Ohio_Engineer
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Re: LT Tire Replacements - All season
JBarca wrote: Time for new tires. Trying to find someone in the same weight range or that has been running their chosen brands close in the weight range listed below. Currently using. BFG Commercial TA's LT225/75R16 LR E. 2,680# @ 80 psi. Now 5 1/2 years old. Axles: 5,000# springs are the limiting factor. Trailer GVWR: 10,000# Camper loaded: 9,920# GVW Largest loaded axle: 4,400# aligned with 5,360# of tires/axle Needs: I need/want to be able to run winter (below freezing) and summer temperatures on the same tires. I have had 2 failures this year. This might be from 2 reasons: 1. It is not beyond impossible I ran into a patch potholes. The tires could have been damaged internally and manifested itself to the recent failures. 2. These current failed tires were also potentially made in the same BFG plant they had the recall on the next size from mine during 2012 when I put mine on. This may or may not have to do with the recent failures. BFG Recall Mine look like this video. Tire shop showing recalled tires I have a TPM system (Truck Systems TST) and the running pressures at 60 mph were 90psi and 89F stem temperatures when the failures occurred. I'm not blaming the tires at this point, I want the best LT option within reason to replace them with. New replacement choices I have found. Michelin XPS Ribs: They are only a summer tire Bridgestone Duravis R250: They are only a summer tire. The above both have been reported to give excellent service however I need all season. Bridgestone Duravis R238: Duravis R238 These appear to be an option as they are all season and similar tread as the R250's Firestone Transforce HT: These appear to be an option, maybe not as heavy duty as the Duravis R238's Transforce HT BFG Commercial TA 2: An upgraded version with "Cool Wedge shoulder insert" from what I already have. BFG Commercial TA 2's BFG has had now 2 recalls in the Commercial TA's including the new 2 version. I linked 2012 one above and here is the 2015 recall. https://www.bfgoodrichtires.com/safety-recall.page With that, I'm not real high on another set of BFG Commercial TA's. Anyone with the same size, running all season tires? and other brands in the same or slightly higher weight range? Again need all season options. I already went through the ST to LT upgrade. See here for wheel weights etc. ST225/75R15 to LT225/75R16 Conversion Thanks John John, The BS R250 is a "Commercial" grade steel body tire. As such I would expect it to be more durable than a more basic "consumer" grade tire. I have heard good things about the 250 from RV owners. The BS R238 is a "newer" design (unusual for BS to go down in model number) It may have some design improvements in it over the 250 but I do not have access to the actual specification so just a reasonable guess. I agree with the others about questioning the need for a serious All-Season tire. They generally have a deeper tread which might generate more heat. Your pictures are definitely a Belt/Tread separation. Surprised your "free spin" inspection didn't allow you to identify the potential for problems before the tire came apart. IMO this is unusual. Are your tire loads still about the same as in 2012? Still running 80 psi cold? Have you confirmed gauge accuracy? If +/- 2 psi you are good. In my blog I did a TPM accuracy test a few weeks ago you may want to review but IMO the TPM sensors were in acceptable range. While TPM are really designed just to warn of pressure loss they can be used to confirm CIP too as long as you know the accuracy of your sensors. Roger Marble, Tire Desigh Engineer (Ret)810Views0likes0CommentsRe: Road trip and two blow outs on Goodyear Marathons
Vintage465 wrote: It is interesting all the different issues with trailer tires. One thing is for sure. They have been historically bad in most cases. My trailer came with and still has Goodyear Marathons 205's in 14" with the "C" rating. I have pulled it some where around 20,000 miles and I'm having good success. I'm pretty religious about keeping the pressure at 50psig, but I do cook down the road at 65-75 mph depending on the speed limit. Looking at the spec's on the Maxxis, I'd say in a like for like size, in my case the 205-14's the Good year Endurance is going to win the comparison with me as it is a Load Range D and not C. Although, I have to say, I've read nothing but good print on the latest Maxxis. One thing I haven't done is tow at very high ambient temps. Most of my long distance driving has been in the fall and winter. GY Marathons have a MAX speed rating of 65 mph (this is like engine redline) Belt separation (pealing) is a sign of excess heat in the tire structure. High Speed can be the root cause.527Views0likes0CommentsRe: Tire pressures and my air compressor
Hopefully you only need to "top off" your tires (add 5 to 10 psi). If that is what you need than air volume isn't an issue. If you need to add more there is something wrong and the tire may have structural damage. I would only have a professional shop do the inflation (in a cage) if I needed more than 10% to the pressure.629Views0likes0CommentsRe: Need advice on setting TPMS alarms
From a tire standpoint... You do not want to drive on a tire that has less air than needed to carry the actual load. You can also avoid getting readings from your TPMS if you ensure the Cold Inflation Pressure CIP is above the minimum. Soooo 1. Knowing the actual load on each tire I know the minimum inflation needed based on the heavier end of each axle. 2. The CIP is the minimum + 10%. This gives a nice cushion when the temperature drops a few degrees. At 2% change for each 10F change if you see a 50F change in ambient you probably need to make an inflation change. 3. The low pressure warning level should be the minimum inflation needed to carry the load. Good TPMS will provide early warning if the tire looses a few psi from the running hop pressure and not only warn when a tire gets down to the set warning level. 4. You will probably find a +25% above the CIP adequate for high pressure warning BUT normally that will not be a problem. 5. The 158F high temp is also a reasonable number.461Views0likes0CommentsRe: Tire pressure monitor system
wredman wrote: looking on amazon, there are a lot of choices for these systems, and a wide range of cost. Has anyone used and happily used one of the ~$150 options, compared to the ~$300 models. I don't need to monitor 22 tires, 6 - 10 should be fine. While I buy a lot of stuff from Amazon I would suggest you confirm the ability to contact the MFG rep (importer) and that they are knowledgeable about RVs. Anyone can import and sell little electronic things out of some industrial warehouse location but to understand potential issues with RV application IMO the seller needs to have had a number of years working in and with the RV community. You might visit the retailer web site and see if they have a list of RV "shows" or "conventions" or "Rallies" they will be attending in 2017. Low initial price on this important safety device may not be the best or most important feature for consideration.427Views0likes0CommentsRe: Another tire question
Esacnj wrote: After towmax blowout @ start of my 3rd season I changed to LT's. Second incident with ST's. First with Mission (@ start of 2nd season) on a travel trailer after which I did extensive research and adhered to all I learned and still had the blowout on 5th wheel. Was the "blowout" a Sidewall Run Low Flex Failure? or did you suffer a tread/belt separation before the tire lost all its air? Also when you changed from ST type to LT type did you select LT tires with load capacity that was equal or greater than the ST type or did you select LT type that had same numbers for the tire size? Load Range of ST? and of LT?368Views0likes0CommentsRe: Another tire question
riven1950 wrote: Not all ST are 65mph rated. Just bought a new TT. I was surprised to see they have a speed rating of 75 mph, rated as L I beleive. Can't remember the brand but they are ST, and yes, made in China. BTW I have no plans to test the speed. Usually towing 60-65 mph. That's true but the load on an ST is higher than the load on an LT. Physics doesn't change. The main difference in the load numbers is based on ST formula written for 65 mph MAX. There is no magic involved in placing the letters ST on a sidewall instead of LT. If you want to run your tires like they were LT then the LT loads are what you should be using.369Views0likes0CommentsRe: Failure of tire recall system
Whiskey River wrote: I did not know there was a tire registration authority. So I clicked on the Ohio Engineer's post. It has no current recall info and directs you to NHTSA's web site, which I did. There you can check any tire brand and type. Since Goodyear Marathon is everyone's favorite piece of pie, I checked them. For Goodyear Marathon the NHTSA has 102 Complaints, 0 Recalls, 0 Investigations & 0 Manufacture Communications. I thought this was somewhat interesting as I think there are more complaints here on RV Net than at the NHTSA. I also checked Goodyear Eagle & Goodyear Wrangler and know nothing about them other than I have seen them advertised on tv. The Eagle has 362 complaints and the Wrangler has 413 complaints. So what this means, I have no clue other than I thought there would be a lot more complaints against Marathon's based on this and other forums...... Registration company only collects the info. They are not charged with monitoring automotive safety. Many people do not know they can/should report tire failures. many also simply would rather complain around a campfire, some won't because "government is bad and can't do anything right". NHTSA has a limited budget. They have to prioritize what to investigate Death & personal injury comes first. The complaint also requires people provide reasonable accurate info such as the correct size and full DOT serial. Also having a couple pictures of the failure might be helpful if NHTSA wants more info. I have an email from a reader of my tire blog who filed a couple of complaints and the tire company contacted him and e ended up with a new set of tires!278Views0likes0CommentsFailure of tire recall system
Jan issue of Motorhome magazine had item on tire recalls and how an owner was not notified by either the RV company or the tire company. Luckily the owner saw a news story about the tire recall and had his tires replaced for free. If there is a tire recall by law the tire company is to notify those that own covered tires BUT this requires that the tire company has been given the names and address of the owners. As posted on a tire blog: "According to Federal law all DOT tires are supposed to be registered and that information is supposed to be entered in a big database to enable future contact in case of a recall. The problem is that according to various studies only about 17% of tires sold by dealers have the necessary registration forms completed and sent to the REGISTRATION AUTHIORITY. Do you know if all your tires have been registered? If not then you will probably never know about a tire safety recall.." If you want to be sure you get notified you can register your tires yourself by going to the registration authority.2.2KViews0likes5CommentsRe: Tire Manufacturer Recommendations?
dacraven wrote: Hi, We have a 2013 Skyline Mountain View Joey Select (TT), currently with 225/75R15 Power King Tow Max tires load range D's. About 2 months ago we had a blow out that caused significant damage to the wheel well and I always check pressure, never overload and travel usually about 65-70mph when pulling. The GVWR is about 8500. The tires appeared to be in great shape when it blew and I've subsequently found a lot of bad reviews for those tires. I have been looking to replace the set before we leave on a trip that will be roughly a 1400 mile trip in December and I want to have a dependable set of tires. I am also fairly intent on buying a load range E set this time. I have found some Trailer Kings on amazon with mostly good reviews but wanted any opinions on reputable tire manufacturers. Any suggestions? If the failure was in the mid to upper sidewall then you had a Run Low Flex Failure. A TPMS should have provided warning of the air leak. It only takes a few miles of driving at highway speed to end up with a tire that looks like this. or this If the tire looked like this Then you suffered a belt separation which comes from excess load, heat and speed (faster than 60 - 62 mph)433Views0likes0Comments
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