I learned a bunch of things today!

[KallyI]

First thing - Don't take off towing a trailer without checking the tire pressure.

Second Thing - If you don't do the First Thing, have 2 spare tires!

Third Thing - Bring a small hydraulic jack with you when you are towing, so you don't have to use that ##!#$! stock truck jack on your trailer.:mad:

Fourth Thing - Make sure your spare tire has good air pressure!:eek:

Fifth Thing - If it's a really hot day, (like it was today), bring a bunch of water to have if you need it. (If you stop sweating while you're working, it's not necessarily a good thing).:confused:

My dad always said it was a wasted day if you never learned something new. :D

[Craig M]

Those are all good thing to remember. I had a trip that went bad once. 2 of 8 tires went blew out on me. I had checked pressure on them, and they were not overloaded per their rating. Weather they lost pressure during the trip or were previously damaged I do not know. But a 3 day trip became a 10 day adventure since the tires were an off size trailer tire and I was traveling over a 3 day weekend.

[DmaxMaverick]

......
Third Thing - Bring a small hydraulic jack with you when you are towing, so you don't have to use that ##!#$! stock truck jack on your trailer.:mad:


If you have a single axle trailer, have a good jack on hand, for sure. If you have a 2 (or more) axle trailer, the jack is optional. If you have wood blocks and some 2x4's on hand, just run the good axle up on the blocks to raise the blown tire enough for a change. You can also use the landing gear (if one side can be raised at a time) and stabilizers to help. Beats the heck out of jacking! Unfortunately, I've had too much experience in this area.

Check that tire pressure and condition every time! Trailer tires should be replaced every 3-4 years, whether they're worn or not. It's the weather and time that kills them, not the miles.

[KallyI]

"If you have a single axle trailer, have a good jack on hand, for sure. If you have a 2 (or more) axle trailer, the jack is optional. If you have wood blocks and some 2x4's on hand, just run the good axle up on the blocks to raise the blown tire enough for a change."

Unfortunately for me, both blowouts were on the same side. It's a tandem axle 5th wheel. and the passenger side tires both decided to shred.:eek:

[DmaxMaverick]

That's just rotten luck! The passenger side didn't happen to be the side exposed to the sun while parked, did it?

Any more, I carry an aluminum floor jack in the RV. Not too much weight (which is a premium), and the easiest way to get an axle off the ground. The floor jack will get under where a bottle jack won't. They also work well on soft ground.

[KallyI]

That's what I have also, an aluminum floor jack, but since I was only going 70 miles, I didn't prep as if I was going on an extended trip, and paid for it. The tires are all 3 years old, and for 2 of those years, during the winter months, the passenger side faced north, so the drivers got most of the sun. This past winter I had it at my daughters acreage for the winter, and the passenger side was facing south. The sun isn't any stronger at her place than at ours, so I'm not sure the sun was an immediate factor, but who knows. I believe that the tire pressure was too low, and when one of the tires started coming apart, the second one just couldn't handle the extra load, and it went as well. I limped into the nearest town, about a 15 mile trek, at about 15-20 mph, with a spare that was obviously too low a pressure, bought a second hand tire, and continued the remaining 50 miles to home. I'm buying some new tires, just researching what to buy right now. When I bought the 5th wheel 3 years ago, it had Nankangs (E rated) on it (from Taiwan), and that is what blew. I'm not even sure they are available here, except to RV Dealers, so I will likely go with Goodyear Marathons for at least two on the same axle.

[DmaxMaverick]

You aren't restricted to using only trailer tires. I've had better service from LT tires. And, they can be less expensive than ST's for popular sizes. I've had many Goodyear Marathons, and have yet to get a good one. I don't think they are any better than imported brands.

[EdHale]

There is nothing like different opinions and experience it seems. I have had lousy luck with various import brands and have had excellent luck with Marathons. My last set had over 30,000 miles on them when they gave up. Of course they spend all of their time when not on the road in a closed garage. I put the boat on jack stands in the winter and balance them once a year also. My trailer is a tandem.

[Yukon6.2]

Hi
One thing that you will probably see if you inspect the tires befor you buy them is...95% of trailer tires are made in China:eek: :eek: :eek:
This does include the Goodyear Marathon,at least two sizes i have seen.
I have a small tire shop in the Yukon,and get to see a wide varity of tires coming out the Alaska Highway.
I have seen the most premature failures with Goodyears.
Probly the best way to decide which china tire to buy is by weight.
At least the heavyer one will have more rubber and steel,wether they put it in the right place,only time and miles will tell:rolleyes:
I have tried to get trailer tires from my suplier that are made anywhere but China,no can do:mad:
At least the price has come down since the chinajunk has been shiped,dosn't help those who don't want chinajunk.
Also watch your favorite truck or car tire when you buy the next set that you had so much good luck with....more and more respectable tires are showing up with MADE IN CHINA.......junk.
And they are so embaresed about it that the....MADE IN CHINA.... is usually printed on the bead so oncwe the tire is mounted you can't see...MADE IN CHINA.....:mad:
As you can tell,i don't like anything that has...MADE IN CHINA... on it.
end of rant
Thomas

[a5150nut]

Yukon6.2,
What happened with Cooper tires. I heard they shut down one US plant and they were getting hard to come by. Are they moving off shore too?

[mark45678]

A few more good points fro those of you trailering....

Learn how to read DOT tire date codes , if your tires have been in the sun for more then 5 years your pushing your luck . Many tires have dates codes of 1~2 years old when you buy them , this is reducing your warrenty so buyer be ware!

as pointed out check your tire PSI , 90% of the RV trailer on the market run at 90% or more of the load rating on the tire ! Make sure your run what ever the side wall of the tire says is MAX psi , also on Goodyears web page they have a very good tech tip article on speed! Then say if your running over 65 mph to add 10 lbs of extra air and for every MPH over 65 you need to reduce the load each tire carrys by 10% ! After reading that little note I did some digging and found nothing like that in writing on LT tires , found some used 16" 6 lug wheels and upgraded to some 225/75/16 E tires on my travel trailer (my OEM tires where goodyear 225/75/15 d tires).


If your looking at a new set of "st" type tires stick with Goodyear or Maxxis , from what I have seen these are two of the best trailer tires on the market. To bad they both made over there ........

FYI a tire that blows and starts to come apart on a camper will do over $1000 in less then a mile if you dont notice it right as it happends!

[NutNbutGMC]

Hi
One thing that you will probably see if you inspect the tires befor you buy them is...95% of trailer tires are made in China:eek: :eek: :eek:
This does include the Goodyear Marathon,at least two sizes i have seen.
I have a small tire shop in the Yukon,and get to see a wide varity of tires coming out the Alaska Highway.
I have seen the most premature failures with Goodyears.
Probly the best way to decide which china tire to buy is by weight.
At least the heavyer one will have more rubber and steel,wether they put it in the right place,only time and miles will tell:rolleyes:
I have tried to get trailer tires from my suplier that are made anywhere but China,no can do:mad:
At least the price has come down since the chinajunk has been shiped,dosn't help those who don't want chinajunk.
Also watch your favorite truck or car tire when you buy the next set that you had so much good luck with....more and more respectable tires are showing up with MADE IN CHINA.......junk.
And they are so embaresed about it that the....MADE IN CHINA.... is usually printed on the bead so oncwe the tire is mounted you can't see...MADE IN CHINA.....:mad:
As you can tell,i don't like anything that has...MADE IN CHINA... on it.
end of rant
Thomas
But you continue to sell them for a profit, no?

[Yukon6.2]

Hi
5150 i don't have any info on the coopers,my supplyer has never handled them,sorry.
NutNbutGMC,yes i continue to sell them and i tell everyone where they are made,unfortantly i don't have any choice if i want to have a stock of tires for the traveling puplic.Parts and service are getting scarcer every year on this strech of highway i'm the last fulltime shop for 300 miles,i see disapointment everyday on peoples faces when i have to tell them i can't work on thier vehicels,i can imagine what it would be like if they couldn't get a simple tire for their trailer:eek:

[cowboywildbill]

If they can't kill us with tainted foodstuffs, I guess maybe they can do it with tires. I just heard on the radio the other day that almost a half million car and Light truck/SUV tires "made in China" are being recalled do to saftey issues.

[moondoggie]

Good Day!

I thought LTs were for trucks, but my buddy's 5er has E-range LTs on it, & I've seen LTs on a number of other really big campers.

Two points:

1. I'm reasonably sure that the main thing that causes a tire to be an ST tire is that there's something added to them so sunlight (UV mainly, I think) has a less deleterious effect on them. That's so they (supposedly) will suffer less from being on a trailer for a lot of years as opposed to a lot of miles. I'm not arguing that it works, this is just what I heard somewhere a long time ago.

[FONT=Verdana]2. Like it or not, this is factually true: Any tire with

[DmaxMaverick]

I don't care what they put in the rubber. I have yet to see any ST tire weather better than an LT. My 2005 Montana 5'er came with LT235/85/16E tires. Any previous trailer tire I've had would be showing weather signs by now, and the LT's on my 5'er do not. Other than being dirty most of the time, they look new, minus some tread from traveling (it is a travel trailer, afterall). BTW, they are "Made in USA". My tire shop can get me USA LT tires at less cost than ST's of the same rating. I've heard of some folks having luck with Marathons, but my experience, and most of what I've heard in the trailering circle do not. YMMV

[RdTxTd]

I had my first Marathon come apart a few weeks ago. The sidewall just split apart. The tires were just over 5 years old and about 14000 miles. Plenty of tread but age took over. It's time for a new set.

I really don't want more Marathons. When I replaced one about a year ago because of a sidewall puncture, the new one seemed like it was a softer rubber. Maybe just my imagination, I don't know.

I'd like to go with LTs, but it's not easy finding a 15" tire with load range D. I currently have ST225/75R15D. I'll either have to go with a load range C - which might be close to the limits - or switch to 16" wheels.

Dave

[Inspector]

I just put on a set of Carlyes (spelling) on my King of the Road. I had been running LTs but lost a couple of those two years ago. These new tires are ST rated E range. I now live a bit farther south and the sun is brighter and more of it. I decided to use the STs for there ability to resist UV radiation. The reason I took off the LTs wasn't for wear or fear of them coming apart it was that they were going on five years old and starting to show some weather cracking. Well I guess I was afraid of them coming apart afterall. The most important item in this whole discussion it tire pressure. As Mark has said learn to read the DOT codes. Keep the tires out of the sun and use a good water based tire dressing on them. When storeing the trailer for the winter drive the tires up on a set two by sixes to keep them from ground weathering. Make sure the tire pressure is max and cover them up. We spend a lot of money on these rolling homes and one blowout can really add up. Take care of those baloneys and drive safely.

Denny

[KallyI]

I have talked to a number of tire shops in my area, and most of the ST tires they sell are C and D Load Ranges. None of the shops recommend putting LT tires on a trailer for a variety of reasons, the main one seeming to be that the sidewalls will not handle the load, and the next most common being that the ST tires can hold a higher pressure.:confused: The RV Dealer I bought the trailer at, had put Nankang's on (E Load Range". Nankang's are made in Taiwan, not Mainland China, and have been used as OEM tires on a number of brands, for quite a few years. I can get Nankang's, Maxxis', or Marathon's, but any "E" tires have to be ordered in!:confused:

[RdTxTd]

... None of the shops recommend putting LT tires on a trailer for a variety of reasons, the main one seeming to be that the sidewalls will not handle the load, and the next most common being that the ST tires can hold a higher pressure. ...

Unless I'm missing something here, a tire should carry it's rated load as printed on the side of the tire, whether it is an LT or ST. As long as a tire is rated for your load, that shouldn't be an issue.

One reason I thought about switching to LT tires is I figured there would be more choices. I've been able to find 2 ST tires in my current size and load range, Marathons and Greenballs. But LTs in my current size and load range are just as hard to find.

Dave

[Splitrimz]

"YI a tire that blows and starts to come apart on a camper will do over $1000 in less then a mile if you dont notice it right as it happends![/QUOTE]"

A flapping steel belt on one of my trailer's tandem wheels took out the entire bathroom, floor and john and all. Passer's buy were pointing to the mess but it was too late.

Splitrimz