LT tires

[mamasmax]

A question for you folks who have, or are going to, switch to LT tires on your fiver. Are there certain characteristics that make one tire more desirable than another or will any LT tire be fine? My fiver maxes out at 12,000 lbs. loaded so I don't need load range G tires. For that matter, does it even make sense to make that change and instead go with a top of the line trailer tire instead?

[SabreCanuck]

Me Again wrote:


People here have reported multiple failures and switched to LT tires and the failures stopped.

Chris

Yes, I get that.. What I'm saying is that people run their ST tires OVER their limits and then blame the tire. They are designed for <65 mph and certain load. Going over that will probably blow the tire. Replacing the tire with an LT that will run 80 mph fixes that person's problem.

But the PROBLEM was not the tire.

[Me_Again]

justme wrote:
I see a lot of discussion no tires and disk brake conversions. But what about dual tires like trailers use to have. Why not convert to dual tires, if one is paranoid about tire blow outs?

The frames would have to be designed differently to run dual wheels.

There are much cheaper solutions for 5200-6K axles in LT235/85R16E(3042) tires and for 7K axles LT235/85R16G(3750) tires. There is also 215/75R17.5H(4805) rated tire for really heavy rigs.

In my book anyone that tries to run a poly carcass tire on a heavy/tall 5th wheel is just asking for problems, if they are going to see America with their rig and tow for hours on end day after day.

If one is going to go to the lake 10 miles away, then have at it with cheap tires.

Of course this issue repeats it's self year after year. Some manufacturers start installing LRG tires OEM, and then revert back to LRE ST's. That was what was on Montana's and we recently looked at! LRE ST tires.

Chris

[justme]

I see a lot of discussion no tires and disk brake conversions. But what about dual tires like trailers use to have. Why not convert to dual tires, if one is paranoid about tire blow outs?

[Me_Again]

SabreCanuck wrote:

RustyJC wrote:

mountainsam wrote:
Are there any professional tire installers in the discussion. I would love to see what they have to say.

Wouldn't that be like asking advice on an RV from an RV salesman or advice on a truck from a truck salesman? Personally, I'd put a lot more stock in the experience of those who USE the tires, not those who SELL them.

JM2CW...

Rusty

Arguably, there are hundreds of thousands of trailer owners out there that are running ST tires and have never had a blowout. So, out of those hundreds of thousands of ST tire owners, most would say "no issues" if you actually got a hold of them to ask.

I guess, like RustyJC, I would be interested to hear from the ENGINEERS as to what the difference is instead of the users who assume all blowouts are the tires problem, replace with different tire and then don't have another blowout... They typically assume it had to be the tire issue and not potentially something else.

Getting a beefier tire could very well be disguising a completely different issue and shouldn't ALWAYS be the answer. Kinda like saying that every single 5th wheel out there HAS TO be pulled with a DRW one ton truck... It's just not the case.There are so many more factors involved in choosing a tire than anyone can really come to terms with.

It would also be interesting to see a survey done on the direct relation of "tire issue" posts compared to "how sharp can I turn" posts from the same user. I'm assuming of course that an ST tire is built to handle the ripping of sharp turns while an LT tire is not. Throw in the "what MPG at 80mph" posts and you really have a debate. But none of us would possibly know that without hearing from the guys that actually build them. Which, I would think is why the question was raised.

Let the debate continue.

When it happens to you, then you are in the 100% that has had a failure. Have you seen the damage that is done? 2000-4500 easily most of the time. Come to our Snowbird RV park and see how many show up each fall with their trailer torn up.

The bigger the trailer the bigger the issue.

Go to trailer boat and horse trailer forum and you read the same issues.

People here have reported multiple failures and switched to LT tires and the failures stopped.

People have reported having a ST spare tire blow up that has never been on the ground. Last year I replace a XPS Rib spare that had been hanging under the trailer for 11 years. And it have most of the pressure remaining after all those years.

Some industries have dirty little secrets. For trailers it is ST tires!

Chris

[SabreCanuck]

RustyJC wrote:

mountainsam wrote:
Are there any professional tire installers in the discussion. I would love to see what they have to say.

Wouldn't that be like asking advice on an RV from an RV salesman or advice on a truck from a truck salesman? Personally, I'd put a lot more stock in the experience of those who USE the tires, not those who SELL them.

JM2CW...

Rusty

Arguably, there are hundreds of thousands of trailer owners out there that are running ST tires and have never had a blowout. So, out of those hundreds of thousands of ST tire owners, most would say "no issues" if you actually got a hold of them to ask.

I guess, like RustyJC, I would be interested to hear from the ENGINEERS as to what the difference is instead of the users who assume all blowouts are the tires problem, replace with different tire and then don't have another blowout... They typically assume it had to be the tire issue and not potentially something else.

Getting a beefier tire could very well be disguising a completely different issue and shouldn't ALWAYS be the answer. Kinda like saying that every single 5th wheel out there HAS TO be pulled with a DRW one ton truck... It's just not the case.There are so many more factors involved in choosing a tire than anyone can really come to terms with.

It would also be interesting to see a survey done on the direct relation of "tire issue" posts compared to "how sharp can I turn" posts from the same user. I'm assuming of course that an ST tire is built to handle the ripping of sharp turns while an LT tire is not. Throw in the "what MPG at 80mph" posts and you really have a debate. But none of us would possibly know that without hearing from the guys that actually build them. Which, I would think is why the question was raised.

Let the debate continue.

[RustyJC]

mountainsam wrote:
Are there any professional tire installers in the discussion. I would love to see what they have to say.

Wouldn't that be like asking advice on an RV from an RV salesman or advice on a truck from a truck salesman? Personally, I'd put a lot more stock in the experience of those who USE the tires, not those who SELL them.

JM2CW...

Rusty

[N-Trouble]

mountainsam wrote:
Are there any professional tire installers in the discussion. I would love to see what they have to say. I bought trailer tires for years for flat beds ( hauling tractors with mowers) and horse trailers. I was always told to stay with the ST because they had a better side wall performance and would stand up to the occasional whipping motion of trailers. Right or wrong????

Even the so called tire "professionals" have had the whool pulled over their eyes when it comes to ST tires. Got lectured from many tire shops/so called professionals about why I should be running an ST tire.

As suggested you need to see the truth first hand. I have had a chance to do the comparison first hand and frankly there is no comparison.

[Me_Again]

Lyle, I believe the problem runs even deeper. The ST tires were given inflated ratings base on speed restrictions. Ratings were increased on ST235/80R16E to cover 7K axles. Now to satisfy higher speeds we are seeing the speed restriction going up from 65 MPH to 75 or posted speed limit.

It is past time for ST tires to have to pass the same testing standards as LT tires.

We are however in a market driven arena where a cheap important component times 5 is being ordered by bean counters and not product reliability engineers. Tire warranties are always pushed off to the tire company and not the vehicle manufacturer.

When is the last time a far East company stepped up and provided support for a failed ST tire including payment for damage to the trailer?

The best advice, and I have given it for years, is to not leave the selling dealers lot on cheap tires. Resolve the issue before delivery.

[laknox]

mountainsam wrote:
Are there any professional tire installers in the discussion. I would love to see what they have to say. I bought trailer tires for years for flat beds ( hauling tractors with mowers) and horse trailers. I was always told to stay with the ST because they had a better side wall performance and would stand up to the occasional whipping motion of trailers. Right or wrong????

IMO, ST tires have pretty near zero margin above their weight rating. I've been told for 40+ years that anything meant to run in a passenger configuration, you could figure at least 20% "safety margin". So, if that's true, an LT-E, with 3,042 lbs on the sidewall would be safely capable of up to 3,650 lbs' capacity. Personally, I've used and abused tires pretty much my whole life, but I did it with malice and forethought. If I knew I was going to be hauling a load in my 1500 with it's LT D tires, I'd run 'em up to 60 psi and stay under 40 mph and not do it for more than 10-15 miles, at max. I was accustomed to running tires on my truck until steel cord was showing all the way 'round, then putting those tires on a farm trailer or other implement and run them until the tread just peeled off 5-6 years later.

Lyle

[Me_Again]

mountainsam wrote:
Are there any professional tire installers in the discussion. I would love to see what they have to say. I bought trailer tires for years for flat beds ( hauling tractors with mowers) and horse trailers. I was always told to stay with the ST because they had a better side wall performance and would stand up to the occasional whipping motion of trailers. Right or wrong????

Go to a GY store and handle a Marathon ST tire. Then off to Michelin and handle a XPS Rib and/or Bridgestone for the Duravis R250. Report your findings.

Chris

[mountainsam]

Are there any professional tire installers in the discussion. I would love to see what they have to say. I bought trailer tires for years for flat beds ( hauling tractors with mowers) and horse trailers. I was always told to stay with the ST because they had a better side wall performance and would stand up to the occasional whipping motion of trailers. Right or wrong????

[Me_Again]

I ran XPS Ribs for 6.5 years and 45K+ miles without one issue. And now have been on R250 for 4.5 years. The Duravis R500 would be my third choice as it has a two ply poly sidewall while most other poly carcass tires have a single ply sidewall.

Chris

[JIMNLIN]

N-Trouble wrote:

tinner12002 wrote:
Just put a set of Maaxis tires on with a TPMS system and go...unless your one of those who thinks they have to be passing everyone while your towing your RV then you better get LT tires.

Going faster is NOT the prime motivation why many "upgrade" to LTs.

Best point.
My reasons are reliability and less costs with zero issues for 50k-60k mile range and 7-8 years of service.

[rhagfo]

N-Trouble wrote:

tinner12002 wrote:
Just put a set of Maaxis tires on with a TPMS system and go...unless your one of those who thinks they have to be passing everyone while your towing your RV then you better get LT tires.

Going faster is NOT the prime motivation why many "upgrade" to LTs.

X2

LT's are far better constructed, and will easily carry to their max rating, ST's claim a higher rating per size, but I would never trust to that rating.

[N-Trouble]

tinner12002 wrote:
Just put a set of Maaxis tires on with a TPMS system and go...unless your one of those who thinks they have to be passing everyone while your towing your RV then you better get LT tires.

Going faster is NOT the prime motivation why many "upgrade" to LTs.