Trailer tires

[Buffalo]

Mr. Barlow,



Through numerous phone calls to both Goodyear & Greenball (offices located in OH. , at the time) I finally found the people that had, & would divulge, the information I was looking for. At the time, I wanted to find out if the Tow-Masters (by Greenball) were "actually manufactured" by Goodyear in their Ontario, Canada facility, as rumored. At that time (early 2000's) they were manufactured in Canada & were stamped so on the tire sidewalls.



Since then, manufacturing has gone to the Orient. My latest Tow-Masters were made in China (stamped on sidewalls) in 05/08.



Four of my friends, & I, are using the Tow-Masters (225-75-15-D's & E's) on our Nash trailers in sizes from 19' to 25'. None of us have had any tire problems with the Tow-Masters but, we do change tires frequently (3 year intervals).



I am not "thrilled" with the Tow-Masters quality & for that reason, I change them every three years. I don't believe they are 'the answer' to the 15" trailer tire question. They don't inspire confidence. However, they haven't been too bad for my friends & I. At least, that's been our recent experience. That's why I posted the comment, you quoted, about someone building a bullet-proof trailer tire. I wish I could find a 16" wheel/tire combination that I/we could use on our Nash trailers. I agree with your comments about the 16" Michelin tires for "large travel trailers". If only they would build something for us in the smaller trailer community!!!



Mr. Barlow, I enjoy reading the majority of your comments & find your vast experience in the RV industry to be very valuable, to me. You find a lot of great information that is useful to all of us. Thank you.



Joe F.

 

[Matt42]

You won't find an LT tire in a 15". Get the best half ton truck tire in 6 or 8 ply rating or the best large SUV tire. They will be passenger tires.



Still the best thing to do is to change out drums and axles, if necessary, to accommodate 16" wheels and LT tires.

On my trailer, I use Michelin LT215/75R15C. Those have become verrry hard to find. Goodrich also makes LT tires in that size, but I have not tried them. I think, but have not confirmed, that tires are also available in LT235/75R15C. If you need better than C (6 ply) rating in a 15 inch LT tire, life is not going to be good.



If I had room, I would most certainly be using 16 inch wheels and tires. Different axles, a spring-over-axle conversion, or wheel well modification would be required. I may do one of the above some day. Actually, I have aligned spring-over spring perches welded on the trailer axles, so I could so the change any time. The conversion raises the trailer more than I want and need. Changing the axles to a smaller "drop" or a straight spindle would be better but cost more.



Axle manufacturers can generally make brake hubs with 5, 6 or 8 lugs, as needed for your wheels. 8 lugs generally require a 3,000 or 3,500 lb axle. It is very nice to use the same spare for truck and trailer! Wish I could.



On the other hand, my trailer came with load range B tires in ST215/75R15B, so I have plenty of options as-is. The B range load rating in that size is adequate. But adequate is rarely good enough in the real world.

 

[pullya]

It has been my experience, as a member of the boating community, that the boat trailer manufactures(not all but a large number)have caused some of the problems related to tire problems on boat trailers. It seems as though these manufactures put the smallest size wheel and tire combination on their trailers in order to just barely meet the minimum weight requirements of the boat. They seem to forget that when you load the boat with all the stuff your wife wants to brings along, add all your new found friends since you got a boat, beverages for everyone and then put fuel in the boat the weight increases substantially. Then add an owner that drives well over the suggest speed rating of the tires, and you have a accident waiting to happen. Larger rims and tires can cure some of those problems---but not all.

Sorry about my long semi-rant

Jay

 

[HBarlow]

Most trailers that were OEM equipped with ST225/75R15 tires have adequate room in the fenderwells and between axle centers on a tandem axle trailer to allow replacement with 16" six lug wheels and LT225/75R16 tires. The difference in radius (from axle center to outside of tire) between the tire sizes I mentioned is only 1/2". The additional half inch under the fender wells is almost always manageable.

The size upgrade will move the outside edges of the two tires on a tandem axle one inch closer to each other or, stated another way, decrease clearance between the tires by one inch. Most trailer suspension spaces axles far enough apart to allow this one inch reduction.

Five lug axles/wheels are used on 3,500 pound axles. 5,000 lb. axles/wheels use six lugs. 6,000 lb. and 7,000 wheels/axles use eight lugs with the 7k axles using larger diameter lug bolts and lug nuts.

 

[HBarlow]

Buffalo,

I have no reason to disagree with you or your information about the actual manufacturer of Greenball tires but the company's own website states that Goodyear made Greenball's tires during CY 1993 only.

It seems likely that their website is accurate and it seems reasonable that the tires were manufactured in China from 1994 to the present since you report that the tires you have seen show China on the sidewall.

Tire choices made by others is not my concern. I can only state what I would do. Personally, I would not choose a tire made in China for my fifth wheel.

I recently bought a tandem axle gooseneck trailer with a hydraulic dump bed to haul gravel for my rural farmhouse driveways and fertilizer for a garden. It came equipped with cheapo ChiComm tires made by a company I've never heard of. I'll use them for a year or two. If one of them blows out or slings the tread under a steel trailer fender it won't be a big deal like it would on a fiberglass fifth wheel with plastic fender well skirts and sheet metal lower body trim panels. I'll replace them with Michelin XPS Ribs recycled off my HitchHiker fiver when they get older.

 

[Grizzly]

Oh yes - I carry the AAA card as well. Unfortunately, I go a lot of places that don't have cell phone service, and that's without leaving the paved roads! I've been to some small towns that don't have cell service in Co and Wy, not to mention long roads in between.

Any pay phones available?

 

[HBarlow]

Buffalo,

A friend and fellow participant in this forum pm'd me last night. He said he put a set of Greenball tires stamped "Canada" on his trailer in 2000.

Perhaps I misinterpretted the website statement. Maybe a Canadian company is one of the ten companies making Greenball tires.

In ten or twenty years Chinese tires may be the world's best quality and best sellling tires but I won't use one on a travel trailer now.

I remember when Japanese cars began showing up on the west coast in the late '60s. We laughed at them then. Now Honda, Toyota, Nissan, even Mitsubishi are among the world's best automobile values. My wife drives a new Nissan Murano which is an excellent car. She has previously owned a Honda, two Toyotas, and a BMW.

 

[Blu-meanie]

One small correction. I installed the Greenball tires stamped Canada in 2005. If they had been from the Chi-Coms, they wouldn't be on my trailer. But then I wouldn't feed my dog dogchow made there either.

 

[HBarlow]

I stand corrected. 2005 it is.

 

[cclemons]

Has anyone tried the Tire Pressure Sensors on their trailers? And what kind of luck did you have with them.

 

[Bob Cochran]

Has anyone tried the Tire Pressure Sensors on their trailers? And what kind of luck did you have with them.

I have used the Duran PressurePro on my truck and trailer a 35 foot Everest 5th wheel. They work really good but I have not had a tire problem since I installed them. Explanation, I had one blow out and one tread separation during a 5,000 mile trip. I replaced all 4 tires on 5er with Michelin XPS ribs and installed the tire monitoring. Kind of did all this at the same time soooooo all I can say I feel better. OH I had replaced all 6 tires on the truck just before the trip. The front tires XPS ribs and the rears XPS traction's.

 

[LJFiler]

I do not own a 5th wheel but on my cattle trailers and horse trailers with living quarter which will weigh close to the 5th wheel loaded I like the Hankook tires load range g. I have not had any problems with them coming apart.