ST tires vs LT tires.

[its_just_me]

I had a "tire man" tell me that all ST tires are made in China. I'm not interested in unsupported opinions, but if someone actually knows if this is true or not, lets hear from you. I use Firestone 10ply LT tires on my trailer.

[gmw_photos]

chr$ wrote:
Huntindog, My 215 tires, upsized from 205 are already less than an inch apart. Nowhere could I find a "spec" for this. Seems a wee bit close already...

GMW, those didn't come up in any of my searches. Thanks for the links... Probably better than any trailer tire, and Load D makes them in the right range. They are comparable in price.

chr$, another worth looking at might be the Hankook RA08 ( now being replaced in the lineup by the RA18 ). Available from bus depot dot com. The RA08 used to be available from walmart dot com, so it could be they will also carry the new version, RA18.

Available typically in 185-14 and 195-14, these are load range D, "commercial van" tires, essentially like a Kumho 857.

I'm on my third year and closing in on 30,000 miles with my K-ho 857's on my travel trailer, am happy with them. I use 185-14, because I have clearance issues on this trailer preventing me from going larger diameter.

[chr_]

Huntindog, My 215 tires, upsized from 205 are already less than an inch apart. Nowhere could I find a "spec" for this. Seems a wee bit close already...

GMW, those didn't come up in any of my searches. Thanks for the links... Probably better than any trailer tire, and Load D makes them in the right range. They are comparable in price.

[JIMNLIN]

its just me wrote:
I had a "tire man" tell me that all ST tires are made in China. I'm not interested in unsupported opinions, but if someone actually knows if this is true or not, lets hear from you. I use Firestone 10ply LT tires on my trailer.

Looks like your quest for answers to your where are ST tires made took the usual ST vs LT debate turn.

JFY at one time some years back all ST tires were made in the USA by our domestic tire makers. And we had the same type of problems with them as many do today.
The ST is a niche tire like our agriculture tires or industrial tires or lawn and garden tires/etc with low volume and low profits. Just about all niche tire production was moved out of this country. Most now are in china or other asian rim countries.

Firestone tires in a 16" LT E Transforce H/T have been tops with RV trailers and commercial haulers for their trucks and trailers for years.

[Lar114]

Boon Docker wrote:

Lar114 wrote:

Boon Docker wrote:
Your "tire man" needs a new line of work, seeing as he doesn't have a clue about the industry.

So what are you saying you know than the tire guy, who sells tires for a living. Got to love people like this who know more than the people, who are in the business.

Got to love people that don't understand what they are reading.
Where did I say that I knew more than that "tire man".
Reading comprehension makes all the difference in the world, try reading what I posted again. Then you just may understand what I was saying. :R

[Boon_Docker]

Lar114 wrote:

Boon Docker wrote:
Your "tire man" needs a new line of work, seeing as he doesn't have a clue about the industry.

So what are you saying you know than the tire guy, who sells tires for a living. Got to love people like this who know more than the people, who are in the business.

Got to love people that don't understand what they are reading.
Where did I say that I knew more than that "tire man".
Reading comprehension makes all the difference in the world, try reading what I posted again. Then you just may understand what I was saying. :R

[Busdriver]

Have always run L T tires get 5 years out of a set. Goodyear , B F Goodrich, ect . Last set I had to buy in a hurry all I could get was S T tires was S T never over 65 mph. Lasted 19 months.tread was coming apart on two of them. Went back to L T tires.

[TexasChaps]

chr$ wrote:


1. LT tires usually have better tread and will resist punctures and heat better IF they are rated for the load you need to carry. Sadly, the only 14" LT tires out there are General Grabbers (LT8.5/70.14) but only had a 1,520 lb weight rating. The ST's that are closest in size are 1,870 lbs. I couldn't even go to 15's because my axles are too close together. Wheel well was no problem. Something to think about if you are considering a larger rim and don't have one of the newer spread axle trailers.

Maxxis UE168n bravo series has 14 inch LT's .. I had the 205R14C
on my previous TH rated at 2270 lbs each. ( 109/107Q service rating )

[Lar114]

Boon Docker wrote:
Your "tire man" needs a new line of work, seeing as he doesn't have a clue about the industry.

So what are you saying you know than the tire guy, who sells tires for a living. Got to love people like this who know more than the people, who are in the business.

[rbpru]

The company I retired from moved their product to China. As mentioned, even in the non-tire world, strict quality standards are a must.

Our operation is a success because of the manufacturing oversight. Working in the OEM market, virtually every mass produced consumer product consist of off-shore subassemblies assembled in the USA.

[Huntindog]

Chr$ wrote:
Sadly, the only 14" LT tires out there are General Grabbers (LT8.5/70.14) but only had a 1,520 lb weight rating. The ST's that are closest in size are 1,870 lbs. I couldn't even go to 15's because my axles are too close together. Wheel well was no problem. Something to think about if you are considering a larger rim and don't have one of the newer spread axle trailers.

I read this a lot... So much that I think there may be confusion on how much room is needed, or how that room is measured.

The trailer that I first upgraded to 16" LTs started out with 14s. I then put on 15 STs. and finally 16 LTs.
During my ownership of that TT, I broke a spring. I then found out that my TT had shorter than normal springs. IDR the measurement, but I had to order them. My shorter than normal springs would make my tires closer together than most, yet I was still able to put on 16s.

So the first thing is that a 16" rim tire isn't always taller than a 15" The rim size is only part of the equation the diameter of the TIRE is the important measurement.
The next thing is that you only need 1" between the tires (per Dexter). My 16" LTs barely had that. They worked great.
And the next thing is that putting 30" diameter tires on a TT that had 29" tires will only decrease the room between the tires by 1".
Many people think it is 2". But you do not add the tires measurements together, as the ultimate measurement is the center of the axle to the tread, or half the tires diameter.
So half of a 29" = 14.5 X 2 tires=29
Half of 30" = 15 x 2 tires = 30.
A difference of 1".

[gmw_photos]

Here's a example of 14" LT. There are others also.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Yokohama&tireModel=Y356&sidewall=Blackwall&partnum=...

[chr_]

Ughh... I just went through all of this. I blew a 2 year old Carlisle "Radial Trail RH" 215-75R14 tire with little more than 3K on it. Always keep them at max pressure. This was after two had flats, and when Discount Tire was removing them all, they found another was ready to blow due to tread separation. Seems that they were not all very new when I got the set in Kingman in 2014. Two were pretty new (2114) and the other three were (3113) dated.

Darn thing took my fender with it, and some clown drove over the fender for no reason on the highway while I was walking back to get it. Everyone else missed it, as it was on the centerline!!!

Well, after talking ad nauseam to many people who are both in the tire business and the trailer business, this is what I learned:

1. LT tires usually have better tread and will resist punctures and heat better IF they are rated for the load you need to carry. Sadly, the only 14" LT tires out there are General Grabbers (LT8.5/70.14) but only had a 1,520 lb weight rating. The ST's that are closest in size are 1,870 lbs. I couldn't even go to 15's because my axles are too close together. Wheel well was no problem. Something to think about if you are considering a larger rim and don't have one of the newer spread axle trailers.

2. LT's are generally just as susceptible to sidewall puncture as ST's. "generally" Because some are designed to protect the sidewall, BUT you more than likely will NOT find them in something to fit your trailer without heavy mods.

3. Contrary to what's posted here, many ST tires are now rated at higher speeds than 65. Sadly, the Maxis tires are still 65, so that eliminated getting those for me, as our highways are 75 here...

4. Carlisle now has a "Radial Trail HD" rated tire. It was twice the price, beefier sidewall and tread. Got a set and hope they hold up. They are C load rated (1,870 Lbs) also speed rated to 79 MPH (Per Discount Tire) They supposedly now have a D load rated one in a 205/75 @65 PSI, but I was not offered that at Discount Tire, however, it is on Carlisle's website. Wish I knew about it last week. Maybe I can get them swapped. My trailer originally had 205's and the upsize was for more load capacity.

I'll report back as these age. I only expect 2 years out of them, but I will be pleasantly surprised If they go three. They do look better, as in more durable...

Info about Radial Trail HD tires.

[Huntindog]

Campfire Time wrote:
Nope, not accurate. Here's an example. Some years back Trek Bike moved their manufacturing to China. Being from Wisconsin where Trek is headquartered I was not happy about this. A few years ago we bought new bikes, they are Treks. They are every bit as good of quality as they always have been.

So it's not "if", it's about contracts, expectations, and standards. The "ifs" come in when we are willing to accept the cheapest prices on our new rigs. That said US consumers are every bit to blame for the lack of quality as the Chinese manufacturers.

Don't say it's not accurate, just because you haven't personally experienced it.

There have been far to many news articles written about these Chinese manufacturing failures to meet basic standards. Remember all the kids toys with lead paint? Don't tell me that was an oversite. The lead paint danger has been known for decades.... Yet they still did it.
And the list goes on and on.

[ScottG]

Fresno Tundra Driver wrote:

dave54 wrote:

Fresno Tundra Driver wrote:
Maxxis are good quality ST tires that aren't made in China.

Final assembly in Thailand, using Chinese made components.

I took a look at their website and didn't see any of the information you gave. Maybe you could site it or provide a link to where you're getting this information.

It doesn't say anything like that.