mfoster711
College Station Tx
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Joined: 08/12/2006
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I only want people who are fans of LT Tires to respond to this post. I realize some of you disagree but that is not the point of my question. Please, this is not an LT vs ST debate.
I just finished reading all 7 pages of this discussion regarding LT tires vs ST tires and boy was it fun! I think I agree with the LT Tire Fans and I will most likely replace my tires with LT tires when the time comes. I am curious what other LT Fans would do in my current situation. Here it is:
I currently have a 2009 Jayco 30.5BHS. Per specs the GVWR is 11,100 lbs, Empty weight is 8,300 lbs. I weighed the trailer once with most of my stuff in it and it was only 9,140 lbs (1780 hitch weight + 7340 on the actual trailer tires). I had one blowout since I bought the trailer but I honestly believe I contributed to that by driving too fast. I have since slowed down.
I have 2 new Carlisle tires on one side and 2 original goodyears on the other but they are still less than 2 years old (I checked the actual date on the tire). I also bought an extra spare tire so I always have two good spares. I always check the tire pressure in my tires before every trip and I recently even bought a TST Tire monitor. My current tires are 225/75-15 Load Range D (2540 per tire). I plan to switch to 253/80-16 Load Range E when the time comes.
Per my calculations I currently have 7,340 lbs on tires capable of caring 10,160 lbs combined. I believe I am well within any safety measures. But, I am planning a trip to Florida this year (1500 miles round trip) and want to be safe.
So here is my question for the LT Fans. Seeing that I am well within the weight ratings on my current tires, the tires are all less than 2 years old, I have a TST monitoring system, not to mention I am just plan anal about checking my tires, ..... when would you replace these tires? Now? Before you went on a 1500 mile trip? In the next year?
2007 Ford F250 Lariet 4x4 Diesel
2009 Jayco Eagle Super Lite 30.5BHS
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Texas Jim S
Belton, TX
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Joined: 08/22/2008
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mfoster711, if you check my profile you will find that I have a 5th wheel the same size and weight as yours, and I pull it with the same truck. I also live in Texas where we have extremely hot weather. I also spent 40 years in the tire business. Heat is a tires worst enemy and that is why tires that are run up north have far fewer problems than those run in the south. I would change the tires before your trip but not to 235/80R16 but to LT235/85R16 Load Range E and I think the best value is B F Goodrich Commercial Hwy. The reason for this is a 80 profile is a trailer designation and that size is not nearly as available if you get caught out on the road as a 85 profile. The B F Goodrich Commercial Hwy is highly thought of by RV'ers, a reasonably priced tire and should be easily found while you are traveling. I suggest that you buy your tires and rims with metal stems from one dealer so if you should have any problem one person is not blaming the other. Something else you may want to consider is that you will be traveling accross Louisiana on your trip which is not noted for fine roads. Be sure to inflate your tires to 80 PSI. Remember the tires are always older than your trailer. On the back side of the tire you will see DOT ( Department Of Transportation ) followed by numbers stamped into the tire. The last four numbers will tell you when the tire was manufactured. The first two is the week and the last two are the year. For instance 4206 would tell you that your tires were manufactured in the 42nd week of 2006. I doubt that you will EVER find anybody in the tire business that will recomend a ST tire as most of them are of very low quality. I hope that I have been of some help. Oh, yes the tires on my 5th wheel are LT235/85R16 Load Range E. If you have any clearance issues a LT215/75R16 or LT245/75R16 Load Range E are a little smaller in diameter.
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Scooter Alfa
Central Cal
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Joined: 03/24/2008
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I think you have to consider the quality of the tire and make your decision. My trailer came with LT tires from the factory (ALFA). I lost a new tire that replaced the originals. The replacement was Coopers (never again). So I put on XPS Michlein. All steel. Same size as original. Think of this, is it cheaper to put new tires on or have yout trailer laid up for 6 months being repaired and paying the bill and being without the trailer?
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Golden_HVAC
Fulltime, CA, USA
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Joined: 08/19/2003
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Hi,
I would also recommend all steel tires, the Michelin have a steel sidewall tire (instead of the weaker and softer polyester sidewall) and that is what I use. AS for changing from 15" to 16" rims, I don't think it will matter much, with only 2,500 pounds or so on each tire. (I am sure that one tire or another will have more than 1/4 of the weight, side to side not many manufactures get this within 400 or even 750 pounds). But upgrading to a tire capable of 2,900 pounds would help more.
Yes going with a 3,050 rim and tire is a good idea. Why wait? Yes you can still use the best of the 15" rims for a spare- even with the 16" rim upgrade. But if money is a consern, then just change out the tires, and keep using the same rims, if they are rated at the right weight, IF you can get a all steel tire. If you can not find a all steel tire, then you can find the all steel in a 16" LT 235/85R16E size. Good luck finding 5 or 6 lug 16" rims, they are a little more difficult to find.
Good Luck,
Fred.
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gitane59
Ontario, Can
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Joined: 02/21/2004
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Regardless of the ST versus LT component of this question the OP should replace at least the 2 other original tires since they also were subjected to the excessive speeds that the OP believes quite likely contributed to the failure of the first two.
If it were me I would go with an equivalent diameter LT with a higher speed rating and start towing without the constant fear of unexplained tire failures. If you currently have D-rated tires and don't want to buy new rims and can find a 15inch E-rated LT tire make sure your current rims are stamped to hold 80PSI before mounting E-rated tires on them.
2001 Newmar Kountry Star 34BLDS
2010 Ford F350 CC DRW 6.4L
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M GO BLUE
Southgate, MI
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Joined: 01/29/2001
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When we had our previous Jayco fiver one of the first things I did was check the tires and compared it to the total weight of the fiver (especially after I experienced two blow-outs)....I immediately went from a "D" rate 15" ST tire to an "E" rated 16" LT tire and you could feel the difference in ride, stability, etc. and no more blowouts...I am a big fan of having LT tires on trailers
ERIC & BEV
2005 Chevy Silverado 3500 dually CC/LB Duramax/Allison
2008 Jayco Designer 35RLTS fifth wheel
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JIMNLIN
Big Cabin, OK
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Joined: 09/14/2003
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If they were my tires they would get replace ASAP.
I have several trailers including the 11200 GVWR 5er in sig. If they (any trailer type) come with ST tires I dump them. I had my issues with ST tires in the '70s/80s on several different trailers (non RVs) and have used P or LT tires since.
My current 5er was bought used from one of my area dealers. The dealer had installed new Marathon ST225/75-15 D tires. I bought Four 16" trailer wheels and dropped by my Goodyear truck tire dealer. Because of clearance issues I went with the BFG Commercial LT215/85-16 E which are rated 2680 lbs each. The LTs are fine with operating at max psi and loads.
That was in '03 and with over 65k miles on the tires they still operate on the interstate near me at legal 75 mph speeds. I've had zero issues with these tires.
"good judgment comes from experience, and a lot of that comes from bad judgment" Will Rogers
'03 2500 QC Dodge/Cummins HO 3.73 6 speed manual Jacobs Westach Linex
'97 Park Avanue 28' 5er with two slides 16" BFG Commercial LTs
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Chris
Shelter Bay, Wa
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Joined: 12/19/2000
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I also would say get rid for your current tires and install quality LT tires. If you can fit LT235/85R16 under your trailer, I will argue that at your weight you do not need full max sidewall inflation. I weight around 9500-9800 lbs on my axles and run around 70-72 lbs in my XPS RIB's. I have ran them for 5 years and around 20-25 miles. I ran with a similar size trailer with the same tires and my infrared heat gun showed them running at the same temp.
The Michelin XPS RIB is one of the best available, you can however do quite well with the BFG Commercial TA at a lower cost.
You should be able to get rid of the second spare.
You are on the right track.
Also for reference they say that different tires should not be run on the same axle. The Marathon's should have been on one axle and the other two on the other axle.
Chris
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2001.5 2500 STD CAB AUTO SLT 4x4, CTD 4:10's, Bomb'd to Tow
2005 Cardinal 29WBLX.
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Skip N Barb Team
Dickinson, Texas
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Joined: 09/11/2007
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Just remember to get rims with the proper width for the tires you want.I wanted to upgrade mine with the XPS's, but found out that my rims are only 6" wide. XPS tires require a minimum of 6.5".
Good Luck
Skip
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georgej
Canby, Oregon
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Joined: 05/23/2007
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According to Michelins website XPS's can run on 6-7 inch rims.In my experience with D rated ST tires they lasted two years before bubbles started appearing and were replaced then.I've put about 40K miles on the LT ribs with out a hiccup.
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