes a silica tread compound for enhanced wet traction and treadwear.

Of these the first one is desirable in a trailer tire. The other four are not necessarily what one wants for a trailer tire.

Chris

Here is what Cooper says about the HT3

BENEFITS
1. Continuous shoulder rib provides superior resistance to irregular wear for longer life and a quieter ride.
2. Interlocking tread elements provide improved handling.
3. Increased lateral slots increase traction in both wet and snow conditions.
4. 3D Micro-Gauge™ siping provide an interlocking geometry to increase tread element stability for improved vehicle handling and all-season performance.
5. Utilizes a silica tread compound for enhanced wet traction and treadwear.

Those continuous ribs make a great free rolling tire and excellent lateral stability.
Sipes in the continuous ribs give the tire superior braking and lateral traction which is important for a tire on a trailer on wet/icy roads than say a tire with straight ribs and no sipes or no small tread blocks.

Any of the fabric carcass LT E tire we mention have worked great for trailer use regardless of tire weight.