Extreme outside wear on all four tires

[meyerdp]

My 2020 High Country has at most 5K miles on it and I'm seeing extreme wear on the outside of all four tires.

The Camping World techs say I'm probably overloading it, the Les Schwab websites say I'm underloading it. The specs say 11367 dry weight, 14260 GVWR. I'm finding it hard to believe that the dishes, pots, pans, and clothing are pushing the 2893 payload. We had a washer & dryer added when we bought it but that should still give me 2300 lbs? And my storage compartments are FAR from packed.

At this point I'm on the verge of a cross country trip and the dealer can't "touch" it for a couple months. I saw on another thread where someone had Les Schwab, Bridgestone, or some tire dealer swap the tires to put the warn side on the inside.

With all four tires showing outside wear, though particularly the passenger side rear tire, I'm interested in opinions and discussions on how to proceed. Over inflate? Add more weight? Remove weight (not sure what I'd take out!)

[RickV]

Originally Posted by meyerdp

My 2020 High Country has at most 5K miles on it and I'm seeing extreme wear on the outside of all four tires.

The Camping World techs say I'm probably overloading it, the Les Schwab websites say I'm underloading it. The specs say 11367 dry weight, 14260 GVWR. I'm finding it hard to believe that the dishes, pots, pans, and clothing are pushing the 2893 payload. We had a washer & dryer added when we bought it but that should still give me 2300 lbs? And my storage compartments are FAR from packed.

At this point I'm on the verge of a cross country trip and the dealer can't "touch" it for a couple months. I saw on another thread where someone had Les Schwab, Bridgestone, or some tire dealer swap the tires to put the warn side on the inside.

With all four tires showing outside wear, though particularly the passenger side rear tire, I'm interested in opinions and discussions on how to proceed. Over inflate? Add more weight? Remove weight (not sure what I'd take out!)

I'd start by going to some CAT Scales and seeing how much you actually weigh per axle. Next I'd look at the tire manufacturer's load tables and adjust accordingly.

[Ken / Claudia]

Do you know ST trailer tires are designed to be inflated to PSI at max. cold. Check tire side wall for that number and or the placard on the trailer. If your running them at that continue to do so. I 2 the 1st reply, you can guess at your weights, guessing is sometimes way off. So, you do not know what the weights are on each tire and axle until you check.
If the tires are properly inflated and have been and your not over weight, then look further at alinement or tire defects.

[meyerdp]

Well, it looks like they're under-inflated. The tires are ST235/80R16Fs, and it the sticker on the side says 95PSI cold. I got out a "questionably accurate" pressure gauge and its saying 72PSI. SO, I'll see about inflating them 95PSI and try to get a more "reliable" pressure gauge!

[tech740]

Under inflated will wear the inside and outside edge faster than the center due to the pressure not being high enough for the entire tread to contact the road. If the inside edge is not wearing then the inflation may be the root of your issue but should still be maintained at 95PSI for LRF tires.

[Sarge2]

Yes under inflated would wear outside edges... over inflated would wear the middle treads... sounds like your issue is may be simply that...

[Ken / Claudia]

Before taking that cross country trip, do yourself a BIG favor, get new tires.
Running those at the lower PSI could have caused damage from over heating. Besides as you said they have extreme wear now, why used them any longer.

[flybouy]

Originally Posted by Ken / Claudia

Before taking that cross country trip, do yourself a BIG favor, get new tires.
Running those at the lower PSI could have caused damage from over heating. Besides as you said they have extreme wear now, why used them any longer.

Completly agree with this. THE most common damage to tires comes from running them underinflated. The extreem flexing of the sidewals will cause heat and damage the tires from the inside out so there is no way to acess the damage just "looking at them"' It's too late to properly inflate them no, the damage is done. Before going anywhere I would suggest replacing them before they potentially do a LOT of damage to the trailer if they come apart at highway speed. Do yourself a favor and spend themoney for a TPMS as well.

[sourdough]

^^^^I agree wholeheartedly with the above posts. If you have been running those tires in the 70psi range I would not start a cross country trip, at all, without new tires.

Looks like you have the res fridge version of my trailer which came with LRF tires as well. If you have the OE tires (Ranier?) in LRF (95psi), as I said I wouldn't budge out of town without new ones....might even try LRG as I put on. Your tires have been compromised.

[jasin1]

I agree. It’s not worth it ..new tires and a new tpms and a viare or similar compressor to stay on top of things.. don’t sell the old ones on Craigslist because someone else will have the blowout

[meyerdp]

I have a viare. I talked to the manager at my local Les Schwab - he seemed to think that because the tires were at 75PSI-ish, the side walls should still be good. The tires are the 12-ply Rainier STs that apparently are THE standard tire Keystone uses. Looking them up, I see that the MAX inflation is 95PSI - so maybe I shouldn't go that high.

I do think I'll see what I can do about a TPMS. Looking at some other posts in the Forums, I see people recommend Maxxis tires. The Les Schwab manager talked about possibly 14-ply replacements if I want to replace these.

[flybouy]

Your choice. The air holds the weight not the sidewalls. The sidewalls hold the air. INMHO running a tire 20 PSI underinflated is running then flat. The proper air inflation is on the trailer manf tire/weight lable on the side of the camper. Personally, I'd rather but tires when I had the time to buy them and can make a decision on what brand I want vs changing them on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere.

Good luck.

[sourdough]

Originally Posted by meyerdp

I have a viare. I talked to the manager at my local Les Schwab - he seemed to think that because the tires were at 75PSI-ish, the side walls should still be good. The tires are the 12-ply Rainier STs that apparently are THE standard tire Keystone uses. Looking them up, I see that the MAX inflation is 95PSI - so maybe I shouldn't go that high.

I do think I'll see what I can do about a TPMS. Looking at some other posts in the Forums, I see people recommend Maxxis tires. The Les Schwab manager talked about possibly 14-ply replacements if I want to replace these.

The manager at your Les Schwab deals with CAR tires almost exclusively. May sell a few trailer tires but his comments are driven by his experience with CAR tires. RV trailer ST tires and CAR tires are not anywhere, kinda the same.

You can run a CAR tire 20psi below the max rating on the side (P radial) and probably be about where the door placard says you should be. Your trailer placard, the one that dictates the pressure mandated for that ST tire (Ranier) on your RV, says 95psi....period. An ST tire is not meant to run around, flexing with 14k on top of it 20psi underinflated - the tire has been damaged severely.

I've made boo boos and paid for them. You've made a boo boo by not adhering to, and following the dictated tire pressure minimums for your trailer. Boo boos are costly. I pay the price out of my wallet. On the other hand I guess one could try to cut corners and let the "family" pay the price vs the wallet.

You need to replace those tires.

[meyerdp]

Y'all have pretty much convinced me I should get new tires.

Question, do you all inflate your tires to the MAX PSI? Or leave some "head room", noting that the MAX PSI listed for these tires is COLD PSI?

I'm surprised that they were 20lbs below the MAX delivered "from the factory". They didn't "look" underinflated. But I know with my car tires, which I might normally run at 45, 20lbs below they LOOK flat.

I just checked the Michelins on my Silverado - MAX 80PSI and testing them, they're at 75PSI. So maybe running the Fifth Wheel at 90PSI is best, and at 72 out of the factory, they WERE under inflated.

[CedarCreekWoody]

I recently changed a blown tire on the side of I-20. You do not want to do this, plus I had $2k in damage. Upgrade those tires before your trip!

[tech740]

Run the tires at MAX PSI. This should be done while the tires are cold (read that as not in the sun before you leave for a day of travel) . They are designed to handle the increase in pressure that comes from use when inflated to the cold max pressure.

[sourdough]

Originally Posted by meyerdp

Y'all have pretty much convinced me I should get new tires.

Question, do you all inflate your tires to the MAX PSI? Or leave some "head room", noting that the MAX PSI listed for these tires is COLD PSI?

I'm surprised that they were 20lbs below the MAX delivered "from the factory". They didn't "look" underinflated. But I know with my car tires, which I might normally run at 45, 20lbs below they LOOK flat.

I just checked the Michelins on my Silverado - MAX 80PSI and testing them, they're at 75PSI. So maybe running the Fifth Wheel at 90PSI is best, and at 72 out of the factory, they WERE under inflated.

There's not a question that they were underinflated. The question is now what you do about it.

The tires are supposed to be at 95psi cold. Lots of ways to look at it but "cold" to me means the tire has been sitting there for long enough that it has zero heat from rolling. Some say 70 degrees but since that doesn't happen a lot where I live I go with max at morning temps. Never had a problem with that. The tires are made to compensate for those fluctuations.

You've ran 5k miles on the tires and say they came "from the factory" like that. Have you ever checked them? Always check your tires, before every trip, and make sure they are at max psi. If it sits for long periods, check them and keep them topped off.

IF the transporter that brought your trailer to the dealership traveled cross country with those tires that low, without regard to the tires or the future owner, curbs/potholes etc.; those tires are a ticking time bomb for you and yours. I chose Sailun LRG....before mine left the lot with Ranier LRF.

[flybouy]

Originally Posted by meyerdp

Y'all have pretty much convinced me I should get new tires.

Question, do you all inflate your tires to the MAX PSI? Or leave some "head room", noting that the MAX PSI listed for these tires is COLD PSI?

I'm surprised that they were 20lbs below the MAX delivered "from the factory". They didn't "look" underinflated. But I know with my car tires, which I might normally run at 45, 20lbs below they LOOK flat.

I just checked the Michelins on my Silverado - MAX 80PSI and testing them, they're at 75PSI. So maybe running the Fifth Wheel at 90PSI is best, and at 72 out of the factory, they WERE under inflated.

That placard on the front curbside of the trailer lists the psi of the OEM size and load rating of the tire. It will be the proper inflation for the tires max weight rating which IS the max cold inflation molded on the tire. If you upgrade the tires (load rating not size) then use that tires cold inflation number providing the rims can handle it.

Don't compare trailer tires to car tires, other than being round they have little in common. Would you compare your car tires to a Nascar tire? How about an airplane tire or tractor trailer tire? All tires right? No, not"maybe running the tires at 90 psi" if the label says 95 psi. You must get over what sounds like a high pressure, the tire and rim assemnly is designed to handle it.

[travelin texans]

If all 4 tires are wearing evenly other than the outer edge I'd say an alignment is needed.
If they were wearing on the inner & outer edges I'd say under inflation.
But I do agree you've been running with them under inflated, which isn't good on ST tires especially if they're some of the China bomb factory originals.

[BookPaul74]

Anyone still curious what the trailer weighs loaded? Cat scale is less than $15.00.