I need new Tires

[DogTrainer]

I blew a tire yesterday coming home from Branson. They were 5 years old and came on the camper when we bought it. Trailer King ST225-R15. THey look so new and great tread but I always assume cheap tires on the campers when you buy them and 3 to 5 years is shelf life.

what do we switch to?

LT Tires and American Made?

[kicker]

I just installed these. https://www.herculestire.com/tire-details/Hercules/H-901%20ST

I probably went over board as my trailer is a Grand Design Reflection 295RL, however, if you have ever traveled I_65, I-57, I-40, I-10, you will know why. Havnt had time yet to weigh the trailer with full tank of water, black tank full, and gray tank, but according to spec sheet, my GVWR IS 10195 #S and my GAWR ( each axle ) is 5100 #s

[JIMNLIN]

The big problem is finding a 15" trailer wheel that up to 110 psi and carry 3500 lbs. Not many 6 lugs and the wheel are up to that tires capability. However some RV folks like to over tire their trailers to the point of derating the tire. Good find.

[Me_Again]

JIMNLIN wrote:
There are no 15" LT tires anymore that can meet a load D at 2540 lbs or a E at 2830 lbs capacity.
My 1997 11400 lb 5th wheel trailer came with the same ST225/75-15 D tires on 5200 lb axles. I sold the wheels and tires on CL to a guy with a lawn service trailer and went to a BFG Commercial T/A LT215/85-16 E at 2680 lbs capacity on 16" steel trailer wheels. Ran two sets for 51k and 55k miles and around 35k on the 3rd set of commercial grade all steel carcass Bridgestone R-250 with no issues. The R-250 have been replaced with the R-238...still the same all steel ply carcass tire that Bridgestone recommends for trailer service.

If you stick with a ST tire be aware with only 8 or 9/32nds of tread depth we don't get 40k-60k miles of service like a LT tire with thicker tread depth. Which most rvers never see more than 15k-20k miles before the tire times out.

The Goodyear Endurance....Carlisle HD ST tires both on the market for 3 years or so have been popular with very few if any complaints. Both are the new gen higher L and M speed rated tires.
I like the Provider ST tires from Taskmaster. They first came on commercial trailers in the '10 era and are one of the first higher speed rated ST tires.
Maxxis has been left behind still rated at 65 mph. With over 30 member reporting issues with them I would stick with a more modern brand ST class tire.

How about this one? ST all steel ply. https://www.amazon.com/Transeagle-Radial-Premium-Trailer-Tire-ST225/dp/B07S7CS6XN

[mtofell1]

15" rims are pretty limited. I got 4.5 years from my stock Karrier D rated. At replacement time I went up to E rated which took me from 2540#/ea to 2830#/ea. Not a huge increase but definitely worthwhile. Goodyear Endurance get great reviews but they are expensive. I went with the best rated "China Bombs" I could find which are Carlisle. Roughly 100/ea installed at America's Tire (I price matched from Walmart to get that price at America's Tire).

[JIMNLIN]

Of course the LT Wrangler HT will be the better tire if your into 40k-60k miles of service. You won't get that kind of mileage with the any tire with only 8/32 of tread depth like the Endurance...if it matters. Most rv trailers (not all) don't see 40k-60k miles of service before time to re tire.

garyp4951 makes a good point on the LT with 3042 lbs vs 3400-3500 for the ST tire. However the LT works great on 5.2k and 6k axles. Those all steel ply commercial grade 16" LT E Bridgestone R-238 are at the top of the LT E heap.

The Providers aren't part of the old load E/D/C ST 65 mph rated china bombs. Be careful ordering the Providers from certain suppliers. Taskmaster makes a low cost 668 ST tire that some websites say their the Providers....which there not. I had Discount Tire order the 2nd set of Providers for a car hauler in ST235/80-16 E. I ran the OEM set 26k-28k miles and 9 years till the tread wear bars were just starting to show.
AS I mentioned in my first reply the Providers are one of the first out on commercial trailers in '10/'11 L speed rated ST tires.

[garyp4951]

GY Endurance is rated at 3420#, GY Wrangler HT is 3042# and an inch taller.

[Thermoguy]

rhagfo wrote:

midnightsadie wrote:
good year endurance have worked good for me.

So far good reviews on the Endurance, we have LT's on our 2005 Copper Canyon, what it came with from the factory. 235/85-16E at 3,042# ea. 12,168# on a GVWR of 12,300#, axle weight is right at 10,000# so tires have capacity.

You would likely need to upgrade to 16" rims to go LT's

I've been contemplating tires as well. Tires on trailer are ST 235 80R 16.

Looked at Goodyear Endurance - ST 235 80R 16 - $161 Each.

Looked at Goodyear Wrangler HT - LT 235 85R 16 - $150 each.

Both are E rated tires. Any recommendations as to which is better? Also consider Maxxis and Taskmasker just due to much lower cost. Taskmaster Providers are $115 each. I'm guessing most would call those China Bombs?

[JIMNLIN]

Terryallan wrote:

JIMNLIN wrote:


Maxxis has been left behind still rated at 65 mph. With over 30 member reporting issues with them I would stick with a more modern brand ST class tire.

Actually not so. My new Maxxis Ds have a 87 MPH speed rating at 65psi.

Maxxis 2020 website still say 65 mph max speed.
Maxxis ST8008 2020 website warranty says warranty is no good if that speed has been exceeded.

If the tire has 87 mph on the sidewall then I would say Maxxis hasn't upgraded their website. It would be to their benefit to advertise that upgrade.

[Terryallan]

JIMNLIN wrote:


Maxxis has been left behind still rated at 65 mph. With over 30 member reporting issues with them I would stick with a more modern brand ST class tire.

Actually not so. My new Maxxis Ds have a 87 MPH speed rating at 65psi.

[JIMNLIN]

If you decide on going to plain steel 16" wheel check out Starlite equipment trailer mfg north of Claremore on US-66. I've bought most of my trailer wheels from them over the years.

[rwess]

There may not be any LT tires that will meet an E load rating of 2830lbs capacity, 10 plies and 80 psi but there is an ST tire that meets those requirements. Goodyear Endurance tires. I have a set of 225 75 15 on my camper. They are almost a year old and have approximately 4500 miles on them. They were 6 weeks old when I had them installed last August. Took a 2300 mile trip to the Keys with them last winter. So far no complaints.

[DogTrainer]

The GY Endurance is 10 ply, same size and 177.00 a tire mounted and balanced.

let me ponder tire rack and some other costs and decide which direction to go.

[DogTrainer]

Thank you so much for the information and I look forward to some new safer tires on the trailer.


I don't want to change the size of the rims...but let me look at what you all recommended and the cost if I did move to 16's.

[JIMNLIN]

There are no 15" LT tires anymore that can meet a load D at 2540 lbs or a E at 2830 lbs capacity.
My 1997 11400 lb 5th wheel trailer came with the same ST225/75-15 D tires on 5200 lb axles. I sold the wheels and tires on CL to a guy with a lawn service trailer and went to a BFG Commercial T/A LT215/85-16 E at 2680 lbs capacity on 16" steel trailer wheels. Ran two sets for 51k and 55k miles and around 35k on the 3rd set of commercial grade all steel carcass Bridgestone R-250 with no issues. The R-250 have been replaced with the R-238...still the same all steel ply carcass tire that Bridgestone recommends for trailer service.

If you stick with a ST tire be aware with only 8 or 9/32nds of tread depth we don't get 40k-60k miles of service like a LT tire with thicker tread depth. Which most rvers never see more than 15k-20k miles before the tire times out.

The Goodyear Endurance....Carlisle HD ST tires both on the market for 3 years or so have been popular with very few if any complaints. Both are the new gen higher L and M speed rated tires.
I like the Provider ST tires from Taskmaster. They first came on commercial trailers in the '10 era and are one of the first higher speed rated ST tires.
Maxxis has been left behind still rated at 65 mph. With over 30 member reporting issues with them I would stick with a more modern brand ST class tire.

[handsome51]

I have used Michelin XP RIbs on my 5th wheel since 2007 and have not had any problems. The chinese tires that came on it only made 7000 miles.
Buy a good tire and go by the date on the side of the tire when it was made. Buy new ones every 5 years by the date on the tire. Unless the tire has a manufacturer defect. You should be good.