Best Tires for Travel Trailer?

Huntindog wrote:
Here we go again. All caught up in our underwear.
Companies as I have said before are very gun shy about potential legal liabilitys.

As a example. Most all large companies will not say anything about a former employee. Good or bad.
You can have two employees. One a model citizen. Excellent evaluations, never missed work, etc and another that was a employers nightmare. Poor performance, late, misses work etc. Even got fired. for it. The good employee quit to relocate etc. When both of these former employees are looking for their next job....The former employer will give out the SAME info on both of them.
Date of hire. Length of employment.
Right or wrong that is pretty much how it is.

Back to the tire recommendations now.
When someone contacts a tire maker asking questions...They have no idea just who it is. It could be a lawyer looking for a way to get some dirt for a lawsuit.
And since the tire makers don't know just what the reason is, they retreat to their "canned" response. That will be whatever the manufacturer of the TT recommended.
There is simply no way that they will give out a OK trusting the end user will select the proper LT tire for the job.

Now some like JJ seem to think that one needs a official OK in order to use LT tires. And since that is often not forthcoming that we should all just go ahead and use ST tires and COMPLAIN to the proper officials when they fail...Enough complaints and MAYBE the near non existent testing standards will be brought up the the same levels as LT tires.
I for one need good tires now! I don't need anyones blessing to do so.

As I have said before. ST tires are made cheaply for the market demands. Most TTs (whose owners don't even know about this forum) simply don't tow very often or very far. In their minds it is hard to justify paying a premium price for a TT tire. For those people, the ST tire is a good fit.
There are some here that do tow more, and use ST tires and report good results. They constantly spout off about LTs being a unnecessary expense.
But I have a suspicion that their tire needs are not as demanding as mine. My tires live a hard life. My homebase is phoenix AZ. It gets VERY HOT here. ST tires don't like heat.
My tires are often subjected to many miles of rough unpaved roads. STs don't much care for that either. For my own reasons, I want to tow faster than 65 MPH. I move with the flow of traffic. I buy the proper TVs and tires to make it possible and reliable.
My LT tires have given stellar performance under severe use. STs have failed me under easier treatment countless times.

So lets go over the so called ST advantages again..
Extra UV protection in the rubber.
Really? Why then do most ST makers recommend changing ST tires every three years. Most LT tire makers state at least 5 years, and some up to 10 with annual inspections.
No matter. None of my many ST tires lived long enough for the "extra" UV protection to be of any benefit.

Slightly higher weight ratings size for size weight range for weight range. True, but easily overcome by proper LT tire selection.

Made for the stresses imparted on the sidewalls when turning.
Hmmm. My LTs are way more stout in the sidewall. A much heavier tire that does not deform like the STs do when turning tight. The tread slips instead. They leave a much darker tire mark in my driveway.. No matter, I don't need all the tread depth anyways, of which LTs usually have more of.

STs have a shallower tread depth for cooler running.... Really? Or is it because it is cheaper to make? A shallower tread is also more likely to be punctured.

Less likely to sway... No way ST tires sidewalls are much thinner and weaker than LTs.

I for one just don't see any advantages, other than tire makers recommending them.. And why would they be biased...After all they make their money by selling tires. The more they sell, the more they make. :B