LT Tires on trailers

[EMD_Driver]

Posting this from my phone, so I will keep it short. I had Maxxis LT tires on our 311 and they did great. I even considered them for the 344. I ended up going with the Firestone Transforce for the 344. I have to say that the Firestone tires are doing a great job and I am completely happy with them! When you do replace the tires, make sure you get all metal valve stems. The only rubber on them should be the seals. I gan get you some if you want.

[Viking]

On another forum someone made the claim that in some states the use of other than ST-tires on a trailer could get you a fine. Does anybody know if there is any truth to that?

[JohnB]

Hi Bill,

Bummer on the tires. Dog gone.... Good for you, you found it at home rather than passing me heading down I 90 near Buffalo...

On your weight thoughts, this one is hard to tell just looking at the raw axle and tire loads. Ideally you can get individual wheel weights, then add your again ideal 20% reserve above that on the heaviest loaded tire. Next to ideal is at least the left and right side of the camper. Just have to find a scale you can pull half the camper on. And if you can, and it is a multi segment truck scale, then split the tandems between 2 scales to get individual wheel weights.

From a GVWR perspective, are you 12,500#? And what did Sunline put on your GAWR? Technically, replacement tires are suppose to be of equal or greater capacity as declared on the GAWR and VIN sticker. I have run into this here in the US from my research, do not know if Canada has the same rules, then again they may be worse.

Your camper is not built even left to right. That monster slide is a heavy one. Not as heavy as Gary's, but more than mine. I would suspect your slide side to be heavier.

To the BFG Commercial TA's. I have only had mine a year now, and I'm still glad I did the switch. I'll let you know 4 more years from now.... if they outlived the ST's. By all the research they should. I have more faith in these then any of the ST's I have had.

Since I know you do winter camp, while looking at LT tires make sure you get some that are cold weather rated. Some are only summer tires. Never realized that until this camper saga search and destroy mission on tires came up. On all my truck they always had all season LTs but they do make only summer tires good for down to the mid 30's deg F.

Hope this helps and good luck. Let us know how you make out.

John

PS I encourage you to file a tire complaint. The only way any kind of action will ever come is enough complete complaints are filed.
http://www.sunlineclub.com/forums/f7...int-14411.html

[JohnB]

Originally Posted by Viking

On another forum someone made the claim that in some states the use of other than ST-tires on a trailer could get you a fine. Does anybody know if there is any truth to that?

Hi Roar,

H'mm, have not heard that. Have heard when doing replacement tires you must install tires of equal or greater capacity.

The fine may be something really old of the books of some states so car tires do not accidentally end up on multi axle trailers. I know in the state of Ohio, many trailer dealers sell equipment trailers offering either a LT or ST tire option when you buy them. And the VIN tag has to list the tires size and type legally. We also have RV manufactures shipping new campers into Ohio with LT's on them and they are printed right on the Vin Tag.

Like this one from KZ


Here on one of my buddies campers


Again these are in Ohio. I really cannot speak to all the states.

[Trailblazer]

John, thanks for the response. I hadn't even considered the cold weather rating on the tires. I did just check and both the BF Goodrich Commercial TA's and the Firestone Transforce HT are listed as All Season tires, so I am guessing/assuming I should be okay for winter towing?

I just checked the picture of the VIN tag I keep at home and it shows the 5'ver has a GVWR of 12,500 lbs and the axles are rated as 6,000lbs each. As far as side to side weights go, it has been something I had been trying to get for a while. Unfortunately all of the Cat scales around me are raised scales so I can't get just one side of the trailer on it. The highway scales have all switched over to inside displays requiring you to go inside. I have generally only used highway scales when they were closed and now that they have moved the indicator displays inside you can't see them when they are closed. The only two remaining scales that I know of with outside displays have put up chutes/barriers forcing you to have all tires on the full pad. I am guessing they have done this to prevent the truckers from catching the edge of the scales allowing them to weigh lite when they are indeed overweight. I will continue to watch out for a scale where I can pull on and get just one side weighed.

I do agree that big slide does concern me as I know it does add a lot of extra weight to that side of the trailer. My Marathons are rated at just over 3400lbs each and I was hoping to find an LT tire with similar weights with the thoughts of maintaining the higher capacity of the tires. When I put the Marathons on 3 1/2 years ago I actually moved up from the d to E load rating to get the higher load capacity. Unfortunately the majority of the LT235/85R/16 tires which I need are rated to 3,042lbs. I did find a Goodyear Wrangler HT in my size with a 3500lb rating. However the review of this tire was not good with a number of people complaining of tread separation with the tires. The only other two tires with the higher ratings are the Michelin Ribs and the Goodyear G614. The issue I have with these tires are they cost more the $400 each.

Right now I have to say I leaning towards the Firestone Transforce HT tires. I still would feel more comfortable if I could find a higher weight rating in my tire size. I really liked the BF Goodrich Commercial TA's but I came across a voluntary recall of these tires last year for my tire size. I know they have probably fixed the problem in the manufacturing process but I would rather wait until I see some good reviews on tires made after the recall date. Just in case you are interested or missed the recall notice here is the link to it:

BF Goodrich Voluntary Safety Recall for Commercial TA's

I will look at filing a complaint once I have completed all my research and replaced the tires.

Gary, thanks for your response as well. I have been looking at the gap between the two tires. Right now I have a 4 inch gap and with switching to an 85 aspect ratio, I am calculating these tires will be a 1/2 large diameter compared to the 80 aspect ratio. Based on my calculations I am figuring I will have a 3 inch gap between the tires. Is this what you experienced when you switched to this tire size

[Trailblazer]

John, I reviewed your how to file a complaint post. Thanks for a great detailed writeup on the process and the information needed . As soon as I get my failed tire back from the tire shop I will get the information I need from it.

I was also reviewing the individual tire weights that you posted for your trailer and noticed you were using a force scale to get the individual tire weights. Can you tell what you mean when you say you used a force scale?

[JohnB]

Hi Bill,

Yes, all season means use in the winter. The summer tires are not all season. See here on the Ribs summer tire. Scroll to the top of the page, Move your mouse over the "summer" symbol.It gives a pop up that talks about not using this tire when the temps approach freezing.

XPS Rib | Michelin Tires

Yes I know about the recall on BFG's, just they were not my size so I forgot what size. However BFG really stood by their customers. I heard they where giving out Ribs and even credit for competitors brands as the supply was really low. Glad to see a company stand up and do the right thing. Your quality and name mean everything. If they have a problem, admitting it and doing good by it, is about the only way to keep your creditability.

I have not heard of any issues on the Transforce and I have seen them on many heavy equipment trailers.

The force jack... See it here. Think a monster size Sherline tongue scale.





Work was throwing it out and was part of an instrument press. In the case of the tire weights I created a method to put the camper up on 2 x 8's, then set the jack under an axle seat, using a floor jack, jack up the camper, pull the 2 x 8 out and let the floor jack down on the force jack and read the load.

There is error in the method of ~ maybe 100# but I could do it in my yard and add fresh water and not fresh water. Only cost me time. I have more pics of the process if your interested. Just not up on the photo severer.

Hope this helps and good luck

John

[EMD_Driver]

Not sure I posted this tidbit before, so I'll post it now/again..

I was asking a good friend, who also happens to have worked in a tire distributor business, about the "LT" designation. His first response was "Light truck" He went on to add "Trailer" They do a lot of trailer tires and said that they highly recommend LT tires for trailers over 10,000lbs GVWR. He also said that most of the trailers used for hauling medium-sized loads (Not big enough fro a tractor-trailer) come from the factory with LT tires. Especially when they come with dual wheel configuration.

[Trailblazer]

John, thanks for posting the picture of the force jack. That looks like a nice piece of equipment to have. I am going to have to keep a look out for one with the hopes of finding one at a really good price. If I am unable to to get side by side weights on my rig, maybe the next time we camp together you could do a measurement for me just like you were doing several years ago with the tongue scale at Buttonwood.

[Trailblazer]

Here is the update on my tires. I took the trailer to the tire shop this past Saturday. The shop first did a visual inspection on each tire then dismounted them from the rims and did an internal inspection as well. What they found was two other tires were showing signs of tread separation and all tires had small cracks starting in the tread area. As a result I ended up changing out all the tires. Anticipating I was going to have to change the tires the dealer offered to bring in some different tires for me to look at. He brought in another set of Marathon ST tires, a set of BF Goodrich Commercial TA's and a set of Firsetone Transforce HT tires. Although I wasn't going to go with ST tires I still took a look at the Marathons and found the date code on them was late 2011. Even if I was going to consider ST tires again there is no way I would have accepted tires more than one year old. Next I moved onto the BF Goodrich tires. They had a date code on the tires of between 33rd and 36th week of 2012. This placed the manufacture date around the middle of August 2012 just after the recall for this size tire. Looking at the Firestone Transforce HT tires they had a date code of between the 42nd and 43rd week if 2012 which place the manufacture date around the middle of October 2012. As a result I decided to go with the Firestone Transforce HT tires since they were the freshest.

When it came to mounting the tires before I even had a chance to tell the shop I wanted metal bold in valve stems, they told me they recommend only installing the metal bolt in valve stems due to the tire pressure. Next the discussion came to balancing and I immediately asked about the Dynabeads. They said they could get them in but asked why. When I explained the issue about balancing machines that balance off the hub with the center hole on the rim not always being dead center, they told me not to worry as they only had machines that balance of the lug. I had them show me and sure enough there balancing machines used the lug nut holes so I let them go ahead and balance the tires.

I have to say that I am happy I found my tire problem before we started our towing season. I would have hated for these tires to have let go on any of our trips this year especially since we have several long trips planned for this year. Thanks to everyone for all the great information about tires both in this thread and throughout the forum.

[EMD_Driver]

Bill,

I'm glad you went with the Firestone tires. We just got back from a 380 mile round trip and our Firestones performed flawlessly. It was also a very good call on the balancing. It sounds like the tire shop you chose, knows what they are talking about.

I look forward to hearing how your tires do for you.

[JohnB]

Bill,

Good deal on the tires. And good to you for the research. You should be a happy camper. And a shop who balances by the lugs, a rare find these days and metal valve stems too, WOW. They are a keeper.

Yeh the next time we camp, remind me I'll throw the force jack in. We used it to weigh Happy Campers (Lowell's ) pin weight with it at Buttonwood that year.

Boy more of those tires showing separation on the inside, not good. You dodged a few bullets. There is more and more evidence building about the tandem axle setup and strain on tires.

Have a good towing season.

John

[happytocamp]

Very good tire info in this thread!When we purchased our 04 T-2363 recently,one of the items she needs is new tires.The tires on her now are the original Maxxis 8008's.The previous owner did the under/over axle flip, so I do have more room to play with.On our 07 Fleetwood Niagara(high wall pop up,heavy-for a pop up)she had 14 inch wheels with ST Loadstars.I had sway issues with this pup(only had a sway bar)so when I had to replace the tires,I did some research and went with the Khumo 857 steel radial.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....del=Radial+857

This is a 14 inch tire,with high weight ratings.What a difference this tire made in my towing experience,like night and day when compared to the Loadstars.The pop up towed so much better,almost no more wiggle!Ironically,the diameter and section width of the 857's are about the best match up to replace the Maxxis 8008,(outside of a ST tire)all accept the 14 in wheel size,not sure if it would make sense to go from a 15 inch wheel to a 14 wheel.I don't mind buying new wheels,I just want a good tire.Soooooo.......here are some pictures(sorry-cell phone pics)of how she sits with the flip.I have approx. 4 inches between the tires and approx. 6 inches to the wheel well.Now that my head is spinning,should I decide to go the LT route,what size can I safely go to?Or,should I just go the ST route?

I also like these,but the size just seems too small or too large in the 15 inch.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....omCompare1=yes

Thanks for reading this long post!Thanks for any in-put!

[JohnB]

Hi Happy2camp,

If you are OK with getting new rims, see HenryJ's LT conversion. He conquered the smaller 15" tire issue. It is post no 17 of this thread on page 2. Also consider getting metal valve stems if you go with the higher pressure tire.

While I'm in a totally different weight class then your are, my LT conversion while a qty or work, I am very satisfied I did it and will not be going back to ST.

Good luck on your search.

John

[jim44646]

Originally Posted by Trailblazer

John, thanks for the response. I hadn't even considered the cold weather rating on the tires. I did just check and both the BF Goodrich Commercial TA's and the Firestone Transforce HT are listed as All Season tires, so I am guessing/assuming I should be okay for winter towing?

After driving a winter on the Firestone Transforce HT. While they are an All Season tire I believe I would opt for the Transforce AT for winter towing. I had to use 4 wheel more with them than I did with AT's especially in soft back yard. I turfed allot in 2 wheel drive

[JohnB]

Also to note, some LT tires are only summer rated. Pending brand it maybe they are not rated to run down in the 34 F or less. In our case we needed a tire to tow in the cold as we winter camp, while we do go if there is any snow, but cold and sunny we can be in the campground!

[happytocamp]

Just an update folks,I decided to go with the Maxxis ST 205/75/15 tires for our Sunline.Thanks to everyone who responded to my tire questions and for all the great info in this tire thread!After making myself dizzy debating all of the choices(ST,LT-radial,bias ply etc.)I decided to stick with the Maxxis,(our trailer still had the original set that Sunline put on her from the factory when we bought her from the previous owner)just upgraded to the load range D.My local tire guy couldn't get them from his wholesalers,so I purchased them from Discount Tires.com,they had an online rebate for $10 per tire(5 tires=$50 off)plus free shipping and no sales tax(no store in NY state)and my tire guy mounted all five for $60.All in all I feel I did ok.

Now,when I upgraded to Load Range D-which is a 65psi tire,I had to buy new wheels.Soooooooo......after more research on the SOC,I came across Jon's(Sunline Fan)post about his purchase from Tredit(they were the wheel supplier to Sunline until the very end)he made in Indiana,how reasonable their prices were and how happy he was in dealing with Tredit.I thought what the heck-so I called Tredit's York,PA location and spoke with Jose(good guy)and proceeded to tell him how I found out about Tredit on this forum and that I owned a Sunline.Jose stated that Tredit is in the wholesale business and they normally don't handle retail sales but they always make an exception for Sunline owners because Sunline was a very good customer for a very long time.Now how great is that!So I ordered my wheels at very good prices(near wholesale I think?)and I had the tires mounted and I put them on today.Very happy with how they turned out!Thanks to DW Darlene for talking me into the aluminum wheels(I didn't want to spend the extra $$)but I really like the way they look!Thanks again everyone-this is a great place to hang out!Here are a few pictures.

[bunjin]

Those look great! The wife was right.

[JohnB]

Lou,

Thanks for reporting back. Your camper looks great! Amazing a 2004 unit and it still looks better than some brand 2014's...

John

[Gene]

Nice wheels as well as a nice 2363.