Forum Discussion

carpetguy2's avatar
carpetguy2
Explorer
Apr 19, 2015

A concern about tires..

I have to get new tires.Dont have rims to get G rated tires.So read hundreds of tire threads about going to LT tires.
My concern is how well will they do on sharp turning and flexing.
I have to make sharp turns my big fifthwheel to get in and out of my driveway and subdivision.
I Can see my tires before flexing AlOT.:R
  • I looked at sailun tires but I looked at my rims and they were rated at 3200 lbs.So I have 6k axles.
    Was told that my rims will not hold 110 pi.
    I had. Blow out last year with trail master.So l need to get new tires soon.Had only one tire shop in town where I had a blow out and of course he said these transporter ST radials are good.but never heard of them
    Sell these and find a good set of tires
  • I have tried all sort of LT tires on our fiver, which know has over 130,000 road miles on the axles. Eight years ago I discovered the Michelin XPX rib tire. It is the best trouble free tire we have ever had. I am now on my second set of XPS ribbed tires. I wouldn't even consider anything else.

    The worst tires we used were ST tires. We never made trip with the Goodyear Marathon ST tires that we didn't have at least one tire failure.
  • Actually the LT tire or a all position tire will better withstand ply shear stress's long term (side scrubbing around corners/backing/twisting/etc) than any brand of ST tire.

    LT tires is nothing new for trailer use , just lots of new folks to trailering. We used light truck tires on our heavier trailers before the tire industry ever gave us the infamous ST tire.

    Your '10 Sandpiper may have 6.8k-7k axles and requires a tire with a minimum of 3500 lbs capacity. Sandpipers web shows the new models starting at 15500 GVWR and up.

    This means a Sailun S637 235/85-16 G or the Goodyear G614 in a LT235/85-16 G at 3750 lbs and 110 psi is gonna' be your best option.
    Both tires are a commercial grade all steel ply carcass. Both are recommended for regional trailer service industry and work great on a RV trailer.

    All tires and wheels on our RV trailers have close spaced tires in the center of a long heavy box. Flexing is normal and is the main reason tire experts and experienced tire mfg recommend max sidewall pressures on this type of trailer.

    Some may recommend a XPS Rib or a R250 LT E at 3042 lbs. These tires don't have enough capacity for 7k axles.
    T
  • FWIW, Most of my knowledge is with MH's, but I've jumped ship to the 5'ver side of things. I own two, a smaller 28ft with a slide, and an older triple slide that I leave south which takes the blunt of the salt air where we winter.

    Now that older one came with Michelin LT tires that has a slight amount of cracking (I only pull it 50 miles a season from storage.) Point of my story is if you could see how wide those cracks get when those tire flex (even just a little turn, without skidding into a spot)you might not buy everything you hear on this forum about the greatness of LT sidewalls.

    Now I just put new tires on my smaller traveling 5'ver. I went with my mechanics advice of ST's and his comment that he hasn't had any problems with them. Small town so word would get out fast. Time will tell how they hold up.
  • I would venture a guess that your front tires on the truck may have seen more lateral loading than the ones on your 5'er. Yes, there's tire scrubbing but a good tire doesn't mind a bit of that.
  • As long as you have a tire equal to or greater than your axle rating LT tires are a great option. My fiver came factory equipped with LT tires, and when replacement time came, it was a no brainer. Low speed jack knife manuvers can be tough on any type of tire. But unless you actually roll a tire off the rim I see no worries.

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