16" Trailer Wheels

[Wally]

I am going to switch over from 15" wheels and tires to a 16" with a E-rating this is on a 32ft 5er. I know you guys know the best place to buy so PLEASE chime in. Thanks

 

[txwingrider]

Hey Wally,

We have a 31' Challenger 5th wheel RV and I'm doing the same thing as I have had 2 tires separate at two different trips and the tires were 80% good tread. I am getting tired of having to watch the mirrors to watch the tires to make sure I don't see any smoke or tread. I need to be able to concentrate on whats in front of me and not have to worry about the tires. When the tread started to go it never caused any damage to the trailer but it is only time. I have the Goodyear Marathons 15" and am going to the 16". I'm looking at the 265/75 -16's but I'm not sure if I should stay with the ST tires or if I can go truck type. All the new 5th wheels have 16" tires on them... ..... for a reason???????? Anyway, thought I would just chime in and maybe we can investigate this together.

Cliff

 

[jimnance]

Rocky, are you very close to the max weight rating of the 15" tires on your coach? Have you scaled it to see what you really have weight wise on the tires?



Heat is what generally kills a tire. Increased weight, pavement temperature, and improper tire inflation can create enough heat to wipe out a tire.



Also, it is not uncommon to find coaches with the axles mis-aligned. When this happens the tires are working against one another creating a lot of heat.



If you are in good shape weight wise, measure the distance from the trailer pivot point (pin or hitch) and measure to the front edge of each rim. The distances should be virtually identical. If you are out by more than 1/8" that could be your problem. I've seen them out of alignment by as much as an inch. In that case you eat tires so quickly you know in a couple thousand miles of the problem because of tread wear. Axle misalignment is a very common problem but often is not recognized.



I think many trailer manufacturers are going to 16" rubber to get the E rating and the higher weight rating. As they (the trailer mfrs. ) add more goodies the weight goes up and they begin to push the weight limit for D rated tires. Going to a higher rated tire is much cheaper than adding an axle.

 

[Bob Fennema]

I just had to buy 4 tires for my 5er. I put Carlisle ST225 75 R15 Load Range E's on. This is a really tall tire (30. 5 inch diameter) and I am happy to get the extra height. These are 10 ply tires and rated for more than 2500 pounds. Discount tire has them at $89. 88 each. I was told that the ST tires have differenct resins and they are designed for infrequent use following periods of sun exposure. Passenger or truck tires are expected to be used often and the resin will be worked to the surface during use. BTW I am no tire expert.

 

[txwingrider]

I don't know what my trailer weighs but if I plan to simi full-time it in 3 years( I hope) and don't have half the things that I would probably take, I'm in trouble already with the tread separation I have experienced. I watch the air pressure like a hawk as I know that is important. The tires look as they are wearing evenly and not worn on one side or the other but I do plan as you suggested to check the measurements from the kingpin to the wheel rim ---good idea! I guess(without looking at it) I would use a tape measure or string and go under the the belly of the trailer to get the most accurate measurement to the wheel rim. ????? Thanks for the input Cliff

 

[Jammar9082]

Wally: I switched from 15 inch to 16 inch last year. I bought the wheels at an RV dealer/ salvage yard here in SW Missouri. During the balancing process we found the wheels were out of round. The Lug Centric method using a bolt hole plate was used and the large amount of weights installed still didn't balance the assembly. I took two of the wheels back and got a refund but I wish now that I had taken all of them back as the amount of weights are still greater than on the replacement wheels. I bought the replacement wheels from RedNeck Trailer supply. The wheels were actually cheaper, had red and blue stripping and were round. I think they were about $42-47. 00 each.



The tires I bought at Sam's Warehouse Club. They are Michelin XPS 225/75R16E. They are rated at 2680 lbs each @ 80 PSI. The fifth wheel weighs about 8000 lbs loaded with about 6200 lbs on the axles. This provides considerable safety margin and makes me feel confident I should not have tire problems for a few years. Tire problems in the middle of the desert are not good. Especially when it is 107°F and the big trucks are passing within a few feet of you. Or, when coming down a long 6-7 % grade in the mountains.

 

[Tejasdge]

I really like these guys. They have the best prices I have found on brake controllers and tire/rim combinations and they have worked hard to get it right for me on more than one occassion(even when I screwed up). They have more than is on the web site, such as different tires etc. , so you might want to give them a call. I don't know what shipping will do to the final price, but give em a shot.



http://www.southwestwheel.com

 

[RustyJC]

Having been through a $2500 tread separation with the 15" Goodyear Marathons on our previous 30' 5ver, I wasn't encouraged when I saw the LT235/85R-16E Goodyear Wrangler HT's that came on our current 5ver (Jayco Designer XL 3610RLTS). Although I didn't experience any failures with the Wrangler HT's, enough people have to convince me to switch tires. We (as have many others) went with the LT235/85R-16E Michelin XPS Rib. These are all-steel construction radials that are recommended by Michelin for commercial trailer service, and I've never heard of a failure on these tires, even among users who switched to them after tread separation failures on other brands. The Michelins run significantly cooler than the Wranglers - I can pull off the Interstate during the summer and comfortably put my hand on the treads of the Michelins!



These tires aren't cheap, but neither was our 5ver, and neither is a tread separation!



Rusty

 

[jimnance]

The guy that lines up our axles uses a string. Not sure what material as you don't want something like nylon that stretches a lot.

 

[Eric_77]

For really heavy use the the best tire I have found in a 16" is the Goodyear G614 it is a heavy duty (as well as being very heavy) tire that has more capacity than anything else I have found. It is also a lower profile than the 3040# tire we switched from. It is a 235/85-16 load is 3750

 

[ropinfool2]

I wouldn't measure to the edge of the rim, it can be out of round. Measure to the axle housing right where the backing plate bolts up. Then pop the grease cap off the hub and measure spindle to spindle. As far as tires go, at the trailer dealership I worked for, the smaller trailers would come with the ST tires and the big heavy trailers would come with LT tires. I think the biggest tire I saw was the Goodyear G159. When customers wanted to buy new tires we would recommend LT tires with the correct load range (normally 'D' or better). They are cheaper than the ST tires. Even after I moved on, when I bought tires for my trailer, the salesman would try and sell me ST tires, but would eventually concede that the LT's would work just as well. Now this is just my opinion!!! It only matters to me!! John

 

[Eric_77]

oh by the way the G614 is steel belted, not easy to find (commercial locations only) and load range G! told by the Good year rep that it is used by Fed Ex on their delivery turcks