Trailer Tires

[Tim Kish]

I find myself in need of some new tires for my Fifth Wheel trailer .

I remember reading here a while back about how bad the GY Marathon tires are and have recently found out myself. :angry:

And after a quick net search I refuse to replace the bad tire with another Marathon , it's very obvious there is a problem with them.

Although I will contact GoodYear to at least vent , I will not continue to have them on my trailer.

Can anyone recomend a tire to replace these with? ST 235/80R16

Thanks Tim

 

[Beau Parsons]

Tim,

I don't know where you get those sizes as mine are a 17" wheel, i also learned the hard way with Those crap Marathon tires after 4 blow outs later, but I due use a good rule of thumb: when replacing tires on a pull trail, fifth wheel, they are only good for 6-7 years max with regular use. I had some tires that look great but even with my fifth wheel sitting in the shade with tires covers they got dry rot and I took a road trip and ending up replacing all four tires, to say the least it sucked and those tires were only 6 years old. I have heard to buy 8 ply and not 6 ply, they put 6 ply tires on trailers from the factory to save money. My two cents

Beau

 

[Tim Kish]

Trailer is only three years old Beau , but I agree after what I have read I'll be replacing all four.

Tim

 

[Walt Barney]

I use Carsile tire on my trailer Radial only they last about 6 years as I store trailer inside garage

Walt Barney

 

[Ray Sametz]

Beware of Chinese tires, just ask Don F. ....==={}

 

[Andy Greene]

What load range do they need to be ?

Your choices look limited as far as ST's in that size.

Read this for some options, once again pending on your load range required.......

215/85-16 appears to be pretty close, but i didnt crunch the numbers myself-

Keeping in mind the 215 is the tread width in mm - the 85 is the aspect ratio - perc of sidewall to treadwidth

and of course the 16 is rim diam.

http://forums.trailerlife.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/27016268.cfm

 

[Andy Greene]

If my tired mind is working properly - to go to a 215/85-16 would be ,

-5mm rolling diameter

-20mm contact patch

But opens the options for other brands , clear as mud right :huh:

 

[Tim Kish]

What load range do they need to be ?

Your choices look limited as far as ST's in that size.

Read this for some options, once again pending on your load range required.......

215/85-16 appears to be pretty close, but i didnt crunch the numbers myself-

Keeping in mind the 215 is the tread width in mm - the 85 is the aspect ratio - perc of sidewall to treadwidth

and of course the 16 is rim diam.

http://forums.trailerlife.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/27016268.cfm

Interesting read , I guess I have some homework to do.

Trailer loaded is aprox 15000 pounds.

Tim

 

[Walt Barney]

What load range do they need to be ?

Your choices look limited as far as ST's in that size.

Read this for some options, once again pending on your load range required.......

215/85-16 appears to be pretty close, but i didnt crunch the numbers myself-

Keeping in mind the 215 is the tread width in mm - the 85 is the aspect ratio - perc of sidewall to treadwidth

and of course the 16 is rim diam.

http://forums.trailerlife.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/27016268.cfm

Interesting read , I guess I have some homework to do.

Trailer loaded is aprox 15000 pounds.

Tim

Tim,

Looks like you will need 8 or 10 ply, better check out the better brands and skip the China crap.

Walt Barney

 

[Tim Kish]

I have been using Michelin on my vehicles for years and love them .

Are their trailer tires as good as their car tires?

 

[Andy Greene]

I have never seen their trailer stuff, but I used to sell a lot of the big RV and Motorcoach stuff, and they where very nice, pricey but nice.

Andy

 

[moparbarn]

tim, i've never bought trailer specific tires for any trailer i've owned in over 30 years (except mobile home 14.5's). towed pretty much everything live, boats, cars, campers & equipment. a GOOD quality hd truck tire will be just fine. when we moved from fla. to va., the horses rode on 235/85 16 firestones. 10 ply load range e TRUCK tires. a good hiway tread lasts for as long as any trailer tire, & is usually cheaper & easier to find. one stipulation i will make, is check with your insurance company, i've seen claims on vehicles (not trailers) denied because the tires were not what was spec'd for the car......any reason not to pay!

 

[dwilfong]

I spend all day replacing trailer tires and doing DOT on AT&T equipment here in central FL.

If the tire is more than 5 years old it gets replaced.

Carsile is the only tire we use.

You can only get radial tires now for trailers from what I am told.

O and thy are made in China now.

Look at the date code when you buy tires. it is in the side wall in a recessed plate mark.

It will read say (5211) for example. 52nd week of 2011

More than 5 years old and you are asking for trouble.

Also get some UV protectorate to spray on the tires if stored out side.

 

[Tim Kish]

tim, i've never bought trailer specific tires for any trailer i've owned in over 30 years (except mobile home 14.5's). towed pretty much everything live, boats, cars, campers & equipment. a GOOD quality hd truck tire will be just fine. when we moved from fla. to va., the horses rode on 235/85 16 firestones. 10 ply load range e TRUCK tires. a good hiway tread lasts for as long as any trailer tire, & is usually cheaper & easier to find. one stipulation i will make, is check with your insurance company, i've seen claims on vehicles (not trailers) denied because the tires were not what was spec'd for the car......any reason not to pay!

Interesting , I also have the trailer warranty to think about as well.

Thanks

 

[Tim Kish]

I spend all day replacing trailer tires and doing DOT on AT&T equipment here in central FL.

If the tire is more than 5 years old it gets replaced.

Carsile is the only tire we use.

You can only get radial tires now for trailers from what I am told.

O and thy are made in China now.

Look at the date code when you buy tires. it is in the side wall in a recessed plate mark.

It will read say (5211) for example. 52nd week of 2011

More than 5 years old and you are asking for trouble.

Also get some UV protectorate to spray on the tires if stored out side.

Interesting as well , I'll check the code to see how old they really are.

Tire bulged on inside wall so doubt UV had anything to do with it .

plus that side only gets sun when we are away .

Tons of complaints about the same problem I have , not good or safe.

 

[Andy Greene]

If it was a "bubble" in the sidewall, thats called an impact break, commonly caused by a pothole or something of that nature. The plies on the sidewall flex apart and trap air between the plies.

 

[Tim Kish]

If it was a "bubble" in the sidewall, thats called an impact break, commonly caused by a pothole or something of that nature. The plies on the sidewall flex apart and trap air between the plies.

Sounds like a reasonable explanation and I would have picked up a new tire had I not started reading about how comon the bubbled sidewall is with these tires.

Tim

 

[Rick Larocque]

Tim

Go with Michelin XPS Rib. I have them on mine and they are a great tire. Took the China bombs off before anything happened. I have a Heartland Bighorn 3185.

Rick

 

[Tim Kish]

Tim

Go with Michelin XPS Rib. I have them on mine and they are a great tire. Took the China bombs off before anything happened. I have a Heartland Bighorn 3185.

Rick

Thanks RickI'll definitely look at them.

Tim