Go back and look at the comparision to the Yokohama 700x15LT. The truck tire is four pounds, about 14% heavier. Extra material means extra cost in manufacture. The ST tires, all of them, are pared down to the bare minimum.
All of which begs the question, if we consider that the statement regarding all ST's being "pared" down to be accurate, then it's not illogical that those folks whose trailers currently are equipped with D rated tires, should seriously consider moving to an E rated ST tire. Will the ST E rated tire carry that cushion of safety that the D's are not providing today?
I'll be honest with you all that was one of the deciding factors as to why I went from D to E's when I replaced my Marathon's.
Jack
__________________
Jack Canavera
STL Mo. AIR #56
'04 Classic 30' S.O.
'03 GMC Savana 2500
'08 Vespa GTS 250
Michelin and many other tire manufactures have stopped makeing trailer tires altogeather. Those that are still being made are now made in China.
I have been tring to get a D rated tires for my daughters trailer and there are none made. Even tried to get LTs but none are made in the size we need. The wheel well is too small to accept whats out there.
As for my Airstream I replaced all the wheels with 16 in and am now using E rated Michelin LTs.
I've always used GoodYear tires on my trailers for the past 31 years. I've never had the problems that I read about on the rv forums. These tires are rated for a towing speed of 65 MPH. I just read a thread about a tire blowout on a trailer that was being towed at 75 MPH.
My neighbor was getting ready to leave on a trip with his travel trailer. The tires were the GoodYear Marathons. I noticed one was low on air pressure. He said he had checked the pressure the day before. The valve stem was leaking air. The wrong valve stems were being used. These were the original tires from the rv factory.
If he had been traveling on the road when the tire pressure dropped and the tire blew out I'm sure he would have found fault with the tires.
... it's not illogical that those folks whose trailers currently are equipped with D rated tires, should seriously consider moving to an E rated ST tire. Will the ST E rated tire carry that cushion of safety that the D's are not providing today?
Jack
It sure seems logical to me that not running a tire at the upper limit of it's load rating and inflation would give you an added margin of safety. Tire manufacturers do provide tables of load vs inflation. A "rock hard" tire does not necessarily equate to low rolling resistance or less heat build up. A properly inflated tire is what work best. In the case of my '78 Argosy the owners manual says to inflate the tires to only 40psi. To do that and still meet the load spec wouldn't I have to start with a load range E tire.
I have been tring to get a D rated tires for my daughters trailer and there are none made. Even tried to get LTs but none are made in the size we need. The wheel well is too small to accept whats out there.
What was the original size? I've found that tire dealers don't always give you the whole spectrum of choices. Most are only interested in spending a minute or two looking through the catalog of their primary supplier(s). Even worse is the guy that "looks it up on the computer". I think they're used to 99% of their customers just buying whatever they tell them is right. And for 99% of the applications it's pretty straight forward.
All of which begs the question, if we consider that the statement regarding all ST's being "pared" down to be accurate, then it's not illogical that those folks whose trailers currently are equipped with D rated tires, should seriously consider moving to an E rated ST tire. Will the ST E rated tire carry that cushion of safety that the D's are not providing today?
I'll be honest with you all that was one of the deciding factors as to why I went from D to E's when I replaced my Marathon's.
Jack
Hi, I'm still doing good with my original Marathons. Load range D, on a 6,300 lbs GVWR Safari, but I would be very concerned having the same four tires holding up under your larger and much heavier trailer. Load range E tires probably should be on all two axle trailers over 7,300 lbs GVWR.
I have had most if not all of the experiences with trailer tires listed in this thread (middle of a national forest, old tire sold as new, etc). One tossed a tread but continued to run on the steel belt for another 50 miles, still holding pressure. The slight bump I felt didn't alert me to the problem. The rest shredded, with accompanying damage. My Airstream is stored inside, most of the time without weight on the tires. I have had three failures in the last 3 years, four in the last five, and five in the last seven. Age (over 3 yrs) seems to be the common denominator. Curiously, I ran four tires on a car trailer bought in '94 for seven years before a failure, and that was after towing it 2200 miles in four days, loaded to the gunwales .
I have come to believe that today's trailer tires are generally of poor quality (junk) because no one is getting killed so no one is getting sued. I now watch all passing cars for the dreaded "pointing at the trailer" gesture.
I am considering switching to a truck tire, maybe even a bias construction. While tandem axle trailers do drag the tires in a tight turn, I cannot believe that it is more stressful than turning the steering wheel of a 3/4 ton pickup when sitting still.
What was the original size? I've found that tire dealers don't always give you the whole spectrum of choices. Most are only interested in spending a minute or two looking through the catalog of their primary supplier(s). Even worse is the guy that "looks it up on the computer". I think they're used to 99% of their customers just buying whatever they tell them is right. And for 99% of the applications it's pretty straight forward.
The tires I am trying to replace are 205 75 R 15s Goodyear has them but only in C rating and that is just too close to the limits for confort.
Yes the average tire salesman could not tell you if a tire is blown up or stuffed. I have never found one that has any idea that there are inflation charts based on load. If they miss that fundemental point size would realy through them.
Hi, I'm still doing good with my original Marathons. Load range D, on a 6,300 lbs GVWR Safari, but I would be very concerned having the same four tires holding up under your larger and much heavier trailer. Load range E tires probably should be on all two axle trailers over 7,300 lbs GVWR.
Good observation. Especially since we all now know that there are E rated ST tires out there. Is anyone aware of any other ST E rated tires out there other than Maxxis?
Jack
__________________
Jack Canavera
STL Mo. AIR #56
'04 Classic 30' S.O.
'03 GMC Savana 2500
'08 Vespa GTS 250
LT tires and 'over rated' tires may cause issues too...
side wall stiffness and the related thickness of the sidewalls is critical for passenger tires.
slip angles and maintaining the contact patch and concepts that go with the 'friction circle' are all impacted
BUT most trailer tires just need to ROLL and carry load, except for backing/parking and pot holes and curb jumping and other abuses that no claims every happens to their tires!
this means adequate air, these are pneumatic tires so they function best inflated and with a HIGHER aspect ratio (again few will admit to ever towing underinflated...
the gym has a thin sidewall and this ads to the suspension characteristics of the tire...
i'm not defending the design or built parameters that gy or other ST tire makers use, but soft/flexible is good for the stream...
going to bias ply or e rating or LT tires WILL stiffen the ride.
and u can be sure that any loose rivets, frame/shell separation or insides that shake loose...
WILL be blamed on using 'non spec'd tires'...
while i agree jacks 30slide is a beast, the WHEELS are only rated to 2200lbs each and adding tire capacity doesn't change that.
cheers
2air'
__________________ all of the true things that i am about to tell you are shameless lies. l.b.johnson
we are here on earth to fart around. don't let anybody tell you any different. k.v.
There are many other factors that also contribute to tire failure that I haven't seen mentioned here. Consider all the factors that cause tires to fail:
Can anyone who has had repeated tire failures (of any brand) confidently say they've eliminated all these factors as a contributing cause?
I've made no secret of the fact that we've had three tread separations in the past six months. Each happened to a different brand: Towmax, Goodyear, Trailer King. The cause in our case seems to have been mis-aligned axles, which were corrected in September but had already caused internal damage to the tires.
while i agree jacks 30slide is a beast, the WHEELS are only rated to 2200lbs each and adding tire capacity doesn't change that.
cheers
2air'
To that end I definitely did not go to E rated tires to allow me to carry more load capacity. My trailer isn't rated for more than 9,100 lbs. So technically 4 D rated Marathons are rated higher than what my trailer is designed to carry.
My intentions were to add some additional strength and margin between my normal towing load and the tire's top end. That I'm hoping will translate to better tire life and resistance to road hazards. Only time will tell.
I'm leery of going to E rated truck tires also and I'm hoping that the E rated ST's will not add that much stiffness to the ride. I'm carrying about 10 psi more pressure in my E rated ST's (75 psi), which is 5 psi below max inflation. So far in my initial tow from STL to Fl. last fall, nothing visually showed up to indicate that the trailer was experiencing a rougher ride.
Jack
__________________
Jack Canavera
STL Mo. AIR #56
'04 Classic 30' S.O.
'03 GMC Savana 2500
'08 Vespa GTS 250
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Hi, I'm still doing good with my original Marathons. Load range D, on a 6,300 lbs GVWR Safari, but I would be very concerned having the same four tires holding up under your larger and much heavier trailer. Load range E tires probably should be on all two axle trailers over 7,300 lbs GVWR.
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