LT Tires

ol Bombero-JC wrote:

JIMNLIN wrote:


If you find a dealer who doesn't want to mount a LT245/75-16 tire on a 6" wide trailer wheel I sure wouldn't trust him to mess with my vehicles tires and wheels.......even my wheel barrow tire.
I ran LT245/75-16 E for years on three of my heavier trailers. Great long term service.

Well said.

Think I bought a few tire patches from that "dealer" in his former life.......well actually the patches were tortillas (for bean burritos).
..:W


On edit - DEALERS ......

See post at bottom of first page by "partsman01"

At least "she" was willing to "be educated"

If "the other fellow" had not come along (customer? employee?), the dealer would have won out on *UNSAFE TIRES* issue, 'cause dealers *know everything* !!


~

Yep "they" know what's right for you!

In the news - started with charges for services not performed, 2 year investigation, "only" 7 dealers........then along came the whistle blower employee - then the tires- at the tire shops.....

Buyer Beware ? ......

.......now 21 shops!

Bad dealer karma!

JIMNLIN wrote:


If you find a dealer who doesn't want to mount a LT245/75-16 tire on a 6" wide trailer wheel I sure wouldn't trust him to mess with my vehicles tires and wheels.......even my wheel barrow tire.
I ran LT245/75-16 E for years on three of my heavier trailers. Great long term service.

Well said.

Think I bought a few tire patches from that "dealer" in his former life.......well actually the patches were tortillas (for bean burritos).
..:W


On edit - DEALERS ......

See post at bottom of first page by "partsman01"

At least "she" was willing to "be educated"

If "the other fellow" had not come along (customer? employee?), the dealer would have won out on *UNSAFE TIRES* issue, 'cause dealers *know everything* !!


~

tko9900 wrote:
This has been interesting. Thanks to all. It looks like the Sailun is the answer for the future. Wanted to get on the road so went with the Maxxis from what I had read in the past. Time will tell. Every dealer has his favorite. I had to ask for Maxxis. Nobody has them in stock.

Lantley : Didn't know axles could be spread without major alterations.

Dealers don't have "favorites" - they want to sell you :
1. The brand they stock, or -
2. What their reference charts say belongs on your trailer.

Tire "dealers" (most likely the sales rep) are like car salespersons.
Usually former Taco Bell employees - who couldn't make it there.

Looooong history of tire 'dealer' baloney (balogna) stories posted over the years here.
One of the best sounds a lot like the line you've been "fed".
A poster said his "dealer" told him it was illegal (state law) to put LT tires instead of ST on a trailer.
Guess trlr mfgrs installing LT tires from the factory are criminals.

However it is accurate that *some* dealers (including some Costco) will *not* mount anything that is not OEM specs due to company policy (read: liability issues).

Yet others find the same "parent company" (ex: other Costco location, Discount tire, America's tire, etc.) have no problem.

Maxxis have a good reputation - but as you noted, tough to get a replacement if you need one ASAP.

Roll on!

~

This has been interesting. Thanks to all. It looks like the Sailun is the answer for the future. Wanted to get on the road so went with the Maxxis from what I had read in the past. Time will tell. Every dealer has his favorite. I had to ask for Maxxis. Nobody has them in stock.

Lantley : Didn't know axles could be spread without major alterations.

tko9900 wrote:
fj12ryder JIMNLIN What is Sailun inflation pressure? I thought I saw 110 psi. Are wheels stamped or rated for max psi? 1 inch between wheels, seems really close.

ol Bombero-JC My wheels are stamped 6", tire dealer would not put 245's on my wheel.

I have six S637 16" G tires on a tri axle GN stock trailer with 7k axles and keep them 110 psi 24/7 for several reasons.
The benefit of the G tire comes only at those higher pressures. Tire on trailers exhibit ply shear while going around corners or backing into a off angle parking spots. Minimum pressure charts don't take this into account which is one reason tire experts and experienced trailer owners recommend max pressures for tires on a trailer. With 3000-3500 lbs sitting on the tire there is no over inflation.

Some good advise here;

fifthwheelstreet.com

Step #5..
Selecting the Correct Tire Pressure for Your Trailer
We at Fifth Wheel St. no longer recommend adjusting trailer tire inflation pressure below the maximum load PSI rating molded on the sidewall (and only if the wheel/rim is appropriately rated) regardless of the measured scaled weight of individual tire or axle positions for all multi-axle trailers.

However, we do strongly recommend weighing individual trailer tire positions to ensure none of the axles or tire positions are overloaded. Reports have shown that trailers do not have equal weight across all tire positions. Some RV load configurations may reveal as much as 20% difference between the front and rear axle. This especially true for Toy Haulers. It is possible that mismanaged trailer load distribution will cause one end of an axle or a tire to be overloaded. It has been stated, but never confirmed by any RV Weighmaster, that there are many RVs traveling on the road with at least one tire or axle side overloaded. The only way to ensure tires and or axles are not overloaded is to weigh each tire position on your trailer. Unfortunately, attempting to obtain accurate individual tire position weight is practically impossible at all truck scales. View our list of recommend RV Weighmasters here.

- See more at: http://fifthwheelst.com/step5.html#sthash.FIAc3k0Z.dpuf


And from rvtiresafety.com ply shear.
Spend some time on this tire engineers website for more input about tires on trailers.

If you find a dealer who doesn't want to mount a LT245/75-16 tire on a 6" wide trailer wheel I sure wouldn't trust him to mess with my vehicles tires and wheels.......even my wheel barrow tire.
I ran LT245/75-16 E for years on three of my heavier trailers. Great long term service.

Sailun now has a ST235/80R16G all steel S637 that is the same diameter as the Marathon and G614. Chris

I guesstimate my tires are carrying 3000 pounds each. I have axle weights but not individual tire weights. The blowouts I previously suffered were on rough stretches of interstate.
The pounding against the concrete eventually caused tires to pop.
Those E rated tires that failed did not have the load capacity of my current tires.
THere was not as much margin between loaded weight and actual weight.
In the end the failed tires simply could not take the pounding of the rough road.
Unfortunately poor stretches of road are a fact of life.
I have no where issues or rough ride issues.
My BD3 air ride hitch keeps my trailer riding very smoothly. I have inadvertantly left various things on the counters more than once. They are always still sitting there when I arrive.
Max. PSI has work well for me so far as mentioned I want the full capacity of each tire. My trailer may not require the 100% load capacity at all times, however when I factor in poor road surfaces the extra capacity is beneficial.

Lantley wrote:
........
In the end I skip the precise weighing and just run tires at max PSI.
I cannot see how running less than max. PSI can be beneficial.

TRACTION!
If the tire rating at max pressure far exceeds the weight they are carrying, they are over inflated, this reduces the contact patch of the tire. This results in less braking traction and a rougher ride for the trailer.

As a matter of fact I have weighed each tire on my toyhauler so I know what I'm carrying. You should do what you think is right, I do.

Like I said I have a max weight of 2500 lbs. on two tires out of six. The other 4 tires are at 2200 lbs. The heavier weight is under the kitchen slide, and the generator/large slide.

I discovered that there was a much harsher ride when the tires were set to max pressure, which is where I had them when I first got them. The ride smoothed out and I had less stuff being bounced around in the toyhauler at lower pressure.

The tires are rated to 3750 lbs. @ 110 psi. I'm running about 58 percent of capacity. IMO there's no reason to run at the higher pressures. I don't see how running them at max pressure is going to add to the safety factor or add to their lifespan. Running it at a lower pressure doesn't "derate" the tire, it's still a "G" rated tire. I've had them for 3 years and about 15,000 miles and they still look like new.

You do it your way and I'll do it mine. That way we're both happy.

fj12ryder wrote:

tko9900 wrote:
fj12ryder JIMNLIN What is Sailun inflation pressure? I thought I saw 110 psi. Are wheels stamped or rated for max psi? 1 inch between wheels, seems really close.

ol Bombero-JC My wheels are stamped 6", tire dealer would not put 245's on my wheel.

The max pressure for the "G" rated Sailun tire is 110 psi. That doesn't mean you have to run them at that. If you are carrying less than the maximum load then you can run less pressure. I run mine at 90-95 psi. I'm running a max weight of 2500 lbs./wheel.

The capacity of your wheels is probably stamped into the wheel on the back side, that's where mine was.

I agree with you in theory. But not in practice. I run my tires at max PSI. I see no point in buying a heavy duty G rated tire and the derate it by running less than max. Pressure.
I want the additional load capacity as safety margin. I don't want the tire maxed out or running right at its limits.
I don't have exact weight for each tire. We assume they are carrying equal loads but we know the trailer is not balanced weight wise. Therefore the tires are not carrying equal weight.
Do you weigh each tire and air it accordingly? Is each tire aired to a different pressure that corresponds to its actual scaled load?

In the end I skip the precise weighing and just run tires at max PSI.
I cannot see how running less than max. PSI can be beneficial.