Quote:
Originally Posted by Pulln
I had a tire separate this weekend as I was towing with my motorcycle in the garage. Given the predicament my wife and I consider the fact that this happened right before an exit that had a tire shop just off of it. The tire size issue popped up when speaking to the owner.
He said I should have 235/85's on my 09 Fuzion. When it comes to this I don't know if I am winding my butt or scratching my watch. So now I have some 16 month old 235/80's with one new 235/85.
I have no idea if where to head from here and would appreciate some good words of wisdom.
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A tread separation is a serious tire problem. It’s causes are numerous and normally from over loading, under inflation and speeding or any combination. A manufacturing defect causing tread separations will almost always cause the whole lot of tires to be recalled and sometimes the entire production of that tire in a particular time frame.
Using different sized tires on the same axle is also a serious problem.
There are a lot of factors to be considered when considering replacement tires. It’s not like changing tires on our motorized vehicles which have numerous approved options. Trailer axles have very few options and most of them are not approved by the trailer manufacturer.
Because most Original Equipment (OE) tires for RV trailers are barely adequate for the loads they are carrying, owners will want to go with replacements that are going to give them some more - needed - load capacity. It’s called plus sizing. To do that you need to know the load capacity of the OE tires at the vehicle manufacturers recommended inflation pressure (s). The maximum load capacity of the rims the OE tires are mounted on and the actual rim width if you're sticking with it’s diameter. Look-up the physical dimensions of the OE tire. Sometimes the trailer manufacturer has already put on the largest tire that will fit safely into the wheel well and still have enough clearance between opposing tires (1” min). Your replacements will have to fit into that wheel well with enough clearances.
The most desirable replacement will be of the same physical size as the OE tire but with a higher load capacity - by inflation. That’s because, with a little luck, the rim will be able to support the increase in load capacity (the rim load capacity will determine it‘s maximum psi rating).
There are no true LT235/85R16E tires with enough load capacity to replace the ST235/80R16E tires. The LT235/85R16G - a trailer tire - would be the best size replacement, but it will almost always require new rims because of it’s load capacity, psi rating and minimum rim width of 6 and ½”. The steel offshore tire also has that rim width. Other options are the ST235/85R16E rated at 3640# 80 psi, or the ST235/85R16F rated at 3960# at 95 psi.
To stay away from tread separations with the replacements don’t skimp in tire inflation pressures, air them to the sidewall pressures.
CW