Moving to LT'S

[TRIPLE8]

After having 2 Maxxis tires with tread separation I will be moving on to Lt's. I'm thinking of going with 235/85/16 E Bfg's Commercial Lt's. Since I added the 3rd axle I can afford the almost 500 lb difference between the st's and lt's. (gross weight on trailer is 12,500 lbs) Any thoughts on this tire good or bad? My local Sams club has several in stock. Thanks

[KATOOM]

Thanks TRIPLE8 for the replies. But.....I have to say that the way this thread reads plays out a scenario which never happened. Reading from the start of the thread, it looks like you have a triple axle trailer with E rated Maxxis tires that cant hold up to the weight you're placing on them, even though that weight is well below their rated capacity. Thats obviously not the case so, with that said, I'm now doubting your "tire guys" diagnosis of your tire problem.

Dont get me wrong here by saying that either, and you're more than welcome without out any negative judgement on my part to choose LT tires over ST tires. I actually commend someone able to afford the money for the LT conversion, but calling a spade a spade is important for other people researching ST tire brands. If the Maxxis tires truly weren't holding up to your needs based on an accurate situation then OK, but the story doesn't seem to read like that.

[TRIPLE8]

KATOOM wrote:
Interesting, because based on your weight numbers, you were far from overloading six of those E rated tires. :h

Hi, the problems started before I added the 3rd axle. I just recently added the 3rd axle so the 4 tires were likely overloaded. Thanks

[KATOOM]

Interesting, because based on your weight numbers, you were far from overloading six of those E rated tires. :h

[TRIPLE8]

KATOOM wrote:

TRIPLE8 wrote:

KATOOM wrote:
I dont want to turn this into another "tire thread" where everyone with LT tires chastises people with ST tires.....but I'd like to know more about your Maxxis tires. How long have you had them, what rating where they, did you tow the trailer often or a couple times a year, what pressures did you run them at, etc..... Knowing that Maxxis ST tires usually get more praise than bad reviews, I'm interested what you have to say. Thanks.

Hi, I've had the tires for about 3 years now, They are 235/80/16 E's Run at 80 psi, and they have about 60% tread remaining. They were wearing funny and the tire shop told me that the tread was separating. (on the inside of tire) I have nothing bad to say about the Maxxis tires and would not hesitate to run them on a lighter trailer. To be honest, I had probably overloaded them the few times I loaded the samurai inside. (I now know my weights and added a third axle). Thanks

Wow, you must have been really heavy since six of those tires are maxed out at about 17k pounds of trailer. If the tires were wearing on the inside, I'd be just as concerned with the axle capacities as much as the tires. Knock on wood, but the few tire separations I've seen over the years (other tire brands) led to a visually obvious rounded casing and/or oblong shape of the tire. Since you mentioned that you added an axle, are you sure the axles are properly aligned? I'm not defending ST Maxxis tires as much as I'd hate to see your tire problem continue because of misdiagnosed issues.

Hi, I noticed the wear before I added the 3rd axle but I just assumed they were out of balance and ignored them. (they just got worse with time) With the samurai inside I was at 11,500 on the two axles and about 13,500 total on trailer (trailer was only rated at 12,500 lbs gross) way too close for comfort. I had them check for alignment issues when I had the axle added and everything checked out fine.Thanks

[KATOOM]

TRIPLE8 wrote:

KATOOM wrote:
I dont want to turn this into another "tire thread" where everyone with LT tires chastises people with ST tires.....but I'd like to know more about your Maxxis tires. How long have you had them, what rating where they, did you tow the trailer often or a couple times a year, what pressures did you run them at, etc..... Knowing that Maxxis ST tires usually get more praise than bad reviews, I'm interested what you have to say. Thanks.

Hi, I've had the tires for about 3 years now, They are 235/80/16 E's Run at 80 psi, and they have about 60% tread remaining. They were wearing funny and the tire shop told me that the tread was separating. (on the inside of tire) I have nothing bad to say about the Maxxis tires and would not hesitate to run them on a lighter trailer. To be honest, I had probably overloaded them the few times I loaded the samurai inside. (I now know my weights and added a third axle). Thanks

Wow, you must have been really heavy since six of those tires are maxed out at about 17k pounds of trailer. If the tires were wearing on the inside, I'd be just as concerned with the axle capacities as much as the tires. Knock on wood, but the few tire separations I've seen over the years (other tire brands) led to a visually obvious rounded casing and/or oblong shape of the tire. Since you mentioned that you added an axle, are you sure the axles are properly aligned? I'm not defending ST Maxxis tires as much as I'd hate to see your tire problem continue because of misdiagnosed issues.

[TRIPLE8]

KATOOM wrote:
I dont want to turn this into another "tire thread" where everyone with LT tires chastises people with ST tires.....but I'd like to know more about your Maxxis tires. How long have you had them, what rating where they, did you tow the trailer often or a couple times a year, what pressures did you run them at, etc..... Knowing that Maxxis ST tires usually get more praise than bad reviews, I'm interested what you have to say. Thanks.

Hi, I've had the tires for about 3 years now, They are 235/80/16 E's Run at 80 psi, and they have about 60% tread remaining. They were wearing funny and the tire shop told me that the tread was separating. (on the inside of tire) I have nothing bad to say about the Maxxis tires and would not hesitate to run them on a lighter trailer. To be honest, I had probably overloaded them the few times I loaded the samurai inside. (I now know my weights and added a third axle). Thanks

[therink]

On my last fiver, I replaced my Blowmax 15" Ds with Maxxis 15 Es. I only used them for 1 season before trading in but can say that the two tires aren't even in the same ballpark as far as quality goes. I swear the Maxxis tire side by side weighed about 10 lbs more and the sidewall was about twice as thick. There was a noticeable improvement in ride and I has total confidence when rolling down the road. I ran them at 80 psi. My stock Keystone aluminum wheels were rated for 2830 lbs (same as Maxxis).
Steve

[KATOOM]

I dont want to turn this into another "tire thread" where everyone with LT tires chastises people with ST tires.....but I'd like to know more about your Maxxis tires. How long have you had them, what rating where they, did you tow the trailer often or a couple times a year, what pressures did you run them at, etc..... Knowing that Maxxis ST tires usually get more praise than bad reviews, I'm interested what you have to say. Thanks.

[Sfla2]

allcool wrote:

Sfla2 wrote:
Just a little heads up had BFG 225 75-16 TA on my "c" in rear, went thru 5 tires in 3yr oldest being 4.5 yr dot last 1 in May only 2 yrs old had a bubble didn let go all other did not overloaded around 14k max never below 78 psi They are owned by Mich. went to FS transforce much happier

They had a voluntary recall on those tires, iirr till mid/summer of 2012.
If you search here, look for a thread on it with links to BFG/Michelin recall page with dot numbers, posted by me.

I had 7 BFG Comp TA also, and since Michelin owns BFG they replace all 7 for me.
Michelin replaced them with 235/85 16 Michelin XPS ribs...

Was very happy how well BFG/Michelin took care of me.
Not sure how you could beat their warranty... Ended up getting 7 RIBS for BFG price...

hey allcool thks for info but it was 235 245 size not my 225

[danojeno]

I went to the same tire you are looking at. I have similar weights, but with two axles. I'm in the middle of an epic trip to Colorado and I'm happy to say tires are no longer a worry.

[TRIPLE8]

JIMNLIN wrote:
Gross weight on trailer = 12500 lbs. Is that on the axles ??
12500 lbs on the axles on a tri axle trailer equates to 2000 lbs per tire minimum requirements.

Six LT E at 3042 lbs is 18250 lbs of capacity. Thats gonna' pound that light tri axle trailer unnecessarily.

The LT215/85-16 E and LT225/75-16 E at 2680 lbs will give you 16000 lb capacity.

The Goodyear Wrangler LT215/75-15 D at 2090 lbs capacity will give you 12540 lbs capacity.

I use the BFG Commercial on my 11200 lb 5th wheel RV and other equipment trailers. Zero issues.

Just sayin'

Hi, Yes it might be a little overkill for that light of a trailer but that is a good thing. After adding the third axle (axle weight is only 10,500 loaded with bikes and quads) My gross rating for the trailer according to both Lippert and Eclipse rv is now 15,000 just like all their other triple axle trailers. (not that i'll tow that much with my truck). I want the extra capacity when I load my samurai which is at 13,500 lbs. ( 11500 on axles and 2000 pin) Thanks

[allcool]

Sfla2 wrote:
Just a little heads up had BFG 225 75-16 TA on my "c" in rear, went thru 5 tires in 3yr oldest being 4.5 yr dot last 1 in May only 2 yrs old had a bubble didn let go all other did not overloaded around 14k max never below 78 psi They are owned by Mich. went to FS transforce much happier

They had a voluntary recall on those tires, iirr till mid/summer of 2012.
If you search here, look for a thread on it with links to BFG/Michelin recall page with dot numbers, posted by me.

I had 7 BFG Comp TA also, and since Michelin owns BFG they replace all 7 for me.
Michelin replaced them with 235/85 16 Michelin XPS ribs...

Was very happy how well BFG/Michelin took care of me.
Not sure how you could beat their warranty... Ended up getting 7 RIBS for BFG price...

[JIMNLIN]

Gross weight on trailer = 12500 lbs. Is that on the axles ??
12500 lbs on the axles on a tri axle trailer equates to 2000 lbs per tire minimum requirements.

Six LT E at 3042 lbs is 18250 lbs of capacity. Thats gonna' pound that light tri axle trailer unnecessarily.

The LT215/85-16 E and LT225/75-16 E at 2680 lbs will give you 16000 lb capacity.

The Goodyear Wrangler LT215/75-15 D at 2090 lbs capacity will give you 12540 lbs capacity.

I use the BFG Commercial on my 11200 lb 5th wheel RV and other equipment trailers. Zero issues.

Just sayin'

[tchil]

Maybe too late but check the bridgstone LT Ribs. They have worked really well for me.