Rv tires

[RonD]

I have BF Goodrich Commercial T/A tires on my 36' 3 axle toyhauler. . I use E rate 16" aluminum rims. . I have had them for 4 years and they wear well. . did a big trip in 2008 to the northwest. . . . desert heat or mountains. . works well



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I have the same tires on my 5th wheel, 245-75-17, there is a current recall on them from BFG, do a Google search on BFG recall, it will list the DOT dates, somewhere about 3/2010-5/2012, I just had 3 of my 5 replaced today at Discount Tire, they dismounted my spare, mounted it on one of the mag wheels, full balance, and sent me on my way completely free, a good deal on a new set of replacements after 2 years.

 

[AClayton]

I must be in the minority, I have never had a problem with Goodyear G rated tires. My trailer is too heavy for XPS ribs, and I'm too cheap to go to bigger rims and H rated tires. If I was still RVing the same as I used to I might, but my 5er hasn't moved in 3 years. That will change shortly.

Yeah... . I thought the XPS Ribs would have a much higher rating than they do. But I still think they are a much better tire but with a conservative weight rating.

 

[RustyJC]

I must be in the minority, I have never had a problem with Goodyear G rated tires.

Yeah, I hadn't either - until the G614s were ~3 years old. I then had 2 tread separation failures within 3 months, the second doing some $2500 in damage to the 5th wheel. I could never trust them after that, so I went to 17. 5" aluminum wheels and load range J Michelin XTAs rated 4805 lbs @ 120 psig. I've never had another problem.



Rusty

 

[NIsaacs]

Rusty, what is a load range J, is that more then 16 ply or load range H? Also, what did you use for lug nuts on the 17. 5 conversion, are the wheels flat faced in the stud hole or tapperd? My steel wheels are flat faced so I used the clamp ring and tappered nuts so I could use a standard spare wheel/tire.



Nick

 

[RustyJC]

I used the following 17. 5" wheels available from Trailer Tire & Wheel Supermarket. These wheels came with 9/16" lug nuts appropriate for the wheels and 7K Dexter Nev-R-Lube axles, center caps, and with the tires mounted and balanced (your choice, weights or Equal). Installation was a straight bolt-on. Since the spare G614 had a 2004 date code, I replaced the spare with another 17. 5" Michelin XTA as well. In addition to the Michelins, this vendor can also supply Goodyear, Sumitomo and Cooper Roadmaster tires in the 215/75R-17. 5" size.

Rusty

 

[Jim W]

I bought my Camper new in Feb 2010 with Towmaster tires on them. I inspect my tires and wheel torque every time we go camping. When we pulled the trailer at every rest stop I measure tire temps and inspect the tires for checking and cracking. I was planning on replacing them this spring being they would be over three years old by then and I would have had two years of towing with these tires.

Will Last year in Kearney NE the front driver side tire failed causing close to $3,000 in damage. The failure occurred just outside of Kearney NE about 20 min after leaving the camp ground in Gibbon NE on I 80 just under the Road way arch. I was lucky that I could pull over right away since this was 8:00 AM on a Sunday with no traffic on the roadway as of yet. I had to buy a new spare tire in Kearney NE; do you know how hard it is to buy one on a Sunday in Kearney NE?

This spring I research tires and ended up purchasing the Michelin XP RIBS for close to $1,500 from Discount tires. The store manager was putting these same tires on his trailer also do to a tire failure on his toy hauler. I will use nothing other than Michelin tires from now on any trailer and will make that a condition of sale.
Jim W.

 

[HBarlow]

I must be in the minority, I have never had a problem with Goodyear G rated tires. My trailer is too heavy for XPS ribs, and I'm too cheap to go to bigger rims and H rated tires. If I was still RVing the same as I used to I might, but my 5er hasn't moved in 3 years. That will change shortly.

What is your trailer's GVWR?

 

[6speed]

I purchased a Contitental Cargo car hauler that has living quarters with a slide about 3 years ago. Equipped with 3 7K axles gave 21K gross on the trailer, however the manufactor only gave me tires to support 18K. After 2 blowouts and I only had 14. 5K on axles I realized the difference. I have since put the GY 614 with a G load range. I am like the above posters I constantly check for any damage and with a heat gun. In the heat (90-100*) all 12 tires, truck & trailer run about 125*. Even thou I can inflate them to 110PSI, I run them at 95. I am using a chart that is on Goodyears website that rates the weight for the different pressures. I only run 65 mph towing. Although this has nothing to with tires, I recently converted all my bearing from grease to oil bath. Its nice to just pop a cover and look for the oil level

 

[HBarlow]

The good news about using GY tires is after the GY-614s blow out or sling a tread as they all do GY is usually good about paying for the trailer damage repair.

 

[NIsaacs]

I used the following 17. 5" wheels available from Trailer Tire & Wheel Supermarket. These wheels came with 9/16" lug nuts appropriate for the wheels and 7K Dexter Nev-R-Lube axles, center caps, and with the tires mounted and balanced (your choice, weights or Equal). Installation was a straight bolt-on. Since the spare G614 had a 2004 date code, I replaced the spare with another 17. 5" Michelin XTA as well. In addition to the Michelins, this vendor can also supply Goodyear, Sumitomo and Cooper Roadmaster tires in the 215/75R-17. 5" size.



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Rusty

Oh wow! Nice wheels, mine are plain, like Dickies How about the load range J, is that just a typo?



Nick

 

[RustyJC]

How about the load range J, is that just a typo?



Nick

Nope. If you'll go to Michelin's website and look up the technical data for the XTA, you'll see that Michelin rates it as a Load Range J.



From the Michelin XTA website:

215/75R17. 5 XTA® LRJ

Rusty

 

[HBarlow]

This link is a chart showing all truck tire load ratings, inflation pressures, and load capacity.

http://www.goodyear.com/truck/pdf/radialretserv/Retread_S14_V.pdf

 

[NIsaacs]

Ok thanks, I haven't seen a J rating before. I did a search on tire load range ratings and per; (Tire and Rim Association) the J rating is 18 ply, they don't use I or K in the rating system. So if my H/16ply (WestLake made in China) are rated at 4805@123psi and your Michelin's are J/18ply rated at 4805@120psi, they have a substantial safety margin built in. That is probably one of the reasons why Michelin users swear by them.



Nick

 

[HBarlow]

Nick,

Well, perhaps. But Michelin tires are in fact capable of carrying their rated weights indefinitely while providing long life and no problems. I don't think I'd count on a Chicomm tire to do that regardless what rating or weight capacity is stamped on the sidewall.

 

[Bob4x4]

Nick,

Well, perhaps. But Michelin tires are in fact capable of carrying their rated weights indefinitely while providing long life and no problems. I don't think I'd count on a Chicomm tire to do that regardless what rating or weight capacity is stamped on the sidewall.

Well I hope you are right,I just put a set on my light weight airsteam. The origional GY Marathons still look great(Not Chineese)but the new st's of all brands in 15's look cheap
I went with the LTXms2s,they are rated at about 200lbs less than the gy's that came off

 

[HBarlow]

I had a similar problem a few years ago when I owned a 32' Avion travel trailer. I didn't want GY Marathons so selected a Michelin SUV tire in XL load rating. They worked extremely well but I was careful to never strike a curb or large, sharp object because I knew the sidewalls were fairly soft. I towed that trailer 60k miles including a trip to Alaska with those tires and they still looked great when I sold it.

 

[NIsaacs]

Nick,



Well, perhaps. But Michelin tires are in fact capable of carrying their rated weights indefinitely while providing long life and no problems. I don't think I'd count on a Chicomm tire to do that regardless what rating or weight capacity is stamped on the sidewall.

Harvey,



I agree, Michelin is about the best tire there is and since the thread is RV based, they make good sense in spite of the price.



I just bought a low hour small Bobcat with new tires and wheels. The tires are genuine Bobcat brand, made in China



So far I really like my 17. 5's and think I will install them on my bumper pull trailer and get another set. I need a little more clearence on the rear of the goose neck due to the overhang so I want the next larger size 235/75x17. 5, they are rated 6,000 lbs each. Since I only need 4,000 per tire on 8,000 lb axles the over rating should work fine. I would think with the US Dot number they would have to at least meet some minimum requirements, or is that like GVW/GCW ratings, no teeth.



Nick

 

[RustyJC]

I went with the LTX ms2s,they are rated at about 200lbs less than the gy's that came off... .

Just for reference, the price (and weight) difference between the LTX and the XPS Rib is due to the construction. The LTX is a fabric carcass and steel belt OEM-type tire used on SUVs and trucks, whereas the XPS Rib (and the 17. 5" XTA) are all-steel construction - both the body plies as well as the belts. I sincerely hope the LTXs work out for you.



Rusty

 

[HBarlow]

Harvey,

I agree, Michelin is about the best tire there is and since the thread is RV based, they make good sense in spite of the price.

I just bought a low hour small Bobcat with new tires and wheels. The tires are genuine Bobcat brand, made in China

So far I really like my 17. 5's and think I will install them on my bumper pull trailer and get another set. I need a little more clearence on the rear of the goose neck due to the overhang so I want the next larger size 235/75x17. 5, they are rated 6,000 lbs each. Since I only need 4,000 per tire on 8,000 lb axles the over rating should work fine. I would think with the US Dot number they would have to at least meet some minimum requirements, or is that like GVW/GCW ratings, no teeth.

Nick

Nick,

I wonder if the Chicomm tires have actually been subjected to testing. I've never read the details in an official DOT or other publication but I suspect a part of the tire rating system is based on little more than voluntary compliance between reputable tire manufacturers under SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers, I think) or other agreement between members. Don't know how much the fed actually tests for compliance.

Tires of the same size and ply rating always carry the same load rating. For example, LT235/85R16 LRE tires are always 3042 lbs. Likewise with other familiar tires. I doubt every manufacturer's tires are capable of carrying exactly that load at 80psi. That has to be an agreed upon standard rating.

 

[GAmes]

What is your trailer's GVWR?

GVWR is 13,780. The last time I weighed the trailer there was 11,000 pounds on the axles.