5th wheel tire review

[gusco01]

I have been reading on this and other rv forums about replacement 5th wheel tires. I do not want to ever have ST tires again. The size I use is LT235-85-16 E Rated. I found information about the Bridgestone R500HD. I had 5 installed, my weight on the axles is correct for these tires. I had rig weighted when I was going on a trip with all loaded. These are commercial rated tires for work vehicles. Good tread for a trailer tire. I removed the Carlisle tires the trailer came with. Mostly because of there bad failure rate. I have spent too many times on side of interstate changing tires. Yes I have tire pressure monitor system. Anyway I think these tires are worth considering for 5th wheel use. They are poly cord sidewall with steel belts. Reports of them lasting over 100,000 miles. I'm sure they will rot out before I ever were out the tread. I could not find out where they were made before i bought. On side of tire it says made in Japan. The date code was 1120. So the tires are about 1 year old before installed. Dont like that, time will tell. I only have 150 miles on them now. My trailer weight I did not need the all steel that the heavier 5th wheels need. I hope this helped someone looking at 5th wheel tires.

[Cummins12V98]

philh wrote:
I pulled the China bombs off my TT after 2 years and 5,000 miles. Dealer said it's a good thing I did, the valve stems were badly cracked. GY Endurance seem to ride better.

Good call on the ENDURANCE Tires!

They have been on the market now for four years, several said 3 years was not enough time to be a proven tire. Wonder what they say now as I have not seen one non road hazard reported.

[philh]

I pulled the China bombs off my TT after 2 years and 5,000 miles. Dealer said it's a good thing I did, the valve stems were badly cracked. GY Endurance seem to ride better.

[Endricken]

I've got Michelin XPS Ribs on my front axle and Bridgestone Duravis R250's on the rear axle.
Heaviest tires I could find in the 235 size.
So far so good except for a nail in a XPS Rib (thanks expensive Illinois Tollway Tollbooth entry ramp) and losing a WHEEL with tire on a freeway in AL (just the spindle and some brake parts left!)!
My experiment in durability continues....

[gusco01]

Follow up, just returned from Phoenix AZ put about 850 miles on new bridgestone r500 hd tires. (LT235-85-R16)They rode great I could not tell any differance or ruffness. It gave me great peace of mind not thinking about the Carlisle ST tires blowing out. I sold the Carlisle tires just about paid for my new spare tire. So far Im happy I bought the bridgestone.

[jyenter]

Replaced my R250 because they were 8 years old. R250 no longer available but Bridgestone replace them with R238, all steel body ply as the R250 was.

[machunt]

I installed the r 250 bridgestone back in 2013 on my 5ver and have been nothing but stellar. I know some will say they have exceeded there life span but they still look very good. if i replace it would have to be r 500,s not sure they make r 250 anymore. i hate to spend 240.00 if i sell my unit in a couple years. other choices lt 245 75 r 16

[alexleblanc]

I've had some Bridgestone Duravis R500HD's o mine in LT215/85R16 since the summer of 2018, they've covered approx. 38000km's to date and still look pretty much like new. They haven't shown any signs of drying out, no cracks and up to date i couldn't be any happier with them.

[Cummins12V98]

I had the "E" GY Wranglers n my Avion Platinum. I was running on the edge so I upped to GY "G" and ran at 85psi with perfect tread wear for thousands of miles.

[fj12ryder]

Yeah, quite a few places have the Sailun for around $160, including Amazon. Walmart was showing about $163. $141 sounds good for the Goodyear Wrangler, though.

[Thermoguy]

I paid $141 each for Goodyear Wrangler HT. Seemed like a good price at the time. I don't recall seeing Sailun for $162 even from Walmart. I do recall the Wranglers were less than the Endurance but close in price.

[fj12ryder]

Actually price doesn't even enter into it. The LT E-rated tires cost more than the G-rated ST tires. The Bridgestone from SimpleTire is over $192, and the Sailun, same size, G-rated ST tire is $162.

That's probably why I'll stick to the Sailun, superior performance, low cost, and low maintenance.

[Thermoguy]

I did a similar amount of research before buying tires for my 5th wheel this past year. Based on the weight of my trailer the LT-E tire made more sense than the ST-E tire. I don't need a G rated tire so no reason to spend the extra money. Tires wear out over time before they wear out, so the G doesn't do anything for you unless you need the weight rating. Most dealers want to sell you an ST tire for a trailer, but when you get to talking to them and discussing the differences between an ST and LT tire, the LT tire wins every time. A tire that is designed for a truck has to go through a much more rigorous design and build process, so it is built better. An ST tire is for going straight and they claim stiffer sidewalls, but take a couple tires that are not mounted, the LT tire is much stiffer. Think about the stress of taking a truck off road, a stronger tire is necessary. I went with a Goodyear Wrangler which is the same tire I have on my horse trailer which weighs 8K LBS, not as much as the 5th wheel, but both within the load limits. For reference, my horse trailer tires are 5 years old, the last set went 10 before replacing. I won't wait that long, probably change this year, but I can sell the old tires to someone with a ford truck as the tire size is the same. Can't do that with an ST tire.

[Cummins12V98]

DogTrainer wrote:
Good Year Endurance

Stellar performance.

[Cummins12V98]

fj12ryder wrote:
Yeah, but with less than 3,000 lbs. on a tire, a tire with a load rating of over 4,000 lbs. is not needed, and, in fact, may give a much rougher ride. More is not always better.

In fact when I get new tires I may go to LT E-rated tires. I have 12,000 lbs. on 6 tires, and have weighed all tires, and my heaviest load is 2,500 lbs. on two tires. Tell me why I need G-rated tires on my toyhauler.

Quality tires there is no need to up Load range unless you are on the edge.

[DogTrainer]

Good Year Endurance