Best Tires for Travel Trailer?

CapriRacer
To be clear :
Is a tire with an 99 mph speed rating better or worse than a tire with a 65 mph speed rating if all other factors are the same , such as the load rating posted on the sidewall in pounds ?

Lowsuv wrote:
Speaking as a "car guy " that regularly attends Porsche Club Of America tire tech sessions I can say that it is a simple basic truth that the tire speed rating is an indicator of tire quality and safety .
That may not be common knowledge to those that are not motorheads .
To take the position that a 65 mph rated tire is as safe as a 106 mph rated tire means that the buyer is ignoring the information readily available on the sidewall and the manufacturer's specs .
Regarding 14 inch tires the choice is fairly clear for me .
The Tire Rack has the specs and load ratings for many tires .
The Kumho 857 in a 205 R 14 C has a load rating of 2271 pounds . This is about 10 % higher than other tires in a 14 inch diameter . That particular tire is also a Q speed rating which is 99 mph .

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Kumho&tireModel=Radial+857&sidewall=Blackwall&partnum=0R4857&tab=Specs

You've got to be very careful here.

In apples to apples comparisons, speed rating is an indicator of DESIGN quality. It is NOT an indicator of the manufacturing quality (or put another way, even high speed rated tires can have defects.)

Further, the problem confronting travel trailers is that the formulas used to calculate the loads have a speed component built in.

So when we talk about ST tires with their built in speed limitation, substituting LT tires (on a direct same size basis) results in differences in load rating - and those are the result of the difference in max speed.

One of the major problems in this discussion is the comparison of first and second tier LT tires with third tier manufacturers of ST tires (or ST tires built on third tier equipment). This completely confounds the analysis of what is going on - and it is entirely unclear when people talk about ST tires whether they are referring to the way the tire standards are written and the way the tires are tested or the way they are designed and manufactured.

Lowsuv wrote:
Speaking as a "car guy " that regularly attends Porsche Club Of America tire tech sessions I can say that it is a simple basic truth that the tire speed rating is an indicator of tire quality and safety .
That may not be common knowledge to those that are not motorheads .
To take the position that a 65 mph rated tire is as safe as a 106 mph rated tire means that the buyer is ignoring the information readily available on the sidewall and the manufacturer's specs .
Regarding 14 inch tires the choice is fairly clear for me .
The Tire Rack has the specs and load ratings for many tires .
The Kumho 857 in a 205 R 14 C has a load rating of 2271 pounds . This is about 10 % higher than other tires in a 14 inch diameter . That particular tire is also a Q speed rating which is 99 mph .

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Kumho&tireModel=Radial+857&sidewall=Blackwall&partnum=0R4857&tab=Specs

And for a little further info on the Kumho 857, this is what I did on my trailer. The factory had fit 205/75-14, load range C ( 1760 lbs @ 50 psi ).
In my case, I "just" had room above the tire at full suspension bump with that size, so I could not go to any tire that was larger in diameter.
My choice was the Kumho in 185-14 ( which is an 82 series section height ). This tire is just slightly smaller in diameter ( two tenths of an inch ) than the 205/75, and puts approx 9mm less tread width on the pavement. It is a load range D (1874 lbs @ 65psi ), so I increased my load capacity by 114 pounds per tire ( 456 lbs total increase ) and I have a tire that is speed rated to 99mph.
Win, win situation in my opinion.

Many of the smaller trailers come with this 205/75-14 size as OE from the factory.

Speaking as a "car guy " that regularly attends Porsche Club Of America tire tech sessions I can say that it is a simple basic truth that the tire speed rating is an indicator of tire quality and safety .
That may not be common knowledge to those that are not motorheads .
To take the position that a 65 mph rated tire is as safe as a 106 mph rated tire means that the buyer is ignoring the information readily available on the sidewall and the manufacturer's specs .
Regarding 14 inch tires the choice is fairly clear for me .
The Tire Rack has the specs and load ratings for many tires .
The Kumho 857 in a 205 R 14 C has a load rating of 2271 pounds . This is about 10 % higher than other tires in a 14 inch diameter . That particular tire is also a Q speed rating which is 99 mph .

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Kumho&tireModel=Radial+857&sidewall=Blackwall&partnum=0R4857&tab=Specs

Francesca Knowles wrote:


....snip....to the relevant part.....

-The "speed rating" attached to LT's is 75 mph, and the vast majority adhere to that minimum, some mud/snow tires representing the majority of the exceptions.

.....snip some more not relevant to my reply ...

Well, that is just not an accurate statement. If a LT tire is of the "heavy duty light truck tire" category, which many ( if not most, in the sizes we would typically be using on a camper trailer ) are, then they are typically Q rated ( 99 mph )

352 wrote:
Of the 52 replies I can't believe that no one has addressed Greenball tires like I did. Probably the best or one of the best on the market.

I see the GB Tow-Master has an L speed rating. Worth looking into.

For those that claim you should not use a LT tire on a trailer, this little tidbit pulled from the tire rack dot com website might be interesting to look at:

"Also consider that Special Trailer (ST), as well as Light Truck (LT) tires are fully rated for trailer applications. This means ST- and LT-sized tires can carry the full weight rating branded on the sidewalls when used on a trailer.

However when P-metric or Euro-metric tires are used on a trailer, the load capacity branded on the sidewalls must be reduced by 9%. This means P-metric or Euro-metric tires with a maximum branded load rating of 1,874 lbs. for use on a car is only rated to carry 1,705 lbs. when used on a trailer."

I think the point is that speed rating is not analogous to quality. If I put a 200 mph speed rated tire on my truck does not mean I am safer than if I had a 100 mph rated tire.

Actually, the speed rating is a pretty good indication of possibly one of the most important aspects of tire performance, and that is, the ability of the tire to dissipate heat. In order for a tire to achieve a higher speed rating it must be able to effectively get rid of heat buildup due to normal flexing of the tire.
As we will certainly agree here, heat is likely the number one cause of failure of a tire in loaded use.

So yes, a higher speed rating is very likely a good indication a tire is of a higher quality. The tire designer knows he must deign and build a tire to withstand the loaded cycle time in the speed test, so it's good bet that the higher speed rated LT tire is "of better quality" than a tire that is only speed rated to 65 mph.

Personally, I would not run any ST tire, no matter where it's made. The 65 mph limit and recommended three year replacement cycle is just a bogus way for them to push a cheap tire onto the buying public.

Personally, I would not run any tire made in china, ST, P or LT. They have a long and sordid reputation for low quality products.

To run a china made ST tire, is a double whammy the way I see it.....so, no thanks.

To those proponents of cheap china ST tires, go right ahead and buy whatever you like, makes no difference to me. But to try to come on a open forum and defend an inferior designed product from a place that has a reputation for producing poor products....well, that is likely going to be a pretty tough sell to those readers who take the time to do even a little bit of research.

Good luck and safe towing to you all. Choose your purchases wisely. Choose who you get information from wisely, as well.

352 wrote:
Of the 52 replies I can't believe that no one has addressed Greenball tires like I did. Probably the best or one of the best on the market.

I had the 14" Greenballs (Transmaster ST) on my first trailer. I ran them three years w/o issues. I traded the trailer on my present one.

Of the 52 replies I can't believe that no one has addressed Greenball tires like I did. Probably the best or one of the best on the market.