Need confirmation on my plan for tires...

[LRutigliano]

My best friend with the exact same 5er, same year, same tires, bought at the same time, etc... just had a major blowout on his way to Diamond Lake.



He/we have Carlisle ST225/75-15E tires that have date codes of mid year 2006. His PS rear tire completely exploded and it damaged the plastic fender and steel sheet metal behind the tire.



When he called me, I guessed it was the PS rear tire because that is where the fridge, furnace, HW heater and pantry are located and we really load up the fridge and pantry before every trip.



The tires are rated for 2830 lbs each (5660 lbs/axle) and the rear axle has 4200 lbs and the front axle has 3800 lbs on it when ready for camping and hooked up to the truck.



I've been stressing about my tires on every trip and know I'm playing russian roulette. The trailer is stored indoors for 3/4 of the year and I religiously maintain tire pressure at 80psi.



My plans are to buy 4 new rims (approx $100each) and LT235/85-16E BF Goodrich Commercial TAs (approx $148 each)



I was considering the Michelin XPS Ribs, but they are $272 each !!



Am I going to be satisfied with the BFG's? They are a huge quality upgrade vs. the Carlisle's, right?



We use the 5er for approx 4k-5k miles/yr.



Please provide your positive and negative comments...



Thanks,

Louis

 

[Grizzly]

Louis,



I believe that the LT235/85-16E BF Goodrich Commercial TAs will be fine. I still prefer the Michelin XPS Ribs however. I paid $211 each, x 5, for my Michelin XPS Rib tires at Discount Tire here in Albuquerque. Shop around. Do you have a Tire Discount?



george

 

[HBarlow]

As you said, the BFG commercial tires are a huge step up from Carlisle willpops and will serve you well.

Michelin XPS Ribs are better but pricier and you probably don't really need them at the weights you listed.

Michelin owns BF Goodrich. I don't know if ownership crosses over into design and quality control but the BFG tire has always been a good tire anyway.

 

[Regcabguy]

Costco also will knock or $70. 00/four on Michelin's currently. Discount should match it.

 

[scootergmc]

Costco also will knock or $70. 00/four on Michelin's currently. Discount should match it.

That's a Michelin deal (although Costco's advertising makes it sound like their own) and you can get that offer anywhere, not just Costco. It's actually on Discount's website, and pretty much every other tire dealer's website. The advantage to Costco is *I believe* they do the rebate instantly, and you don't have to do the mail in.



BFG just had a $60 rebate expire on the 12th.

 

[Regcabguy]

I've had great luck w/Costco and unfortunately,just the opposite w/Discount here. Costco will only mount a stock size tire or my truck would go there also. While my tires on the Pilot are being rotated and rebalanced,I go into Costco and enjoy the feminine scenery. Another plus!

 

[scootergmc]

I've had great luck w/Costco and unfortunately,just the opposite w/Discount here. Costco will only mount a stock size tire or my truck would go there also. While my tires on the Pilot are being rotated and rebalanced,I go into Costco and enjoy the feminine scenery. Another plus!

Plus the hand dipped ice cream bars are awesome, and they dumped Coke for Pepsi, so life is extra good now.



Costco will sell and mount non-stock sizes if you bring in the wheels off the truck (if you have the capability) and purchase the tires through them. I was going to do this with the Hankooks I was going to order online, but since they don't sell Hankooks, they wouldn't do it.

 

[Regcabguy]

Plus the hand dipped ice cream bars are awesome, and they dumped Coke for Pepsi, so life is extra good now.



Costco will sell and mount non-stock sizes if you bring in the wheels off the truck (if you have the capability) and purchase the tires through them. I was going to do this with the Hankooks I was going to order online, but since they don't sell Hankooks, they wouldn't do it.

They'll only sell them to you now. No more mounting if you bring the rims in. I got a great price on some Bridgestone 315-70-17 Revo 2's,but now it's cash and carry at ours. Those hand dipped ice cream bars are amazing aren't they? Well,I guess we're way off topic now.

 

[Grizzly]

I've had much better results with Discount Tire than Costco. Costco has gotten too finicky about what they won't do. However, Discount Tire has no hand dipped ice cream bars.

 

[scootergmc]

They'll only sell them to you now. No more mounting if you bring the rims in. I got a great price on some Bridgestone 315-70-17 Revo 2's,but now it's cash and carry at ours. Those hand dipped ice cream bars are amazing aren't they? Well,I guess we're way off topic now.

Dang, maybe it varies from Costco to Costco. They told me just last week they'd do it if I bought 'em there and brought the wheels in...



Regardless, it's the chopped almonds that put that ice cream bar over the top. :-laf

 

[WestTN]

That trianglar item between the axles SHOULD have insured that both axles shared the load equally. You quoted a 200 lb difference. You need to recheck the weight distribution. If it is still different from front axle to rear, you need to find out why.

 

[HBarlow]

Not entirely. The equalizer allows the axles to move independently to traverse uneven ground but will not completely equalize weights when the trailer is towed nose up as smaller, lighter fifth wheels with 15" tires usually are.

 

[Regcabguy]

History of Costco tire policy.

Costco got sued back east by a customer that purchased the tire in question of his own free will. Something went wrong. Costco got sued and lost. Hence the policy of always following the manufacturer's recommendations. I had an underrated tire on my '98. 5 that blewout resulting in $3300 damage to my '98. 5. It was sold to a naive new owner(me). AAA covered the damage,but I wouldn't have been surprised if they denied the claim. Costco's policy makes perfect business sense. My local one's decision to not mount a E rated,two-sizes larger tire on a rim without the vehicle being present seems a little extreme. They're off the hook at that point. The last time I was at Discount the "tire tech" tried jacking my rearend up via the pumpkin. My rear axle load is 4000#. I told him to use two jacks and his reply was"this is the way I always do it". I'll use another one next time.

 

[Boehler]

When changing tire and wheel sizes it is important to consider tire clearances. 225/75R15 tires are about 1/2 inch wider than 235/85R16 tires, and are about 3 1/2 inches taller.

 

[Barry]

I love Michelins. My first choice.



Something else to know: Goodyear, is or was, so big into trailer tires that they had a fairly good program of paying for damage to a coach caused by a faulty tire.



Uncle Harvey, Uncle Bill and I have batted this one around for years. It is bad enough when you hear that sickening sound... ... POW or BOOM knowing you just spent $150 to $200 for a tire. But when you have to spend another grand, two or three fixing your coach, its a pain!!!

 

[CROW]

I have not had good experiences with Goodyear Marathon 16" LT tires on a fifth wheel. Goodyear wound up paying for about $1,600 in damage for a tread separation and had minor damage with two other blowouts. Have done OK with Goodyear ST tires in 13" and 14" on boat trailers though. Last year I had to replace the tires on my dually and opted for Michelins and yes they are expensive. Needed new fifth wheel tires and opted for the Goodyear Commercial TA tires as they were less expensive than the Michelin XPS and several have indicated they were decent tires. Just hated to pop for the Michelin tires when the trailer, in my situation, doesn't get a lot of miles and I hope to get a new one in a year or so. The BFG's have been good so far but only have a little over 2K on them.

 

[EricBu12]

Louis,



I have what you want. . I have the BF Goodrich T/A Commercial Tires. . the 225/75-16 "E". . 10 ply... . . yes you read right. . a 225-16" tire. . fits perfect... . this is on my 36' toyhauler and for 3 years has been flawless. . I have a pressure monitor system and I overfill a little cold. . 85 psi. . The tires never get over 95 hot. . and I can tell when there is a cross-wind as I see a difference in pressure on one side or another. .



A couple pics of my old tire blow-out. . I didn't even hear or see this happen. . this was the first one. . then later on, had another,, then saw the rest were separated... replaced with a basic 15" tire at first that was better than the chineese tire but not bad.



The center cap on these rims are a pop-off type. . I was worried they would pop off on the freeway but so far after a few thousand miles. . no problem. . they come off so I can grease the bearings in the hub. . I have the Zerk in the center behind the rubber cap.



I had the same problem with bad chineese come-a-part tires. . Had 2 blow-outs and the rest started to separate. . My trailer weighs 15K on 3 axles. . . Well 12,500 on the tires... so I got some nice 16" rims at Discount tire and the tires themselves... cost like $1200 I think. . About $400 a axle... so far these tires are doing great.

 

[LRutigliano]

Louis,



I have what you want. . I have the BF Goodrich T/A Commercial Tires. . the 225/75-16 "E". . 10 ply... . . yes you read right. . a 225-16" tire. . fits perfect... . this is on my 36' toyhauler and for 3 years has been flawless. . I have a pressure monitor system and I overfill a little cold. . 85 psi. . The tires never get over 95 hot. . and I can tell when there is a cross-wind as I see a difference in pressure on one side or another. .



A couple pics of my old tire blow-out. . I didn't even hear or see this happen. . this was the first one. . then later on, had another,, then saw the rest were separated... replaced with a basic 15" tire at first that was better than the chineese tire but not bad.



The center cap on these rims are a pop-off type. . I was worried they would pop off on the freeway but so far after a few thousand miles. . no problem. . they come off so I can grease the bearings in the hub. . I have the Zerk in the center behind the rubber cap.



I had the same problem with bad chineese come-a-part tires. . Had 2 blow-outs and the rest started to separate. . My trailer weighs 15K on 3 axles. . . Well 12,500 on the tires... so I got some nice 16" rims at Discount tire and the tires themselves... cost like $1200 I think. . About $400 a axle... so far these tires are doing great.

Thanks EricBu12!

 

[HBarlow]

When changing tire and wheel sizes it is important to consider tire clearances. 225/75R15 tires are about 1/2 inch wider than 235/85R16 tires, and are about 3 1/2 inches taller.

I think if you recheck your sources you'll learn that the statement you wrote above is simply not accurate.

 

[scootergmc]

Accuracy aside, I stopped at Costco on Sunday and scored a hand-dipped almond encrusted ice cream bar. Good times.