Tire Selection

[RHARVEY]

I will need to replace the tires on our 5th wheel and I was wonder what type would work. It has a set of bias ply on it now and I wanted to go with a radial tire. The gvw is about 6500 lbs. . What do ya think???

Rick

------------------
RICK
97 2500,CC,5 SPEED, 3. 54 Limited Slip,Psychotty System,K&N, Pre-Turbo ISSPRO 3" Pyrometer & Boost Guage,Silencer Ring Removed
15,000 RBW 5th Wheel Hitch,25' Excel 5th Wheel,Rancho RSX17000 Shocks,Amsoil Dealer,Straight Piped

 

[Pogodually]

Radial tires of course. Don't mess with bias ply. Go with a good RV type tire. The RV tire is built with different compounds for all the time your RV will be sitting. Buy radial tires for sure, plus they are easier to find replacements, if you are unlucky and need that replacement tire. Been there, done that.



IMHO.

 

[RHARVEY]

What brands and or companies should I look at and which ones should I stay away from.



Rick

 

[dewdo]

Rick:

I have a 15,000 lb 5th wheel and I have been running the Goodyear "Work Horse" radials in the load range "E" (10 ply). I have been towing RV's for a number of years and have had several tire failures which can spoil your day for certain.



One thing I have found out after talking to tire dealers is you want to replace the tires about every four or five years whether they are worn or not. I have had at least four tire failures on my current fiver and they all had been on the rig 4 to 5 years.



It is good insurance especially if they are starting to show the dry rot cracks. I would like to try the Michelin 10 ply, but they don't make the 16. 5 inch tire, so I am sticking with Goodyear Work Horse.



Dewdo in the other Washington

 

[Midnight]

Rick, the most common tire on rv`s is the Goodyear Marathon. It is specially made for trailer use. One the heavier rigs are using is the Goodyear Wrangler HT E load.

 

[WCrovo]

I hated Carlise's and have not been impressed with the Generals that came on my Tahoe TT. I agree that E rating is the only way to go. My replacement tires will be Goodyears. I to have not found Michelins in my size. I had lots of blowouts with the Carlise's. ( SP?)

 

[Loren]

WCrovo,



Funny you should mention the Carlisle brand. I recently bought a used Holiday Rambler TT with Carlisle tires. The seller told me they were new, and they looked like it.



I noticed that the original tires were load range D and the Carlisles were load range C, so I thought I might have problems. Sure enough, on our second trip, one blew out. Fortunately the tire on the other axle carried the load and we got stopped okay. The spare was one of the originals and worked fine.



Tomorrow I am pulling the trailer to the farm co-op to see if the tires were overloaded. I doubt that they were. If not, then I'll probably buy a set of four new tires. Not Carlisle, this time. In fact, after reading your opinion of Carlisles, I'll probably buy new ones anyway.



I don't like spending a few hundred dollars for new tires, especially since the seller just did, but I figure that it's relatively cheap insurance.



Loren

 

[LandShark]

Dewdo: I think your tire problems are from overloading (or at least running the tires near their maximum rated load). This seems to be a common problem with the larger fifth wheels. Here's my reasoning: Your fifth wheel weighs 15,000 lbs. Assuming that the tongue weight is 4,000, you're carrying 11,000 on the tires. Most 'E' tires are rated to carry 3042 lbs max. The math says that you're running at 90% of rated load. This of course assumes that the load is distributed evenly, which is not likely. Since you can't lighten the trailer by much, the only choice is to go to higher rated tires. I don't know of any tire rated higher than 'E' for the 16" rim so it's an expensive upgrade (Rickson 19. 5" or maybe 16. 5" ?).



If my logic is wrong I'm sure someone will speak up. My own experience is with running the OEM Goodyear tires at 95% of rated capacity and having 3 of them come apart with 50% tread life remaining. Also, I've spoken with many 5th wheel owners and without exception, those with 16" wheels have all had tire problems.

 

[lhend50]

The Goodyear Marathons with the circle S are a good tire. I had 4 of the Non circle S tires fail, but I had no problem with the replacements. My new trailer which is a Newmar and weighs 13000 came from the factory with Goodyear G159's. This is a G load range and is 14 ply. You should not need anything this heavy for the trailer you have. The load E's should be fine.

 

[JJW_ND]

17.5" really handles a load!

We have four trailers that have seen 500K miles over the last 10 years. They have two 7200 lb axles and carry 12K loaded. We tried lots of high $ 16" tires. Not many blowouts with better tires just not very long tire life.



We retired the four steel trailers and replaced with four aluminum. We went to 8K axles and 17. 5 H rated tires. These are a direct bolt replacement to the lighter 16" tires. The 215/75R17. 5 are rated for 4805 @ 125psi. They have very little sidewall flex, run much cooler and do not have to operated at 90% of rate capacity. They are about the same height and width a 16" or slight shorter.



Most larger trailer suppliers should be able to get the rims. Only one made. It is a solid disk 3/8" thick. Lots of options with tires in 17. 5.



jjw

ND

 

[rickhans]

When I bought my goose neck 20' + 5' dove tail, rated at 16k GVW, they came with load range D tires which don't come close to what is needed for safety. I finally went to Discount Tires. They got me a set of 4 Hancook tires (16") load range G

that use inner tubes. Because they have to have 110 pounds of air, I also had to buy wheels rated for 110 pounds. I can safely carry the load, but do carry a couple of the original tires for spares because you cant plug a tire with an inner tube if you pick up a nail.

 

[dewdo]

Speaking of plugging tires, Last year I pulled into a campground and the next morning discovered a flat on one of the trailer tires. The nearest tire shop was a Les Schwab. I took it there and they were kind enough to repair the tire at no charge although I didn't buy my Goodyears from them. I asked them how they repaired the tire and they said they had plugged it. I was wondering just how good of a fix that is on a tubless tire. Will the plug hold, or should I put a tube in it? That tire is now the spare.



Dewdo in the other Washington

 

[Larry Willard]

My trailer came with Goodyear G159's, steel sidewalls, load range G . mounted on heavy duty wheels, rated for 3300lbs. On our 13000 lb+ Holiday Rambler 5er we have had no problems. Anyone needing a heavier duty tire might want to give them a try. Couldn't say the same for the Goodyear Marathons on our previous trailer.

Larry

 

[BCFAST]

It doesnt matter what it says on the side, stay far away from Goodyears!!! I tried different series, in both 15" and 16" sizes with repeated failures... . not overloaded or mis-inflated. Love my Carlaisles.

 

[Loren]

dewdo,



A plug will hold forever, BUT... that does not mean that you should just plug a flat tire and forget it.



Years back I had a flat and the service guy plugged the hole three times and couldn't get it to hold air. When he finally dismounted the tire, we discovered that it was shredded inside. If one of those plugs had held air, he never would have dismounted the tire, and I woud have been running on a bad one.



Always dismount the tire and inspect the inside before patching it. If someone plugged the tire in order to get you on the road, have it dismounted and checked at your first opportunity. Plugs are good repairs, but you never know about the condition of your tire until you check.



Loren

 

[dewdo]

Thanks for the information Loren. Aftyer reading some of the posts I think I will check into the load range "G" tires. I hope they have them in a 16. 5 inch. Hate to have to buy new whels as well.



Dewdo in the other Washington

 

[Eric_77]

Re: 17.5" really handles a load!

Originally posted by JJW-ND

We have four trailers that have seen 500K miles over the last 10 years. They have two 7200 lb axles and carry 12K loaded. We tried lots of high $ 16" tires. Not many blowouts with better tires just not very long tire life.



We retired the four steel trailers and replaced with four aluminum. We went to 8K axles and 17. 5 H rated tires. These are a direct bolt replacement to the lighter 16" tires. The 215/75R17. 5 are rated for 4805 @ 125psi. They have very little sidewall flex, run much cooler and do not have to operated at 90% of rate capacity. They are about the same height and width a 16" or slight shorter.



Most larger trailer suppliers should be able to get the rims. Only one made. It is a solid disk 3/8" thick. Lots of options with tires in 17. 5.



jjw

ND

Hey I want to go to 17. 5 tires but all I can find are 12 lug wheels; I have 6 lug drums on trailer. The wheel supply store locally said I would have to replace the drums to go to 17. 5s Any idea who makes the 6 lug wheel, do you already have 12 lug drums or do you run 12 lug wheels on 6 lug drums? I found out that I can drop the height almost 4 inches with the 17. 5 tire but I gotta have the rim first.