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Old 07-08-2015, 08:48 PM   #15
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I would like to get some advice on a recommended tire for our 5th wheel that is 36', weighing at 11,300 lbs (10,200 dry and GVWR is 12,265), wheels are stamped at 3580 so I can't exceed 80 PSI. From posts on here, LTs seem to be the way to go. Went to the shop down the street and they recommended the Michelin LTX M/S 2 10 ply LR E. But, it's rated at 3042 which is a bit lower than the STs on the RV now which is 3520. If I do the math and times 11,200 by 18% (taken off 11,200 for hitch weight) I get 9430 and divide that by 4 I get 2357.50. So on paper these tires even at 3042 would seem to do the job. Any thoughts or suggestions are much appreciated!
You got it figured right. You sure don't need a G or a H rated tire on a trailer with 9xxx on the axles.
Your problem has been tire quality....not more capacity.
A LT235/85-16 E load range at 3042 lb will give you 12168 lb of capacity works great on 6k axles especially with only 2300-2400 lbs on the tires.
Michelin has replaced recalled BFG tires with the LTX M/S 2 tires on trailers.

Other excellent fabric carcass LT E tire for your size application is the;
Firestone Transforce
BFG Commercial T/A 2
Cooper HT 3
Goodyear Wrangler HT

The Michelin XPS Ribs and Bridgestone R-250 both are a commercial tire with all steel ply carcass. Most folks consider these two at the top of the LT E tire chain for RV trailers and commercial trailers.
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Old 07-08-2015, 10:02 PM   #16
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Originally Posted by JIMNLIN View Post

A LT235/85-16 E load range at 3042 lb will give you 12168 lb of capacity works great on 6k axles.
How do you make that assumption if the vehicle manufacturer won't recommend it and the OE tires have a higher load capacity?
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Old 07-09-2015, 07:07 PM   #17
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Calvin your just looking for the usual argument that you and I and a host of other have been had with you on this subject. Most folks are here to help others that maybe be looking for a better tire.

No assumption...just facts of life in the trailering world that has been going on many decades before you ever thought about towing a trailer.
If your vehicle mfg won't recommend doing so and you don't want to use a 3042 lb rated tire on a 6k axle that is carrying 2300-2400 lbs per tire load and don't have the experience to make that decision ..... thats your problem.
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Old 07-09-2015, 09:56 PM   #18
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Originally Posted by JIMNLIN View Post
Calvin your just looking for the usual argument that you and I and a host of other have been had with you on this subject. Most folks are here to help others that maybe be looking for a better tire.

No assumption...just facts of life in the trailering world that has been going on many decades before you ever thought about towing a trailer.
If your vehicle mfg won't recommend doing so and you don't want to use a 3042 lb rated tire on a 6k axle that is carrying 2300-2400 lbs per tire load and don't have the experience to make that decision ..... thats your problem.
Practical experience often has no merit or established track record. It's not the safest information to rely upon.

The entire tire industry follows the vehicle manufacturers minimum original equipment tire fitments, at least those that were installed in accordance with the established Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards, which includes all RV trailers and most of the vehicles that tow them.

You know I don't recommend brands or say just because my current tires are successful for me they will be successful for others.

There are always options that will work. There's at least a half dozen brands of LT tires that are designed and manufactured especially for trailer axles. ST tires fit the smallest single axle trailers up to those with 8000# GAWRs. The new ST235/85R16G is rated at 4080# 110 psi with a 75 MPH speed rating. The LRF tire has a 3960# load capacity at 95 psi and the LREs load capacity is 3640# at 80 psi. And most of their manufacturers are putting the speed letter L on them. It's not just the larger tires. There are some 14" LT tires being made for trailer axles with LRD capacities.

So something out side of the envelop is not a needed recommendation. No matter what anyone says, the standard LT tire is specifically designed for the motorized tire industry. Sometimes some trailer manufacturer will install LT tires. I don't know that such a manufacturer hasn't tuned that particular fitment for that particular trailer. So whatever the OE tires are, they are approved by the vehicle builder. The builder is the only one that has that opportunity within the safety ropes. You want to do it with your personal RV it's your sole risk just as it is for the RV builder.

A footnote: I recently attended a large Bass boat show. Over 40% of the largest tandem axle trailers had some kind of Passenger tire as OE. Those trailer builders are required to use the same regulations as the RV trailer people.
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Old 07-09-2015, 10:12 PM   #19
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I had a tire with about 1000 miles on it crack around the rim on the inside of the wheel about half an inch from the rim. I found it doing a wear inspection. It was an E rated tire, it was like pulling teeth trying to get it replaced under warranty. It was not related to speed or PSI, typical speed is 55 MPH and front tire pressure is 65 PSI, max PSI for the tire was 80 PSI. It was just a faulty tire.

Edit for photo of tire.

You can still see the vent spews on the edge of the tread pattern.
I won't say what brand of tire this is but it wasn't cheap.

I recommend people check their tires before a trip before they blow up.
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Old 07-09-2015, 10:25 PM   #20
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Here is what I put on my class-c last year. They are designed for commercial use and are a very nice tire at an affordable price. They offer them in a good range of sizes and load ranges too.
CooperMastercraft - Courser HXT
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Old 07-09-2015, 10:33 PM   #21
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Here is what I put on my class-c last year. They are designed for commercial use and are a very nice tire at an affordable price. They offer them in a good range of sizes and load ranges too.
CooperMastercraft - Courser HXT

Hmm, might want to look closely at the photo of mine then and check yours.
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Old 07-10-2015, 07:40 PM   #22
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Practical experience often has no merit or established track record. It's not the safest information to rely upon.
LOL....I could not disagree more with a non sense statement like that....

Use your experience to help others ........ or beat them to death with non sense legalistic blather
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Old 07-11-2015, 01:50 AM   #23
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Hmm, might want to look closely at the photo of mine then and check yours.
Good thing you caught that. I will say that your picture looks more like a cut instead of a crack, you would be amazed at how many tires i have seen that get sliced open even when there is nothing visible on the road. It happens a lot in road construction areas. That's probably why it was so hard to get your tire replaced under warranty.
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Old 07-12-2015, 05:39 AM   #24
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I finally mounted my Bridgestone Duravis R250's this week and saw the comparison between it and my Westlake Chinese bombs with 800 miles. It's hard to believe both tires are rated to handle 3042 lbs.--there's no comparison in quality, weight and sheer strength of the Bridgestone ribbed tire.


I seriously question the reliability of government test ratings on tires. And the whole tire industry has sold their credibility to the Chinese--with only Maxxis making ST tires in North America. Except for Sailuns, I don't see any tire made in China to be worthy of putting on any trailer of any kind or weight.


We're now seeing the U.S. Government come down on the RV industry hard--first going after Forest River for what could amount to a $35 million fine for not reporting safety problems promptly and issuing recalls. The Government is a big part of the problem by not requiring better quality tire on RV's and boats.
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Old 07-12-2015, 08:37 AM   #25
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Additional information.

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Originally Posted by mwiley View Post
Good thing you caught that. I will say that your picture looks more like a cut instead of a crack, you would be amazed at how many tires i have seen that get sliced open even when there is nothing visible on the road. It happens a lot in road construction areas. That's probably why it was so hard to get your tire replaced under warranty.
The tire company and the area wholesaler both said it was a crack not a cut.

It was hard to get it replaced because of one person, who first stated that particular make of tire had no warranty at all. When in fact it has a 72 month warranty. Just a dishonest person in the works, otherwise everything would have been fine.

The tire is an E rated LTR and I don't think it is brand related, I have seen other tires do this but this is the first time I have seen it on one of my vehicles.

The point I was trying to make was that any brand of tire can be faulty, resulting in a blow out at some point. I have seen many RV's with a blown out tire on the side of the highway and I do wonder about that when I see one because it seems to happen often.

For whatever reason, there certainly seems to be something to these RV tire issues. And this is the first time anything like this has happened to me, just happens to be on my RV, not the car, not the truck, not the jeeps or any other vehicle I have owned over the years, I have been off roading for years and never had that happen. It's just odd. It certainly could have started as a cut.

For reference here is another photo of the tire, cuts or crack are not curved they are straight, it implies the tire was not cut while rotating.
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Old 07-19-2015, 12:11 PM   #26
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Weigh your trailer as it will be on your travels. Purchase tires to carry 125% of this weight or more. I did this and no more blowouts. I bought 17.5" J rated Michelins. I had 16" Goodyear.
The original four would carry 15,000 Lbs. ( just the trailer weight). The new ones carry 19,000 Lbs.
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Old 07-20-2015, 05:58 AM   #27
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JimnLin said it correctly in post #15, Any of the tires he listed will do much better than the original ST tires. The chances of another blowout are greatly reduced by using any of these LT tires. Not saying that one doesn't still have to be diligent about checking air pressure and road damage, because these things can still cause failure. So to the OP, I would say that go get a set of your favorite name brand LT235/85R16LRE tires installed with steel 80psi(or higher) rated valve stems, have them properly balanced and go enjoy your camper instead of worrying about when your next blowout will happen.
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Old 07-21-2015, 01:22 PM   #28
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you may want to look at r bridgeston r 250. imo awesome trailer tire.
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