Went to the Tampa RV show yesterday to check out the 338 TT like the one we have now. Boy what a difference 4 years makes, a lot of new features and other things changed to make them better.The one change are the tires, now they are Good year RV Tires E series and are made in the USA. So long to Chinese tires. The head of the Jayco representation (not a sales guy) explain how they were part of the design of a tire that is made for us! The side walls are heavy to help in bruising on curbs etc. The tire itself is designed to straight pulling, so the belts and tread are different. The tire is also speed rated for 85MPH not that I would ever drive that fast but does show a far better grip on the reality of the tires.We travel a lot and put 10,000 miles on our trailer some years, so time to buy a new one. Oh I am adding the leveling system as I am getting frigg'n old.

He's full of it. The GY Endurance has been around for a while now (with good results) and is standard equipment on many new trailers, including mine.It certainly wasn't designed just for Jayco - if that's what he was saying.

I’m different. The older I get the less I care if the TT is level.

Scott, by "made for us," I think the OP meant "all of us trailer folks", not just Jayco. And the Endurance has been around for almost a year -- I have ten thousand miles on mine, and so far, so good. Time will tell whether these new tires age well.

You are right, time will tell.So far my local tire store has sold 24. Not one complaint so far.

Changed out the Trailer Kings for the Goodyear Endurance and they make a world of difference. Happy customer here.

new goodyear tires designed for RV's | Good Sam Community

tomman58
Explorer
Jan 23, 2018
gmw photos wrote:
babock wrote:
I just replaced the 14" tires on my new TT with Maxxis. After all the beta testers prove the Endurance tires have good quality, I will buy them next.

I did step up in size from 205 to 215.

Good plan in theory, but sadly, most of the guys that are buying them to do the beta testing for you likely won't do many miles. We see this all the time here. Someone will say, "I've done a whole 8000 miles and they are great". If those same guys had a car tire failure in 8000 miles they'd scream bloddy murder.
Let's face it, most travel trailers are owned by working stiffs that only get to go out a few weekends a year, and maybe one long trip. Then it gets parked again. Not exactly good long-term testing.

I will be picking up my new Jayco 338RETS in April. I will have many thousands of miles on it by this time next fall. I'll let you know about the differences. I tow a lot in the past 9 years I've towed for 190,000 miles with one blow out and new tires every 4 years on my TT.
gmw_photos
Explorer
Jan 23, 2018
babock wrote:
I just replaced the 14" tires on my new TT with Maxxis. After all the beta testers prove the Endurance tires have good quality, I will buy them next.

I did step up in size from 205 to 215.

Good plan in theory, but sadly, most of the guys that are buying them to do the beta testing for you likely won't do many miles. We see this all the time here. Someone will say, "I've done a whole 8000 miles and they are great". If those same guys had a car tire failure in 8000 miles they'd scream bloddy murder.
Let's face it, most travel trailers are owned by working stiffs that only get to go out a few weekends a year, and maybe one long trip. Then it gets parked again. Not exactly good long-term testing.
babock
Explorer
Jan 23, 2018
I just replaced the 14" tires on my new TT with Maxxis. After all the beta testers prove the Endurance tires have good quality, I will buy them next.

I did step up in size from 205 to 215.
Huntindog
Explorer
Jan 22, 2018
ktmrfs wrote:
Toolguy5 wrote:
BurbMan wrote:
ScottG, he meant "us" as in trailer towers, not "us" as in Jayco. He said Jayco was on the industry design team that helped spec the tire with GY.

Yikes, just looked them up and $175 EACH?!?! I paid $500 out the door for the whole set of my current LT's.

Michelin Rib LT's run around $225 each. I put them on my 5er 2 years ago including spare. So $175 each for Endurance is not so bad.

I paid $480 for a set of 4 endurance 225/75-15 LRE including the america's tire replacement program last July. The maxxis were noticeably more expensive.

yes, LT's would be nice but I can't get 15" LT's with a high enough load rating.
16s are the sweet spot for LTs. Most TTs have too small a tire from the factory IMO.
The TT I first put LTs on started it's life with 205/14 LRC ST tires. After several tire size LRE increases, and rim sizes, I finally got to the solution. Michelin 16" LT XPS RIBs.

If you really want to go to LTs, it is likely possible to put 16"
LTs on your TT. If I could do it on that old TT of mine, you probably can too.
It isn't cheap. But my TT tires are now every bit as reliable as my TV tires. No need to baby them, checking on them constantly for signs of trouble.
ktmrfs
Explorer II
Jan 22, 2018
Toolguy5 wrote:
BurbMan wrote:
ScottG, he meant "us" as in trailer towers, not "us" as in Jayco. He said Jayco was on the industry design team that helped spec the tire with GY.

Yikes, just looked them up and $175 EACH?!?! I paid $500 out the door for the whole set of my current LT's.

Michelin Rib LT's run around $225 each. I put them on my 5er 2 years ago including spare. So $175 each for Endurance is not so bad.

I paid $480 for a set of 4 endurance 225/75-15 LRE including the america's tire replacement program last July. The maxxis were noticeably more expensive.

yes, LT's would be nice but I can't get 15" LT's with a high enough load rating.
profdant139
Explorer II
Jan 22, 2018
For those of us who say that either ST or LT tires are the "only" solution, bear in mind that Airstream puts ST on some of its high-end units and LT on others. My guess is that they know that either one will do the job, assuming that the selection is matched to the expected load.
Huntindog
Explorer
Jan 22, 2018
SoundGuy wrote:
Huntindog wrote:
Regardless, I will never run them. The ST tire makers lied to me about the tires they have produced in the past. I was a one time believer in their hype. That was proven wrong. Many thousands of dollars later, I discovered the truth. These same tire makers do not deserve any more of my money.

No doubt Goodyear is shaking in it's boots. :R

Your loss, not theirs. :W
No loss for me. That stopped 12 years ago.
And... I am not the only one.

It takes far more money to convince a customer you disappointed to try your product again, than it costs to keep them happy in the first place.
SoundGuy
Explorer
Jan 22, 2018
gmw photos wrote:
While talking to my GY shop owner we talked about the Endurance. He said they are selling quite a few of them, and so far so good. Then he paused and said, "it's still just a ST though...."

Imagine that, a quality tire designed specifically for trailer use ... what in the world was Goodyear thinking? :W
BurbMan
Explorer II
Jan 22, 2018
Toolguy5 wrote:
BurbMan wrote:
ScottG, he meant "us" as in trailer towers, not "us" as in Jayco. He said Jayco was on the industry design team that helped spec the tire with GY.

Yikes, just looked them up and $175 EACH?!?! I paid $500 out the door for the whole set of my current LT's.

Michelin Rib LT's run around $225 each. I put them on my 5er 2 years ago including spare. So $175 each for Endurance is not so bad.

I think I have Commander LT's or similar, I'll have to go check later...
gmw_photos
Explorer
Jan 22, 2018
For a long time, proponents of "ST" tires have cried for a higher quality ST tire. I have said all along they "could" build a better ST tire.....and what they would end up with is a "LT" tire. So what was the point ? Now we have a "higher priced ST tire". Choose it if you like.

I switched to LT's years ago. I use 16" LT's ( Firestone Transforce right now ) on both my bigger trailers. 14,500 gross weight. 4 horse slant GN, and 24' GN equipment trailer.

To those who think a LT "can't take the side loading of tight turns, I once again make my statement that some of these folks need to push away from being internet keyboard cowboys, and come out to the real world (oh boy, now I'm gonna be labled a hater and a smart-azz ). I spin these heavy trailers around in tight spots as needed.....where I go with the horses in this trailer, I don't have the luxury of choosing where to turn around often.
Same with the equipment trailer. When the bobcat is on there, I need to take where it needs to go, not where I desire to have an easy turn around spot. The LT's have worked without fail.

On my newest small 2 horse trailer, it has 15", so I fit GY Wrangler HT in LT size.
While talking to my GY shop owner we talked about the Endurance. He said they are selling quite a few of them, and so far so good. Then he paused and said, "it's still just a ST though...."
So you can take that comment however you like. He's made a lot of money selling and replacing the Marathons over the years. Time will tell on the Endurance.

I have LT's under this travel trailer I'm sitting in right now as I winter in Arizona. 40K miles and five years.

Best of luck and safe travels to all of you no matter what you choose. I've made my choice based on my real world experience.