Question going from 15" to 16" tires

[Nevadastars]

I will be upgrading to 16" but am a little concerned about distance between the front and rear tires. With the current 225/75/15's, I have roughly 4 1/4" clearance between the tires. With 235/85/16's I figure there would be 2.5" which doesn't seem like very much.

There is also the 235/80/16 size which is not quite as tall and would have about 3.4" of clearance. I prefer the taller size because the trailer is a little nose high with the stock tires and the 235/85's would help level it. What is the usual clearance with that size tire/wheel combination. Thanks for any help.

[JIMNLIN]

op wrote:
I have no doubt LT tires are great, I've had plenty of them on various trucks over the years. But I'm seeing some as much as $100 (Michelin XPS) a pop over the Endurance tires. So, just trying to be cost effective here.

Unfortunately, the Goodyear's are relatively new and have very little long term reviews. But the specs look great and people that have them are happy with them so far. Like I said, I am open to LTs and will keep an eye out for a good set that is at least in the ballpark of the Endurance pricing. I am in no real hurry as long as I get them before spring.

Don't cheap out on tires for your trailer if you want 7-8 years and 50k-55k miles of trouble free service.

The XPS Rib is the highest priced all steel ply carcass 16" LT E tire on the market.
I would look at the lower priced Bridgestone R250 another commercial grade all steel ply carcass tire.

My 11200 lb trailer with 2200 lb hitch weight has 5.2k axles and around 2400 lbs on each tire. I prefer a tire with narrow tread on my trailers so I use a Firestone Transport HT or a BFG Commercial T/A2 poly carcass tires in a LT215/85-16 E at 2680 lbs capacity. There wasn't enough room at the top of the tires for taller tires.
Other good LT tires for trailer service are the Goodyear Wrangler HT....Cooper Discoverer HT-3.

The Endurance is a new ST tire just out over a year now so it has no service record but is popular mainly because its made in the USA. Its gonna' take several years of service to see how they stand up to time and miles of service.

A load G tire at 110 psi/4080-4400 lbs capacity on trailers this size isn't a better idea.

[Cummins12V98]

The Manager at the Burlington, WA Discount tire Store said they can't keep them stocked. He ordered mine and my Son's tires for our boat trailers. He said he has had ZERO issues with the ENDURANCE tires.

[Goostoff]

Been a few years since I measured mine for my Rotochoks, but I am almost certain there is an inch and a half between my tires

[Nevadastars]

rhagfo wrote:

Nevadastars wrote:
rhagfo, I was also thinking of the Sailuns, that are actually cheaper than the GY Endurance tires. But just not sure if I want to deal with a tire that has a max inflation of 110lbs. Plus they would be severe overkill for my application.

I will keep researching the LTs, but the Endurance ST tires are supposed to be pretty darn good and have a 3640 lb weight rating in the 235/85/16 size.

I hate to admit this, but we put the Yokohama’s on this last spring to replace the original Tacoma LT’s that were 12 years old. They were just starting to show hairline cracks at the head.
Your 5er GVWR is less than 12,000#, the LT can carry 3,042# at 80 all day if you wish, will the Endurance do that.

I have no doubt LT tires are great, I've had plenty of them on various trucks over the years. But I'm seeing some as much as $100 (Michelin XPS) a pop over the Endurance tires. So, just trying to be cost effective here.

Unfortunately, the Goodyear's are relatively new and have very little long term reviews. But the specs look great and people that have them are happy with them so far. Like I said, I am open to LTs and will keep an eye out for a good set that is at least in the ballpark of the Endurance pricing. I am in no real hurry as long as I get them before spring.

[rhagfo]

Nevadastars wrote:
rhagfo, I was also thinking of the Sailuns, that are actually cheaper than the GY Endurance tires. But just not sure if I want to deal with a tire that has a max inflation of 110lbs. Plus they would be severe overkill for my application.

I will keep researching the LTs, but the Endurance ST tires are supposed to be pretty darn good and have a 3640 lb weight rating in the 235/85/16 size.

I hate to admit this, but we put the Yokohama’s on this last spring to replace the original Tacoma LT’s that were 12 years old. They were just starting to show hairline cracks at the head.
Your 5er GVWR is less than 12,000#, the LT can carry 3,042# at 80 all day if you wish, will the Endurance do that.

[Nevadastars]

rhagfo, I was also thinking of the Sailuns, that are actually cheaper than the GY Endurance tires. But just not sure if I want to deal with a tire that has a max inflation of 110lbs. Plus they would be severe overkill for my application.

I will keep researching the LTs, but the Endurance ST tires are supposed to be pretty darn good and have a 3640 lb weight rating in the 235/85/16 size.

[rhagfo]

Nevadastars wrote:

path1 wrote:

garyp4951 wrote:
I think Allworth is talking about LT tires which is better, but more expensive. You will be fine with the GY Endurance on yours.

X2. If your upgrading because 15 inch doesn't offer much...Goodyear new st 15 inches at present time are working out good IMO. Saves money on 16 rims.

I'm still going with 16's for the extra capacity, plus I never cared for the looks of the rims that came on our Wildcat.

Nevadastars, ST tires are cheaper for a reason, materials and quality, you have the perfect opportunity to step up to a quality LT tire with a 3,014 weight rating that give you true piece of mind.
Keep in mind there is no ST tire for semis, all tires use the same carcass, just different tread pattern for steer, traction, or trailer.

This is what I went with on our 2005 Copper Canyon with a 12,360# GVWR. Yokohama YK-HTX 235/85-16. Don't forget to have them balanced.

[Lwiddis]

“Cool, that's all I need to know.....thanks.”

OR was it the answer you were looking for?

[Nevadastars]

Cummins12V98 wrote:
Check into GY ENDURANCE tires you may not want to change to 16's.

See my post above yours..... 🙂

I also mentioned earlier that the taller tire will help level the rig to my truck a little better as it is currently a bit nose high.

[Cummins12V98]

Check into GY ENDURANCE tires you may not want to change to 16's.

[Nevadastars]

path1 wrote:

garyp4951 wrote:
I think Allworth is talking about LT tires which is better, but more expensive. You will be fine with the GY Endurance on yours.

X2. If your upgrading because 15 inch doesn't offer much...Goodyear new st 15 inches at present time are working out good IMO. Saves money on 16 rims.

I'm still going with 16's for the extra capacity, plus I never cared for the looks of the rims that came on our Wildcat.

[path1]

garyp4951 wrote:
I think Allworth is talking about LT tires which is better, but more expensive. You will be fine with the GY Endurance on yours.

X2. If your upgrading because 15 inch doesn't offer much...Goodyear new st 15 inches at present time are working out good IMO. Saves money on 16 rims.

[Nevadastars]

garyp4951 wrote:
I think Allworth is talking about LT tires which is better, but more expensive. You will be fine with the GY Endurance on yours.

Yea, I had checked the LT's and the price kind of soured me. Our rig is only somewhere in the 10-11k range loaded at the very most. I just wanted to get rid of the D range China Bombs that it came with and have some peace of mind.

[garyp4951]

I think Allworth is talking about LT tires which is better, but more expensive. You will be fine with the GY Endurance on yours.

[Nevadastars]

Allworth wrote:
You might want to consider 245/75R16 tires. The additional 10mm width gives you a little more contact patch without increasing the diameter.

(Load Range "E", of course.)

I haven't seen that size. Was pretty set on going with the Goodyear Endurance and I know they don't have that size. They have a 255/85 but too tall at over 33 inches, plus need a 7" rim.