Hankook tires

[STEVEBROOKS]

My 5th wheel toyhauler came with ST235/80R16 Goodyear Marathon radials (load range D/3,000 lbs max each). The odd thing is that the 5er's max GVW is 12,700, so it was under-tired to begin with! This last summer at four years old, one of them got some bulges in the sidewall. They had less than 5,000 towing miles and were always towed at the max pressure (65 psi). To get ready for the riding season, I'll be changing tires. Due to always being at at least max GVW (maybe even a little more) and towing a small enclosed trailer behind the 5er, I want to upgrade to a higher load range tire. A local dealer is recommending Hankook LT7. 50-R16 Maxi-Vantage F19 tires. They are load range G/14-ply/3,330 lbs max each at 105 psi. I'd appreciate some feedback on several questions:



1. Does anybody have any experience with this tire in particular, or Hankooks in general?



2. Will my stock rims be OK to tow at 105 psi? I know I'll have to at least go with screw-in valve stems.



3. What other tire would you recommend for my set-up?



MANY thanks in advance for the help!



Steve

 

[LBARTLETT]

I run them on my 4-horse living quarters horse trailer and am very happy with them, they balanced up well, I put in the metal valve stems and run 90 lbs in them, since the trailer came with inadequate tires from the factory I'd be sure and check the weight rating on the wheels which you can see with the tire dismounted, there's another link on here regarding goodyear free stars but I like the Hankooks for the money

 

[LBARTLETT]

my tires are the exact tires you are being quoted

 

[B.G. Smith]

+

Gotta remember that when you are hooked up you have somewhere in the neighborhood of 2300 pounds of the weight on the rear of the truck, only way to know for sure is to hit the scales loaded. I have Michelin 235-85-16 XPS Rib on our trailer, it's about the weight of yours. Have had them about 8000 miles and a year and a half. Very good so far. Mine are rated 3042 lbs. per tire @80 psi. Have no experience with the Nankooks but I had a set of Nankangs (really) on my boat trailer, the tread came off them while it was sitting in storage in a closed boat storage. I have had experience with the Marathons, scattered treads through several southern and western states before I wised up. bg

 

[STEVEBROOKS]

Yea, I later realized I didn't take the tongue weight into account. Normally, I wouldn't even consider the Hankooks, but my tire dealer has done me well over the years and highly recommends them. Guess it MIGHT not hurt to give them a trial run.



Steve

 

[HBarlow]

Your tire salesman is blowing smoke up your rear and he knows it. You can't upgrade carrying capacity by installing tires with more plies or higher weight ratings without replacing the wheels and you certainly can't inflate your OEM wheels to 115psi so you can't take advantage of the increased carrying capacity. If you do you could cause a rim failure. If you are limited to 65 psi inflation pressure the new tires you are considering will have the same weight capacity as your previous tires at 65 psi.

Axles, springs, wheels, and tires are matched by the trailer manufacturer. If you had LRD tires with 65 psi inflation your wheels are likely to be limited to 70 psi and certainly no more than 85 psi inflation limits not to mention that your axles are only rated for 6000# each. Your lugs and lug bolts will also match 6000# axles. The lowest rated component in the suspension determines weight carrying capacity, not the tires.

Each to his own but I don't buy tires from tire salesmen. They operate on a commission and some of them will put their own best interests and the profit markup on a particular tire ahead of the customer's best interests. They are often no different than used car salesmen. I buy tires ONLY from SAM's Club where the tires staff are paid an hourly wage and have no incentive to sell me what is best for them. When I go to SAM's Club for tires I don't go in looking for a recommendation, I go in knowing what I am going to buy so I am not influenced by the tire staff's recommendation.

B. G. Smith is correct above. About 20% of the gross weight of your trailer is on the kingpin not on the axles so you don't need LRG tires.

I use and stongly recommend Michelin XPS Ribs for trailer use. They use an all steel carcass and side by side, are much heavier than similar sized tires of other brands.

 

[georgej]

My 5er also came with Marathon 235/80/16 LRD tires and also began to bubble in 3 years. Since the trailer was supposed to be equipped with LRE tires I checked the rims to insure they were rated for 80 psi tires( they were) and installed Michelin XPS ribs. I've put around 20-25 thousand miles on them and they still look new, but the best thing is I don't worry about tire blowouts anymore! The tires were spendy but costco will have them on sale.

BTW the Alpenlite weighs 12. 5 k lbs ready to roll. .

 

[HCannon]

Dont be afraid of the Hankook, been using them for a long time with good results. I was using the Michelin and I would rate them up close to them for a lot less money.

 

[JUeckert]

mr brooks, if you are wanting to run them for more weight capacity, then go for it. the psi rateing of the rim is worth considering, i would suspect the rateing to be higher then the 65 your current tires are rated for, but who knows without looking. i run these very tires on one of my equipment trailers, and have done so for the last 5 years. they have served me well under some pretty harsh load/enviroment conditions.

 

[LJFiler]

I run those tires on a 2 horse trailer with living quarters and love them I run around 90 to 100 pounds in them. I upgraded to the metal valve stems. No problems with the tires. I know several people that run them on tandem axles flatbed trailers and 32 foot cattle trailers as well as horse trailers like mine and they all like them.

 

[jbucha4]

i had 35" hankook mudders and i got around 43,000 miles out of them. I really liked them and the look.

 

[STEVEBROOKS]

Does anybody have a recommendation of where to mail order 16x6 inch/6-lug wheels that will withstand 110 psi? I'd much prefer to stay with the "modular" chrome wheels if possible. TIA for the help.



Steve

 

[B.G. Smith]

Try Chrome Spoke Wheel bg

 

[HBarlow]

Also try SouthWest Wheel Southwest Wheel Company Steel and Aluminum Truck Wheels

 

[STEVEBROOKS]

HBarlow,

Thanks for the info about Southwest Wheel and Tire. I called them and they were realy helpful. I think I'll be able to solve my needs through them.



Steve

 

[HBarlow]

Good. I'm a big fan of SouthWest Wheel ever since a friend who is a very experienced RV dealership tech/now service manager suggested I go there when I was looking for a brake magnet for a vintage Airstream. Thanks to him I learned that I could buy brand new loaded brake backing plates with shoes, magnets, springs, and hardware for less than it cost to buy a magnet from a local RV dealer.

I have bought many products over the years since I learned of them. Anyone who owns a trailer whether flatbed work trailer, enclosed box trailer, or RV trailer may be well served to review their website and check out their wide variety of parts and equipment offered and their prices.

 

[STEVEBROOKS]

Received very good customer service over the phone at Southwest Wheel, and a (good?) quote on upgrading to Alcoa forged aluminum wheels and associated hubs/bearings/etc. Anybody know of another source to get a quote on those wheels?



Thanx,



Steve

 

[STEVEBROOKS]

I ended up going with the Michelin XPS Ribs, and towed with them for the first time this weekend. It felt as if they towed better than the stock Goodyears. Comparing the two tires side-by-side, it's clear the Michelins are built much sturdier. Time will tell on how they do long-term.



Steve

 

[Barry]

Always buy more rim than you need.



If you are running a LRE tire at 80 psi cold in the morning, when it gets hot later in the day and you are running down the road with road temps north of 100*, the tire pressure is going to be building.



Rim failure is not a pretty sight.



My 19. 5 Rickson/Goodyears can be at 90 psi cold in the morning and be well over 105 by mid morning... ... ... ... .



Also, the rolling resistance of a load G at 100 psi is less than an E at 80 psi and a whole lot less than a D at 65 psi.



mi dos centavos

 

[HBarlow]

Received very good customer service over the phone at Southwest Wheel, and a (good?) quote on upgrading to Alcoa forged aluminum wheels and associated hubs/bearings/etc. Anybody know of another source to get a quote on those wheels?

Thanx,

Steve

Redneck Trailer in MO is another retailer of trailer parts.

Also, most tire retailers also sell aftermarket wheels.

I'll be interested to hear a report back from you to learn if you found anyone who could or would beat SWW's prices.