So i see that tires are purely a preference type purchase, but seeing that i am now in the market for some. The threads have been informative... but...load ratings or Ply counts... 8- 10 -12balancing or notbrand.tire rack has a power king... and firestones, and a bunch others... they all have different reviews.. every tire shop tells you... blah blah, blah...so how do you make sense of it. this is the first time I'm buying trailer tires... Marathons are what are on my rig now..

Maxxiss is the best. Everything else is chinese junk that fails prematurely.

For what it's worth, no problems thus far with the Kumho's, from Tire Rack..... I'm sure that you will get 100 ideas from 100 different form members, though......And the Kumho's are NOT Chinese! (at least the 14" Kumho's). They are Korean, and the get a great rating from most anyone who has tried them!

So i see that tires are purely a preference type purchase, but seeing that i am now in the market for some. The threads have been informative... but... load ratings or Ply counts... 8- 10 -12 balancing or notYes on balancing and yes on getting metal valve stems. brand.I replaced Marathons with Les Schwab's recommendation for Tow Max ST tires in the 15 inch size and so far have been happy. The Marathons started sidewall cracking at about the three year time frame. Lots of tread left but got concerned about sidewall integrity. Lots of folks like the Maxxis. tire rack has a power king... and firestones, and a bunch others... they all have different reviews.. every tire shop tells you... blah blah, blah...I went to Big O tires and they recommended Marathons. Les Schwab likes Tow Max and other like other brands. Who do we listen to? so how do you make sense of it. this is the first time I'm buying trailer tires... Marathons are what are on my rig now.. I would look hard at the Maxxis. Pretty good reviews on this forum from users.

IMHO, Maxxis. Reason - I do not like to change tires on a trailer on shoulder of highway, nor the damage "cheap" "china-will-pops" cause. But, hey, that's just me.

Fire Instructor wrote:For what it's worth, no problems thus far with the Kumho's, from Tire Rack..... I'm sure that you will get 100 ideas from 100 different form members, though......And the Kumho's are NOT Chinese! (at least the 14" Kumho's). They are Korean, and the get a great rating from most anyone who has tried them!JFYI the Kumho 205R14 are primarily made in mainland China but some are made in Viet Nam to…The 185R14 and the 195R14 are made in Korea…

the dreaded tire topic... | Good Sam Community

46 Replies

FastEagle
Explorer
Apr 19, 2014
AmericaOverland wrote:
I have read this whole thread, and I have tried searching others. Maybe I'm not using the right key words... I learned the hard way why you're NOT supposed to use steel-belted radial tires under travel trailers and use bias-ply tires instead. Why is this not mentioned?? I had a blowout the second day of travel from the previous owner's home to the medieval faire where I was at this season (sherwoodforestfaire.com). The whole tread came off, end-to-end, and I found it 10 feet from the right wheel fender of the trailer. It turns out that there were three different tires on there, with DOT dates ranging from 5 to 11 to 14 years old!

Later, the very smart farm mechanic I work with looked up there, and showed me that this had happened before because there was a piece of something that had been screwed onto the bottom of the floor (you could see it on your back under the trailer and find the tell-tale outline of something used to cover the hole) to cover that hole, which meant that this wasn't the first time it happened! We went inside and found the floor shot through, through the PLYWOOD and FOAM! There it was, the biggest piece having the steel-belts sticking out of it.

Now, I have ALL three tires replaced with NEW bias-ply tires (DOT dates are in 2013), Carlisle Sport Trail LH, ST205/75D14, from Discount Tires per the farm mechanic's recommendation. I see each tire is rated for a max of 1750. (the trailer weighs around 2500 dry and probably weighs around 3000 with my stuff plus water) Does this mean that the two tires together support a weight of 3500 lbs together, or is it 1750 lbs for both tires combined? Anyone have experience with these tires?

Almost all tires are designed differently. The ST tire is designed and tested for service on trailer axles ONLY. St tires have larger construction materials allowing them to carry much more weight than any comparable size passenger or light truck tire.

Your trailer should have a federal certification label. It should be posted on the left, forward, external section of the trailer. You may also have a tire placard. Tire size information and the air pressure for them will be on the labeling. Replacement tires are required to be of equal or greater load capacity when compared to the tire information found on the placard/s. Others may disagree but that’s an industry standard. Safety is the issue when deviations are made below what the industry considers safe.

FastEagle
Huntindog
Explorer
Apr 19, 2014
There are many touted differences.

But there are only 4 that are verifiable.
1. Price
2.Govt. testing requirements
3. Speed rating
4. Load rating

The rest is pure marketing, as the industry trys (successfully) to put lipstick on a pig to increase profitability.
gmw_photos
Explorer
Apr 19, 2014
AmericaOverland wrote:
gmw photos wrote:
Each tire is rated for 1750 pounds at the stated inflation pressure on the sidewall.

It does not answer the question as to whether these tires are really way under-rated for this trailer, or if I have the capability of going to 3500 lbs (most I would go is about 3000 lbs gross weight).

And why is the ST tire not a quality one? What is the difference between an ST and an LT tire?

The tires you chose, and for the reasons you chose them, would not have been the way I would have gone. But, you have already got them, so I simply answered the question about the weight capacity of the tires.
Remember too that if your trailer weighs 3000 pounds in total, some of that weight is tongue weight. Let's hypothetically say it's 400 pounds. That means the tires are carrying the remaining 2600 pounds, or approximately 1300 each tire. Assuming the trailer weighs the same left to right, which it may not.
AmericaOverland
Explorer
Apr 19, 2014
gmw photos wrote:
Each tire is rated for 1750 pounds at the stated inflation pressure on the sidewall.

It does not answer the question as to whether these tires are really way under-rated for this trailer, or if I have the capability of going to 3500 lbs (most I would go is about 3000 lbs gross weight).

And why is the ST tire not a quality one? What is the difference between an ST and an LT tire?
Huntindog
Explorer
Apr 19, 2014
AmericaOverland wrote:
I have read this whole thread, and I have tried searching others. Maybe I'm not using the right key words... I learned the hard way why you're NOT supposed to use steel-belted radial tires under travel trailers and use bias-ply tires instead. Why is this not mentioned?? I had a blowout the second day of travel from the previous owner's home to the medieval faire where I was at this season (sherwoodforestfaire.com). The whole tread came off, end-to-end, and I found it 10 feet from the right wheel fender of the trailer. It turns out that there were three different tires on there, with DOT dates ranging from 5 to 11 to 14 years old!

Later, the very smart farm mechanic I work with looked up there, and showed me that this had happened before because there was a piece of something that had been screwed onto the bottom of the floor (you could see it on your back under the trailer and find the tell-tale outline of something used to cover the hole) to cover that hole, which meant that this wasn't the first time it happened! We went inside and found the floor shot through, through the PLYWOOD and FOAM! There it was, the biggest piece having the steel-belts sticking out of it.

Now, I have ALL three tires replaced with NEW bias-ply tires (DOT dates are in 2013), Carlisle Sport Trail LH, ST205/75D14, from Discount Tires per the farm mechanic's recommendation. I see each tire is rated for a max of 1750. (the trailer weighs around 2500 dry and probably weighs around 3000 with my stuff plus water) Does this mean that the two tires together support a weight of 3500 lbs together, or is it 1750 lbs for both tires combined? Anyone have experience with these tires?
Steel belts can mess up a car pretty bad too.
Steel belted radials offer many benefits. So much so that they have pretty much taken over the market.
The key is to use quality tires, check the Air pressure often, and replace then when they age out.
Unfortunantly, a quality ST tire is a rare thing.
gmw_photos
Explorer
Apr 19, 2014
AmericaOverland wrote:
.....snip......
I see each tire is rated for a max of 1750. (the trailer weighs around 2500 dry and probably weighs around 3000 with my stuff plus water) Does this mean that the two tires together support a weight of 3500 lbs together, or is it 1750 lbs for both tires combined? Anyone have experience with these tires?

Each tire is rated for 1750 pounds at the stated inflation pressure on the sidewall.
AmericaOverland
Explorer
Apr 19, 2014
I have read this whole thread, and I have tried searching others. Maybe I'm not using the right key words... I learned the hard way why you're NOT supposed to use steel-belted radial tires under travel trailers and use bias-ply tires instead. Why is this not mentioned?? I had a blowout the second day of travel from the previous owner's home to the medieval faire where I was at this season (sherwoodforestfaire.com). The whole tread came off, end-to-end, and I found it 10 feet from the right wheel fender of the trailer. It turns out that there were three different tires on there, with DOT dates ranging from 5 to 11 to 14 years old!

Later, the very smart farm mechanic I work with looked up there, and showed me that this had happened before because there was a piece of something that had been screwed onto the bottom of the floor (you could see it on your back under the trailer and find the tell-tale outline of something used to cover the hole) to cover that hole, which meant that this wasn't the first time it happened! We went inside and found the floor shot through, through the PLYWOOD and FOAM! There it was, the biggest piece having the steel-belts sticking out of it.

Now, I have ALL three tires replaced with NEW bias-ply tires (DOT dates are in 2013), Carlisle Sport Trail LH, ST205/75D14, from Discount Tires per the farm mechanic's recommendation. I see each tire is rated for a max of 1750. (the trailer weighs around 2500 dry and probably weighs around 3000 with my stuff plus water) Does this mean that the two tires together support a weight of 3500 lbs together, or is it 1750 lbs for both tires combined? Anyone have experience with these tires?
dadmomh
Explorer
Jun 22, 2013
Always hate to see this subject come up...brings out both the best and the worst in folks. I made the mistake of asking on the hybrid side back in Feb when we were in the market for a new set. Got everything from helpful suggestions to "if you don't buy _____, you're just going to kill your family". And no, I'm not kidding. Then I stupidly said the word "budget" and that was quickly followed with "well, if you're just looking for the cheapest thing on the market, just buy anything". Actually, we replaced the tires that had come OEM on our ROO with the same as before....same as OEM....no I'm not going to mention brand. They performed perfectly and no issues. It was our 3rd set and not problem #1. Got us to FL and home safely and within budget....then we got the new TT bug and now we have both new TT and new tires. Have no clue what brand.
bigcitypopo
Explorer II
Jun 22, 2013
welp... no need to buy tires... yet! I'm getting a new rig! I'll find out what tires are on it tuesday... I think they are trailer Kings.. or something... it'll be interesting :)
brulaz
Explorer
Jun 11, 2013
JBarca wrote:

...
When your done, you need to measure from the jack point at the axle seat to the center of the tire. Then calculate the reduction of force out at the wheel. (summat moments about a point) If you need
help with this let me know.
...

Guess it's like a lever with the pivot being opposite tire?
So multiply the force at jack point by (dist between jack point and opposite tire)/(dist between tires)?

Noticed some consistent diff (well, the jack is always higher) between Cat scale and this method. Would you use the Cat scale to calibrate it? Or do you think the Cat scale wrong.

By the way, sorry for veering off from the original topic.

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the dreaded tire topic...

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