Tires

There is no rhyme or reason to TT tires. Some are junk, some last forever regardless of brand or cost or place of manufacturer.

My set lasted 7 years, I put 15,000 miles on them plus whatever the previous owner had on them. They were Chinese and had enough tread left, I kept them for farm trailer use.

I keep them inflated to 50 lbs. and we do not get much sun damage in Indiana.

FrankShore wrote:
You can't and should never use passenger car tires on your RV!

Try some Maxxis tires like suggested and don't worry about filling them with anything than plain old air.

From all that I can gather, when using a P metric tire for a trailer application, the user must decrease the "load capacity" as stated on the tire sidewall, by 10%. If you can still support the load the trailer will place on that tire in that position, and still have a reasonable reserve factor, then using the P metric is within the guidelines.

Me personally for instance on my lightweight ( 4000 pounds total ) camper, with tandem axles, I could use P tires and still have a LOT of reserve weight capacity. I would personally choose them before I would use any ST tire.

As it turns out, in my size, there are several "commercial van/light truck" tires available, in load range D, so that has become my choice .

FrankShore wrote:
You can't and should never use passenger car tires on your RV!

Try some Maxxis tires like suggested and don't worry about filling them with anything than plain old air.

Sir, please post where you acquired this information.

I had a toy hauler that blew tires all the time. The tires were st 225 /75-15E Carlisle. Junk. I blew 8 tires I added a lift to the trailer and Put LT 235/85-16E with a higher load rating. No problems after that. The factory tires were marginally when empty. Weight it your self. Get the right weight rated tire for the load and stay away from foreign tires.

Do the tires go flat when just sitting in storage? If so, you have small leaks around the rim or at the valve stem. Soapy water in a spray bottle will uncover this type of leak.
Aluminum alloy wheels will also leak a bit of air over time but it is rare to have one go all the way flat.

kennyd63 wrote:
Is it necessary to only by tires for T.T. Why can't I not buy regular tires for my T.T? Reason I am asking is that its seams that I am getting flat tires too often, 2 in one year. is that normal? This tires are fill with nitro air which I fill they are full of it. you get my drift.

Thank you in advance..

You did not say what size tires you have? The tires that come on rv's are the cheapest they can find. If they are 14 or 15 inch your best bet is ST tires. A lot of people have had good luck with Maxxis tires. Car tires will not carry the weight. If you can find a LT tire with the proper weight rating they will work as well.

depending on how much room you have in the wheelwells and between the tires - you may be able to look at 225/70R15 - for what its worth a lot of the airstream guys run P metric Michelin LTX M/S tires on their rigs. Worth looking into.

What is flattening your tires? Nails, screws, or what?

I have good luck running E rated tires. I've had tires delaminate over the years and several trailers, but no flats or blowouts.

There's more info on this and other forums about tires than you can read in a day; just search on "tires" and you'll be overwhelmed. Briefly stated, some heavier FWs are coming from the factory now with LT tires. But, unless you have 15 or 16" wheels now, you may not find an LT tire in your size, or you may not have space to go to a larger wheel and tire. The alternative is to get the best ST tires, which most people believe are Maxxis. OTOH, they too can blowout. Treat your ST tires well: don't hit curbs, keep them at max PSI all the time, don't bother with nitrogen (sales gimmick), don't go more than the speed rating (usually 65mph) and expect they may not last more than three years.

No to anything other than the original ST tires or LT tires along with appropriate rims. You might want to go up one load rating (LRC to LRD) and use better quality tires.

Most travel trailers come with ST trailer tires and it is critical to stay under 65mph and to keep them inflated to the correct psi at all times. Ignoring either causes overheating of the internal tire structure, irreversible damage and will result in tire failure. Avoid potholes. Stay off shoulders where you could pick up something that will cause a puncture. What is the weight of your TT versus the total tire load rating? You want a 20 percent or more safety margin but some manufacturers load them up close to their rating. The weight can vary from side to side too which can unknowingly overload tires on one side.

Are you having punctures, "blowouts" or tread separation? In the occasional case, the axles can be bent (owner caused) or misaligned (factory caused) causing uneven tire wear and eventual failure.

Many RV owners use a TPMS to monitor tire pressure in their RV. Some (like me) check tire pressure on each leg of a trip before heading off. We have made in China Goodyear Marathon load range "D" tires with 10,000+ miles on them over 2 season with no problems - factory normally installs ChinaMaster LRC tires.

Lots of excellent reading on this blog by a former tire engineer.