Towmax blown tires

steelpony5555 wrote:
Just got back from checking out new 5er's on the lot and it appears that Forest River is trying to make a change in at least their upper level 5er's. I got a brochure for Silerbacks and it shows that up to 10,500 lbs they still use ST tires but after that they use LT tires. Don't know what they did in the past since I know some companies have always used LT tires, but at least on their heavier trailers they know what to use. They still need to change all their 5ers over to LT's.

The Cardinal club gang has be hammering on them for the last couple years. The Cardinals now get wheels rated to 3750 and have the option of GY G614 LRG tires. What you saw was most likely was LT235/85R16LRG Goodyear G614's. I was involved in this, as I did a write up that the head of the Cardinal Club used in face to face talks with them on tire issues. Building large trailers on 7K axles and derating them on the placard to 6750 or 6800 so they can install Marathons rated to 3420 each has lead us to many of these tire threads.

So instead of running around defending ST tires, some of us are doing real work to change the situation. Many of us have been marching in this direction for a number of years! However we continually bump into a lone trooper marching the opposite direction or trying to block movements, and that has slowed our progress. I challenged the Keystone rep with oversight of tires to take the lead on this last year. Now it looks like Forest River is taking it. Others will hopefully follow.

It all boils down to the fact that they are building bigger and heavier 5th wheels that most of the current ST offering cannot handle with their inflated rating, and they fail within the first year or two.

Smart trailer dealers will opt for optional LRG tires on units they floor hopefully. Smart consumers when ordering a trailer will opt of the LRG tires.

Chris