Huntingdog, you have hit upon a great "real world" way to measure this issue. If some ambitious person could show that (for example) Airstream, Arctic Fox, and Lance all require LT tires, while the cheaper companies (insert name here) use ST, that would go a long way toward persuading me of two things:
First, that LT tires can be superior to ST tires, according to folks whose bottom line depends on that difference.
Second, that LT tires are higher-end products, while ST tires are low-end mass market tires.
If I discover that LT tires are demonstrably superior, I will be enlightened but annoyed, after shelling out big bucks for my new Goodyear Endurance tires.
On an entirely different plane, notice that this discussion has not been a pointless exercise in chest-thumping. By kicking this issue around (and focusing on the behavior of manufacturers, both of tires and trailers), we as a group may have moved the ball downfield. It's too soon to say, but certainly Huntingdog's observation, if borne out by the data, is really useful.
This discussion is not a waste of time -- it is useful. Yes, there have been some comments that are a little incendiary. That is the nature of a robust debate.
People will get offended. That's ok. This is not a "safe space," where everything has to be polite and genteel. We are adults exchanging ideas.
This -- the internet forum as a tool for discussion -- is a whole new model of the old New England town hall. The etiquette is still evolving, but there is no way we could have had a comparable nationwide back-and-forth 25 years ago.
It is kind of fun to be alive during a hinge-point in human affairs. Think what it was like when printed books first arrived, or the telephone.
