Which eight LT tires?

[CVR222NV]

Most of my flats have been in one area, and they are nearly all rock punctures. It also is why I am very picky about what tires I run.

I too run around in very rocky country and carry two spares one of which I had a mount made for my flatbed. I plan on moving to one of the E rated tires with 3 ply sidewalls as most of the flats have been due to sidewall punctures. I recently purchased a trailer and will be looking into tires (and possibly wheels) and adding a second spare there as well.

 

[SnoKing]

I prefer a closed shoulder lug on my trailer tires. They don't scrub quite as much as an open shoulder design. But in all honesty most people will age their tires out before they wear out myself included. I have around 20k miles on my tilt deck and the tires are still well over half tread. They wear like iron. I keep them covered from the sun when not in use but in another year or so I'll probably have to think about replacing them based on age.

JR, I have long believed the AS tread style on cheap ST tires is the root cause of the caps getting ripped off in tight turns. In 2005 we installed Michelin XPS Rips on our 29' 12.4K 5th and ran them for 6.5 years, removed them and sold them to 200 bucks on CL with 60% tread left and around 40K miles and installed Bridgestone Duravis R250's and ran those for 4 year until the trailer was sold. The R250 is gone, however they have the R238. The XPS Rib, R250 and R238 are all steel ply tires. The closed Rib design on the outer rib makes for a great trailer tire. B/S Duravis R238

 

[JR]

JR, I have long believed the AS tread style on cheap ST tires is the root cause of the caps getting ripped off in tight turns. In 2005 we installed Michelin XPS Rips on our 29' 12.4K 5th and ran them for 6.5 years, removed them and sold them to 200 bucks on CL with 60% tread left and around 40K miles and installed Bridgestone Duravis R250's and ran those for 4 year until the trailer was sold. The R250 is gone, however they have the R238. The XPS Rib, R250 and R238 are all steel ply tires. The closed Rib design on the outer rib makes for a great trailer tire. B/S Duravis R238













View attachment 127815

I was thinking about this thread as I was stuck at a RR crossing with my new dump trailer. After sitting there for about 30 minutes enough traffic behind me had cleared to where I could back up a few hundred yards to an access road off of a field. Backing into the drive across the opposite lane of traffic I got a good look at how much the new China Com tires were flexing. I was a bit put off to say the least. Tires were filled to 80 psi and trailer was loaded to max GVW. My tilt deck is the same GVW and I have done similar maneuvers countless times, even overloaded to boot. My Sailun S637's never flexed anywhere near so much.
Probably just as much to do with quality of tire as anything but these Ranier ST did not like a 90° turn loaded...seemed soft. I'll run the China bombs a yr or two if they hold up but then it's back to Sailun for me.

 

[bcbender]

I think I'll jump in the pool here since I am getting ready to buy 4 new shoes for the 5er before I head to MT/ID in June. I have always ran ST tires on my trailers and thought that LT were not supposed to be used although many do.. I have had Hercules ST2 tires in LR F on my 5er (upgraded from LR-E) and I also run the same tire size / rating on my Gooseneck. I have had good luck with them and they handle OK, side wall is stiffer that the CHINA Willpops that blew out at exaclty 4yr age on me. These are aging out at 5ys so that's why I am changing them (as well as the trip from NC->MT and back).. I like having the higher LR and my TPMS system shows running at the higher pressures I have lower temps.. What would you all recommend in this situation? My 5er is 44' long and around 16k loaded, has 7k Dexter axles, I had looked at the Sailuns but they are a big jump in cost and not sure I need LR-G and my rims are rate for 110psi max.

 

[endoscott]

Maxxis trailer tires are SUPPOSED to be good, thats what I put on our AF 5th wheel. Might be a little more expensive but NOT made in China. Maybe Thailand?? Not sure but supposed to be high quality.

 

[Azbeachbum]

First of all why would anyone want to run a all terrain tire?
If looking for a good ST check out Goodyear Endurance.
There are still a lot of LT tires built in China. Look at Cooper or Firestone .
I run Goodyear Unisteel G614 all steel const.
Just some of my 40+ years in tire biz.

 

[AH64ID]

First of all why would anyone want to run a all terrain tire?

While not common on a trailer there are uses where it's beneficial.

As I mentioned earlier I have one trailer that has AT's on it. The trailer is almost exclusively used for elk hunting and often sees dirt/snow/mud/ice/rocks/chains. I want the best lateral and braking traction I can get when 55+ miles from town on a USFS road. An AT is going to be much better for this use.

My other trailers that have LT's have closed shoulder highway treads.

 

[SnoKing]

I think I'll jump in the pool here since I am getting ready to buy 4 new shoes for the 5er before I head to MT/ID in June. I have always ran ST tires on my trailers and thought that LT were not supposed to be used although many do.. I have had Hercules ST2 tires in LR F on my 5er (upgraded from LR-E) and I also run the same tire size / rating on my Gooseneck. I have had good luck with them and they handle OK, side wall is stiffer that the CHINA Willpops that blew out at exaclty 4yr age on me. These are aging out at 5ys so that's why I am changing them (as well as the trip from NC->MT and back).. I like having the higher LR and my TPMS system shows running at the higher pressures I have lower temps.. What would you all recommend in this situation? My 5er is 44' long and around 16k loaded, has 7k Dexter axles, I had looked at the Sailuns but they are a big jump in cost and not sure I need LR-G and my rims are rate for 110psi max.

Get the Sailun S637's LRG tires and don't look back! The 235/85R16G are rated to 4405 at 110 psi inflation. 235/80R16G are rated at 4079 at 110 psi inflation.

 

[rebar]

And I want to run the same eight wheels so I only need one spare..

First of all why would anyone want to run a all terrain tire?

Because I want AT's on the truck and if I get a flat I don't want a different tire on the spare..

While not common on a trailer there are uses where it's beneficial.

As I mentioned earlier I have one trailer that has AT's on it. The trailer is almost exclusively used for elk hunting and often sees dirt/snow/mud/ice/rocks/chains. I want the best lateral and braking traction I can get when 55+ miles from town on a USFS road. An AT is going to be much better for this use.

Can I ask which AT's you used on your elk hunting trailer?

 

[AH64ID]

Can I ask which AT's you used on your elk hunting trailer?

We went with Kenda AT2's in LT245/75R16.

 

[SnoKing]

We went with Kenda AT2's in LT245/75R16.

OH NO! Kenda tires!

 

[AH64ID]

OH NO! Kenda tires!

For tires that will age out before they wear out, assuming no flats, the reviews and the price is perfect on them.

I probably wouldn't put them on my pickup, but no issues on a trailer.

 

[Gearclash]

For all the carping about how unreliable ST tires are, I haven’t seen problems with them personally. No doubt there were legitimate problems with some of them. My bother has a tandem dual flatbed that came new with ST tires, no problems with them until the tires were about aged out anyway. I had a set of used Michelin LTX LRE tires on my own trailer and they died of structural failure. After some head scratching I put new ST tires on it. I was told by a local tire guy that ST tires are supposedly designed to handle the twisting load unique to a tandem axle trailer turning. In my experience, if tires are having unusual failures, there was almost always overloading involved somewhere in the life of the tire.

 

[AH64ID]

For all the carping about how unreliable ST tires are, I haven’t seen problems with them personally. No doubt there were legitimate problems with some of them. My bother has a tandem dual flatbed that came new with ST tires, no problems with them until the tires were about aged out anyway. I had a set of used Michelin LTX LRE tires on my own trailer and they died of structural failure. After some head scratching I put new ST tires on it. I was told by a local tire guy that ST tires are supposedly designed to handle the twisting load unique to a tandem axle trailer turning. In my experience, if tires are having unusual failures, there was almost always overloading involved somewhere in the life of the tire.

I’ve never had an ST tire fail on the highway, but I’ve had multiple get flats on back roads. ST’s have softer tread and sidewalls so they are more prone to punctures. That’s my big reason for not running them.

ST’s will do a great job in most trailer applications, but not all.

 

[GAmes]

I was told by a local tire guy that ST tires are supposedly designed to handle the twisting load unique to a tandem axle trailer turning. In my experience, if tires are having unusual failures, there was almost always overloading involved somewhere in the life of the tire.

I can't count the number of ST tire failures I've had on my single axle boat trailer. No twisting, almost impossible to overload. I've never seen a 14" LT tire so I'm stuck with STs.

 

[AH64ID]

I can't count the number of ST tire failures I've had on my single axle boat trailer. No twisting, almost impossible to overload. I've never seen a 14" LT tire so I'm stuck with STs.

Time to get some 15” wheels.

 

[JR]

Part of the problem is the vast majority of ST tires are made over seas. And being they don't have to pass the same requirements as an LT (passenger carrying) tire much of the QC goes out the window. LT (passenger carrying) tires have to have a cushion on their weight rating, ST tires don't. LT tires have to be speed rated well above typical speed limits here. ST tires have recently gotten better about their speed ratings but at best they are barely adequate for Interstate speeds.

 

[GAmes]

Time to get some 15” wheels.

Not enough room in the fender wells.

 

[SnoKing]

I can't count the number of ST tire failures I've had on my single axle boat trailer. No twisting, almost impossible to overload. I've never seen a 14" LT tire so I'm stuck with STs.

There might be a good one now.
https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tire...75NR4END&vehicleSearch=false&fromCompare1=yes

 

[Cummins12V98]

Not enough room in the fender wells.

If looking to change go to GY ENDURANCE in a 14".