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Old 01-19-2016, 01:09 PM   #1
CWtheMan
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Heavy fiver tire report

Please remember, I try to keep my reports factual without bias. “Just the facts ma’am”, as Joe Friday might put it.

At a RV show I recently visited I found this particular type of tire on trailers with 7000# GAWR axles. The one in the pictures was a spare I found in a forward basement and is on a steel rim. It was much easier to photograph because I could move it around and get very good close-ups.

This particular tire was manufactured at Hangzhou General Rubber Factory, Jainde, Zhejiang, China. It’s a hefty 61#. Its manufactured date is very close to the manufactured date of the trailer I found it in.

http://www.irv2.com/photopost/showfull.php?photo=29710

It has a green valve stem cap as did the tires installed on the trailer, to indicate they were inflated with 100% nitrogen, probably by the OEM provider. Also shown in the picture below is a bolt-in steel valve stem.

Another important item in the picture below is the fact that the minimum rim width size is 6 and ½”. That is true of all of the 16” LRG steel cased tires, ST or LT.

http://www.irv2.com/photopost/showfull.php?photo=29709

This tire is a ST235/85R16G and is properly marked (pictured below) in compliance with DOT markings and the new tariff requirements to pass customs inspections. Because it’s a ST tire it’s allowed to have a higher load capacity than the like sized LT tires which are rated 3750# @ 110 PSI. Like the LT tire it has a speed letter “L” for a speed rating of 75 MPH. The service description, 129/125L is allowed by the DOT but is not the official load capacity indicator for ST or LT tires, the Load Range letter is and is shown at the top of the picture.

http://www.irv2.com/photopost/showfull.php?photo=29711

Because this off shore manufactured tire is going to be much less expensive than tires manufactured in North America it will be the tire of choice (IMO) for RV trailers needing it’s load capacity. There are at least 4 brands of this tire on the American market.
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Old 01-19-2016, 05:48 PM   #2
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Very interesting, but I wonder how well they are going to hold up in the real world? Also, could you tell what the actual rim width was that the tire was mounted to?
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Old 01-19-2016, 06:28 PM   #3
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CW.....thanks. Your info is much appreciated.
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Old 01-21-2016, 11:24 AM   #4
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What's the brand of the tire? Issue isn't with the ratings of these tires - it appears to be (as indicated above) the real-world performance of these tires in under-trailer conditions...

If we could just go by the numbers, it'd be easy...
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Old 01-21-2016, 04:16 PM   #5
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Originally Posted by dcg9381 View Post
What's the brand of the tire? Issue isn't with the ratings of these tires - it appears to be (as indicated above) the real-world performance of these tires in under-trailer conditions...

If we could just go by the numbers, it'd be easy...
IMO brands of trailer tires are not a qualifying/non qualifying indicator for success or failure.

Many brands have been abused by the vehicle manufacturer with fitment practices and misuse of trailer tires from the OEM provider to a customer.

On the other hand trailer tires not often used as OEM will have higher ratings because they are most often used as "plus sized" replacements for the abused tires.

It is not uncommon at all to find Original Equipment tires that have been properly maintained and serviced within their parameters to age-out.

Trailer tire usage is much different than automotive tire usage. It is unfair to compare one against the other. Just as it is to compare a replacement tire of another size against the Original Equipment tire.
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Old 01-21-2016, 05:22 PM   #6
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I agree with CWtheMan. While they weren't considered "heavy duty tires", my last two fifth wheels were equipped with "Chinese may pop" Tow Max tires. Their "reputation" is anything but impressive, however we never had any issues with them on the Springdale (205/75R15 LRC) in the 3 years we had the trailer. The tires were rated at 1820 lbs @ 50 PSI. Given the GVW of 8005 and a 20% pin weight (1600) the most weight on the 4 wheels would have been around 6400, or 1600 per tire. That's about a 20% "buffer".

On the Cougar, tires are 225/75R15 LRD, rated at 2540 per tire. The GVW is 10000 and 20% pin weight would be 2000 lbs. That's 8000 on the axles or 2000 per tire (at GVW). The "buffer" is about a 21%.

Had our weights been closer to the tire max load, I would not have felt comfortable with towing at GVW with either trailer.

Now, using the "reported tire degradation" of 10% per year, the tires on our Cougar are "living on borrowed time" after two seasons. We're on the third year (coming up) and plan to install Maxxis LRE tires (2830 rating) before the season starts. That will give us about a 30% buffer, so with "age degradation", we should be "good for 3 years" with the "upgrade size Maxxis".

I believe that most of the people who properly maintain their ST tires and still have problems are towing with less "buffer" than we had and, with age degradation, were "in the danger zone" when towing anywhere near GVW.
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Old 01-21-2016, 11:38 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by CWtheMan View Post
IMO brands of trailer tires are not a qualifying/non qualifying indicator for success or failure.

Many brands have been abused by the vehicle manufacturer with fitment practices and misuse of trailer tires from the OEM provider to a customer.

On the other hand trailer tires not often used as OEM will have higher ratings because they are most often used as "plus sized" replacements for the abused tires.

It is not uncommon at all to find Original Equipment tires that have been properly maintained and serviced within their parameters to age-out.

Trailer tire usage is much different than automotive tire usage. It is unfair to compare one against the other. Just as it is to compare a replacement tire of another size against the Original Equipment tire.
I have to disagree. I just removed the OEM Jaxxon LRC tires on my car hauler and replaced them with Carlisle LRD's. They were undersized, worn unevenly and wore out quicker than any trailer tire I have ever had. Discount Tire has never heard of the brand. Given my experience with these and cheap OEM tires on other vehicles, I think brand matters.
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Old 01-22-2016, 05:25 AM   #8
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I agree that many OEM tires on trailers (any trailer) are abused simply due to the fact that the trailer manufacturers put a tire on that meets or slightly exceeds the max weight of the trailer. This leads to tires being used at max or close to max load capacities and beyond max capacity after a couple years worth of degradation. I also believe that there is something to be said about brand. Just as with car/truck tires, there are economy tires as well as premium tires. I feel the tire industry is a very good example of you get what you pay for.
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Old 01-22-2016, 08:44 AM   #9
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When it comes to trailer tires, brand does seem to matter - at least in the minds of many of our members. The poor reputation of OEM "Chinese bombs" - deserved or not - is well known and perhaps explains why many of us dump them at the first opportunity and replace them with a "better brand" of tire.

Maxxis and Carlisle are perceived to be a "better brand" because of their reputation and customer satisfaction. You don't hear any of us recommending any of the OEM tires as replacements. They may have provided the owner with perfectly good service and yet they are perceived as being junk. We all have been told to get rid of them asap and get a better brand.

Manufacturers of most products, tires included, spend billions in marketing and advertising to get their "brand name" out there to convince us that their product is the one to buy.

So yes, the brand of trailer tires matters --- a lot IMO.
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Old 01-22-2016, 11:34 AM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Desert185 View Post
I have to disagree. I just removed the OEM Jaxxon LRC tires on my car hauler and replaced them with Carlisle LRD's. They were undersized, worn unevenly and wore out quicker than any trailer tire I have ever had. Discount Tire has never heard of the brand. Given my experience with these and cheap OEM tires on other vehicles, I think brand matters.
Looks like they were compromised from the get-go.
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Old 01-23-2016, 09:49 PM   #11
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Good grief already.... who is the manufacturer of the tire???
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Old 01-24-2016, 10:36 AM   #12
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Good grief already.... who is the manufacturer of the tire???
Just a note.

The TRA does not allow manipulation of load or tire inflation pressure or both to increase the speed rating of tires with less than 65 MPH speed ratings.

You might mention that when you ask Toyo about it. I cant find it in their truck tire data book.
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