So many tire choices ..........

[Renascence]

Please forgive my likely ignorance. I am always open to constructive criticism.
I know of a number of people who run as replacement tire and wheel size Michelin LT225/75R16 LTX M/S2 or Bridgestone LT225/75R16 M700HD Duravis, both 10 ply tires, I believe load range E, on their Flying Cloud 25' and 27' FB and Globetrotter 27' FB or longer trailers and claim to experience no significant issues with road vibration transfer to the trailer and its contents or structure. I do believe they run the pressure in those tires at 55 to 60 psi cold.

BillM cringes at the thought of E range tires on a trailer. This statement caught my attention and got me to thinking.

I have run for 15 years Bridgestone LT 265/75R16 M700HD Duravis load range E tires on a GMC 3500 Duramax crew cab long box and have had no issues with low tires or flats. We drive some very rough terrain with roughly 3000 lbs of pickup camper and loaded gear with a small trailer and 4-wheeler in tow, tire pressure - front and rear 65 psi cold. We generally get 48 - 50,000 miles from a set of these tires on the pickup, very happy with that.
We are considering a Flying Cloud 27FB as our first AS - eager to move up to an AS! The FC 27FB trailer maximum weight is 7600 lbs. Some people have said the tires would be overkill and others say they would be a true 'road warrior' for endurance as our pickup tire experience has demonstrated.

My question is, on a Flying Cloud 27FB would using one of the two 16" tires mentioned above be a good or bad idea and if so why? Plan to run the tires at 55-60 psi cold and adjust if necessary depending on ride and other conditions as others have mentioned in this thread.

We also plan to have JC install a Dexter lift, and yes they have told me they do that, for a fee of course.

Go easy on the new kid on the block. Thank you.

[Bill M.]

No, I cringe at the thought of putting E tires on MY fairly light trailer. It came from the factory in 1988 with load range C tires. Is not air about the same strength now as it was then? And surely tires are stronger with better materials and methods? Not cringing at the thought of using the E's on heavier trailers. My 32' is getting the Endurance this year. Mostly I cringe at the 80 psi recommendations for E tires on trailers.

Maybe the load range rating of the tires just does not matter much anymore with the radial design. There is no way the sidewall is ever going to be "stiff". I used to think that heavier sidewalls run at lower pressure was a recipe for heat build up. But maybe now it just does not make any difference. I drop the rear E tires on my truck down to 60 when not pulling and they seem fine. Of course there is no interplay shear there. But they do drive and brake the truck.

[Renascence]

Bill M, my error on load range E tires. I wrote, 'on a trailer' when I should have said 'his trailer' as you clearly stated that in your post. I can see the difference in trailer weights and you do have a valid point and do apologize for the mis-statement of your words.

[Action]

It is all about capacity. Getting tires that will handle the load is the desired goal.

Up until a few years ago the tires choices available in 15" rims and smaller didn't always handle the load. And trailers, specifically travel trailers were getting bigger and weighed more with greater load capacities. Also trailer manufactures do not have to (and still don't) meet a passenger car standard which is higher standard than non-passenger vehicles. So many trailer manufacturers would install a ST tire that just met the total possible load with zero margin. In addition the tire of choice (GY Marathon) had some issues.
(Installing P or LT tires has other issues)

The work around was to upgrade to 16" rims which expanded the tire choice to include much higher load capacities. And many people also moved to a LT tire. That may have been an excellent choice for that time period that ended a few years ago. Then the tire market changed.

GY introduced the Endurance trailer tire line a ST tire that could handle much greater load in C, D and E range. Not possible with the previous tire line choice. So changing to a 16" rim to achieve the goal of a greater load capacity with a margin may not be necessary. Not exactly sure if that is your question.

Knowing the max possible load, buy the trailer tires to meet that goal plus 15%. If you do not travel at max load, dialing down the tire pressure would be a way of matching the tires to the load. Also know that travel trailers rarely load each tire evenly. Your trailer may have one tire location that carries more weight than the other tires.

No need to buy too much of a tire. In fact there are some down sides to over kill besides the wallet drain. And too little is not a good thing either. Know that many passenger vehicles have a tire capacity of up to double the max possible load. The tire pressure specified by that vehicle manufacturer makes for a smoother ride. In addition most passenger vehicles are loaded more evenly and consistently than a travel trailer. A travel trailer has all of the load handling done at near the center of the vehicle. A car or light truck spreads the load to four corners.

Good luck with your decisions.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Action

[Renascence]

Action,
Thank you so much for the information and the new thread position/location.
Your information helps a great deal and is very much appreciated. I hope it will be used in the future by others to their benefit.

[jcanavera]

I'm still don't have confidence in ST tires over time due to failures in my original D rated Marathons and then subsequent failure with 2 E rated Maxxis ST tires. Both brands of tires failed due to belt issues. The Marathons failed on the last trip of my 3rd season and the Maxxis tires failing on the first trip of season 4. I think the Maxxis tires were very similar to the Endurance product today as far as ratings and max sidewall pressures.

In my case my trailer is carrying anywhere between 8,600 to 9,100 lbs. dependent if I am carrying liquids or not. Since I'm storing my trailer indoors when not in use, I can't blame UV, and I've always run the pressures at the maximum weight carrying limit, so I can't blame under inflation. I also drive between 55-60 mph. Quite honestly I think time takes its toll on ST tires and because my trailer is so heavy, 3 years was about all I can ask of them.

So I went to Michelin LTX M/S 2 tires and they served me for 6 seasons with out a failure. I replaced them with Michelin Defenders this year, just because I have no good feeling regarding life expectancy and didn't want to push my luck. For me it's just cheaper in the long run to go with an 16" LT tire, use it for 6 years and replace it, in comparison to changing out ST's at the end of 3 seasons. I know Michelin has said that 8 years is a reasonable service life for their LT truck tires, but trailer use is a different animal and there are forces in play on that trailer that are not experienced on a tire on a tow vehicle.

Jack