Tires: Changing From D To E
I'm wanting to order a new set of tires this weekend. I'm new to trailers and need some advice. My camper has a GVWR of 10,000 and D rated tires will cover this but after reading about all the b...
Forum Discussion
bpounds wrote:JIMNLIN wrote:
You can farther your knowledge about the subject about proper tire pressures/ply shear/etc for tires on a trailer from Tireman9 rvtiresafety.com
Great source of information for trailer owners.
You and he make the same mistake, and only think in terms of load capacity. Think about the more robust construction of an LRE. Think about road hazards that we are all going to get, no matter how carefully try to avoid them.
The LT lovers like to note how much heavier and stiffer an LT tire is compared to an ST, even though the load capacity may be lower. The advantage of a heavier tire, with more belts, is obvious. The same is true of an LRE ST tire. I just don't get how anyone could argue that an extra radial belt in a tire in of no benefit.
Would you rather drive over a sharp rock with an LRD or an LRE, assuming both trailers weigh the same? Seems like a no-brainer. There is more to tire construction than just load rating.
Our points had nothing to do with load capacity.
Been there and done that and I'll take a D at max pressure over a derated E tire at 65 psi anytime when used in a trailer position.
As the tire engineer say the E tire at only 65 psi provides no benefit over the 65 psi rated D tire.
You mention more belts. The E tire has the same number of carcass and tread belts as the D tire. The carcass plies (sidewall) in a E tire are heavier/thicker than the D tire. The ST has the same amout of belts as the LT.
Beside ply shear Tireman9 tells us about is heat build up in a tire with less than max pressures.
When I was young and dumb and didn't listen to my truck tire dealer who knew about proper tire pressure for tires on a trailer. I also thought I could run those big heavy tires on my equipment trailers at those low pressures. After several tread delams caused by using a minimum pressure from a tire chart I learned a expensive lesson about proper tire pressures. And with five trailers with twenty eight tires on the ground it was a expensive lesson.
You can derate a good E tire if you want but its been my experience it didn't work the best in the long term.
