cre8fun

So after the blow out, I went to my tire guy to replace the tire. he went on a rant heard hear often - trailer tires SUCK. I said, OK, what other options do I have. he said switch to truck tires. He said I should replace my 235/80/16's with 235/85/16 truck tires and I just needed one with the same or heavier single tire load rating. he said they are made better, more reliable and last longer. I was a bit surprised as the cost is the same.

has anyone gone this route? if so, anything to report back on whether they pull well, last longer, more reliable, etc.

Side note - I've seen several people here say they replace all their trailer tires every 4 years regardless of tread depth. The one that blew had a date of 2013 on it and lots of tread. so 4 years might even be too long. wow, that sounds crazy.

TXE36

I put Michelin LTX P-metric truck tires on my open trailer when I bought it in Jan 2015 and haven't had any problems. I did have to add boards to the trailer to raise the car so it wouldn't catch on the rear edge during loading and so I could open the door. The truck tires were only 1/2" in diameter bigger, but that 1/4" made a difference twice.

I got the idea of the Airstream Forums. Those guys use real truck tires, not P-metrics, as I'm sure an enclosed trailer would require as real LT tires have higher load ratings. Lots of stories of blown trailer tires doing serious damage to their trailers.

Other than having to buy rims, the cost the Michelin LTX P-Metric tires was about the same as trailer tires, about $125. Very happy with them. Very good wet grip.

-Mike

177mph

There are easily 5 or 10 threads on this already. Everyone has an opinion and a story. I just replace my tires every 4-5 years.

cre8fun

Thanks - originally searched the truck and trailer forum. I now searched the main forum. agree. many opinions and no clear direction. in my case, my current tires are rated at 3400 pounds. no other E rated LT tire in a similar size is rated that high. I'll stick with the ST tires.

the one that blew was a 2013 tire. it blew on a 100 degree day doing 75. yeah, likely I should have been going slower, especially given the heat. I checked the others. one is a 2013, others are 2104 and 15. I'll replace the other 13 and do the others down the road. hopefully end of story. we'll see.

Kein_Ersatz

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tirete...jsp?techid=219

Trailer tire are designed with a stiffer sidewall and tread pattern that "prefers" to roll straight and thus "resists" turning, when compare to LT tire patterns.

Also pay attention to LT max air pressures to get the sidewall stiff.

So you "may" get more tail wagging the dog with LT, but all depends on total set up of your tow package. If you give them a try, let us know how it turns out / tows.

StoogeMoe

Boing! Aren't D rated tires only good to 65mph? The high ambient temperature doesn't help either.

Sboxin

Bridgestone Duravis R500 225/75/16 80psi truck tires - several of us have had great success with these tires - and you can drive 75 MPH safely. 24' enclosed 7500# trailer on 10K axles -- some of the delivery companies use this tire because of the sidewall curb protection rib . . . just hauled 2500 miles in the past 3 months . . .


Regards,

Trailers of the East Coast

I strongly recommend trailer tires be replaced every 3 years (and absolutely no longer than 5 years), regardless of mileage, care, condition, or any other variable.

The ST/LT debate is an ugly one -- as long as they are cared for and a quality tire, I have not seen any reason not to run an ST in an application where the load/speed ratings are sufficient. As Kein_Ersatz pointed out, trailer tires are designed specifically with that application in mind and generally will result in a better behaved trailer.

LT tires, however, will be rated higher and will wear longer in most applications due to the different construction. Even with those tires, I would still strongly recommend 5 years max on any trailer tire.

- Matt

cre8fun

yeah, they are rated at 65 and there's some language that says if if you can raise the cold pressure, you can go up to 75, but Iv'e not really figured out that parameter.

that said, I did also see the quote someone put in the trailer tire thread in the main forum where Carlisle tires said their trailer tires loose 30% of their strength after 2 years. whew.

I'm going to stick with ST tires, but will ensure they are replaced at 3 years. heck compared to track tires they are cheap. replace at 3 years and I don't have to worry that my sidewall construction is not made to keep the trailer as steady as possible (like with LT tires). also I could not find an LT that was rated as highly as my ST (my ST's are rated for 3400#, the LTs all seem to cap out at 3000#)

cre8fun

here is the language from tire rack:
"However, Goodyear Marathon and Power King Towmax STR tires featuring the ST size designation may be used at speeds between 66 and 75 mph (106 and 121 km/h) by increasing their cold inflation pressure by 10 psi (69 kPa) above the recommended pressure for the rated maximum load."

so are they saying to use 90 psi cold? (80+10)?

Trailers of the East Coast

Goodyear did release a bulletin on the Marathon tires recommending that practice for speeds up to 75mph. 10psi over max stated pressure for the load, but that's been 10 years ago.

- Matt

TXE36

Sorry, with all the evidence that has accumulated on Chinese made trailer tires, I'll take an LT tire from a reputable manufacturer. I don't buy the "roll straight" or "made to follow" arguments. Truck tires don't wander on the truck and there aren't special tires for the rear of front wheel drive cars. The 65 MPH speed limit isn't impressive either. I just can't shake the feeling that "ST" really means good enough for trailer, but not a vehicle carrying passengers.

To me, trailer tires only make sense if the LT tires can't meet the load requirements or won't fit.

YMMV

-Mike

Sboxin

It is my understanding the ST trailer tires are weight rated for 67 MPH.

Regards,

Sboxin

It seems a little short sighted to increase trailer ST tires by 10 PSI over the manufacturer's maximum recommended tire pressure so you can drive 75 MPH instead of 65 MPH . . .

As an aside . . . our 80 PSI tires increase to 85-90 PSI after heating up on the road.

We have a lot of $$ invested in the car in the trailer . . . just sayin'

Regards,

PS: so, how often do you inspect and repack the trailer wheel bearings . . .

Frank 993 C4S

My guess is that most trailer tires fail either due to age or due to under inflation and not because they are made in China or are not truck tires. Before experimenting with truck tires I would:

- check your trailer tire pressures before every single tow
- get a TPM system because it helps you identify slow leaks due to punctures