charlyhors Posted August 22, 2015 Report Share Posted August 22, 2015 Hi All, I'm getting ready to replace my 5W tires. Present tires are LT235 85R16. It is a 2 axle, 14,100 GVW Hitchhiker. Any thoughts on best types and brands? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dennis M Posted August 22, 2015 Report Share Posted August 22, 2015 Michelin XPS Ribs if you can make the weights work. They are fine on my Mountain Aire with duals (8 tires on 2 axles), but some people have found they are marginal on weight. I run the LT235/85R16 at 65 PSI on 9k axles. Michelin RV Inflation Tables Note that this table has loads per axle end. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TreyandSusan Posted August 22, 2015 Report Share Posted August 22, 2015 It is very important to know... The load carrying capacity of the tire (found on the sidewall of tire) - Max Load Single xxxx lbs @ xxx psi COLD Max Load Dual xxxx lbs. @ xxx psi COLD The actual load on each wheel position (possible differences on axle ends that are frequent in RVs) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlyhors Posted August 22, 2015 Author Report Share Posted August 22, 2015 It is very important to know... The load carrying capacity of the tire (found on the sidewall of tire) - Max Load Single xxxx lbs @ xxx psi COLD Max Load Dual xxxx lbs. @ xxx psi COLD The actual load on each wheel position (possible differences on axle ends that are frequent in RVs) With a well balanced 5w, with 2 axles and 4 tires, would the load be the GVW minus the hitch weight and that divided by 4? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TireHobby Posted August 22, 2015 Report Share Posted August 22, 2015 The total would be correct. Load distribution and balance must also be accounted for. Seldom - if ever - are RV trailers going to have even distribution of their cargo weights. To be precise, each end of an axle needs to be weighed to insure it and the axle are not overloaded. (That's over the individual axle's GAWR). Your correct tire inflation pressures are always going to be found on the tire placard. Those values found on the tire placard can be increased to accommodate unbalanced conditions. But, RV trailers normally use every bit of a tires load capacity in the recommended inflation pressures, so, balancing your trailer's load is very important. (Tire industry standards will never recommend using lower inflation pressures than what has been recommended for the Original Equipment tires). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlyhors Posted August 22, 2015 Author Report Share Posted August 22, 2015 Any other tire recommendations? I priced the Michelins at about $250 at both Tire Rack online and at Discount Tires locally. Reviews state people are getting great mileage from these, but some of the review charts show other less expensive tires have even better ratings. Not sure which sites to trust on tire ratings though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobi and Dick McKee Posted August 22, 2015 Report Share Posted August 22, 2015 You can't go wrong with Michelins. As log as the are rated for your weight I would go with them. Nothing worse than a tire failure on the road. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Greg Posted August 22, 2015 Report Share Posted August 22, 2015 Get the best tire you can, money spent on tires reduces the chance of RV repairs from blowouts. Unless you tow all the time don't worry about tire wear, they will age out before they wear out. Greg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itsabouttime Posted August 23, 2015 Report Share Posted August 23, 2015 My Hitchhiker is about a thousand lbs lighter than yours but I'm having good results with Hankook 750 R16 LT tires. They are G rated, made in Korea, and I've been told by several shops that specialize in commercial trailer tires that they are excellent for the application. They are not cheap but seem to be worth the cost. Russ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray,IN Posted August 23, 2015 Report Share Posted August 23, 2015 Michelin's are known for sidewall cracking, so I didn't consider that company. Goodyear and Michelin are both overpriced IMO. I bought 4 Sailun 235/85R16, load range G to replace the OEM tires and solved all my tire woes. U.S. dealers are hard to find to date, as this company is mainly in Canada, but I've found dealers for Carlisle tires usually also sell Sailun tires. In order to utilize the LR G, your rims must be rated for 120psi. Do not be deceived by load/inflation charts, they only show the absolute minimum air pressure to carry the corresponding load. For our 15,500# 5er, I ran 100psi in my Sailun tires. I just made a decision to replace my aging Goodyear MH tires with Sailun truck tires; because of the great results I had running them on our 5er. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randyretired Posted August 23, 2015 Report Share Posted August 23, 2015 The XPS Ribs are expensive but after a number of tire failures these XPS Ribs have never failed. We have been through 2 sets and ran these for 10 years. We feel these tires are worth the cost. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirk W Posted August 23, 2015 Report Share Posted August 23, 2015 It has been a long time since I was in the trailer tire market, but since I soon will be once more, I'd ask a question here. Is it not true that the reason trailer tires are so much lower in cost than are nearly any automobile tire the fact that they are more cheaply made and of lower quality? I believe the theory is that you don't need as good a quality tire for a trailer. I have long used truck tires that have been replaced as tires for our equipment trailer and they have a good history of service there. That equipment trailer does not travel as fast as most RVs and it is usually a much shorter trip, but in other ways it is similar to an RV trailer. I would think that a cheaper truck tire would usually be better on a trailer than most tires that are marketed for trailers?? Any thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtgeodog Posted August 23, 2015 Report Share Posted August 23, 2015 I upgraded my 16" LRG tires to LRH 17.5" three years ago and am extremely pleased with the results. This is on a HR 36SKQ which scales out at 17,400 lbs. ShortyO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeteSKP Posted August 23, 2015 Report Share Posted August 23, 2015 Firestone LT Transforce tyres have severed us very weli on D350 P/U and 5th. Mexico to Fairbanks on some very poor roads. Cost is about + %20. almost never on sale. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LindaH Posted August 23, 2015 Report Share Posted August 23, 2015 On our previous fifth wheel, we used Toyos. They held up very well and gave us no problems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D&J Posted August 23, 2015 Report Share Posted August 23, 2015 Hi All, I'm getting ready to replace my 5W tires. Present tires are LT235 85R16. It is a 2 axle, 14,100 GVW Hitchhiker. Any thoughts on best types and brands? Figuring 20% pin weight you would have 11280 on the axles and if it's balanced evenly 2820 on each tire so you will be in the LT tire load range. I know lot of people that run Firestone Transforce HT tires on their trailers with good results and a reasonable price. Denny Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark and Dale Bruss Posted August 23, 2015 Report Share Posted August 23, 2015 With a well balanced 5w, with 2 axles and 4 tires, would the load be the GVW minus the hitch weight and that divided by 4? Since we like a safety margin in our tires, we divide the GVW by the number of tires. The pin weight is our margin. There are times when crossing humps that a wheel gets a greater load than the distributed average. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MNRon Posted August 23, 2015 Report Share Posted August 23, 2015 charlyhors - sounds like you might have the same 5er we do, a HH 31.5LKTG. When we purchased ours a year and a half ago it had Carlisle RH load range F tires on it and they've performed well for us over the 1.5yrs and ~5kmiles so far. Carlisle used to have a bad reputation with heavy trailers, but the RH tires introduced ~2012 appear to be getting good reviews from everyone albeit they're still fairly new. The nice thing about these tires is they fit the standard 16" rim, inflate to 95lbs and have a carrying capacity of ~3900lbs which gives us a fair amount of margin to the ~3000lbs that the most weighted tired has to carry on our trailer; they also have a speed rating much higher than the typical 65mph on ST tires (although I still prefer to travel ~63mph). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RBH Posted August 23, 2015 Report Share Posted August 23, 2015 Replaced the original Duro tires on our Cameo with Michelin xps ribs. Didn't realize they were slightly under weight rated until after installation. Inadequate research on my part. We did have one tire fail but I have come to believe that the stem failed and allowed the tire to deflate. When we inspected the failure, the stem was missing/snapped off. Perhaps the weight of the pressure sensor was too much and or the stem was defective. In any case the rest of the tires including the replacement for the one that failed lasted another six years with no problems and were not nearly worn out when I went with 17.5s and G114s to overcompensate for my original sin. Rich Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TireHobby Posted August 23, 2015 Report Share Posted August 23, 2015 For the OP: Are the tires you’re replacing the Original Equipment tires? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlyhors Posted August 24, 2015 Author Report Share Posted August 24, 2015 For the OP: Are the tires you’re replacing the Original Equipment tires? No. the 5W is 2005 and the tires are 2010 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrSeas Posted August 24, 2015 Report Share Posted August 24, 2015 Also might take a look at the BF Goodrich Commercial TA's They get good reviews. I'm on my second set. No problems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlyhors Posted August 24, 2015 Author Report Share Posted August 24, 2015 "In order to utilize the LR G, your rims must be rated for 120psi. Do not be deceived by load/inflation charts, they only show the absolute minimum air pressure to carry the corresponding load. For our 15,500# 5er, I ran 100psi in my Sailun tires." charlyhors speaking - My Dexstar rims are rated at 110 PSI according to the manufacturer. I will have about 2900 lbs max on any tire, and the Sailun tires have a max PSI of 110. Wouldn't these rims be adequate? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray,IN Posted August 25, 2015 Report Share Posted August 25, 2015 "In order to utilize the LR G, your rims must be rated for 120psi. Do not be deceived by load/inflation charts, they only show the absolute minimum air pressure to carry the corresponding load. For our 15,500# 5er, I ran 100psi in my Sailun tires." charlyhors speaking - My Dexstar rims are rated at 110 PSI according to the manufacturer. I will have about 2900 lbs max on any tire, and the Sailun tires have a max PSI of 110. Wouldn't these rims be adequate? Yes, they are fine for these tires. That was my mistake, I got 120 on my mind because we now have a MH with 120psi rims. Our 5er also had 110 psi rated aluminum rims. Getting old sucks_, but beats the alternative. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kountryguy1 Posted August 25, 2015 Report Share Posted August 25, 2015 Check Bridgestone Duravis 250. Bought 6 from Amazon for much less than Michelins. I am very happy with them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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