Kumho Radial 857

I put on 4 Kumho 195R14 LR "D" tires back in mid 2013 which were about 12 to 18 mo old at the time. The load on each tire was close to 1700lbs and I typically ran themn at 60 to 65. The last Jan I had one go bad with tread separation and at the time had 6400 mi on it. I had to use my GY marathon spare and I purchased another matching GY Marathon tire on the existing rim and am now running 2 of the Kumho's on one side and GY Marathons on the other and have put another 2500 miles w/o issues since Jan. I bought another rim and I now carry a spare mounted Kumho and a spare mounted GY and plan to upgrade my existing configuration with Kumho 857s in the size 205R14 LR "D" at my next normal complete tire replacement. The only reason I'm running a mixed bag of tires now is the 195R14 LR "D" Kumho is no long available.

Even having one of the Kumhos go bad I still think that was just a luck of the draw. BTW previous to this tire separation with my current Kumhos I had run GY Marathons since 1995 with no tread separations and only one flat from a nail with about 75K total miles usage.

Something to consider IMO is running tires like the Kumhos or even Maxxis which are not normally available like the GY Marathons are one might be wise to carry two spares even if the second is not mounted so if you have one that goes bad on the road you can use a spare and still have another available until you can have time to replace the bad tire. I'm just leary of traveling very far from home w/o a spare for even a few hundred miles and about the only tire that is universally available like at WM or GY dealers nationwide are the GY Marathons since IMO they are the most used ST tire out there.

Larry

I too am running kumho 857 on my funfinder. They are working very well, and lasting well. I am another user that noticed my trailer towed more stable with the Kumho as compared to the original ST tire that came fitted from the factory. I got my 857's from tire rack. I had the high pressure brass snap in stems installed and the tire/wheel assembly balanced.

I have Kumho 857 on my Bigfoot. Zero problems. When the time comes to replace I'll get another set.

Bigfoot

My last trailer had 14" wheels, the current one has 15". With these two wheel sizes, the choices of tires with high load ratings and quality construction are very limited. The first thing to have to check to make sure the load rating of the wheel on you trailer can take the extra pressure of the higher pressure tires. After lots of research over the years, I think the best choices are:

14": Kumho 857 Trailer Tire which is a trailer tire that exceeds the "ST" standard.
The only other choice I could find in load range D was be the Kenda Karrier Kendra Karrier. They used to make a load range D (65 psi) in size 215, but now they only off it in the 205 width, but it still has a couple of hundred pounds more capacity than the Load Range C 215's.

Great info....thanks!

Another thing to consider is if you have dual axles, how much room is there between your tires? I have the same tire size as you, but when I considered going to the metric sized D rated Kumhos, they were somewhat larger in diameter. The space between tires would have been only about 1", so I got Maxxis instead with only a C rating, and maintained the original spacing.

You can use high pressure snap in stems good for 80 psi. Actually the standard stems are rated 65 psi. The steel wheel will be fine. Verify with your installer if you have concerns.

goducks10 wrote:
1000's of trailers sold monthly. How many have blow outs? I will agree that some tires are more prone to blow outs than others but internet forums can make a mountain out of a mole hill.

All that aside, if you are that worried then get some new tires. But don't think that getting a different brand will make you immune to blowouts.

Kumho's do have a good track record IIRC.

The Kuhmo's that I replaced the factory tires with weigh about 10 lbs more, and has stiffer sidewalls. I can't see how that could be a bad thing.

1000's of trailers sold monthly. How many have blow outs? I will agree that some tires are more prone to blow outs than others but internet forums can make a mountain out of a mole hill.

All that aside, if you are that worried then get some new tires. But don't think that getting a different brand will make you immune to blowouts.

Kumho's do have a good track record IIRC.

Great tires. Put a set on my trailer last year and could tell an immediate difference. Trailer was a lot more stable in strong crosswinds.