Travel Trailer Tire Choice

[katoom400]

last fall we had a blowout on our way up to Lake George. We had the original tires on our 2014 Outback 250rs. Which I thought were good tires..at least as far as OEM tires go.

the blowout occured on the side that gets a lot of sun in our driveway so I suspect that had something to do with it. I always check tire pressure and keep at 65psi. The blowout caused a good amount of damage so we are looking to replace the other 3 OEM tires before another one occurs.

On the highway we had to take what we could get from a local tire shop which was a Duraturn ST 225/75 r15 10ply load range E.

Now I'm going to replace the others tires, should I buy 3 more of these? I can't seem to find much about them on the net. or replace all four with Maxxis ST's and keep the duraturn for the spare?

[bobndot]

katoom400 wrote:

bobndot wrote:
Are you guys running the new heavy ply tires on the OEM rims ?
What are you doing about trying to match up the PSI ratings of the rims vs tires ? It seems like those 10 ply's are 80# psi ?
Are the rims rated at the same ?

how would you know what psi the wheel is rated for? I've never seen psi for wheels, just tires?

I found my Outback OEM aluminum wheels on etrailer and these are the specs they list:

Specs:
Rim dimensions: 15" diameter x 6" wide
Bolt pattern: 6 on 5-1/2"
Wheel bolt size: 1/2"-20
Pilot diameter: 4.25"
Offset: 0
Capacity: 2,830 lbs
Lifetime warranty against structural defects


https://www.etrailer.com/Tires-and-Wheels/HWT/TTWALS556655.html

Re C ply D ply or E ply : IMO, As long as your tires can support your max gross trailer weight on your axles then you should be good.
You have to go to a scale to know your real rolling down the road weight.

Wheels should be stamped on the inside somewhere with a psi #. You have to remove the tire in order to view it.

I just double checked the tires on my utility trailer and the last set were actually 15" D ply's. The OEM tires were C ply. I do not know what the psi rating is of my wheels, but the new ST D ply are working fine so far at 2000 miles with steel valves. Im running them 5 lbs under cold max at 60 psi.

I think its a good idea to balance the wheels. Some tires are out of whack more than others. Seems to me it would protect the wheel bearings a bit if it ran smooth.

[RAMwoodworks]

Tire thread. Great, I have a tire question.

Should I get my tires balanced? They are new and only have the mileage from delivery and the 122 miles I put on them bringing my trailer home.

I only found one article online and the author said trailer tires don't need to be balanced because there is no lateral load on them at speed. Doesn't make sense to me.

If I do pull them off to get balanced where do I put the jackstands on my dual axle travel trailer?

[filrupmark]

I can vouch for Maxxis. Had two sets on previous fiver. I also agree with DutchmanSport.

[Lwiddis]

Katoom, we are all learning. If not, we are dead...physically or mentally.

[JIMNLIN]

Your 15" 6 lug wheels have a 2830 lb load rating which = a 15" ST E tires 2830 lb @ 80 psi capacity. As long as the wheel has a high pressure valve stem its good for 80 psi.

I've been towing trailers since the early '60s..... sometimes to make a living.
I wouldn't have a wheel on a trailer (or any vehicle) without a pressure and load rating.
All five of my trailers from a small 10k car hauler to a triaxle GN trailer with 7k axles all have pressure and load rated steel wheels.

[katoom400]

I assume since my wheel is rated at 2,830lbs, it can handle an E range tire's pressure.

the question is, should I get the E? or will the D be just fine? there is only a $6 difference in price per tire.

[katoom400]

bobndot wrote:
Are you guys running the new heavy ply tires on the OEM rims ?
What are you doing about trying to match up the PSI ratings of the rims vs tires ? It seems like those 10 ply's are 80# psi ?
Are the rims rated at the same ?

how would you know what psi the wheel is rated for? I've never seen psi for wheels, just tires?

I found my Outback OEM aluminum wheels on etrailer and these are the specs they list:

Specs:
Rim dimensions: 15" diameter x 6" wide
Bolt pattern: 6 on 5-1/2"
Wheel bolt size: 1/2"-20
Pilot diameter: 4.25"
Offset: 0
Capacity: 2,830 lbs
Lifetime warranty against structural defects


https://www.etrailer.com/Tires-and-Wheels/HWT/TTWALS556655.html

[coolbreeze01]

I've gone from C to E rated tires on OE rims, no problem.

[bobndot]

Are you guys running the new heavy ply tires on the OEM rims ?
What are you doing about trying to match up the PSI ratings of the rims vs tires ? It seems like those 10 ply's are 80# psi ?
Are the rims rated at the same ?

[coolbreeze01]

I've had good luck with E.

[katoom400]

DutchmenSport wrote:
Last year I replaced the tires on my Outback 298RE with Carlisle's (ST225 / 75 R15, Loan Range E, 80 psi, rated at 81mph ... all labeled right on the tire)

Even though I had only 1 bad tire (factory original), I replaced all 4 at the same time. Since the tires were installed, we've made 1 trip to Florida and 2 trips to South Carolina (from central Indiana), and several trips across Indiana. I keep the sun side of the trailer tires covered at home all the time. The shadow side is not covered.

I've had absolutely no problems with these tires. My speed is normally 60 mph, 65 at the absolute fastest, and I am very careful when backing that I'm not forcing side pressure on the tires by backing in sharp turns. Not always possible, but I try very hard to avoid backing sharp turns causing side force on the tires.

For the size of your trailer, these Carlisle's would do you very well. Get all 4 tires the same, whatever you do, and replace all 4 at the same time, regardless of how good the remaining tires look on your camper. Treat your tires the same as you would on your car or truck.

hmmm some guys say don't go E range, other say go E?

I tend to lean toward load range E 10 ply tires on my trucks...of course my SuperDuty came with them, and 95% of the time I'm running the truck with just my weight in it. I don't run them over 60 psi just to give me a decent ride, and I don't think I need to without weight in the truck.

On my Tundra a had switched to Load Range E tires and ran them at 50 psi since the truck was so light.

With all my E range tires I've never had a blow out or premature failure...maybe I've just been lucky but I put on 25k miles a year

I'm now leaning toward the Carlisle's since they seem to get a good reviews...there is only a couple bucks difference between D and E range...not sure which way to go?

[rbpru]

Remember, even the best tire is going to go flat, if you hit a road hazard.

The last road hazard I hit, put a base ball sized dent in the rim and shredded the new D rated tire I had installed a few months before.

I never saw the object but it made a real mess of the tire.

[katoom400]

Lwiddis wrote:
You didn't cover your tires when parked at home? I cover up all four if stationary for more than two full days.

no I didn't...live and learn...I'll buy covers for the sunny side, the other side gets zero sun.

[Lwiddis]

You didn't cover your tires when parked at home? I cover up all four if stationary for more than two full days.

[Ivylog]

I would find a 2-3 year old set of takeoffs... Truck/Suv 225/75R15 wih 5-6/32 tread left for less than $50 mounted. Might go up to a 235 which S10 PU use.