Larger tires 15 to 16 for 5er

[CUMMINZ]

My 5er is 10. 5k unloaded and had 225/75/15" D rated and load cap. of 2540 per tire. I just installed 235/85R16 E rated and load cap. of 3042 per tire. How can manufacturer get by with installing a tire set that is overloaded or near overloaded when built? I needed to raise my trailer anyway because my truck with high hitch made the trailer a little off level when towing. Note size difference with tires. Camper photo is with old tires. Fender flares will have to be trimmed slightly.



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[keimmmo]

I see you have at least 2 slide-outs. That makes for one heavy trailer! If you check the specs, it is likely that the rated load capacity of the trailer will give you only 500 lbs for all your gear in the trailer... not nearly enough for me!!! That is how they get away with it... they TELL you you can't haul anything without being overloaded! If you overload the trailer, that is YOUR problem, not theirs.



I have the same problem on my trailer. However, I can not go bigger than a 215-85XR16 tire without rubbing the top of the fender wells when I am at full suspension travel... which is almost exactly the same load capacity in a load range E as the 15 inch load range D tires.



Have you checked for adequate tire clearance? Any RV I have had could not accept anything more than about an inch taller than original without rubbing!



Steve

 

[RJOL]

Any trailer manufacturer that would set up a trailer with less then 500lbs of load capacity is a manufacturer that I would never buy anything from. Not familiar with you trailer brand, but load range D tires are not adequate for this load... JMHO...

 

[redram]

Try a 225/75/16 - these are not as tall as a 215/85-16 but have the higher load rating available in a load range E. I've had them on my 96 Dually for years. The tires are about 1 inch shorter than the stock 215/85-16's so it raised my effective final drive to a 3. 69 (3. 55 gears)



Cheers.

 

[keimmmo]

I have factory optional shocks on my trailer. Width is as much of a problem as height. I will probably still convert to 16 inch wheels though because the 15 inch load range D tires do not exist in Mexico. If I ruin a tire, the best I can get is an "Extra Load" which is only slightly better than a load range C.



Steve

 

[EricBu12]

I have D rate tires... ... But I have 6 of them!!



I have been hearing that if you have a 5th over 32' and slides, then it is mandatory or recomended to have 16" tires and wheels. . I agree unless you have 3 axles... .



This is my 36' Keystone Raptor Toyhauler. 2 slides and a 12' garage. Total tire rating is 15,500# ... which is The GVW of the trailer... . This weighs 11K empty... .



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my truck hooked to the trailer... . weight of the trailer is on the truck... . sits level... a good 9" clearance on the bedrails.



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I need the extra weight carry to haul these things... a 4x4 polaris and a predator polaris both a 500cc. Thats me and My dad... . 74 yrs old!!... . What a big kid!!



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[mlandis2]

That's been a pet peave with me for years and the dealers\manufacturers get away with it. The Jayco I currently tow came with 205/75/15 C rated tires on it which were overloaded right before GVW, although they seemed much too lightly constructed to even get that far. I had numerous problems with them before I switched out to 225/75/15 Ds and all has been well since.

 

[bombero]

Titan International, who has made all sorts of different tires for the past hundred years, now makes trailer tires. They have a ST225/75/15 Range E rated at 2830lbs. I am going to try them when I need new skins.

 

[Beast2B]

Denman makes an "E" st225/75r-15 trailer tire also (2830lbs). Good luck so far on our 10k Sno-Cat trailer for work.

 

[HBarlow]

It's "none of my business" and this comment may not be welcome but wheels that were originally intended for use with load range D tires are not adequate for the higher inflation pressures required to reach maximum carrying capacity with load range E tires. The wheels will fail under load. All components have a limit and upgrading one component will not improve other related components.



Harvey

 

[Roger rodbolt]

The wheels may be under-rated but also the axles. I've found that many of the trailers with 15" tires also have 5200lb. axles that are not up to the task.

 

[RustyJC]

Bear in mind that a 5th wheel carries as much as 20% or more of its GVWR on the hitch as pin weight - that weight is transferred to the truck and counts against the truck's GVWR. Therefore, it is common to have 5th wheel tire/axle ratings lower than the trailer's GVWR since the 5th wheel's tires don't carry the entire GVWR.



Having said that, the most proven 16" E-rated tire that I've seen for 5th wheel applications is the Michelin XPS Rib. A number of individuals who have experienced tread separation problems with other 16" E-rated tires have switched to the XPS Ribs and eliminated their problems. I ran them on our previous Jayco Designer XL 3610RLTS and can say that they ran dramatically cooler (due to their all-steel construction and trailer-specific design) on the Interstate than the OEM Goodyear Wrangler HTs that had fabric-and-steel construction.



If you really need to carry some weight with 16" tires, our current 5th wheel came with load range G-rated Goodyear G614R/ST Unisteel radials in LT235/85R-16G size - they run at 110 PSIG.



As was stated above, if one is upgrading tires, be sure that the wheel is rated for the inflation pressure and load that the tire rating provides.



Rusty

 

[CUMMINZ]

tire and wheel ratings

I do appreciate all the comments from you guys. Little info, when I installed the new 16" tires I did install new 16" wheels. The weakest link in my setup was the tires. We hear more problems with tires than we do rims or axles. And the idea that the truck does carry part of the weight is exactly right. But still having a weak link "the rubber that meets the road" was an easy fix to install the best available. I don't drive and pull trailer much over 60-65mph but I will feel safer with these tires.



Thanks for all the comments.



CUMMINZ NC

2004. 5 CTD, Flip-Over/RV2, 29' KeyStone Sprinter, Tornado, TST, 4x4, 4. 10LS, 315x70Rx17 BFG, 8" Factory cast aluminum, 2" front lift/w RC shocks, Line-X, Banks monster exhaust

My Truck at www.GoRowan.com/2004ram

 

[gbraden]

I just did the exact thing Cumminz did. My 2004 Keystone Laredo 27RL was wearing out tires on left side (driver side) of trailer. Keystone said the abnormal tire wear was caused by defective axles. They authorized replacement of the axles (under warranty) and the work was done by a local frame and axle shop. The frame and axle shop suggested that if I planned to keep the trailer, which I do, to upgrade to heavier duty tires and to install heavy duty greasable links (the connections at the ends of the leaf springs).

So my trailer went from 225/75R15D tires to 235-85R16E. Trailer sits up about 1 1/2 inches higher and I now need to adjust the hitch height so that everything is all level.

I think I will really like the new setup. My cost for 5 new 6 lug 16" wheels, 5 balanced 235/85R16E tires, greasable links and installation was $1,700. I think that was reasonable.

Glenn

 

[macdaddy]

Denman makes an "E" st225/75r-15 trailer tire also (2830lbs). Good luck so far on our 10k Sno-Cat trailer for work.

Beast

I have the Denman ST 225/75/15's "E's" on my Toybox they have been on there for over a year now and 7K miles no problems so far.



Mac

 

[snapshot]

Tire change without problems

Our rig traveling close to 500 miles of gravel (?) road to Inuvik, NWT Canada. No tire problems whatsoever after the change over below. The combo weighs in at 20,000# wet. Not sure how much more we weighed with the extra real estate.



I changed the wheels on my 5er to match my Pickup. It was an easy upgrade. The drums and bearings cost about $250 new for all four. Since I already had extra wheels for my snow tires, it was a cheap fix. After leaving pieces of factory tires scattered all up and down the West Coast, something had to change. One size fits all is a big plus. You would be amazed at just how much damage a blown tire on a RV trailer can do.