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Old 01-28-2022, 12:33 PM   #1
Fox1956
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Best RV tire?

What is the best tire manufacturer for trailer tires?
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Old 01-28-2022, 12:48 PM   #2
JRTJH
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That depends on several factors.

What size tire? What size trailer? What kind of towing? Where are you're located? Where do you tow? How much do you want to spend on tires?
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Old 01-28-2022, 01:52 PM   #3
Fox1956
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Currently have Towstar ST205/75R14's on a 2021Outback UMD22. Travel mostly in the midwest but occasionally to Florida and Colorado/Arizona. Price isn't the most important concern, would like the best tire for the money though.
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Old 01-28-2022, 02:06 PM   #4
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ST (Specialty Tire) and radial like you have are good starting specifications. Check the ply (load carrying capacity) and load rating are compatible for your trailer weight tire psi and warranty. As a comparison, I have radial, G (14 ply), speed index L (75 mph), 4080 lb load rating, 110 psi cold pressure and 65,000-mile warranty on my tandem axle fifth wheel trailer.
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Old 01-28-2022, 02:31 PM   #5
Fox1956
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I guess my real question is, Goodyear, B F Goodrich, Carlisle, Others? I have read horror stories about Chinese tires ("China Bombs".)
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Old 01-28-2022, 03:23 PM   #6
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I believe your trailer is a 2021 Outback 221UMD, not a UMD22 ????

Now, as for that trailer, Keystone "messed up" (IMO) by installing 14" tires on the trailer. Granted, the 205 75R14 LRD has a load capacity of 2040 pounds at 65PSI. That is the "highest rated 14" tire as there are no LRE or LRF tires and 14" wheels "top out at the same 2040 pounds "max load"...

So, there is no room for growth or no ability to increase reserve load reserves.

You're pretty much "stuck with what you have as the biggest, heaviest tire available"...


Looking at your trailer, the GVWR is 7200 pounds, the axles are 3500 pound each, that's 7000 pounds. The tires are rated at 8160 which is 960 pounds greater than the GVWR. That is roughly a 13% reserve capacity. Sounds good, until you consider that most ST tires are "polyester carcass cords with a steel belt over the tread surface"

Polyester cording deteriorates with heat and friction and the "generally accepted criteria" is that ST tires lose about 10% of their strength/load carrying capacity every year.

That means that at the end of the tire's second year, it's lost 20% capacity, or around 2040 - 408 = 1632. So your set of trailer tires, at 2 years old,
can no longer support 8160 pounds, but rather roughly 6528 pounds, which is 672 pounds less than your trailer GVWR...

Now, I'll stop and add that trailer manufacturers do a bit of "smoke and mirror magic" by deducting the trailer tongue weight from the weight the axles carry. They suggest that since that weight is on the truck hitch, it isn't on the axles. That is, until you hit a pothole, a rise in the road, a wide expansion joint in the highway or scrub a curb while entering a gas station... Then the tire/tires that are affected are "loaded with significantly more weight than just what the hitch is carrying".... And there goes that "safety reserve of 13%.....

That is where most people "get into critical towing capacity" and start experiencing tire blowouts/tire and trailer damage....

It all starts with the trailer manufacturers installing the "cheapest tires that will last until the warranty expires" and continues with the inability of the new owner not being able to upgrade tires without also upgrading wheels and possibly also axles and springs.

So, the "direct question you asked: Which brand is better/best?

The "short answer is Carlisle Radial Trail HD, Goodyear Endurance" in the size your trailer uses. Carlisle brand is typically $150-200 cheaper for a set of 4 tires. I have not seen any long range studies that suggest Goodyear or Carlisle is better than the other. They both are neck and neck in reliability and performance.

The long answer is, "Even those two brands, the ones most will say are the best ST tires in that size, will be "barely adequate after a couple years use"...

It's not the tires, it's the size, age, inability to upgrade to heavier tires and wheels that all are working "against you"...
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Old 02-25-2022, 05:13 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JRTJH View Post


Looking at your trailer, the GVWR is 7200 pounds, the axles are 3500 pound each, that's 7000 pounds. The tires are rated at 8160 which is 960 pounds greater than the GVWR. That is roughly a 13% reserve capacity. Sounds good, until you consider that most ST tires are "polyester carcass cords with a steel belt over the tread surface"

Polyester cording deteriorates with heat and friction and the "generally accepted criteria" is that ST tires lose about 10% of their strength/load carrying capacity every year.

That means that at the end of the tire's second year, it's lost 20% capacity, or around 2040 - 408 = 1632. So your set of trailer tires, at 2 years old,
can no longer support 8160 pounds, but rather roughly 6528 pounds, which is 672 pounds less than your trailer GVWR...

Now, I'll stop and add that trailer manufacturers do a bit of "smoke and mirror magic" by deducting the trailer tongue weight from the weight the axles carry. They suggest that since that weight is on the truck hitch, it isn't on the axles. That is, until you hit a pothole, a rise in the road, a wide expansion joint in the highway or scrub a curb while entering a gas station... Then the tire/tires that are affected are "loaded with significantly more weight than just what the hitch is carrying".... And there goes that "safety reserve of 13%.....

That is where most people "get into critical towing capacity" and start experiencing tire blowouts/tire and trailer damage....

It all starts with the trailer manufacturers installing the "cheapest tires that will last until the warranty expires" and continues with the inability of the new owner not being able to upgrade tires without also upgrading wheels and possibly also axles and springs.

So, the "direct question you asked: Which brand is better/best?

The "short answer is Carlisle Radial Trail HD, Goodyear Endurance" in the size your trailer uses. Carlisle brand is typically $150-200 cheaper for a set of 4 tires. I have not seen any long range studies that suggest Goodyear or Carlisle is better than the other. They both are neck and neck in reliability and performance.

The long answer is, "Even those two brands, the ones most will say are the best ST tires in that size, will be "barely adequate after a couple years use"...

It's not the tires, it's the size, age, inability to upgrade to heavier tires and wheels that all are working "against you"...
So, I did a quick Google search and it appears Carlisle are about 96-120 for my size which is st225/75r15e. My question then is can I upgrade to heavier tires? Or would the Carlisle be enough for me in current size? Also, my weight is similar to OP. Is it common for people to swap tires every 2 years?! I'm currently on Goodride that came with trailer bc previous owner changed the manufacturer to those. I think they're now going on 2 years of age and possibly about 5k miles. I read reviews on Goodride and phew scary stuff so now I'm thinking I should upgrade. Money's not an issue luckily. Thanks for any feedback.
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Old 02-25-2022, 06:44 PM   #8
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Originally Posted by lestahhh View Post
So, I did a quick Google search and it appears Carlisle are about 96-120 for my size which is st225/75r15e. My question then is can I upgrade to heavier tires? Or would the Carlisle be enough for me in current size? Also, my weight is similar to OP. Is it common for people to swap tires every 2 years?! I'm currently on Goodride that came with trailer bc previous owner changed the manufacturer to those. I think they're now going on 2 years of age and possibly about 5k miles. I read reviews on Goodride and phew scary stuff so now I'm thinking I should upgrade. Money's not an issue luckily. Thanks for any feedback.
Your trailer calls for ST225 75R15 LRE tires. They are rated at 2830 pounds each @80PSI. That is 11320 pounds total on the 4 tires. Your trailer GVWR is 9750. That's a reserve capacity of 1570 pounds, which is 16.1% of the total trailer GVWR and 17.9% of the actual weight on the axles.

So, there are several things you need to consider. First, it's the air in tires that carries the weight, higher pressure equals higher weight capacity. So, upgrading tires means you will have to find wheels that can carry the increased weight AND the increased pressure. The wheels on your trailer are either steel 6 lug or aluminum 6 lug and are rated to carry 2830 pounds at 80PSI. Essentially, you can't upgrade tires on those wheels and if you upgrade tires and wheels, they may not fit the wheelwells on the trailer...

So, you're pretty much "stuck with the tire size you have" assuming you want to remain practical. You have enough reserve capacity that you are OK with the OEM tire/wheel size. I'd recommend either Goodyear Endurance or Carlisle Radial Trail HD tires in the same size/load rating as the OEM tires and I'd change them out every 4 years.
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Old 02-25-2022, 08:48 PM   #9
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The size you have and LRE will be good enough for your trailer. Get a "good" brand of tire; Goodride isn't noted as such. Goodrides are 2 years old? You've gone about 1 yr. 11 mos. longer than I would have had them. Bang for the buck the Carlisle Radial HD is hard to beat. GY Endurance tires are more spendy, hard to find and don't really give you a benefit that I've seen or read about.
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Old 02-26-2022, 06:27 AM   #10
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Our trailer has ST 225 75 R 15 D as OEM. About 5 1/2 years ago I installed Carlisle Radial Trail HD Trailer Tire-225/75R15 117M 10-ply as replacements. That's about a year longer than I prefer but I'm not obsessing over it. For my money the Goodyears are just too expensive but everyone has different needs and opinions.

Some folks change tires at 3 years religiously. Some people change their truck batteries every 3 years as well. Last week my truck batteries were dead. I've noticed the difference in how fast the starter was cranking for 2 months. I removed the batteries and took them to the NAPA store I deal with and told them I need 2 new onnes. The counterman said "You did well with those, you bought them in. 2015 almost to the day." But here's the thing, I mainly use the truck to pull the camper. About every 2 weeks we'll take a 30 min or so drive on open roads to "exercise" the truck. No short trips, no stop and go traffic.

With the camper the upgrade from 8 ply rating to 10 ply rating gives me some extra capacity. The typical use is highway speeds around 60 to 65 mph, no off roading. I won't drive more that 250 miles per day. Point is that's what fits our needs for our useage.
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Old 02-26-2022, 08:22 AM   #11
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Note on tire selections and load capacities.

All tire fitments for RV trailers require the tires to provide a load capacity equal to or greater than the vehicle certified GAWRs. NHTSA provides a statement similar to this one; The RV trailer manufacturer is required to fit tires that are appropriate for the vehicle they are fitted to. To not do so is a violation of federal regulations and monetary penalties can be very severe for the trailer manufacturer.

For many years people/organizations that had access to the NHTSA tire rules committee meetings lobbied for load capacity reserves. Most of those recommendations were for 12-15%. It has NEVER happened. However, RVIA, a RV trailer membership organization that about 98% of trailer builders are members of, mandated a 10% load capacity reserve for all OE tires. That, in effect will eventually change the load capacity for all RV trailer OEM tires and their replacements. If your current trailer is a 2015 model or newer, that reserve load capacity in all probability has been applied by the builder.

I just don’t do brands. It’s too controversial. No tire builder wants’ to be on a list of good or bad. They strive to become better. Goodyear and Carlisle are prime examples of tires that have made a big turnaround in their RV trailer tire reliability. The GY Marathons were built in the USA and China. Up until they were phased out their reviews were dismal at best. Carlisle was the undisputed trailer tire builder until the larger radial tires were needed for RV trailers. Their first attempts were so unreliable they would not recommend they be used above 60 MPH and warranted them for one year from date of purchase. They even admitted that they would degrade rapidly at about 10% per year. Look where they are today, and their being built in China. Currently the GY Endurance is the only RV trailer tire to provide sidewall protection with the addition of “Scuff Guard” protection.

Steel cased tires are so popular for larger load capacities they are now being built in the popular ST225/75R15 designated size. I’m pretty sure Transeagle were the first to introduce all-steel 15” tires. Now at least 6-8 manufacturers are building them, including Carlisle.

http://transeagletires.com/

https://www.carlislebrandtires.com/o...-detail/csl16/
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Old 02-26-2022, 08:54 AM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by CWtheMan View Post
[B][SIZE="3"] ...

For many years people/organizations that had access to the NHTSA tire rules committee meetings lobbied for load capacity reserves. Most of those recommendations were for 12-15%. It has NEVER happened. However, RVIA, a RV trailer membership organization that about 98% of trailer builders are members of, mandated a 10% load capacity reserve for all OE tires. That, in effect will eventually change the load capacity for all RV trailer OEM tires and their replacements. If your current trailer is a 2015 model or newer, that reserve load capacity in all probability has been applied by the builder....]
keep in mind that RVIA is a "voluntary organization" with a "voluntary membership of manufacturers"... At least it started out that way... But today, like JCAHO in the hospital world, it's no longer a "voluntary membership organization"....

Most banks will not loan money to finance a trailer that does not have an RVIA certification sticker and insurance companies won't insure a trailer without an RVIA certification sticker. The only way a manufacturer can get RVIA certification stickers is to be a member of RVIA, so, it's no longer "voluntary membership".... If you want to "sell trailers to the public" and they need to finance/insure them, then "membership in RVIA is required"....

Just another of those "tidbits of mandatory volunteeer membership".....
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