Cox89XJ wrote:
When using the China made ST225/75R15D rated tires on my fifth wheel, I had 5 tire failures in two years. That’s how I found this forum. We got to the point that we dreaded going on long trips afraid of tire failure. It’s not fun changing a tire on the side of an interstate. With knowledge I gained from this forum along with my common sense I went with a B F Goodrich Commercial TA size LT225/75R16E. Since I had to change wheels I went with aluminum wheels also. Makes a rig look good. That has been almost 6 years ago and I’ve had no more tire problems. I cruise around 67mph. My son works at a feed mill, so weighing my rig has never been a problem. My current rig weights about 10,500 loaded and ready to go. People with lighter rigs and people who make short trips. (50 miles one way) might get by with ST’s.
The ST’s that I took off my camper were put on my utility trailer. I’ve never had a problem with them in the almost 6 years either, but the trailer never sees over 5,000 pounds.
With my experience, I’ll put LT’s on my camper next time also. If I put new tires on my utility trailer, I’ll put P rated tires. I just don’t trust ST’s after having 5 fail.
Just so everyone who is following this thread understands - as a tire engineer, I view the change from an ST225/75R15 Load Range D to an LT225/75R16 Load Range E as a 25% increase in load carrying capacity.
