Community Forums

Bludacious · 07-17-2018, 10:12 AM

I've been looking at tires for my 27' Sun Sport on a Chevy P30 chassis and have noticed that trailer tires with similar weight/speed/ply ratings are much cheaper than their light truck / RV counterparts. I have also heard that the trailer tires have thicker side walls to support heavier loads. What I am concerned about is the safety of running these tires as opposed to ones designed specifically for a motorhome, and their ability to pass a state inspection. Yes, I do know the ride quality will most likely be terrible should I choose to use them, I'm just looking for the least expensive (new) set of tires I can use safely. The rims are 16" and the tires are 235/80, the vehicle weighs about 6 tons and has a dually rear axle.

MSHappyCampers · 07-17-2018, 10:15 AM

Hi !

Welcome to IRV2! We're sure glad you joined the gang!

I'll let some of our tire experts comment on that.

Good luck, happy trails, and God bless!

60sumtin · 07-17-2018, 10:17 AM

Don't ever put trailer tires on a motorhome. Period. They are made for trailers, not motorhomes.

Go to a tire shop and ask them what's best for your rig. You don't have to buy the most expensive but don't go cheap. There's a difference between cheap and inexpensive.

Mr_D · 07-17-2018, 10:21 AM

No respectable tire shop would ever do it. Possibly illegal too.

twinboat · 07-17-2018, 10:28 AM

They may carry the load but how will the handle in rain, cornering, stopping and how long will they last ?

Light truck tires have a lot of that that info, do trailer tires ?

Bludacious · 07-17-2018, 10:47 AM

To clarify I am not expecting ideal performance out of trailer tires if I were to buy them. I'm not just trying to test my luck here, I need tires to pass a state inspection and I am on a small budget, when I bought the rig all of the tires were already dry rotted beyond repair. It's only going to move once when I use it to move cross country doing 55-60 tops on the freeway, after that it most likely won't go anywhere for at least 2-3 years if not longer, so I know I am looking specifically for cheap tires. I get that tires are usually one of the most important items for any RV, but I simply want a safe and inexpensive way to be road worthy. I would prefer to stay away from used tires because I've had bad experiences going that route in the past with my car, and that only weighs 1.6 tons!

Msmoto · 07-17-2018, 11:01 AM

Tires are rated for the amount they can carry. If a tire is rated to carry the load of your unit, is the correct size for the rim one mounts it on, it would most likely be safe.

Having said that, I would recommend absolutely contacting the tire manufacturer who will tell you if a specific tire is suitable for your RV. Without the manufacturer specifically stating the tire is acceptable, I would be cautious.

My preference is to find a good tire dealer, one who mounts lots of truck tires and use what they recommend. Often one can find a very suitable truck (or RV) tire which will be just fine for your short term usage, yet will not be overly expensive.

In RV's the only way to measure the load on a specific wheel is with sophisticated scales. Guesses do not count! A tire with a load rating less than the loads put on it could be the most expensive purchase of your life.

powderman · 07-17-2018, 11:09 AM

Trailer tires are clearly marked "for trailer use only"

Not a good choice IMO

Mich F · 07-17-2018, 11:11 AM

Every trailer tire I've seen says for trailer service only on it. You can probably by cheap LT tires for around the same price as trailer tires.

ScoobyDoo · 07-17-2018, 11:14 AM

If you need tires to pass a inspection, mounting trailer tires, just put the money up your nose. Talk to somebody that runs a fleet of small trucks, get some take-offs.

Crasher · 07-17-2018, 11:52 AM

Once the inspector looked at the tires and saw "For Trailer Use Only", your inspection would be over and the coach would have failed. A tough inspector might not let you leave till the tires were replaced with "Legal" ones. Probably not the area to save some money.

Sweetbriar · 07-17-2018, 01:09 PM

The funny part of this post is if you journey over to the towable section there will be posts of owners dumping the trailer tires to light truck. If the budget was tight I would consider used tires (even as distasteful as that might be) or maybe retreads over trailer tires.

TripleEEE · 07-17-2018, 01:19 PM

ST trailer tires on your motorhome?

No way! They are designed for trailers only. Hence the ST designation. Also rated for 65 mph max speed.

Try to get some used"take offs" from a tire shop if you are on a budget.

Now, that being said there are plenty of LT truck tires used on trailers with no ill effects, but running ST trailer tires on your motorhome is not advised.

FastEagle · 07-17-2018, 02:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bludacious

I've been looking at tires for my 27' Sun Sport on a Chevy P30 chassis and have noticed that trailer tires with similar weight/speed/ply ratings are much cheaper than their light truck / RV counterparts. I have also heard that the trailer tires have thicker side walls to support heavier loads. What I am concerned about is the safety of running these tires as opposed to ones designed specifically for a motorhome, and their ability to pass a state inspection. Yes, I do know the ride quality will most likely be terrible should I choose to use them, I'm just looking for the least expensive (new) set of tires I can use safely. The rims are 16" and the tires are 235/80, the vehicle weighs about 6 tons and has a dually rear axle.

ST tire designation: ST stands for Special Trailer tire. ST tires are designed for use on trailer axle positions only. They are not designed for the load or traction requirements of a drive or steering axle.