New Tires - got Load Range E instead of Load Range D

[CRH]

Originally Posted by mwilliamsmd

So would you guys rate Carlisle the same, superior or inferior to the Michelins?

IMO, it's an apple to an orange comparing a Carlisle trailer tire to a Michelin LT tire. As far as trailer tires go, my homework concluded that the current production Carlisle trailer tires were some of the better ones....... No doubt Michelin makes great tires, however, I don't belong to the Michelin cult like some.

[SpletKay06]

Originally Posted by mwilliamsmd

So would you guys rate Carlisle the same, superior or inferior to the Michelins?

Michelin for the truck and Carlisle for the trailer

[Offack]

Hey folks, here a monkey wrench. Below is the reply I got from Maxxis tires support team. They kinda think different about upgrading load range. Interesting...
Rick
There is not a known point where a reduced inflation pressure would cause tire damage. Simply, there are just too many variables. The most important issue is to match your inflation pressure to your maximum loaded weight. If you are considering going to a heavier ply tire, perhaps thinking that would would add strength, durability or increased "safety", that will likely not be the case. Since heavier rated tires have addition components and more materials, they will also build up more heat, which you don't want. Don't use a higher ply rated tire unless it is needed to carry the load. Thanks for your inquiry and interest in Maxxis Tires.
Best Regards,
Your Maxxis Support Team

[handn]

Originally Posted by jcanavera

I thought going to E's would be the answer for me but on the first trip of year 4 of use, I experienced two belt separations on my E rated Maxxis tires. I kept those at 80 psi due to the weight of my Classic slide out. Bottom line ST tires for those of us with heavy loads probably need to be replaced on a 3 year cycle rather than a 5 like we have been accustomed to in the past. My belt separation occurred with my Marathon's at the end of year 3 of use.

Jack

I take one multi day freeway trip in very hot weather per year.
Three years ago I went to C rated LT tires which matched the 15 inch wheels on my 25 Safari because of serial tire failures with ST tires, i.e, catastrophic blowouts after hours of driving at 65 mph in 100+ weather. Fortunately, none of these problems damaged anything but my tires.
My answers to your questions are as follows. The E rated tires rode rough inflated to 80 pounds but not rough enough to do any damage to the trailer. You could tell the trailer was back there particularly on undulating roads when the rig would "hobby horse". I could not tell any difference between the ride of the D and E rated ST tires when each was inflated to 60 pounds.
I had best results with Maxxis ST tires. Carlyses, GYMs and TowCrap Chinese junk all faired poorly.
If the new Carlyse tires are truly rated for 80 mph, they may be improved but I would still stick to 65 and if possible drive in the cool parts of the day.
My ride is much improved with LT tires inflated to 50 pounds and I have had zero tire trouble and drive at 75 mph if I am in a hurry.

[A W Warn]

Originally Posted by Hyperion

Quick question - have a 2012 Flying Cloud 25 FB Twin. Just replaced the tires (over 5 years old) and wound up with Carlisle Load Range E to replace the original Goodyear Marathons, which were Load Range D.

Did I goof? The Carlisle tires were the top rated tires at Discount Tire in the correct size.

Did notice that top speed stamped on the tire is 80 mph vs. the 65 mph I've always been told is the top speed for the Marathons. Not that I drive that fast towing...

Also see the the inflation is 80 psi vs. 60 (or was it 65?) on the Marathons. Do I inflate to 80?

So E will handle a heavier load than D, I get that. But will the E's beat the crud out of the trailer?

Average 5,000 or so miles per year, mostly in the summer when it's hot. Mostly mountain driving in the west. Crossing Nevada in July.

Tow vehicle is a 5.7 4x4 Sequoia.

Thoughts?

Thanks for any insight.

I think you will be fine. My 34' has 5 year old Carlisle tires. But, I have not towed it that much.

I've run 225 75R 15 E ST Tow King Power Max for my last two sets of tires on my 25' Safari. I have had zero issues, except a flat when one tire picked up a screw. Heading out on a 6,000 mile trip on Tuesday. I'm not worried at all about tires. If I were going to get new tires today, I would get the same exact tire.

The manufactures' placard on my 25' says to run 50 psi in the tires. On the inside of the aluminum wheels on my Safari there is a warning molded into the metal that says "65 PSI Max". I've tried several air pressures since I started using the E rated tires. At first I tried 65 psi and found the ride was too harsh. Screws in the cabinet hinges stripped out of the wood. Then I tried 50 psi and found that the tires wore faster on the outer edges. Now I run 55 psi. Tires wear evenly now and there has been no more issues with screws stripping.

I've made a few runs where the temperatures were over 100F. No problems with excessive heat buildup.
At 55 psi the tires are good for over 2,000 lb per tire.

[jcanavera]

Originally Posted by Tireman9

Did you stay well below 65 mph or did you ever exceed the tire "Redline" speed?


Capri both race and know what happens when you exceed engine redline. Definitely not good for budget to have to buy a new engine. But people can go ahead and exceed tire redline cuz tires are less expensive than engines.

I tow at 60. Trailer stored inside so no excessive UV exposure. Tires always checked and inflated to 65 psi on Marathons, and 80 psi cold on the E rated Maxxis. I got almost 3 years of service on the Marathons, Maxxis failed 1st trip of season 4.

Jack

[Hyperion]

Range of experiences here.

Thinking I will run at 80 psi for a day or two, monitor temp ( I use a tire pressure / temperature monitoring system), and see how the ride is.

Max on these is 80, but it's okay to run lower, right??? How low? Sounds like no lower than 65.

Do I have this right - higher psi should result in lower temperature? So if I drop to 65, I should see the temperature increase. I do know that high temperatures are bad for tires...

But the stock aluminum wheels on a Flying Cloud - maybe not okay for 80 psi?

Decisions, decisions...

[Tireman9]

Originally Posted by jcanavera

I tow at 60. Trailer stored inside so no excessive UV exposure. Tires always checked and inflated to 65 psi on Marathons, and 80 psi cold on the E rated Maxxis. I got almost 3 years of service on the Marathons, Maxxis failed 1st trip of season 4.

Jack

Just to be clear. The failures looked like this


Not Run Low Flex failure like this


or this

[xrvr]

Originally Posted by jcanavera

I thought going to E's would be the answer for me but on the first trip of year 4 of use, I experienced two belt separations on my E rated Maxxis tires. I kept those at 80 psi due to the weight of my Classic slide out. Bottom line ST tires for those of us with heavy loads probably need to be replaced on a 3 year cycle rather than a 5 like we have been accustomed to in the past. My belt separation occurred with my Marathon's at the end of year 3 of use.

Jack

My tire guy who sold me the Maxxis I used said three years, four max. So I agree. I had the e rated tires also. Since changed to LT Firestones.

[dcasr]

Originally Posted by jcanavera

I thought going to E's would be the answer for me but on the first trip of year 4 of use, I experienced two belt separations on my E rated Maxxis tires. I kept those at 80 psi due to the weight of my Classic slide out. Bottom line ST tires for those of us with heavy loads probably need to be replaced on a 3 year cycle rather than a 5 like we have been accustomed to in the past. My belt separation occurred with my Marathon's at the end of year 3 of use.

Jack

I too run E rated Maxxis on my 1990 29' Excella and had tread separation in year 3. I ran them at 75-80 psi and one one each side (2 out of 4) began to have tread separation. My Tire Minder system alerted me to pressure loss before any damage was done fortunately (paid for itself at once!). I replaced all four tires with new Maxxis and kept the two "good" ones for spares. I'm in year 2 of these new ones, and traveling with two spares just in case.

Next year I'm trading in my 15' aluminum rims and going to 16" and getting the Michelin LT tires that AS puts on some of their higher priced units. I do have some rivets inside that have popped, but then the Excella is 26 yrs old.

[garry]

Every time I stop I feel each tire with the back of my hand if hot I know it is under inflated or there is a problem.

[jcanavera]

My failures looked like this. Note the failed tire next to a good tire.

These are the E rated Maxxis tires. Air infiltrated between the belts and the tread. Lucky I caught these prior to blowing out on the road.

Jack

[m.hony]

I switched from Load Range D to Load E on my previous trailer.
I traded the trailer 4 months later so I don't know about the long run performance.
After tread separation within 3 years on this trailer I opted to get 16" wheels and LT tires.

[Boxite]

Originally Posted by m.hony

I switched from Load Range D to Load E on my previous trailer.
I traded the trailer 4 months later so I don't know about the long run performance.
After tread separation within 3 years on this trailer I opted to get 16" wheels and LT tires.

And your point is....?

The punishment delivered to tires by a 2 or 3 axle trailer is quite different than to a single-axle trailer due to side-loading, twisting, mis-alignment of axles, and such. The Bambis have a much better record of tire durability due to lighter weights and less sidewall stress from maneuvering than multi-axle trailers.
This is not to say that Bambis don't occasion tire failures due to overloading, underinflation, old-age, lack of regular inspection, and other owner-induced problems.

[m.hony]

That's the sales pitch.
It's a good theory that doesn't really translate to reality.
"Stronger sidewalls to withstand RV shear"
Point is: in general ST tires are made in China and will barely last 3 years.
At close to 3 years on 2 different trailers I had tread separation on 2 or 3 tires like a picture in an earlier post.
Next event? The tire comes apart while under way and tears up your wheel wells, siding, banana wraps, and underbelly.
It may rip off your drains, too.
Point is: no more ST tires for me-


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[jcanavera]

From my standpoint the strong sales point is the economics. First there is the cost of your deductible to repair the damage caused by the tires flying apart. Secondly the knowledge that in my case with ST tires I need to replace them sometime in their 3rd year of use. You figure it all out, the one time cost of the wheel upgrade and getting 5-6 years out of a set of LT's, there is real cost justification for moving away from ST''s for me.

Now for others with lighter loads, ST's may perform perfectly well. In my case however, when I know I've done everything I can to protect and use my ST tires safely, with my specific trailer ST's are just not a practical option without frequent change outs.

Jack

[CurtH93]

An easy way to test out how your trailer may ride with 65 pst or 80 psi is with your tow vehicle. I used to tow a 5th wheel trailer that weighed over 3000 lbs on the hitch. I used Mitchel in load range E tires with about 80 psi. When driving without the trailer over normal highway expansion joints my teath and back would rattle. Reducing the tire pressure down to 65 psi gave a much improved ride with the empty truck.

Maybe that is why my AS owners manual only recommends inflating tires to 50 psi.

[SteveSueMac]

Originally Posted by CurtH93

Maybe that is why my AS owners manual only recommends inflating tires to 50 psi.

Hi there. Maybe it's because your original tires were 14" (or possibly 15") load range C tires? Do you have a record of the original tires or know for sure what they were?

Mine were the GYM ST225/70R15 which held 2450# and were required to be inflated to 65 PSI. I now use the Michelin P235/75R15 which hold 1985# and have a max of 50 PSI.

[m.hony]

The tire placard on the side of my trailer says 65 mph.
I'm sure it has to do with weight, GVW, and tire size.


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[RamblinManGa]

Hi from AZ. . . as my old man told me, opinions are like . . . noses, everybody has one, particularly when it comes to tires ! Add to that the 'if you don't do it like me, you're an idiot' faction & you have a never ending tire debate. Fact. . . I've had 3 ASs with 15" wheels & Carlisles / GYMs and NEVER had a failure ! ( 6 years & about 35k miles ) I keep them covered & properly inflated. Do I think you should buy LT or ST tires ? Nope, your business, & I hope everybody weighs the options, & makes good choices for them. . . OK, I'm done......... good luck, Craig