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Old 03-15-2015, 11:53 AM   #1
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Question about tire usage

I have a tire question, I keep reading about 15 vs 16, st vs lt. I run ST on a work trailer, heavier than my AS. I run as fast as I want, enough miles to actually wear out tires in 18-24 months. I have never, in 8 years had a failure. So why cant my AS run on the same 15" ST? I never run ST over three years even if it looks good.
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Old 03-15-2015, 01:30 PM   #2
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Well, technically, most if not all ST tires have a 65 mph speed limitation. Personally, I never tow that fast due to advanced wimpiness and I'll even slow down to 55 or so if I'm on Florida blacktop on a hot day.

You clearly have had different results. Good on you!

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Old 03-15-2015, 02:02 PM   #3
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Old 03-15-2015, 03:11 PM   #4
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Maybe you are the exception that proves the rule!

Nothing says you are guaranteed to have failures with ST tires - just that it seems many people have, including me!

It may be that it is too early to really judge, but a lot of folk who have switched to the 16" LT tires seem to feel that the performance is superior.

I was somewhat on the fence about making the switch but when I saw JC were now offering the 16" LT tires as an upgrade - and I think maybe standard on their top of the line models, I decided to jump on board.

Towed from Toronto to Arizona last year with them and Toronto to Florida this year and so far very happy with them.

I typically run at 70-75 on the interstates. The Michelin tires still look brand new, whereas the last set of ST tires I put on *switched from Marathons to Towmasters seemed to start wearing very quickly - in fact wondered if I had an alignment problem.

If you are happy with what you have, I agree, why change?!

For my part, I was not that concerned about losing control of the trailer if I had a blow out, just concerned about costly damage.

For the same reason, I use a TPMS - even with the Michelin LT's - just so that if I do have a tire leaking air, I will likely be able to stop before it flies apart, and if I should get a sudden blow out, I will know right away and perhaps be more likely to stop the trailer with less damage done.

I'd like to have as many things in my favour as I can!

I still walk around and visually check the tires every time we stop en route.

Brian.
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Old 03-15-2015, 04:12 PM   #5
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All tires will fail if over inflated, under inflated, run over a nail or screw or smack against a curb or if run at excessive speed or over load capacity. Does not mater what the brand or size is. I would bet one or more of these issues can be attributed to most if not all of the failures reported.
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Old 03-15-2015, 07:30 PM   #6
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I am really open to the idea of 16" and LT. I never thought much about it until now. I always figured the people having blowouts were running old tires because the tread looks good. I read here however, that is not the case. When I bought my first AS, everyone was saying to buy Goodyears. Now, a few years later its 16" and LT's. I am not, doubting anyones story of tire failure, and I dont think Im the exception to the rule. Sometimes we are just lucky, but that always runs out! Mostly Im tight, and looking for some loophole to save buying tires, and wheels. I did know about speed rating, and I drive to fast. Thats why I asking questions. I do thank you for input, this forum has taught me an incredible amount.
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Old 03-15-2015, 07:34 PM   #7
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I know you aren't asking for it, but this is my recommendation for tires on your trailer.
Michelin LTX M/S2 P235/75/15XL

They will handle towing across west Texas in the summer at 75 MPH for hours without fail.
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Old 03-15-2015, 07:44 PM   #8
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Thats exactly what I'm asking for, Thanks
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Old 03-15-2015, 07:59 PM   #9
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Originally Posted by lahrfarm View Post
Thats exactly what I'm asking for, Thanks

Hi - what's your weight on the 31' trailer fully loaded for camping? I also assume you have triple axles with a 31. The 15" Michelins will give you 1984# load carrying capacity per tire and as you may have seen, one tire engineer in the forums also recommends taking another 15% off that for headroom. If you apply that thinking you should be able to safely load upwards of 10,000# on those tires. However - you say the ST tires haven't given you any problems. Why not stick with those if you're happy with them? Again, I'm no tire engineer but I understand the ST tires are made with stiffer sidewalls which are very helpful for multi axle trailers that don't steer. Tires sort of want to pop off the rims with the turning force applied to them say backing in to a campsite.

I changed over to the Michelins (double axle 27FB 5800# loaded for camping) but if you're happy with what you have, maybe you should stick with it?

Good luck either way!
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Old 03-15-2015, 08:32 PM   #10
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Im not happy or unhappy with what I have, they came on it. I dont think the tread looks right on two of them, thats why I'm investigating options. The tire Top said he uses has a 2183# rating on Tirerack. 15% off would give 1855#, I could live with that, 31" has two axels so 7422# of tire. AS about 5800# without gear and stuff.
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Old 03-16-2015, 04:25 AM   #11
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That 2183 has to be derated by 10% according to DOT (I forget the actual regulation but it's been posted many times here). So you start with 1984 per tire. If you take another 15% off that you'd still have enough for 5800# on your trailer - but you might want to weigh it loaded for camping. Weight creeps up fast.

Good luck!
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Old 03-16-2015, 10:02 AM   #12
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All tires will fail if over inflated, under inflated, run over a nail or screw or smack against a curb or if run at excessive speed or over load capacity. Does not mater what the brand or size is. I would bet one or more of these issues can be attributed to most if not all of the failures reported.

I agree. What seems to confuse some is the fact that not all tires fail immediately after being damaged.
I did a post on my blog April 21 4014 about Impact (pot hole) damage on my personal car tire. I was lucky that I saw the damage before the sidewall "blew out".
I fear that many may receive similar damage but if they don't see it and if the tire doesn't fail within 30 seconds of hitting the pot hole they will not associate the cause - pot hole - with the failure when it occurs days or weeks later.

Failure form overload or over speed is even worse in that it may take months of abuse before the tire sheds its belts or tread.

The OP may simply be lucky in that since he replaces tires in 18 - 24 months he may simply be disposing of tires that have internal separations that have not had sufficient time to break out and flip the tread.

Now maybe if you want to replace tires every year you can ignore the load, inflation and speed limits of your tires and just hope that the combination of overload, high speed and low inflation do not come back and bite you in the but before you have a chance to dispose of the tire you have most likely damaged.
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Old 03-16-2015, 10:07 AM   #13
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Im not happy or unhappy with what I have, they came on it. I dont think the tread looks right on two of them, thats why I'm investigating options. The tire Top said he uses has a 2183# rating on Tirerack. 15% off would give 1855#, I could live with that, 31" has two axels so 7422# of tire. AS about 5800# without gear and stuff.
You might want to look at my blog post of August 12, 2014on tire inspection.

The tire in that blog post with the belts almost completely separated looked like THIS before I did a real failed tire inspection.
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Old 03-16-2015, 10:14 AM   #14
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Well put, I understand that. I am not going with the ST. I agree that is probably why I've got by on my other trailer. I never thought much about it, because a blowout won't really hurt that trailer. It would make me sick on the AS. Thank you for all the knowlegde
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Old 03-16-2015, 11:20 AM   #15
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But don't think just because you have "LT" tires you are immune to failure and resulting damage. This happened to us last year with a two year old, 30,000 mile BF Goodrich Commercial TA 225/75 16E.
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Old 03-16-2015, 11:31 AM   #16
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I think part of your success is that you replace the tires every 3 years. My failures have come at the end of year 3 or early year 4. Typically I used 5 years as my change point. I did consider replacing after 3 years, but going to a 5 years cycle with LT's is just more cost effective.

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Old 03-16-2015, 02:29 PM   #17
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I know it sounds crazy but, I took my Airstream over 100mph on 16 inch Michelin Ribs. I just wanted to have a good campfire story. It was very stable at 65lbs cold from Michelin Loading/pressure chart.
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Old 03-16-2015, 02:50 PM   #18
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SteveH View Post
But don't think just because you have "LT" tires you are immune to failure and resulting damage. This happened to us last year with a two year old, 30,000 mile BF Goodrich Commercial TA 225/75

16E.
Would have hated to be the poor sap behind you when when that ST committed murder/suicide !
Rubber , aluminum , insulation , and Do Do and Pee plastered his nice clean windshield

That had to have cost a pretty penny to fix ! Would not be so bad if they would just kill themselves , instead of inflicting thousands of dollars of damage to the trailer when they let go .
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Old 03-16-2015, 03:40 PM   #19
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Wasn't a ST. It was a LT tire.

We had four catastrophic failures on the Chinese Carlisle ST's that our former long-term tire dealer sold us. Each time the TPMS sounded off and we were able to get off to the shoulder before the tire carcass unhorsed and damaged the trailer.

Yay TPMS!

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Old 03-16-2015, 05:27 PM   #20
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I know you aren't asking for it, but this is my recommendation for tires on your trailer.
Michelin LTX M/S2 P235/75/15XL

They will handle towing across west Texas in the summer at 75 MPH for hours without fail.
I've been following the ST vs LT threads with great interest as I want the maximum safety margins possible. My 2014 Classic Limited 27FB (9,000 GVW) came with GYM ST 225/75R15s, Load Range D, 2540lbs @65psi. Looking up the specs for the Michelins you recommend on Tire Rack, they show a max load of 2183lbs @ 50psi. That's a definite no-go, or am I missing something? Is there a higher load range in that size/model, or would I need to go to a 16' rim to get a heavier load capacity?

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