Tires- LT or ST

[2stonesthrow]

TIre recommendations? We are towing 8500# travel trailer. We’ve had numerous blowouts with China bombs over the years, partly due to Texas heat and high speeds. We are over the blow outs and need something that will hold. We currently have 15” but looking to go to 16” LT that can handle higher speeds of 75mph. What has worked for you with the higher speeds? Tia!

[Hondavalk]

Goodyear Endurance ST tires. They will meet your speed rating requirements and are US built

[Grit_dog]

Hahaha, so my “new post “ ended up at the bottom of the “old” posts even though I’m sorting new to old. 
now replying to the original posters post to see where thst lands….

still doesn’t solve the other mystery of why this topic came back to the top with no new posts…..

[Grit_dog]

What a joke. Lol

[Grit_dog]

Just for gits a shingles, replying here to see if or where the reply even pops up. 
I would think someone dug up and replied to this old thread for it to pop up to the top of the forum, yet scrolling through ALL the replies, none are “new.”

What a joke. Kinda like having to sign in every time you open the forum up…..

[StirCrazy]

thats what I have been saying.  

[Grit_dog]

Now this post went to the “top”. It was at the bottom of the list after my reply. 
so where’s the previous new post that brought this topic to the top?  Was it just a “like” ?

Its “like” Where’s Waldo in this forum now….

And why is there only a “like” button and not multiple choices of emotion like every other platform?  Maybe it’s not ok to dislike or laugh or be sad or ……

[mowermech]

Huntindog wrote:

Grit dog wrote:
^Bingo. Something lost on the “LT tires only” crowd.
But as I mentioned above, there are a couple 15” LRE tires out there. May have to upsize to a 235.
However there is a virtual plethora of good heavy duty 15” ST tires available. AND not horribly expensive to boot. And universally available.
No sense in trying to reinvent the wheel. Literally or figuratively.

Nothing is "lost"

Changing rim sizes sizes is commonly done in order to run better tires.
For some reason, the anti LT tire crowd insists that one MUST use the factory sizes.

How do you like the 37"s on your TV?

"Factory size tires"?? Interesting. I checked the sticker on the Jayco I just bought because it had LT tires on it and I wondered what the factory called for. Glory be, the factory sticker called for LT tires! If they were good enough for the Jayco factory, they are certainly good enough for me! I think I will leave them on there...

[Grit_dog]

Huntindog wrote:
You need 3" clearance from the top of the tire to the wheelwell. If needed a small lift block can be used. I needed a 1" block on one of the TTs. cheap and easy to do. As far as limiting the payback, you seem to be conceeding that STs do fail more often. This is good. Recognizing a problem is halfway there to a solution. But financial payback is just a small part of it. Not having to deal with a torn up TT, and ruined trips are other forms of payback. How do you put a value on these? And finally IMO, (and the GOVT.testing standards,) there is no such thing as a quality ST tire.
They certainly are tested to lower standards and thats a fact. Not opinion. Another fun fact:It is illegal to put ST tires on automobiles, But perfectly legal to put LTs on trailers.There are reasons for this.(hint; lower testing standards for STs). Take a look at all the choices available for 16" LT tires. Most if not all brands have several price points and quality points to choose from. IE: Good, Better,Best. In ST tires each brand has ONE offering.

PS, not everyone owns a trailer that this is possible on. Not everyone is high miles, nor does everyone keep their trailers for a decade or however long it would be to not just be an upgrade for the “next guy.”
And what’s funny (and I’ve acknowledged this before) is you’re right from an ultimate durability standpoint, not even debatable. What’s funnier though is you cannot seem to acknowledge that doing any less than what you’ve done to bulletproof a past trailer is still ok.
Pride of authorship is the issue I suppose?

[Grit_dog]

Huntindog wrote:
You can believe the marketing propaganda if you wish.
I believe in the testing standards.The standards are much tougher for LTs...That is just a fact. It is also WHY it is prfectly legal to use LTs on a trailer....And why it is illegal to use an ST on an automobile....In fact it is so illeagal that it MUST state this on an ST tires sidewall.

Haha, I thought of you as I was pulling a guys old Travel Trailer this weekend.
It was a grungy old junker and I was being nice, but without even looking at it, I brought a floor jack and lug wrench so a blowout would be an easy repair.
It did blow one tire in the 600miles I pulled it, too fast for the tires. I was semi shocked to see 2004 mfg dates on all of them when I changed that one though! That blowout was the owners fault, not the tire.

[BarneyS]

Huntindog,
Is that like being dead is just like being SO dead?:W
Barney

[Huntindog]

You can believe the marketing propaganda if you wish.
I believe in the testing standards.The standards are much tougher for LTs...That is just a fact. It is also WHY it is prfectly legal to use LTs on a trailer....And why it is illegal to use an ST on an automobile....In fact it is so illeagal that it MUST state this on an ST tires sidewall.

[StirCrazy]

not agreeing with that at all. in the last 10 years I have had 1 ST failure (factory tire 6 years old) and 1 LT failure on my truck. both road debris issues in construction zones. but what I will concede is that the bottom of the barrel ST tires is what everyone is comparing their LT tires to, no one runs top tier ST tires and wishes they were running LT tires.

here is a good explanation of the differences and why you shouldn't run st on a car and why you shouldnt run lt on trailer

"Trailer Tire requirements differ greatly from automotive tires. Automotive tires must maintain traction during all driving conditions: pulling, stopping, turning, or swerving. Because of this they must have more flexible sidewalls to maintain tread to road contact. Since trailers have no driving torque applied to their axles, the only time trailer tires must have traction is during the application of trailer brakes.
Trailers with heavy loads, high vertical sideloads (like camper trailers), or trailers with inadequate tongue weight can be affected by trailer sway problems. Automotive bias or radial tires with their more flexible sidewalls can accentuate trailer sway problems, whereas the stiffer sidewalls of the ST (special trailer) bias ply tires help to control and reduce sway problems. For this reason it is not recommended that (P) Passenger or (LT) Light Truck tires be used on trailers. Best trailer control will be achieved with (ST) Special Trailer tires."

as for testing it is pretty much identical except for two tests, the P tires have one test that the ST does different, and the ST has a much more extreme full load test so how is that inferior, they are testing for two different things as neither is supposed to be used for the other.

[hims0542]

My Father had vast experience in engineering with the popular tire manufacturers and went into business on his own manufacturing and patenting tires. He did destructive testing for the tire companies. I remember asking him if I could use anything different than ST tires on a trailer. His stern response was "NO, unless you're looking for trouble" I trust his expertise.

[Huntindog]

You need 3" clearance from the top of the tire to the wheelwell. If needed a small lift block can be used. I needed a 1" block on one of the TTs. cheap and easy to do. As far as limiting the payback, you seem to be conceeding that STs do fail more often. This is good. Recognizing a problem is halfway there to a solution. But financial payback is just a small part of it. Not having to deal with a torn up TT, and ruined trips are other forms of payback. How do you put a value on these? And finally IMO, (and the GOVT.testing standards,) there is no such thing as a quality ST tire.
They certainly are tested to lower standards and thats a fact. Not opinion. Another fun fact:It is illegal to put ST tires on automobiles, But perfectly legal to put LTs on trailers.There are reasons for this.(hint; lower testing standards for STs). Take a look at all the choices available for 16" LT tires. Most if not all brands have several price points and quality points to choose from. IE: Good, Better,Best. In ST tires each brand has ONE offering.