trailer tires

[lazysusan]

tire size lt 235/85 r 16 load range e cooper discoverer 3042 lb at 80 psi at 5,000 miles they started showing wear on inner and outer edges of all 4 tires pressure is at 80 psi and not over loaded has anybody ever had this problem?

[remoandiris]

If trailer tire wear is the same as auto tire wear, this says the tires are under inflated.

 

https://www.pepboys.com/tires/treadsmart/typical_treadwear_patterns/

[TreyandSusan]

Tire wear patterns can often have various causes and sometimes the wear is due to multiple causes.

 

Depending on the exact wear it could be normal scrubbing wear for trailer tires. This would be minor wear on the edges/corners of both the outer ribs (shoulders). The severity of the wear would depend on how much turning has taken place (and how severe). It would also depend on how far the axles are from one another. (the further apart the more scrubbing) This is part of the short lived nature of trailer tires. There is no real solution for this except maybe to not turn.

 

Could also be inflation pressure issue for the load being carried.

It is stated confidently that there is no overloading on the 4 tires (assuming 2 axles), which means that the trailer must have been weighed by wheel position to determine the loads at each wheel. What are these loads?

Could also depend on the tread pattern since these are LT tires (Light Truck) they might have a bit more aggressive tread which might be more prone to the shoulder wear above with the natural trailer scrubbing of the close axle system.

This one is not likely, but be could be a wrong rim size.

 

Trailer tires can also have freewheeling wear which usually is around the entire circumference of the tire and can effect a whole rib or a partial rib. (kinda weird wear) This has to do with the lateral forces that trailer tires encounter intermittently.

 

Just a few thoughts but it would be good to take it to a truck tire shop with a well trained shop manager.

[Randyretired]

It has been a few years now but when I had trouble with Cooper tires the dealers factory rep was very helpful. If needed maybe you and a dealer can enlist their help.

[TireHobby]

tire size lt 235/85 r 16 load range e cooper discoverer 3042 lb at 80 psi at 5,000 miles they started showing wear on inner and outer edges of all 4 tires pressure is at 80 psi and not over loaded has anybody ever had this problem?

Are they the Original Equipment tires?

[lazysusan]

Thank you very much for the replies.

Tire wear looks like low pressure wear, but tires are inflated to 80 psi.

95% of miles are interstate, tires have aggressive tread and feathered on outer ribs.

This is the second set but same size as factor install.

Thanks again and I will visit Discount Tire in Yuma for their opinion.

[TireHobby]

Thank you very much for the replies.

Tire wear looks like low pressure wear, but tires are inflated to 80 psi.

95% of miles are interstate, tires have aggressive tread and feathered on outer ribs.

This is the second set but same size as factor install.

Thanks again and I will visit Discount Tire in Yuma for their opinion.

Do you have single or triple axle trailer?

Are the axles 6000# GAWR?

[lazysusan]

alpenlite 5th 2 axels gvwr 14,000 uvw 11,000 4tires do not know axel weight rating when it stops raining I will go under trailer and check axel tag

[TreyandSusan]

GAWR (Gross Axle Weight Rating) is found on the Federal Certification label on the front Driver's side of the Trailer. (probably near the propane compartment)

GAWR includes all of the components that make up the axle assembly (including the OEM tires)

Hopefully, the label is not so faded that you cannot read it. It would be good to take a digital picture of the label for your records.

Actual measured wheel position weights of the loaded trailer would be needed at this point to determine (or eliminate) any issues regarding overloading/underinflation.

 

Knowing the GAWR helps to confirm that the tires mentioned are the adequate size (carrying capacity) for the given axle rating.

[lazysusan]

gawr 6,000 at this time I have no way of checking weight of each wheel

[LFDR3116]

Just based on conversation we have heard from owners here in the campground ( we don't have a trailer or a 5th wheel) some have had problems with various tires and after purchasing a higher ply tires had better performance.

[TireHobby]

gawr 6,000 at this time I have no way of checking weight of each wheel

All the answers I was looking for are now in play. I suspect your trailer is overweight. That was my first thought when you described your tire wear patterns. Your tires maximum load capacity is 3042# (each tire) at 80 psi. Not much wiggle room for any kind of inflation pressure miscalculation or excessive cargo load - balanced or unbalanced. You really need to find some scales to confirm your cargo load and see how it's balanced on the axles. I'm providing a very usable PDF file below. Be sure to read all the way to the bottom. Very good and accurate information throughout.

 

http://www.trucktires.com/bridgestone/us_eng/press/zip/WeighForm.pdf

[bobsallyh]

sue7, Discount Tires just opened a second shop in the Mall in Yuma. I haven't been there yet, but when they were building it, it appeared there was going to be more room than the shop 32nd.

[Ray,IN]

LT tires have lighter sidewalls than ST tires. This will allow your tires to roll on the rim more when turning, which in turn causes the wear you see.

Also, this is from Trailer Life magazine: http://www.trailerlife.com/trailer-how-to/trailer-tech/rolling-along-safely-a-tire-guide/

If you wish to stick with your present LT tires, you might try inflating them to 10psi above sidewall imprinted air pressure to reduce tire roll in turns, and avoid "spot turns".

[Randyretired]

Well I guess it is just my imagination that Michelin XPS Ribs are a better tire but that has NOT been my experience. I have owned and used many different trailers, from stock trailers to flat bed trailers and RV's. The ST tires all failed even though I watch tire inflation closely. As for ST tires having stiffer sidewalls they certainly don't feel stiffer. Not by a long shot. Just pick one up before it is mounted. The XPS Rib is thicker and much stiffer. Next weigh both of these tires. In nearly every case the XPS Rib weighs more. For my money and piece of mind I run a good commercial LT tire. I have never had a XPS Rib fail but I have had numerous ST tires fail. My 5er is a Teton and it came from the factory with LT tires and will always have LT tires while I own it. As for remarks by Goodyear tires on the type of tire to run that fails the smell test. I owned an Alpenlite 5er with Goodyear Wrangler LT tires. During the 2nd year of ownership ALL four tires threw the tread on one trip. These tires caused considerable damage to the 5er. The tires were not overloaded and these tires were properly inflated. All of the tires were sent to Goodyear after failure for inspection. Goodyear determined it was a tire failure due to bad tires and paid for all of the damage and new tires. The Discount Tire store that helped me with the problem said these Goodyear tires had a silent recall on them. I am not sure what that means but they told me that had I known these tires could have been prorated and exchanged before failure. The small town Alpelite dealer that fixed the 5er said that was the 10th 5er they fixed that year due to Goodyear tire failures. The date codes on the tires showed our tires were just 2 years old. I find a lot of people on this forum have also had good service from XPS Ribs. Many have complained about ST tires.

[TireHobby]

LT tires have lighter sidewalls than ST tires. This will allow your tires to roll on the rim more when turning, which in turn causes the wear you see.

Also, this is from Trailer Life magazine: http://www.trailerlife.com/trailer-how-to/trailer-tech/rolling-along-safely-a-tire-guide/

If you wish to stick with your present LT tires, you might try inflating them to 10psi above sidewall imprinted air pressure to reduce tire roll in turns, and avoid "spot turns".

Each standard is directed at a specific vehicle or category of vehicles. This statement is found in 571.139 - New pneumatic tires for light vehicles - "S5.5.6For LT tires, the maximum permissible inflation pressure shown must be the inflation pressure that corresponds to the maximum load of the tire for the tire size as specified in one of the publications described in S4.1.1. of § 571.139. At the manufacturer's option, the shown inflation pressure may be as much as 10 psi (69 kPa) greater than the inflation pressure corresponding to the specified maximum load.

 

RV trailer tires come under 571.110 & 571.120. The term trailer tire is whatever design tire the vehicle manufacturer chose to install as Original Equipment.

[OU812]

Hi Sur7 I go along with "weight the trailer"..... You will be very surprised when you get loaded and head out , stop and weight..Weight every axel separate (called to a scaler "axel out"), at truck stop $8--$10. TireHobby advice is correct and very good. Should be using "ST" tire, by who ever makes them and ply type.. Took me a few sets of tires to finger this out. Had to purchase new set every 25000 miles. until I learned, weight it and you know. OU812

[Walking thunder]

Not sure if I should start a new topic but I'm having issues with Forest River and Goodyear regarding the OEM China bombs on my 2015 Cardial 3580 RL

GAW 6840. Tires: Marathon ST235/80r16

My rims will handle the pressure of an ST235/85r16 like the good year G614

 

I very familiar with the concept of weight/ correct psi etc. I also understand that not all of the GVW is on the axels a portion going to the truck/hitch

 

I have attempted with no luck trying to get my warranty rep from Forest Ruver or Goodyear to understand that I truly don't want the hassle,,,,expense ,,,,or even worse possible injury due to a blow out on the crappy marathons that it came with.

 

Tires have ALWAYS been at correct pressure and veh was weighed to include end axel weight and has ALWAYS been under gross.

 

I'm curious how many of the China bomb blowouts have happened with correct settings?

 

My rep from the factory tried to get me to believe that the percentage of this tire on the road that have had issues is low. What do you all think? He even went so far to say that the forums are just full of complainers.

 

I looked at the Ceder Creek version of my 5er. Everything the same on the federal sticker EXCEPT THE FOLLOWING

Now they have gone to true 7000lb axels and have the G614 St235/85r16.

This would lead me to believe that they found there was a problem and so the newer models have the better axel. Also the GVW of the Ceder Creek was little over 200lb more than my Cardinal.

 

I would be more than happy to pay the difference for the better tires. My marathons only have 2 short trips on them. Am I making a mountain out of a mole hill? Do I spend big money on new tires even though mine a pretty much new????

[remoandiris]

Do I spend big money on new tires even though mine a pretty much new?

 

Only you can answer that.

 

I had about 15K on china bombs when I lost 3 in relatively short order. One blew 30 minutes after I pulled out of a cg in NH I stayed at for 4 months. All tires were checked for pressure prior to departure. Several days later as I pulled into a cg in Gettysburg, an employee noticed another tire was flat, but not blown. A few months later on the way to trade in that coach, another tire blew. Changing that road side tire on the side of I-75 in GA was no fun.

 

Personally, I'd use them for a year, then replace. Chances are they will be fine for a year if your weights are appropriate for the rating. And you know the age of the tires, right?

[Randyretired]

We tried get a year out of off brand tires on a new 5er a few years ago. Blew a tire and it caused damage to the 5er. It is a gamble and it might work for you but beware of the risks.

[Ray,IN]

Not sure if I should start a new topic but I'm having issues with Forest River and Goodyear regarding the OEM China bombs on my 2015 Cardial 3580 RL

GAW 6840. Tires: Marathon ST235/80r16

My rims will handle the pressure of an ST235/85r16 like the good year G614

 

I very familiar with the concept of weight/ correct psi etc. I also understand that not all of the GVW is on the axels a portion going to the truck/hitch

 

I have attempted with no luck trying to get my warranty rep from Forest Ruver or Goodyear to understand that I truly don't want the hassle,,,,expense ,,,,or even worse possible injury due to a blow out on the crappy marathons that it came with.

 

Tires have ALWAYS been at correct pressure and veh was weighed to include end axel weight and has ALWAYS been under gross.

 

I'm curious how many of the China bomb blowouts have happened with correct settings?

 

My rep from the factory tried to get me to believe that the percentage of this tire on the road that have had issues is low. What do you all think? He even went so far to say that the forums are just full of complainers.

 

I looked at the Ceder Creek version of my 5er. Everything the same on the federal sticker EXCEPT THE FOLLOWING

Now they have gone to true 7000lb axels and have the G614 St235/85r16.

This would lead me to believe that they found there was a problem and so the newer models have the better axel. Also the GVW of the Ceder Creek was little over 200lb more than my Cardinal.

 

I would be more than happy to pay the difference for the better tires. My marathons only have 2 short trips on them. Am I making a mountain out of a mole hill? Do I spend big money on new tires even though mine a pretty much new?

Been there-done that. I had ST= special trailer tires on our 15,500# 5er from the factory. Replaced them when they all 4 failed from ply separation with Sailun S637, 16", load range G tires. http://simpletire.com/sailun-235-85r16-8244393-tires

That completely ended my 5er tire problems.

 

I forgot; tires are warranted by the tire mfgr., not the vehicle mfgr. Some vehicle dealers will act on your behalf though.

[Kevin H]

My Montana came with the china bombs. I worried for 600 miles from Billings to Cody to Cheyenne. Couldn't get to Cheyenne fast enough to replace them with GY G114's. No worries at all after that. I'll be vary surprised if you get any relief or help from your dealer. The cb's and rims sold quickly on CL. Paid for my torque wrench.

 

Piece of mind?? Priceless.

[57becky]

Walking Thunder, if you crawl under the rig, I will bet you both rigs have 7,000 lb axles. regardless of the tires. On our 2012 Montana, which came with the Marathons, the 7,000 lb Dexter axles were de-rated on the data tag to 6750 lbs, only because the tires were only capable of 6840 lbs, (3420 lbs per tire). The Goodyear G614's were offered as an option, and on those that came with the option, the axles were full rated at 7,000 lbs. Of course, this difference did not increase the GVWR of the trailer, but since we upgraded a couple years ago, I'm not constantly looking at the rear view mirror to see if tire debris is flying off the trailer.

[TireHobby]

Walking Thunder, if you crawl under the rig, I will bet you both rigs have 7,000 lb axles. regardless of the tires. On our 2012 Montana, which came with the Marathons, the 7,000 lb Dexter axles were de-rated on the data tag to 6750 lbs, only because the tires were only capable of 6840 lbs, (3420 lbs per tire). The Goodyear G614's were offered as an option, and on those that came with the option, the axles were full rated at 7,000 lbs. Of course, this difference did not increase the GVWR of the trailer, but since we upgraded a couple years ago, I'm not constantly looking at the rear view mirror to see if tire debris is flying off the trailer.

Let’s look at this from the trailer builders point of view. Here are the manufacturer’s published specs for a 2012 Montana 3455SA.

 

GVWR: 15,560#

GAWR: 6750# (2 axles)

Hitch: 2060#

 

Keystone, like’s (I’m sure) to build their trailers to specifications where a lot of like items can be used on all models in a particular line-up - it keeps the costs down.

 

Axles are not manufactured all increments. Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) allow the vehicle manufacturer to set GAWR values to the needs of the target GVWR. Both of those values must be certified and depicted on the final trailer’s federal certification label.

 

One of the mandatory measurements required in FMVSS is the manufacturer’s established hitch pin weight added to total established GAWR. The sum must equal or exceed GVWR.

 

The addition of optional tires to an existing GAWR has no influence other than an added amount of available tire load capacity reserves. Industry standards does not require those reserves to be used. The only requirement is that the replacements tires must provide - via inflation - a load capacity equal to or greater than the original equipment tires.

 

The ST235/80R16E tires are unique in that they - depending on manufacturer - have three distinct maximum load capacities. 3420#, 3500# and 3520#, all @ 80 PSI. Without documentation as to which brand and load capacity is used as OE the maximum load capacity for all of them default to the lowest value.

 

NHTSA has issued a number of recalls to RV trailer manufacturers for certification label/tire placard and owner manual errors with the use of improper OE tires on 7000# GAWR axles.

 

The wise builder using all ST235/80R16E tires on a series of trailer models will build to a GVWR and GAWR combination that will allow the use of all of those tires without NHTSA intervention.

 

Somewhere in my memory bank there is a little light flickering that says NHTSA no longer requires trailer manufacturers to weigh each unit before it is shipped. Supposedly the big RV trailer originations persuaded NHTSA that the manufacturer’s know the curb weight of their units because they have to account for materials used to build it. The curb/dry weight is determined at shipment time when the cargo label is applied. The dealer is required to change the cargo label if they install options with weight values in excess of minimum values allowed by FMVSS.

 

When I run across the bulletin about weight I’ll provide a reference.

 

Dealers are not allowed to change tires before first sale unless they are approved as optional equipment by the vehicle manufacturer. However, they can change brands as long as the size is identical to the OE size from the manufacturer as depicted on the certification label.

 

Once you own it all those responsibilities are in your ball park. Industry standards are then your guide. Using them will be the best thing to do safety wise.

[j2catfish]

Has anyone had personal experience with LT tires rolling off the rim during maneuvering?

I have a 90* entrance/exit to my slab at home and have not experienced this with my two Tetons. I have had blow outs (several) with the GY G114 tires. My earlier Teton was finally fixed by installing 17.5 inch, load range "H" after which I had no more problems. The 2007 model with stock LT tires that I have now also has a couple of blow outs. One tire was removed for a slow leak detected by a TPMS. The rim appeared to be slightly "shredded" for lack of a better word. I guess that could be called "rolled" because I have never seen what a "rolled" tire looks like. The earlier Teton had over 100,000 miles on it when I traded it. I should have exchanged the rims with the new one I guess but the new ones were so shiny and purtty I had to have them. The 2007 now has about 59,000 miles on it. I am considering changing to the 17.5 wheels and tires because I plan on keeping it for a while.

Catfish