Need new tires...help?

[lukenick]

I am coming up on year 6 with my factory installed Goodyear Marathon tires. They still look great but I am worried about a blowout after reading about it all over the internet and the dangers of trailer tires over 5 years old. So after calling a bunch of local tire shops I have narrowed it down to a few choices. Opinions please.....which ones will be my best choice? My tire size is 205/75R14

Carlisle, Goodyear, Vitour, Towmax, or Autogrip

Thank you!

[gocamping14]

at trailer parts superstore, found load range D loadstar tires. hard to find 8 ply tires in a 14". just finished a month long trip and they ran and wore fine. just do the normal pressure checks, keep out of the sun and they will run fine for many years and miles............

[brirene]

#1nobby wrote:


Why? Why are trailer tires so suspect / unpredictable?

Why must we worry so much?

Does anyone really give a second thought to car / truck tires?

If they blew out with only 20,000 miles there would be lawsuits and hangings.

They're different animals, subject to different types of use and stress. ST tires will rarely need to be replaced due to treadwear, but recommendations for replacement in 3-5 years are pretty standard due to potential deterioration.

[time2roll]

Maxxis, Marathon, Kumho is my recommendation.

[_1nobby]

lukenick wrote:
I am coming up on year 6 with my factory installed Goodyear Marathon tires. They still look great but I am worried about a blowout after reading about it all over the internet and the dangers of trailer tires over 5 years old.

Why? Why are trailer tires so suspect / unpredictable?

Why must we worry so much?

Does anyone really give a second thought to car / truck tires?

If they blew out with only 20,000 miles there would be lawsuits and hangings.

[rbpru]

I hope everyone realizes that if all China made was junk, none of your phones, clothing, televisions and virtually all other electronic devices would not work.

As mentioned, it is not the country where it is made, it is the demands of the buyer that dictates quality. Every market has its low end competitors.

[4X4Dodger]

guidry wrote:
Every newbie who comes on this forum should be advised to immediately, upon buying a new trailer, get new tires and throw away the junk the manufacturers put on! Manufacturers get bids for everything, tires included. The lowest bid gets to install all the tires. Does anyone think the lowest bid is the best and safest tire!?

I had a new Open Range (now Highland Ridge) and luckily had a TPMS when the alarm sounded during a long trip. We only had less than a year and a half and 12,000 miles on these tires.

I spoke to the VP of Open Range and pleaded to get rid of the **** tires they put on their trailers so new buyers don't experience what most of us here have. To this day, I am sure they still do business with Lions Head (the supplier of tires).

Best thing to do is get reputable quality tires by doing research and a TPMS.

With all due respect this is the Most irresponsible piece of advice that one could imagine and based not on facts but heresay and myth.

All tires sold in the US are made to international specifications to meet DOT standards. The trailer manufacturer specs the tires that are right for the load of the trailer WITH MARGIN in most cases. (Anything else would leave them open to numerous law suits)

That spec is put out to bid. The price of tire is not the only consideration, often shipping and on time delivery will take precedence.

Telling all newbies to suspect the tires that come on their trailer is irresponsible, wasteful and terrible economics.

Please stop this mindless repetition of tire myth that has NO basis in fact or foundation.

[4X4Dodger]

azdryheat wrote:
It doesn't matter, those all come from China and China-made tires are never recommended. Try Maxxis instead.

You must have stock in Maxxis which are made in THAILAND AND INDONESIA where the workers as a whole are not as literate, well educated or as well paid as in China.

My Goodyear marathons were made in 2005 and were still going until I replaced them yesterday. I put 15,000 miles on them in the last 16 months...hard miles. (Minot to Cabo San Lucas Baja to now in Bellingham WA)

And why did I replace them? AH! NOT because of their age or because they were bad but the wear in my suspension spring hangars got so bad that it wore out one tire very badly in the last month.

BTW I replaced them with a set of TOWMAX which have a higher weight rating, more plys, higher speed rating and a higher cold inflation pressure (80 psi) than the Goodyears...and they are made in China.

and no I am not the least bit concerned.

[lukenick]

Thanks everyone....I have decided on the Carlisle Radial Trail tires. I am stuck getting the 6 ply because they don't make an 8ply in my rim size 14". I sure hope they last long 🙂

[Sandia_Man]

The ST tires you have on the TT you recently purchased appear to have given the previous owner good service and may look OK but I would change them out for peace of mind. ST tires tend to not have the same longevity of passenger & truck tires, although they may appear visually OK after 5 years it's safer to just replace them to avoid future mishaps.

I had good service and 4 camping seasons from my stock so-called china bombs and replaced them with Maxxis ST tires which have also given us reliable service going into their 5th camping season. Upon extremely close visual and physical inspection I'm starting to see signs of fatigue although just standing next to them they look pretty good. I'll be looking for a new set of ST tires soon as well.

It will probably be another set of Maxxis ST tires due to my experience with them and the mostly favorable reviews found here and on other websites. I'm hearing good things about the redesigned Carlisle RH tires and I will look at them before deciding. One thing to note is that any reputable tire shop can get any tire you want within a few days, don't just settle for what they have on the shelf.

[Tachdriver]

I have "Goodride" tires installed 2012 from Tire Discounters that is a chain, I am not sure of the manufactures location.

I keep them aired up and covered when not in use.

I drive a 2000 mile trip every year and have not had a problem.

You hear a lot about tires and or marathons that blow out, only to discover that the tires are at the weight limits are close to it.

Going up a load range if you can is a good idea, keep them aired up, long term store them at 5 psi above max, cover them. Inspect tires before each trip.

[CapriRacer]

guidry wrote:
Every newbie who comes on this forum should be advised to immediately, upon buying a new trailer, get new tires and throw away the junk the manufacturers put on! Manufacturers get bids for everything, tires included. The lowest bid gets to install all the tires. Does anyone think the lowest bid is the best and safest tire!? .........

I would have said to go up a size and/or a load range - as I think part of the problem also load carrying capacity.

[72cougarxr7]

Steeljag wrote:
Luke - I believe they were Karrier Loadstars and they held up extremely well for me. The Carlisles I can't / won't be able to tell you. We were considering selling the TT for some time, and after the tire failure, there was no way I could just put on the spare, and feel right about selling it!

I purchased the Carlisles last week, and sold the TT today without ever having towed it !

Great TT.......miss it already, but we are seriously considering a class C purchase.

I have Loadstars on my TT as well, made by Kenda and have been good to me so far. I actually have a set on a utility trailer that are 10 years old and no issues, but it doesn't get used much.

Good prices on them from:
www.recstuff.com
They sell wheels and lights at good prices as well!

[guidry]

Every newbie who comes on this forum should be advised to immediately, upon buying a new trailer, get new tires and throw away the junk the manufacturers put on! Manufacturers get bids for everything, tires included. The lowest bid gets to install all the tires. Does anyone think the lowest bid is the best and safest tire!?

I had a new Open Range (now Highland Ridge) and luckily had a TPMS when the alarm sounded during a long trip. We only had less than a year and a half and 12,000 miles on these tires.

I spoke to the VP of Open Range and pleaded to get rid of the **** tires they put on their trailers so new buyers don't experience what most of us here have. To this day, I am sure they still do business with Lions Head (the supplier of tires).

Best thing to do is get reputable quality tires by doing research and a TPMS.

[FLGup]

I just had these Firestone CV3000 LT 195-75R-14 tires installed. The RV dealer recommended them as replacement tires and a local commercial big truck tire dealer got them from overseas to install on RVs. They are made in Costa Rica. Load range D 2095lb. We will leave soon for our summer trip. We should put about 5000 miles on them, so I'll report back after this trip. My only concern is availability in case of problems away from home. The only place I know of where you can get these tires is from this one guy. Hopefully they will be good, overseas reviews are good.