new to towing.... buying 4 tires...
I kind of read a bunch of old posts, but I am still a bit confused. I see that I want the E rating. I want like 100 mph continuous speed, etc. Load like +3000 lbs.. What I am confused about is...
Forum Discussion
Hi,
Are you talking about the tow vehicle, and what vehicle, or the trailer, as they use different tire treads.
The towing truck might want a aggressive tread to get more traction in the snow or on sand. Yet those things are not desirable at all for a trailer tire. It will offer a bumpy ride and less stability overall.
I found out first hand that you do not want polyester sidewalls on a class A motorhome, because when I installed them, the back end would 'wiggle' side to side while towing our small Honda CRV down a hill. I had to change back to the steel sidewall tires like the Michelin "RIB" tire.
As for the trailer, why do you 'need' 3000 pound weight rating? If your trailer has 5,000 pound rated axles, and is only 11,000 pounds or less overall weight, then tires rated at 2,600 pounds will work great. Only if you have a larger trailer would you also need heavier tires. Of course a truck that came with 3,000 pound rated tires would get replacements with about the same rating. Some of the travel trailer weight is on the hitch, and 20% of a fifth wheel weight is on it's pin, so the tires do not normally have as much weight capacity as the trailer GVWR is.
High speed car rated tires are a whole different tire, rated and designed totally different than a truck tire. While sidewall stiffness is desirable in a truck tire, it is not desired as much in a car tire, where the ability to absorb bumps and not transmit vibration from the road is important. Car tires also have a softer compound, where they will stick to the road better while cornering, and give more traction while speeding up and stopping. This will accelerate the treadwear on the tires, something not desirable in a truck or trailer tire. And car tires are designed to run at 1,000 RPM - 100 MPH+ while truck tires are not designed to go over about 800 RPM. At 600 RPM, a 3' tall truck tire will be going well over 75 MPH, and that is their normal design limit.
So what kind of vehicle do you need the tires for? What is the GVWR of that truck, trailer or whatever?
Fred.
Are you talking about the tow vehicle, and what vehicle, or the trailer, as they use different tire treads.
The towing truck might want a aggressive tread to get more traction in the snow or on sand. Yet those things are not desirable at all for a trailer tire. It will offer a bumpy ride and less stability overall.
I found out first hand that you do not want polyester sidewalls on a class A motorhome, because when I installed them, the back end would 'wiggle' side to side while towing our small Honda CRV down a hill. I had to change back to the steel sidewall tires like the Michelin "RIB" tire.
As for the trailer, why do you 'need' 3000 pound weight rating? If your trailer has 5,000 pound rated axles, and is only 11,000 pounds or less overall weight, then tires rated at 2,600 pounds will work great. Only if you have a larger trailer would you also need heavier tires. Of course a truck that came with 3,000 pound rated tires would get replacements with about the same rating. Some of the travel trailer weight is on the hitch, and 20% of a fifth wheel weight is on it's pin, so the tires do not normally have as much weight capacity as the trailer GVWR is.
High speed car rated tires are a whole different tire, rated and designed totally different than a truck tire. While sidewall stiffness is desirable in a truck tire, it is not desired as much in a car tire, where the ability to absorb bumps and not transmit vibration from the road is important. Car tires also have a softer compound, where they will stick to the road better while cornering, and give more traction while speeding up and stopping. This will accelerate the treadwear on the tires, something not desirable in a truck or trailer tire. And car tires are designed to run at 1,000 RPM - 100 MPH+ while truck tires are not designed to go over about 800 RPM. At 600 RPM, a 3' tall truck tire will be going well over 75 MPH, and that is their normal design limit.
So what kind of vehicle do you need the tires for? What is the GVWR of that truck, trailer or whatever?
Fred.
