Compare tires

[John Shaw]

Has anyone compared Karrier ST235/85R16 F to Goodyear LT235/85R16G or Hercules ST235/85R16 F?

The Karrier and Hercules have a max weight of 3960 lbs. while the Goodyear is only 3750. Also big differences in price.

Appreciate any suggestions.

Running a 2012 Montanna 3400RL pulled by a 2012 Silverado K2500 Crew Cab

[therink]

LT and ST are different classification of tires. Both STs you referred to maybe Ok, but are likely Chinese. I ditched my Chinese LTs before I rolled my new fiver off of the lot and replaced with Firestone Transforce LTs.
These will likely last about 5 years versus 3 yrs that most Chinese LTs last before they start cracking.
My cost for the Firestone was under $800 mounted and balanced. I am happy with my decision.

[Wally15]

There is a wealth of info on a tire. The DOT code tells you which plant and company (and country) the tire was produced. Here's a link:
http://www.tire-information-world.com/dot-codes.html
Also on the tire is info on the week it was manufactured. It's generally 4 numbers, 3612 for example. That means it was produced the 36th week of 2012. These numbers tend to "stand out" as they are placed in the mold as a "serial tin" and changed weekly. Usually found right after the tire size. On older tires it's sometimes difficult to find because it's placed on only one side, the inside.
Actually, some of the "China" tires I have read about on this forum are not really from China, but are indeed manufactured on the Pacific Rim. The tire business is really growing over there and some of these plants have more modern equipment then their US counterparts. The profit margins are generally so thin on trailer tires that a lot of the older plants can't cost justify upgrading their equipment, unless you're in an expanding market like the Far East.
Unless you do an awful lot of towing miles, you should probably replace your trailer tires on age rather than miles. Or road hazard damage.

[JRTJH]

Originally Posted by John Shaw

Has anyone compared Karrier ST235/85R16 F to Goodyear LT235/85R16G or Hercules ST235/85R16 F?

The Karrier and Hercules have a max weight of 3960 lbs. while the Goodyear is only 3750. Also big differences in price.

Appreciate any suggestions.

Running a 2012 Montanna 3400RL pulled by a 2012 Silverado K2500 Crew Cab

I've never heard of Karrier tires. That may not mean much in the "grand scheme of things", but if you think for a moment about travelling, once you're away from your "home area" and have a problem with a tire, will you be able to find a Karrier dealer around? I've never seen one around northern Michigan and a quick check of the yellow pages doesn't produce anything. Should you be travelling through this area and need help, there's no dealership to turn to. I'd advise staying with a "nationally available" tire company if you're planning to travel very far from home.

[bobbecky]

According to Keystone specs on the 3400, and ideal loading, the loads on the tires will be about 3375 lbs each. The suggestion of using truck LT tires, rated at 3042 lbs is not a wise thing. Also, as noted, using tires with questionable branding when traveling outside your home area can be risky due to finding a dealer to handle warranty issues. The 10 ply tires that come with these rigs are rated slightly over the ratings of the loading of the axles, and that is why you will see on the tag on the side of the trailer, that they de-rate the axles to 6750 lbs, from 7000 lbs, so they can use the cheaper tires and get the trailers certified for DOT. Yes, the G614's are expensive, but so is having a tire failure that can cause several thousand dollars damage to your rig. You are the only one that can determine the risk you are willing to take when you make the final decision on what tire to buy. We fulltime, so our level of risk was much less than the occasional camper. We went with the G614's, and all 5 tires, which may not have been needed, but gives me added comfort.

[John Shaw]

The Karrier is handled by etrailer.com. Part number AM10501. It actually came up in an ad on this forum.

I wonder what Keystone says about putting the Goodyear LT tire on the trailer.

We have had this rig for 15 months and have put about 10,000-12,000 miles on unit. During a warranty/service inspection they found one tire out of round. Were told by dealer we were lucky that the tire would have failed within several hundred miles.

When we left on our current trip the ambient temp was 19 degrees. Within 20 miles the tire monitoring system went off on high pressure. All four tires were reading high and we let air out.

[JRTJH]

After looking at the Etrailer website, it seems the Karrier is actually a "subcategory" of the Kenda Loadstar tire. Do a forum search for Loadstar tires, Kenda tires, etc and you'll get some ideas about how people feel about the "parent tire" performance.

[bobbecky]

The Goodyear G614 is actually a trailer rated tire, but due to the heavy construction, I guess, it is rated LT for speed, which for this tire is 75 mph. It is not approved for anything else but trailer use. The tread design would never work for use on a truck, due to the tread design.