Trailer tires

[paulfredricks]

We have a dual axle travel trailer with 13" wheels. On our last trip blew one of tires. I started doing some research and found that these are ST rated tires which I think means they are rated to 65 MPH.

Now, I know, I should keep my speed down and just enjoy the trip, but I do occasionally find the need to speed up a bit. I do like to keep up with the flow of traffic. I'd like tires with a better speed rating.

Now I did see an ST175/80R13 that says it has an "M" rating, which is 81MPH. But from what I've read ST means 65 MPH.

I'm confused.

Anyone have any insight?

[Atlee]

I always weighted my trailer and truck when I've first load them (when the TT is new to me), or when first loading the trailer for the new RV season.

My post referred to some posters who say to only air the trailer tires to what the weight the trailer is carrying that trip. I always air my TT tires up the max sidewall pressure on the tire. If I actually only aired the TT tires up to the weight I was carrying, I'd have to weight the trailer each and every time I took it out. Sometimes what one is carrying in the TT is more or less than the last time.

And just weighing the trailer as a whole and dividing by 4 is no good, since each tire will have more or less weight than the other tires on the TT. Each and every tire must be weighed. Who has the time or facilities to do that?

As I said, I air mine up the max sidewall pressure. Then I've covered any changes in weight from trip to trip. And my trailer has never lost grip on the road due to too much air pressure in the tire, nor have I suffered from premature tire wear in the center part of the tread.

mileshuff wrote:

Atlee wrote:
Re: #1) I don't ever plan on going to a scale and weighing each trailer tire in order to know how much air to put in it.

For a small popup or other very light trailer towed by a larger vehicle such as 1/2 ton or bigger truck I'd tend to agree it isn't necessary to weigh it.

Otherwise it is VERY useful to get your rig weighed at a CAT scale. Too many people underestimate the weight of their rig when fully loaded. They end up over the trailers tire and axle limit or over the GVWR of the tow vehicle.

The other useful thing to do is carry temp sensor. These are point and shoot devices. Simply aim at the tire immediately after stopping and get a temp reading. Quick way to tell if tires are running way too hot which happens when overloaded or under inflated.

[Atlee]

But maybe history is catching up with them. ASAIK, Maxxis hasn't changed their construction of their tires. And their 14" tires do not have the extra nylon cap ply.

I do know the only tire failure I've had was on a Maxxis 8008 ST205/75R14 LRC tire. The steel belt broke. Fortunately, I saw it while sitting still, rather than while I was driving at highway speed.

I had to replace the tires, and did so with Carlisle Radial Trail HD ST205/75R14 LRC.

Shortly after that, I decided to sell the trailer and get a larger one. My current Jayco Jay Flight 23RB came with OEM Goodyear Endurance ST205/75R15 LRD tires. The Endurance tire has 2 polyester side wall plies, 2 polyester tread plies, 2 steel tread plies and 2 nylon tread plies.

JIMNLIN wrote:

Most on these forums seem to favor the Maxxis 8008 over the Carlisle HD. Main reason is history. The Maxxis have a long history of being one of the few decent ST tires.

With over 30 members reporting issues with their Maxxis ST8008 tires there not without issues either. Not all Maxxis ST 8008 tire sizes has the nylon cap under the tread which may have contributed to those that had issues.
Carlisle HD has been on the market for about a year now. It takes several years and 30k-40k of service to find out just how good they are or aren't.

[rbpru]

As mentioned tires are your choice your money.

My set of China bombs lasted seven years. I put 15,000 mile on them plus whatever the previous owner had accumulated.

I replaced them because of age not wear. I inflated them to the TT manufactures recommended pressure.

All the above shows is I had a good set of tire, they were well matched to my driving and maintenance methods; it offers no guarantee of similar performance for the next person.

[time2roll]

mike-s wrote:

time2roll wrote:
Here is my MAXXIS just short of four years.

Sorry about the obvious misalignment of your axle stubs. You should probably get that fixed.

You are joking right?
At least America's Tire gave a free replacement under warranty when they saw the tire losing the cap.

[time2roll]

My trailer GVWR stick says run the max 50 psi. I wanted more capacity so I went up to LRD. You don't get more capacity unless you run more pressure. Larger size does not fit on mine.

[mike-s]

time2roll wrote:
Here is my MAXXIS just short of four years.

Sorry about the obvious misalignment of your axle stubs. You should probably get that fixed.

[mike-s]

RinconVTR wrote:
Certain people believe they should not run their loaded TT ST tires at the recommended PSI (normally max cold sidewall PSI)

Fake news, equating max with "normal recommended." Support your claims, be specific about exactly who's making these recommendations, and where they're documented.

[Turtle_n_Peeps]

Atlee wrote:
RE: #2) I have always aired my tires to the max on the side wall. I have yet to experience any slippage of the trailer due to not gripping the road very well. I have also yet to have the center of the tire wear out pre-maturely.

Re: #1) I don't ever plan on going to a scale and weighing each trailer tire in order to know how much air to put in it. You can't take the overall weight of the trailer and divide by 4 to determine the tire inflation amount. Weight for each tire may vary.

rbpru wrote:
Tire inflation 101:
1. Tires are inflated to match the load being hauled.
2. Over inflated tires do not grip the road as well and will wear out the center of the tire.
3. Under inflated tires will overheat and tend to show cupping on the edges.
4. The correct tire inflation pressure to match the load comes from the tire maker, not someone opinion on an RV bulletin board.

LOL, no kidding! What are some of your doing with your TTers? Road racing with them?

[mileshuff]

RinconVTR wrote:
You know what else? Certain people believe they should not run their loaded TT ST tires at the recommended PSI (normally max cold sidewall PSI) for fear it will ride hard.

If the decision is based on whether it rides hard or not then I agree with your statement. But to believe the recommended tire pressure is always the max cold PSI then that would be just plain wrong!

[time2roll]

Here is my MAXXIS just short of four years. Never low on air, never curbed, LR-D over the oem C.
Always at max 65 psi and no center tread wear.

[JIMNLIN]

Most on these forums seem to favor the Maxxis 8008 over the Carlisle HD. Main reason is history. The Maxxis have a long history of being one of the few decent ST tires.

With over 30 members reporting issues with their Maxxis ST8008 tires there not without issues either. Not all Maxxis ST 8008 tire sizes has the nylon cap under the tread which may have contributed to those that had issues.
Carlisle HD has been on the market for about a year now. It takes several years and 30k-40k of service to find out just how good they are or aren't.

[RinconVTR]

I have yet to see a Maxis tire photo or web site of Maxis that proves the speed rating being stated in this thread. That would would be the end all be all.

Again, my replies from Maxis do not align with said statements here at all. So who's not telling the truth? Internet forum members? Maxis customer service? Me, just another internet schmuck?

You know what else? Certain people believe they should not run their loaded TT ST tires at the recommended PSI (normally max cold sidewall PSI) for fear it will ride hard. That's funny. Do those same people balance their ST tires to eliminate out of balance vibration? I highly doubt it!

This whole thread has turned into silly non-sense. One of the worst tire threads I've even read. Seriously. Peace out!

[time2roll]

The center wear issues have all but disappeared with steel belted radials.
Certainly an extra 10 psi(not to exceed sidewall max) will not cause the issue.
And who wears out a trailer tire? Far more often they age out or fail.

[mileshuff]

Atlee wrote:
Re: #1) I don't ever plan on going to a scale and weighing each trailer tire in order to know how much air to put in it.

For a small popup or other very light trailer towed by a larger vehicle such as 1/2 ton or bigger truck I'd tend to agree it isn't necessary to weigh it.

Otherwise it is VERY useful to get your rig weighed at a CAT scale. Too many people underestimate the weight of their rig when fully loaded. They end up over the trailers tire and axle limit or over the GVWR of the tow vehicle.

The other useful thing to do is carry temp sensor. These are point and shoot devices. Simply aim at the tire immediately after stopping and get a temp reading. Quick way to tell if tires are running way too hot which happens when overloaded or under inflated.