Looking for some good advice if i should buy new tires now or can wait until next year.Just bought a 2016 Montana it came with the trailer king tires we have taken 5 trips, the tires have about 1300 mileswe will be taking a 3000 mile vacation in late sept from Oregon to Moab-Grand canyon-Zion and home.i plan on buying new tires next year.figured with all the experience on this site it would not hurt to askthanksJeff

WHAT date are in the tires?? How OLD??

Tire posts on these forums really, really confuse me. I've owned 3 TT and 1 pop-up since about 1999 and have never had a single tire issue with the factory installed tires. My previous trailer (Springdale) tires were replaced in the 5th year because they started showing signs of dry rot. We went through a period of time for a couple years we could not camp as much as we wanted, so the trailer never moved much.Tires sitting and not rolling will do more damage than tires rolling on the road. The rubber needs to be exercised and worked to stay healthy. Maybe that's why I've had success. Also, I don't speed. My speed is, tops, 60 mph, and I avoid interstates as much as possible. I attribute some of my success to the slower speeds and aware of heat build up and excessive tire pressure.Another factor is backing up, making sharp turns to back into campsites and such. I avoid tight back up turns as much as possible (90 degree type turns), so the stress of the side walls of the tires is minimized as much as possible. Single axle tires can be pivoted on a time. Tandem axles, not so much. The side pressure is very hard on tires. With our current Outback, still on the factory installed tires, 3 years now, we've traveled from Indiana to Florida 9 times now, and just returned from a trip near Branson, Mo and then to Kansas City, Mo and back, not to mention all the week-end and 4 days trips around Indiana over the last 3 years.With only 1300 miles on your tires, if it were me with my past experiences, I would not change them. The best advise to give you, is to avoid backing those 90 degree angles causing that side-wall stress and breakdown in the tires, which is very easy to do with a 5er, and (in my opinion) I see no reason to change the tires yet.

my advice is to get one of the brands of tire/pressure/temperature monitors. I have tst can't beat the service if needed but others may be just as good or better. Will save you maybe a tire or at least the damage that can be done by a shredded tire.

what are the dot dates on the tires? Have you checked the load - i.e. have it been weighed. I think lots of tire problems can be traced back to overloading.

If you aren't already a member, join the Montana Owners Club (MOC) forum. It is free to join and has over 15,000 Montana owning members. Everything you ever wanted to know about Montanas can be found there. Your Montana is heavy at around 16,000 lbs. The cheap Trailer King tires will not hold up on your rig. It is not a question of "IF" they will fail, the question is "WHEN". There are many, many stories on the MOC about tire failures and the resultant damages. If you ignore the warnings and travel with your existing tires, be sure to keep the tire carcass after a failure. You will need it to submit to the manufacturer for any reimbursement they may offer.

Tire advice needed,long trip planned | Good Sam Community

Crazy_Ray
Explorer
Jul 10, 2016
WHAT date are in the tires?? How OLD??
DutchmenSport
Explorer
Jul 10, 2016
Tire posts on these forums really, really confuse me. I've owned 3 TT and 1 pop-up since about 1999 and have never had a single tire issue with the factory installed tires. My previous trailer (Springdale) tires were replaced in the 5th year because they started showing signs of dry rot. We went through a period of time for a couple years we could not camp as much as we wanted, so the trailer never moved much.

Tires sitting and not rolling will do more damage than tires rolling on the road. The rubber needs to be exercised and worked to stay healthy. Maybe that's why I've had success. Also, I don't speed. My speed is, tops, 60 mph, and I avoid interstates as much as possible. I attribute some of my success to the slower speeds and aware of heat build up and excessive tire pressure.

Another factor is backing up, making sharp turns to back into campsites and such. I avoid tight back up turns as much as possible (90 degree type turns), so the stress of the side walls of the tires is minimized as much as possible. Single axle tires can be pivoted on a time. Tandem axles, not so much. The side pressure is very hard on tires.

With our current Outback, still on the factory installed tires, 3 years now, we've traveled from Indiana to Florida 9 times now, and just returned from a trip near Branson, Mo and then to Kansas City, Mo and back, not to mention all the week-end and 4 days trips around Indiana over the last 3 years.

With only 1300 miles on your tires, if it were me with my past experiences, I would not change them. The best advise to give you, is to avoid backing those 90 degree angles causing that side-wall stress and breakdown in the tires, which is very easy to do with a 5er, and (in my opinion) I see no reason to change the tires yet.
Ed9824v
Explorer
Jul 10, 2016
my advice is to get one of the brands of tire/pressure/temperature monitors. I have tst can't beat the service if needed but others may be just as good or better. Will save you maybe a tire or at least the damage that can be done by a shredded tire.
2chiefsRus
Explorer
Jul 10, 2016
what are the dot dates on the tires? Have you checked the load - i.e. have it been weighed. I think lots of tire problems can be traced back to overloading.
Carl_n_Susan
Nomad II
Jul 10, 2016
If you aren't already a member, join the Montana Owners Club (MOC) forum. It is free to join and has over 15,000 Montana owning members. Everything you ever wanted to know about Montanas can be found there.

Your Montana is heavy at around 16,000 lbs. The cheap Trailer King tires will not hold up on your rig. It is not a question of "IF" they will fail, the question is "WHEN". There are many, many stories on the MOC about tire failures and the resultant damages.

If you ignore the warnings and travel with your existing tires, be sure to keep the tire carcass after a failure. You will need it to submit to the manufacturer for any reimbursement they may offer.
TxGearhead
Explorer II
Jul 10, 2016
All the above is right.
I would weigh the rig and see how close you are to the tires limits. A tire monitoring system might save you, might not. Get one anyway. Also I would consider where you are traveling. Out west with limited services available is something to think about. Higher speeds for long durations in high temp weather? Also the chances of one blowout causing another happens. Can you replace 2 blowouts? Two spares?
All that said, I replaced OEM tires immediately on both 5th's with Maxxis.
NWKomfort350
Explorer
Jul 10, 2016
I believe the tire issue is most present on heavier rigs.
I only towed my current 5er 400 miles before installing new G rated tires.
My 5er weighs in between 13,500 and 14,000 depending. I have scaled many times.
Get your rig weighed.
jsrore
Explorer
Jul 10, 2016
Great advice...i have weighed..15150 empty so I guessing close to 16000 packed

they are E rated...3080 lbs dual and 3500 single...

so i guess with 4 tires 16320...still very close...
bpounds
Nomad
Jul 10, 2016
jsrore wrote:
Great advice...i have weighed..15150 empty so I guessing close to 16000 packed

they are E rated...3080 lbs dual and 3500 single...

so i guess with 4 tires 16320...still very close...

I would not run ST tires on that trailer. Not sure what you have now, but probably ST.
jsrore
Explorer
Jul 10, 2016
they are a ST radial trailer king....

235 80R16