Community Forums

Groveite · 04-03-2009, 10:30 AM

I have a 2005 Cougar 5th (see my sig) with the 15" rims...I have already replaced the LR D's with LR E's and have been running 72 psi with no problems (originals suffered from tread separation 2 years ago) however I am considering moving to 16" LR E truck tires.....Rather than buying 4 rims and tires to try them on for size I am hoping that someone has already done this or that the 16" rims were an option in 2005. Any help/advice is appreciated.
Thanks
Ian

kschitoskey · 04-05-2009, 06:24 AM

I just went to 16s on my 07 cougar. I found the 16 X 6" rims on ebay for around $100 for a set of 4; I bought 225/75/16s at Costco for around $165 ea. The new tires are around 3/4" taller than my original tires. They are load range Es as well. I went with the BF Goodrich Commercial TAs. Lots of folks sware by the Michelin XPS Ribs, but they were almost $90 extra per tire. Not worth it to me for a trailer. I plan to put the old wheels / tires on Craig's list to recoup some of my investment. I'll keep the original spare.

While I had the trailer in the air, I also changed out the spring equalizer with the Trail Air Equa-flex and wet bolt kit to improve the ride. Not that anyone rides back there; an improved ride will keep the trailer from shaking itself to death (and fewer broken dishes when we get there).

Groveite · 04-06-2009, 02:41 PM

No problems with vertical clearance in the whell well? That was my worry but 3/4" shouldn't be a problem...Mine can stand being a bit higher anyway as I have a bed rail for the cover so the hitch is 1 notch higher than normal to give me enough clearance to avoid contact in and out of gas stations etc....
Ian

Jody & Jeff · 04-14-2009, 11:25 AM

We are just getting ready to replace our original tires on our 07' Cougar as we saw some crackling on the sidewalls on the way back from vacation 10 days ago.

I think we are going with Maxxis, M8008 ST Radial, 225-75-15's, the 8 ply.
They are rated 65 PSI (which is all our original rims will take).

I am trying to get a price now on 4 of them, maybe 5 (probably should replace the original spare while I'm at it)

So many tire choices out there but trying at least to stick with something semi-reliable in this day and hopefully under 6 months old. Although my son (who is a manager of an auto shop) says he has no control over what comes in IF he is the one who orders them........!

Jo

Groveite · 04-14-2009, 06:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jody & Jeff

We are just getting ready to replace our original tires on our 07' Cougar as we saw some crackling on the sidewalls on the way back from vacation 10 days ago.

I think we are going with Maxxis, M8008 ST Radial, 225-75-15's, the 8 ply.
They are rated 65 PSI (which is all our original rims will take).

I am trying to get a price now on 4 of them, maybe 5 (probably should replace the original spare while I'm at it)

So many tire choices out there but trying at least to stick with something semi-reliable in this day and hopefully under 6 months old. Although my son (who is a manager of an auto shop) says he has no control over what comes in IF he is the one who orders them........!

Jo

Thus far my LR E's are doing fine on the original 15" rims....about 15,000 miles but if you can fit 16's on I would strongly suggest them if you are planning to tow any distance . We have about 40,000 miles on the trailer now but are less likely to do long hauls any more...about 1000 mi max I think. Sadly ours are the Chinese made ones as the originals were but I hope for (fingers crossed) better service from these as they are less taxed by the weight!
Ian

Jody & Jeff · 04-15-2009, 06:34 AM

Our previous trailer we put about 10-12 thousand miles on & we got a blow out so we changed all 4 tires. This trailer was on a lot (new) for a year before we got it and we've had it just over a year now and have probably 10,000 miles on it already as we took 2 longs trips last year and 1 already this year. Our short trips are usually 200-400 miles round trip anyway.

Since we can't afford 16" rims now, we just gotta get tires for it.

The Ford (F250) needs new tires now, so that is A LOT of tires we gotta buy. Maybe next time around we'll get 16" rims; just can't do it right now.

Jo

That is why we are gonna stick with getting the Maxxis, M8008 tires for now.

allendp · 04-18-2009, 06:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kschitoskey

I went with the BF Goodrich Commercial TAs. Lots of folks sware by the Michelin XPS Ribs, but they were almost $90 extra per tire. Not worth it to me for a trailer.

My Everest came with 16" wheels but with D rated Goodyear Marathons that didn't last a year before they started to separate. I exchanged them for XPS Ribs which have been great so far except after about 20,000 miles they are wearing pretty bad and I had one blow out on a trip last winter. I am seriously thinking of putting 2 Yokohama Geolander AT/S on the rig with the 2 new XPS I put on when I had the blowout. They are about 100 bucks a tire cheaper. The XPS are approaching 300 bucks with tax etc. and I agree that is getting pretty steep to put on a trailer for 20K miles.

kschitoskey · 04-20-2009, 06:42 AM

I have a 4" lift on my 5er so clearance is not an issue. I'm very impressed with the Commercial TAs - althought the ride is a little stiffer. The original tires / wheels weren't even balanced; that must have saved Keystone $5 at least...

RustyJC · 04-20-2009, 06:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by allendp

The XPS are approaching 300 bucks with tax etc. and I agree that is getting pretty steep to put on a trailer for 20K miles.

Don,

Hmmm....something's weird here. Just last year I paid about $1200 for 6 each LT235/85R-16E XPS Ribs for the dually at Discount Tire here in Cypress (Houston, TX area). That's around $200 per tire.

Having experienced tread separations on the ST Goodyear Marathons on our first 5th wheel (a Jayco Designer 3030 RKSS), the XPS Ribs were worth the price for peace of mind for me on our previous Jayco Designer XL 3610RLTS. They ran cool on the Interstates during the summer and never gave a single problem. I only wish they made a G-load-rated tire for our current 5th wheel!

Rusty

allendp · 04-20-2009, 04:40 PM

Rusty,
They have really gone up in price. When I had the blowout I went ahead and replaced the spare with a new XPS at Discount Tire in Livermore, CA and it cost me $336 out the door. Discount replaced the tire that blew out under the warranty protection I had with the tire. Discount tire here in Killeen wanted $594 for 2 XPS tires out the door and I purchased 2 Yokohama Geolander HT/S in the same size with LRE and 3042 lbs @ 80 PSI for $315 for the both of them out the door. Thought I would give the Yokohama's a try and see how they work, I am running 2 new XPS ribs on the front axel and the Yokohama's on the rear.

I think I found out today why the tire blew out however. When I pulled the hub to repack the bearings on the hub that the tire failed on I noticed the brake shoes were cracked evidently from excessive heat. During the trrip I must have had a brake lock up on that wheel which most likely caused excessive heat to the tire.

RustyJC · 04-21-2009, 07:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by allendp

I think I found out today why the tire blew out however. When I pulled the hub to repack the bearings on the hub that the tire failed on I noticed the brake shoes were cracked evidently from excessive heat. During the trrip I must have had a brake lock up on that wheel which most likely caused excessive heat to the tire.

I'll buy the external factor theory. Over the years I've heard of very few (if any) XPS Ribs failing because of a defect in the tire itself.

Is the Geolander an all-steel tire like the XPS Rib or a fabric-and-steel tire like the typical LT light truck tire? Our previous 5th wheel came with fabric-and-steel Goodyear Wrangler HT tires (LT235/85R-16E, 3042 lbs @ 80 PSIG), and I couldn't even put my hand on the tread after a few hours on the Interstate - that's why I changed them out to the XPS Ribs.

Rusty

allendp · 04-21-2009, 01:43 PM

I don't know Rusty but I suspect they are not all steel. This was about all I could find out about them:

Geolandar H/T-S G053 tires are available in heavy-duty Load Range E (10-ply rated) sizes for 1-ton pickup trucks, sport utility vehicles and vans. They feature a wide, continuous center rib and a three-ply casing construction to help handle heavy loads at highway speeds. They will be available in selected Q-speed rated, 85- and 75-series Load Range E, LT-metric sizes for 16-inch rim diameters.

The manager at Discount said he had sold a few sets for trailer use and he had not heard any complaints on them yet.

allendp · 04-23-2009, 02:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RustyJC

I'll buy the external factor theory. Over the years I've heard of very few (if any) XPS Ribs failing because of a defect in the tire itself.

I am now convinced of it Rusty. Turns out the drum on the wheel that blew out got so hot it warped it. I am now in the process of replacing all 4 drums, wheel bearings and brake shoe kits.

allendp · 05-05-2009, 09:45 AM

Just wanted to follow up on the Yokohama Geolander H/T-S in size LT235 85 R16 LRE tires. They performed well on a recent trip to Oklahoma, about 500 miles total. They did get a little warmer to the touch than the XPS Ribs but not overheated at all. The trailer pulled no differently than before. Now we will just have to see how they wear over time.