new 5th wheel what kind of tires

[skorski]

I am in the process of buying a new 5th . It comes with 235/85R16 tires . Trailer weights 11,020 lbs dry weight. I can upgrade to an E rated tire. Please help me decide . Are radial tires OK for that kind of weight. Thanks Ski.

 

[klenger]

I thought that all 235/85R16 tires were E rated. If you can get Michelin XPS RIB tires, do it.

 

[rweis]

E rated for sure



Bob Weis

 

[SnoKing]

Don't leave the dealers lot with chinese tires. At that weight you are close to needing G rated tires. Goodyear G614 is the choice. Michelin XPS RIBs are rated at 3042 each. So you can go to around 12K on the trailer axles with them. They are all steel construction like the G614 GYs. Repeat, do not leave the lot with chinese tires, they are for display only! SNOKING

 

[Larry Willard]

I agree with some of the other posts, I would go with the minimum of Michelin XPS in load range E, but would strongly recommend going with a G rated tire.

Larry

 

[CROW]

Been a lot of discussion about trailer tires lately and Michelin XPS Ribs appear to be to preferred tire by many. I have them and am sure there are other tires that are acceptable; however, the MichelinXPS ribs appear to be the gold standard in trailer tires (just my opinion). Have a buddy that blew two tires recently on a long trip and had trailer damage. Trailer was almost new and had a brand of tire I've never heard of.

 

[Grizzly]

I totally agree with exchanging the China tires for Michelin XPS Rib LT, range E. I'm surprised your dealer is willing to swap them out.



I'm taking delivery of an 08 Arctic Fox 5th wheel in about two weeks and my dealer nor the AF manufacture are willing to exchange the China tires, however I have made arrangements with a nearby Discount Tire Store to exchange them for the Michelin tires.

 

[LDPetersen]

I agree on the Goodyear "G" tires. Have been using them on my 15k horse trailer for 5 or 6 years. Never a problem . Most all of the living quarters type horse trailers are using them now. Also i use it on the rears of my truck. They have good side walls where we all used to have problems.

 

[J.BURCHFIELD]

Look on the sidewall for the pounds the tire can carry and the recommended PSI. If the tire says ST Trailer Only then run like hell. I just read where Trailer Only tires loose 1/3 of their strength in 3 years and should be replaced regardless of the condition every 3 years. I would say 2 years. By the time the tire is shipped from China where it is built and sits in a warehouse, who knows how long and sits on a dealers rack it could be a year old when you buy it. These tires have been engineered to disintegrate. They admit it when they tell you the tire looses 1/3 of its strength in 3 years. The average person does not wear the tread out on a trailer tire so they need to sell tires so they are intentionally made to fly apart which forces you to buy new. I have a small trailer designed to haul only one car so I solved the problem by using pick up truck tires rated to carry the weight ("C" rated in my case). A tire shop will jump up and down and scream you can't do that and will refuse to put them on. They have all been indoctrinated into the SCAM. They will say the trailer will sway but if the recommended PSI is 50 there will be no sway. Sway comes from too much tongue weight that lifts weight off of the steering axle. I would like to see the Federal Gov. get involved. Tires flying apart on the highway is a safety issue. After reading the JD Powers Report several years ago I became a Michelin man (not quite that fat) and that is all I will use. The French never shot at me but the Japs did. After 50 years I figure it is their Grandchildren building the Japanese products so I buy them My 1990 Nissan has 214K on it and runs good. 130K was the best I ever got from a domestic.

 

[Okie-Go]

Put the xps ribs on my trailer BEFORE it left the dealer. Just do it and forget about tire trouble.