ST vs LT tires.

pnichols wrote:
I don't get this whole "ST vesus LT" tire thing.

Plenty of heavy duty one-ton and one-and-a-half-ton trucks use "LT" tires. Why wouldn't a trailer or fifth wheel owner not eventually want LT tires of the proper size and load range on their towable??....

This is part of the problem. There aren't LT tires that will fit the 13", 14" and 15" wheels - at least not directly. Even the 16" are problems as there is little size overlap. Every time someone wants to change from ST tires to LT tires, they have to do some homework.

pnichols wrote:
.....What was the original purpose of "ST" tires anyway?: If it was to specify a heavier duty tire, than maybe pickup owners should put ST tires on their trucks instead of LT tires. If it was to offer a "cheaper" alternative for use on towables, then maybe towable owners should get rid of their ST tires and as soon as possibe put good old truck LT tires on their towables if they want the ultimate in ruggedness and safety.

The reason was to be able to offer trailer manufacturers tires at an affordable price that could be packaged for RV type trailers - and not the heavy duty over the road style trailers used by the trucking industry. The tires had to be small, but carry a lot of weight.

Since trailers have their own unique properties, ST tires are designed such that they don't have the traction or the wear properties that LT tires need. Everyone seems to focus on the load carrying capacity, completely ignoring those other important properties.

And these discussion seem to focus on 16"!! ST235/80R16 vs LT235/80R16.

There is more to ST tires than that single size.