14" tires

[patperry2766]

I am looking to replace the 14" tires on my Flagstaff HW pop up. The trailer itself is about 3000 lbs dry with about 600 lbs cargo capacity. Most of the tires I have seen are load c (1870 lbs for st 215/75r 14) this leaves me virtually no margin for error when loaded up

I did find a brand called Kenda Loadstar that is a load D (2040 lbs each)...but I haven't heard of this brand before and can't find a lot of reviews of them.

I welcome any comments, suggestions or opinions. The factory tire size is ST205 75R 14 and I can't upgrade to 15's due to potential tire rubbing

[patperry2766]

Thanks for the link to the tires. That's the info that I'm looking for. The tires that came from the factory are no name Chinese, and while they might be perfectly fine, alot of the comments on this site comment about how bad some of them can be. I went back and looked at the estimated weights from the brochure, and the axle weight and max cargo capacities have me within 150 lbs of the max capabilities of the tires.

[bob213]

I have the Kumho tires that Lowsuv posted above. They seem to be a great tire. Keep in mind that they are a metric size tire, so a 195R14 would be about the same as a 205/75/14 in an ST tire.

[Lowsuv]

in a 14 inch tire the solution is pretty easy .
the heaviest load rating capacity i have found is 2271 # rating in a load range D .
Size is 205R14. 106 mph rated . Load Range D
there are only a couple of manufacturers with this size .
see link :
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Kumho&tireModel=Radial+857&sidewall=Blackwall&partnum=0R4857&tab=Specs

I recently ordered tires from tire rack on monday and they were delivered to my local tire shop on wednesday .
tire rack has a list of tire shops on their site that are in your local community .
there are several posters that have these particular tires and upgraded from an 1760 # or 1820 # rating to the 2271 # rated tires .
That is the most sure fire solution , to upgrade to a quantifiable weight rating rather than depending upon brand .

[CKNSLS]

I towed my 5,500 pound TT 4,000ish miles on two year old cheap OEM tires to the East coast. Then replaced them with the same weight specification tires (bought Carlisle RH) in Florida and towed all the way up to Maine and back to Utah and had ZERO issues with either set of tires.

Go figure!

The OP's trailer weight isn't anywhere close to mine-nor will he travel those kind of miles in 8 months like I did.

[Bill___Kate]

I bought a set of the 14" Kenda Karrier's Load Range D tires for our previous trailer because, as in your case, the Load Range C's that came with the trailer were just marginal capacity. The only 14 inchers Load Range D's I could find were the Kendra's (which are marketed by Martin Wheel and I got from Northern Tool Kenda Karrier) and the Kumho Radial 857 from Tire Rack that were out of stock, so I ended up with the Kenda's.

That being said, they were good, heavy tires and ran well for the 15,000 miles over 3 years before we traded the trailer ...

[BarneyS]

CKNSLS wrote:


Some of that weight rests ON THE TONGUE.

Correct! That weight does not count on the weight being carried by the axle and tires.
i would say you have plenty of capacity with the stock sized tires and do not have to weigh every time you load for a trip. If you want to be sure, go ahead and get the LR D tires. There are several manufactures that make that size and weight range I believe.
Barney

[CKNSLS]

patperry2766 wrote:
The tires I have on now are rated for 1760 lbs x 2 = 3520 lbs. My trailer is roughly 3000 lbs with about 600 lbs of cargo capabilities, which puts the weight right at max for the tires. I don't want to have to get the bathroom scale out every time I load the trailer up just to make sure I'm not going over max capabilities.

To me, that's just like driving your vehicle at redline....sure, it can be done but for how long and how catastrophic is it gonna be when it blows. If there is a option to increase the tire capabilities, then it will be safer for me, my family and the rest of the public that I encounter while on the road, I feel like it's something that I need to explore

Some of that weight rests ON THE TONGUE.

[patperry2766]

The tires I have on now are rated for 1760 lbs x 2 = 3520 lbs. My trailer is roughly 3000 lbs with about 600 lbs of cargo capabilities, which puts the weight right at max for the tires. I don't want to have to get the bathroom scale out every time I load the trailer up just to make sure I'm not going over max capabilities.

To me, that's just like driving your vehicle at redline....sure, it can be done but for how long and how catastrophic is it gonna be when it blows. If there is a option to increase the tire capabilities, then it will be safer for me, my family and the rest of the public that I encounter while on the road, I feel like it's something that I need to explore

[CKNSLS]

Carlisle has an new Radial Tire that the Bass Master tour used. Those trailers get many more miles on them than most of us travel.

Bassmaster(minute 1:08)

Carlisle


You don't need to go up a load range-your trailer isn't that heavy.

[nolra]

I use Hankook RA08 195/75/14 D rated LT truck tires on my Casita (similar weight). Sears has them, Discount has them and a few others.

This tire is recommended on Hankook factory page for trailer use. I've had no problems with them.

These are 8 ply rating. 2094 load capacity (65 psi, I run mine at 60 psi), R speed rating. I always like a little more tire than I need.

[skipnchar]

I assume you have a single axle trailer which is FAR FAR easier on tires than a tandam. You should be able to get along just fine with most brands that are available. OEM tires are required by law to be capable of handling the GVWR of your trailer (actually only the axle weight which does not include the tongue weight). What kind of tire problems have you been having with the OEMs?

[rbtglove]

Have a TT that's over 4500Lbs ready to go and have the same size 205 14in tires. Can't see where you'd need 15in or anything wider 9or higher load rating. I'd just get a good quality replacement like Maxxi's or Goodyears. My experience is that age is the biggest factor in RV tires.