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Old 12-13-2009, 06:09 PM   #1
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Tires for the F-311

The 5th wheel we are getting will have new rubber under it, before we pull it off the lot. My question is.... Are 16" LT tires ok to use? All the ST rated tires I've found, are made in china and that's not an option for me.

If my dealer cannot find American made ST's in the 16" size, would American made LT's be Ok?

Gary
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Old 12-13-2009, 06:42 PM   #2
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The chart on Tirerack says that the 235/80R16 D Goodyear Marathon's are US made. The same size is also made in China, so you'd have to make sure they specify to get the US ones.

The LR E ones are still made in China though. Do you need a LR E or is a D OK?

Jon
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Old 12-13-2009, 07:29 PM   #3
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Jon,


The "E" rated tires, that are made in china, have a load rating of 3,420lbs. Multiply that by four and it comes to 13,680lbs.

Both of the "D" rated tires are load rated at 3,000lbs. Combined, that equals 12,000lbs.


The GVWR of the F-311Sr is 12,500lbs.

If we bought the US made "D" rated tires, we would be below the GVWR of the trailer. If something were to ever happen, we would be in the wrong for having inadequate tires. Correct?

Gary
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Old 12-13-2009, 07:36 PM   #4
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Gary, there are quite a few people that use LT tires on large heavy trailers. I would never use a P over an ST, but am not convinced the big ST is "better" than the LT. However, you need to know the difference. In LT, you're likely looking at LT245/75R16 LRE. This tire carries 400 lb. less than the roughly equivalent ST235/80R16 LRE (for some reason this size is also on closeout at Tirerack). That's 1600 lb. on your new trailer and that's a lot to give away. At the same time the LT adds 8 lb. of unsprung weight over the ST. I've never understood how a lighter ST could carry more weight than a heavier LT, but so be it. In addition an ST starts life with much less tread depth and therefore less squirm--I guess that's where some of the weight gain happens. This may not be a big deal on a fiver as sway will be less or even a non-issue.

I suspect the load carrying capacity may be the biggest issue for you. Walk around a dealership that has some of the large heavy fivers on the lot and see what kind of rubber they're running. If the Sunline's wheel wells can take it, bumping up to a LT265 will get the 400 lb. back for you, but the minimum rim is 7" and I would be surprised if you had more than 6".

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Old 12-13-2009, 07:47 PM   #5
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I just remembered, and maybe JohnB can jump in here...

The location of shocks on a trailer can have clearance issues. If you do in fact have shocks you need to do some very careful measurements before going to a wider tire. All the numbers are on tirerack.com. It really doesn't matter what brand you look at as the sizes are industry standard and so the actual dimensions from one manufacturer to another are pretty close. Here's one with a big range of LT sizes on one page:
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/Spec.j...num%3D675R6THT

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Old 12-13-2009, 07:51 PM   #6
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Thanks Henry,

I'm not totally opposed to running LT tires, as long as they will be safe. The only part of the deal, that we had to give in on, was the spare tire. They wouldn't agree to replace the spare tire. That is one we'll have to buy.


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Old 12-13-2009, 07:54 PM   #7
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Henry,

All the Sunline 5th wheels we looked at, including this one, have shocks on them. I read somewhere, that the tires can rub on anything close and thet it leads to premature tire failure. I will be sure to check it out!

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Old 12-13-2009, 09:16 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by EMD_Driver

The GVWR of the F-311Sr is 12,500lbs.

If we bought the US made "D" rated tires, we would be below the GVWR of the trailer. If something were to ever happen, we would be in the wrong for having inadequate tires. Correct?

Gary
Hi Gary,

My 2 cents. You are correct. Sunline was good enough to on most newer rigs, it not all of them, put axles, springs and tires on to carry the full GVWR of the camper. It is a saftey factor. I spoke to Tim Marton at Sunline on just this topic. Granted the pin or tongue and TV carries some of the GVWR. But campers do not always load right due to floor plan and where you put stuff.

Some brands play the game of down sizing the tires and or suspension to save a few bucks and boast high GVWR's and actually use the TV to hold part of it. You can end up under GVWR but yet overload a tire by how the camper is loaded.

We have enough problems with tire decay derating load capabilities we should not plan to down size the tires by intention. This is a pet peeve of mine of TT builders who by design do this.

My son ran into this big time this spring trying to get new tire on his PU. I never realized PU's where a high offender of putting tires and axle ratings less then GVWR. We had a heck of a time finding tires to hold full GVWR. We came within 50# at least. Better then the 400# short Coleman issues it with. 400# on a 3,000# rated PU is a lot.

On the LT deal, I really do not know. I have heard it is OK but I have no first hand knowledge on long distance towing TT's or 5er's on heavy weight. I do know on large equipment trailers, they do use LT’s. That I saw myself. An equipment trailer carrying a back hoe or dozer is as bad as our TT’s for side flex just maybe not as long distance hauling.

And yes you are right. Anything rubbing a tire will cause premature tire issues. The shocks, yes on my T310 I have a frame problem trying to mount standard dust tube cover shocks on the front axle with enclosed tanks. If I use ones with no dust tube, then they will fit on the front axle between the frame and tire. However dirt and other matter gets to the rod seal that much easier and kills the shock that much quicker. On TT’s, most TT makers go the cheaper route and use the open rod type shocks. Come next spring I will sort out my problem and have shocks on the T310.

Good luck

John
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Old 12-19-2009, 12:57 PM   #9
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Gary, just out of curiosity, and for general knowledge, where are the Carlisle tires manufactured that you got for the F-311?

Henry
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Old 12-19-2009, 01:47 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by henryj
Gary, just out of curiosity, and for general knowledge, where are the Carlisle tires manufactured that you got for the F-311?

Henry
I looked on the sidewall of two of the tires and could not find where they were made. I also couldn't find the date code. I will climb under the camper and look, but it will have to wait until some of this snow goes away!
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