Tires Load Range D???

MichiganMarty · 07-10-2012, 04:55 PM

We just put new tires on our toy hauler, requesting load range E. The tires we received were load range D. Belle Tire tells us E rated tires are not available in that size and therefore had to install the D's.
We have 225/75-15's.

Our dilemma is not that we have D rated tires so much as the future. If we have this unit that long and the tires need replacing again, I would like to install E rated tires but will have to go up in size in order to get the E rated tires. The question is, will they be so large they wil be too close to each other?

KenBob · 07-10-2012, 05:21 PM

Maxxis makes 225/75r15 LR E (10 ply) trailer tires. http://www.maxxis.com/Industrial/Tra...ST-Radial.aspx Click on specifications and go towards the bottom of the list. Search "225/75r15 load range e trailer tires" and several results will be shown.

The tire dealer should have put on what you wanted or let you decide to put on the Ds. I would have had them put the old tires back on and gone elsewhere.

SteveC7010 · 07-10-2012, 06:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KenBob

The tire dealer should have put on what you wanted or let you decide to put on the Ds. I would have had them put the old tires back on and gone elsewhere.

Yup!

Putting on tires that you did not ask for and do not want and then presenting you with the bill is unethical at the very least and possibly illegal in your state.

I would have told him that he had 30 minutes to put the old tires back on. If they weren't on at the end of 30 minutes, I'd be dialing the police.

CWtheMan · 07-10-2012, 07:59 PM

Bold move by that tire retailer, undoubtedly aimed at selling tires at the risk of having to uninstall them.

That size is not in short supply. TowMax also have them in LRE.

http://www.towmaxtires.com/tires/Lan...x-product-line

CW

SAABDOCTOR · 07-11-2012, 05:08 AM

Nice move by the tire dealer. sounds like b/s to me. my local tire store has them in stock. i would get on there butts about the switch.

Jim W · 07-11-2012, 05:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MichiganMarty

Our dilemma is not that we have D rated tires so much as the future. If we have this unit that long and the tires need replacing again, I would like to install E rated tires but will have to go up in size in order to get the E rated tires. The question is, will they be so large they wil be too close to each other?

You need to have a minimum of one inch (1") clearance between tires. On my camper the 15" tires were standard in 2010 and the 16" tires were optional.
I ordered the optional tires thinking that I could use them for a couple of years without any tire issues. Being that they were over rated in load carrying ability for the trailer weight. Will that did not work, lost one tire in NE last year and did almost $3K in damage to the trailer.
I replaced the 16" ST tires that were on the camper this year with Michelins XPRibs LT245/75R/16E tires.
Jim W.

MichiganMarty · 07-11-2012, 07:11 AM

Okay, don't blame the dealer too badly! I have to bear the burden of blame as well.

I did catch the mistake before they had them all mounted, and they desperately tried to find e rated tires within my defined requirements: I wanted Goodyear Marathon's and that limited the availability in a big way.

I accepted the D's due to the fact Goodyear did not make the E's in my size, and the Toy Hauler was manufactured with D's installed. The weight rating is acceptable, though with little or no headroom.

What I should have done was do more research here prior to going to the dealer! I gather the Maxxi's are the tire of choice?

Also, Why not just use E-rated Truck Tires?

My trust laid in what my buddies in our camp group was telling me, and that was to get the Goodyear Marathons. Unfortunately they did not know the E's were not available in 225/75-15.

hankaye · 07-11-2012, 11:06 AM

MichiganMarty, Howdy;

Did you ask them (tire dealer), if they had them in another
sidewall height ( the /** number), 75 being the % of the width
(first number expressed in millimeters).
225 X 0.75 = 168.75 mm that, I believe, is from the rim to the bottom of the
tread. So that the measurment remains constant while the tread wears...
I would have asked if the dealer had any of the tires you wanted in a different sidewall height...

hankaye

MichiganMarty · 07-11-2012, 12:58 PM

Jim W

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jim W

I replaced the 16" ST tires that were on the camper this year with Michelins XPRibs LT245/75R/16E tires.
Jim W.

Are the tires you used called XPS Ribs? Light Truck Tires?

Do the truck tires handle sidewall loading well on a camper (such as in low speed sharp turns that put a lot of strain on the sidewall and bead)?

CWtheMan · 07-11-2012, 04:51 PM

There are two Light Truck tire sizes more than adequate in load capacity for your GAWR. They are LT215/85R16E and LT225/75R16E. Both are rated at 2680# at 80 psi.

Keystone almost always set their axles according to tire selection. Your OE tires have a diameter of 28.3”. The minimum standard for the distance between tires from axle to axle is 1”. The tires above have diameters of 30.7” for the 215/85 and 29.4” for the 225/75. There are numerous (made in the USA) brands in those sizes to select from.

I know it’s probably water over the dam but next time you will be wiser to the ways of the retailers. They should have discussed all available options with you.

CW

chuck&gail · 07-11-2012, 05:47 PM

One other point. If increasing Load Range over stock, be sure to check the rating on your RIMS. Usually stamped on rear, or in valley UNDER the tire.

Most manufacturers do NOT put on oversized rims, so to increase load range you may need to buy all new rims.

Not safe overloading the rims either IMHO.

MichiganMarty · 07-16-2012, 10:52 AM

If we do not increase the load, we do not need to change the rims.
We would change to tires with a higher load capacity, for added tire life security and headroom.
We would not change the load.
If we increase the load, then I would agree that would also require rims to accomodate that load.

Thanks for the insight though!

MichiganMarty · 07-16-2012, 11:03 AM

CWtheMan,

Thanks for the info on tires, but I wanted to stay in the 15" sizes so we wouldn't have to buy new rims.

Again, I have to bear the burden here regarding offers from the dealer. I waited until there was no time left prior to our 1400 mile trip with the camper. The dealer made several suggestions, but we had no time left. I could have left the old tires on, but I knew the new D's were still better than the D's that were already on the camper, and I didn't want to risk the old ones coming apart.

As far as American made tires go, I don't think you will find any trailer tires made in the USA. Even the Goodyear Marathons are made in China.

KenBob · 07-16-2012, 07:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MichiganMarty

If we do not increase the load, we do not need to change the rims.
We would change to tires with a higher load capacity, for added tire life security and headroom.
We would not change the load.
If we increase the load, then I would agree that would also require rims to accomodate that load.

Thanks for the insight though!

IF the wheels do not match the max load capacity of the tire, THEN you may run into problems IF the tires are inflated to the max pressure indicated on the sidewall. Most air the tires to the max indicated on the tire. It would a good idea to inspect the wheels for load and pressure specs. Running a load range E tire at a lower (D) pressure may not equal "added tire life, security, and headroom". It may just result in paying more for an E tire with the same results you would get with the Ds. JMHO

Whitehouse · 07-17-2012, 08:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KenBob

Maxxis makes 225/75r15 LR E (10 ply) trailer tires. http://www.maxxis.com/Industrial/Tra...ST-Radial.aspx Click on specifications and go towards the bottom of the list. Search "225/75r15 load range e trailer tires" and several results will be shown.

The tire dealer should have put on what you wanted or let you decide to put on the Ds. I would have had them put the old tires back on and gone elsewhere.

Yep spme of the blame has to fall on you. Your spending your money and should get what you want if its available & in your budget. I'm sure you won't make that mistake again.

I had Maxxis on my 2006 Raptor. I think
they were 8008 but for sure 10 ply E-rated. Put over 15k w/o a single problem. Still looked good after selling the TH. there was a guy on RV.net with an 06 Raptor & got over 30k w/o any problems on his Maxxis.

MichiganMarty · 07-17-2012, 04:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KenBob

IF the wheels do not match the max load capacity of the tire, THEN you may run into problems IF the tires are inflated to the max pressure indicated on the sidewall. Most air the tires to the max indicated on the tire. It would a good idea to inspect the wheels for load and pressure specs. Running a load range E tire at a lower (D) pressure may not equal "added tire life, security, and headroom". It may just result in paying more for an E tire with the same results you would get with the Ds. JMHO

Well... I did not know that the wheels had to be rated as well to support the pressures. Very good information and I appreciate your help and persistence in making sure I understood, seriously!

Now, how in the world would I find out what they are rated at? Are they stamped into the aluminum wheel somewhere? These are the original 2006 wheels and I hope I can find out.

KenBob · 07-17-2012, 06:34 PM

The original wheels from our Fuzion are marked on the back side of the "spokes". They have a max weight but not pressure. HOWEVER, the max weight usually matches the max weight capacity of the tire that can be mounted on it. The E rated Carlisles that were on the wheels, matched the weight on the wheels. Meaning they can support the air pressure.

Your wheels can be marked similarly or even inside where the tire needs to be removed to see.

Your RV came with D rated tires. It is safe to assume Keystone buys wheels/tires in mass quantities and the supplier will provide a tire and wheel to meet K's needs. No reason to put D tires on a wheel rated for E loads. It is possible though. To someone's smaller bottom line.

225/75r15 maxxis D are rated at 2540# @ 65 psi
225/75r15 maxxis E are rated at 2830# @ 80 psi

(Maxxis used as an example, no preference on my part implied)

It is highly likely that you can install the E rated tires on your wheels and air them to 80 psi and run them for years without a problem. That's your choice. I would bet many have. Just like the many RVers that if they went to a scale they would be overweight. But they have never had an issue. (yet). An accident and the following investigation may cause problems if such things are checked.

Right now, I believe you purchased the correct load range tires. Now, it would be a good idea to check the max load of the tires and check the max weight of the RV (usually inside a cabinet door and/or on the VIN sticker at the left front of the RV) and verify they are compatible. It is very possible that the max weight of the RV (fully loaded) will be very close to the combined max load capacity of the tires.

Next time you need to remove a wheel to perform maintenance, then check for the weight capacity.

For now, go and enjoy your RV!

therink · 07-18-2012, 02:41 AM

My Outback fiver came with 15" Towmax D's. Barely enough tire to support the load. I just upgraded to Maxxi E's on the same factory aluminum wheels. When mounting the tires I found the load rating of 2880 stamped inside the wheel, same as new Maxxis. There was no max psi rating stamped on the wheel, so I am good to go to run the Maxxi's at 80 psi.
I am taking off today on 300 mile trip on the new Maxxis. I took will report back on how they did. I cam tell you that they certainly look at lot better on the trailer under load. They don't look half flat like the Towmax tires did.

MichiganMarty · 07-18-2012, 05:06 PM

KenBob,

I have already checked - - the total weight ratings of the "D" rated tires equal the GVWR of our Raptor 5ver. That is why I wanted to go to E's in the first place. It just makes sense to have some headroom, or peace of mind space, on the weight capacity of all the tires.

therink · 07-19-2012, 03:08 AM

Yesterday, I ran my new Maxxi E's 300 miles and I will say it was like a night and day improvement on the way the trailer handled. A lot less chucking going over bumps and less side to side sway with the stiffer sidewalls of the E's. I am so glad I made the switch.
I would not have accepted the D's I'd I were in your shoes, but I guess you didn't have any choice. I bet you could get a decent $ for your new D's on Craigslist. I sold my 3 year old Towmax D's for $200 in one week. Just food for thought.
Steve

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