Help me understand weights and tire rating.
Picking up a new to me 2014 Open range Roamer 310bhs. The trailer has the factory west lake tires that I will be replacing next spring. I'm confused on the weights. The brochure shows Dry-8945 ...
Forum Discussion
Here are the numbers for my rig.
My 25 ft Dutchmen has a max weight of 7700 lbs (GVWR),that is the heaviest load it is designed to carry. The dry weight is 5000 lbs.
The tires are rated 1850 lbs each, so the four tires have a carrying capacity of 7400 lbs. So the manufacturer anticipates at least 300 lbs to be taken up by tongue weight (4%).
The real world numbers, when I am heavily loaded for an extended trip and drive over the CAT scales are; my TT weighs 6520 lbs. my combined axel weight is 5680 lbs and my tongue weight is 840 lbs (13%). Therefore each tire is seeing 1420 lbs. a 430 lb buffer (23%) of its load capacity. I suspect this is the norm for most TTs on the road.
So the question for you is what makes you feel safe 25%, 50% 200% over the design limits. There is nothing mystical in the numbers.
I found I can get the same size tire in the next higher load range for just a few bucks more. Since my current tires are 6 years old and I have put 15,000 mile on them plus whatever the previous owner added, I will probably opt for them. They run 65 psi but if that is too rough a ride on the TT, I can reduce them to 50 psi and maintain the current load rating.
None of this means anything of I run over a road hazard, which is how all of my flats have occurs in the last 30 years of driving, including the ones on my TT and PUP.
My 25 ft Dutchmen has a max weight of 7700 lbs (GVWR),that is the heaviest load it is designed to carry. The dry weight is 5000 lbs.
The tires are rated 1850 lbs each, so the four tires have a carrying capacity of 7400 lbs. So the manufacturer anticipates at least 300 lbs to be taken up by tongue weight (4%).
The real world numbers, when I am heavily loaded for an extended trip and drive over the CAT scales are; my TT weighs 6520 lbs. my combined axel weight is 5680 lbs and my tongue weight is 840 lbs (13%). Therefore each tire is seeing 1420 lbs. a 430 lb buffer (23%) of its load capacity. I suspect this is the norm for most TTs on the road.
So the question for you is what makes you feel safe 25%, 50% 200% over the design limits. There is nothing mystical in the numbers.
I found I can get the same size tire in the next higher load range for just a few bucks more. Since my current tires are 6 years old and I have put 15,000 mile on them plus whatever the previous owner added, I will probably opt for them. They run 65 psi but if that is too rough a ride on the TT, I can reduce them to 50 psi and maintain the current load rating.
None of this means anything of I run over a road hazard, which is how all of my flats have occurs in the last 30 years of driving, including the ones on my TT and PUP.
