Going for new rubber tomorrow....

[wegone]

And I have a few questions first to ask

I can go up from 205's to 225's without no issue on clearance, they will fit, is that a good idea?

Will my hitch need to be adjusted for the added height, or is it just a minimal addition?

How should they jack up my trailer?

I am having the bearings inspected, repacked, replaced if needed.

One side at a time, or all four, or what?

It's a legit business, they aren't going to retire off of me, I just want to have as much knowledge before hand to keep that fleecing to a minimum

Thank you.

[Ken / Claudia]

I have done bearings on several boat trailers and current RV. The last 2 times I paid a shop. Around 225 for all four wheels, bearings inspected and repacked with new rear seals installed. Cannot think they would not install new seals. Have them all done at the same time. To much work to get RV to and into and out of a shop 2 times for that work. I can do the work in about 4 hours for about 35-40 bucks. That includes several rolls of towels and gloves. Shop folks should have it done in an hour to hour and half.
My thoughts on going to larger size tires, be really careful they fit. To avoid them tearing up the fender wells, I stick with same as factory size but go to a heavier ply many times.

[wegone]

Originally Posted by Ken / Claudia

I have done bearings on several boat trailers and current RV. The last 2 times I paid a shop. Around 225 for all four wheels, bearings inspected and repacked with new rear seals installed. Cannot think they would not install new seals. Have them all done at the same time. To much work to get RV to and into and out of a shop 2 times for that work. I can do the work in about 4 hours for about 35-40 bucks. That includes several rolls of towels and gloves. Shop folks should have it done in an hour to hour and half.
My thoughts on going to larger size tires, be really careful they fit. To avoid them tearing up the fender wells, I stick with same as factory size but go to a heavier ply many times.

Ok, going from 5 ply to 8 ply already. I have plenty of room to go bigger as I have slides on both sides that the fender attaches to, and inside about 2-3 inches and height wise, 4 plus inches....

[sourdough]

Eddie looks like that trailer gvw is 7600 lbs. I think you have 205/75R15 LRC as OE...right? 1820lbs. at 50psi?

IMO and others may disagree, but the Cs won't support the gvw. You could go to the LRD at 2150lbs. in the same size = 8600lbs. That's over 13% in reserves over gvw.

Is there a reason you want to go to the 225s? You probably could and still stay at that 65psi pressure (DO YOUR WHEELS SUPPORT 65psi?) but that would give you 10,160 lbs. for load on the tires. That's about a 34% reserve capacity over gvw. That's pretty stout for even me and I LIKE having reserves over gvw.

[wegone]

Originally Posted by sourdough

Eddie looks like that trailer gvw is 7600 lbs. I think you have 205/75R15 LRC as OE...right? 1820lbs. at 50psi?

IMO and others may disagree, but the Cs won't support the gvw. You could go to the LRD at 2150lbs. in the same size = 8600lbs. That's over 13% in reserves over gvw.

Is there a reason you want to go to the 225s? You probably could and still stay at that 65psi pressure (DO YOUR WHEELS SUPPORT 65psi?) but that would give you 10,160 lbs. for load on the tires. That's about a 34% reserve capacity over gvw. That's pretty stout for even me and I LIKE having reserves over gvw.

Dry Weight 5,803 lbs. Payload Capacity 1,797 lbs. GVWR 7,600 lbs. Hitch Weight 600 lbs.

And yes those appear as the tire, seems like they are but its so hard to read

I am going up to a 8ply at 2150 in the 205. The option will be the 225 and 400 ponds more, but I think my rim is 5.5 and they say 6 on that tire, and with spread axles I am thinking I don't think going with a wider tire on that rim is a good idea, you agree....seems the side flexing might be even more prevalent if I am giving away a 1/2 or 1/4 inch of support....?????

I can pick their brain better tomorrow, just need to understand if I hit their right side or left side

EDIT: I just went and looked in the rain.... they are 205/75R15 RST...if that makes any difference?

[bobbecky]

Just remember that the biggest reason for pulling the hub/drums is to inspect the brakes, and because you already have the drums off, you repack the bearings and install new seals, also checking the bearings when cleaning and packing.

[wegone]

Originally Posted by bobbecky

Just remember that the biggest reason for pulling the hub/drums is to inspect the brakes, and because you already have the drums off, you repack the bearings and install new seals, also checking the bearings when cleaning and packing.

Gotcha....thanks.

[sourdough]

Originally Posted by Island Eddie

Dry Weight 5,803 lbs. Payload Capacity 1,797 lbs. GVWR 7,600 lbs. Hitch Weight 600 lbs.

And yes those appear as the tire, seems like they are but its so hard to read

I am going up to a 8ply at 2150 in the 205. The option will be the 225 and 400 ponds more, but I think my rim is 5.5 and they say 6 on that tire, and with spread axles I am thinking I don't think going with a wider tire on that rim is a good idea, you agree....seems the side flexing might be even more prevalent if I am giving away a 1/2 or 1/4 inch of support....?????

I can pick their brain better tomorrow, just need to understand if I hit their right side or left side

EDIT: I just went and looked in the rain.... they are 205/75R15 RST...if that makes any difference?

I would go with the 205 LRD. Where did you get the size with the following "RST" from on the tire? I don't recall that as a load rating but I do believe Trailer King makes/made a RST tire.

[wegone]

Originally Posted by sourdough

I would go with the 205 LRD. Where did you get the size with the following "RST" from on the tire? I don't recall that as a load rating but I do believe Trailer King makes/made a RST tire.

Looking at the Trailer King site, that tire is 1850 too, I will go with a 2150 8ply they have at the shop, or bigger, but not to the 1850....that is just too close. goodness.

Trailer King RST ST205/75R15 101/97M

Image result for Trailer King RST ST205/75R15 101/97M

Introducing the Trailer King RST tire engineered and built to meet the demands of today's trailers. The tire features a modern tread design manufactured using segmented molds to provide exceptional uniformity and appearance, while the optimized tread design delivers superior …


Size: ST205/75R15
Brand: TRAILER KING
Section Width: 205 Millimeters
Load Capacity: 1820 Pounds

[JRTJH]

I believe the "RST" in the Trailer King "RST" 205 75R15 stands for "Radial Special Trailer"

[wegone]

Originally Posted by JRTJH

I believe the "RST" in the Trailer King "RST" 205 75R15 stands for "Radial Special Trailer"

Makes sense.....

[sourdough]

Originally Posted by Island Eddie

Looking at the Trailer King site, that tire is 1850 too, I will go with a 2150 8ply they have at the shop, or bigger, but not to the 1850....that is just too close. goodness.

Trailer King RST ST205/75R15 101/97M

Image result for Trailer King RST ST205/75R15 101/97M

Introducing the Trailer King RST tire engineered and built to meet the demands of today's trailers. The tire features a modern tread design manufactured using segmented molds to provide exceptional uniformity and appearance, while the optimized tread design delivers superior …


Size: ST205/75R15
Brand: TRAILER KING
Section Width: 205 Millimeters
Load Capacity: 1820 Pounds

Eddie what tires are you looking at purchasing to replace those that exist on your trailer? If you are looking at Trailer King tires to replace what you have you might want to reconsider that - I was not clear on what your plan was.

[Javi]

Let me put it this way.... I wouldn't allow anyone to give me a Trailer King tire... much less try to sell me one.

[wegone]

No, not trailer King....those are coming off.
I will see my choices tomorrow.

[notanlines]

Eddie,you'll find that the vast majority of members 'in the know' on this site will recommend the following brands of tires, from 17.5 inch down to 13 inch: Goodyear, Sailun, Maxxis, and Carlisle.
I can't speak as to jumping tire sizes, but I can recommend just jumping up in ply rating, and staying with one of those brands.

[dutchmensport]

In the past, I've had Good Year and Carlisle tires on my previous travel trailers and both worked and performed very well for years with no issues.

On my current fifth wheel, I've got Hercules tires, 14 ply. Truly the toughest tires I've ever owned. They weren't cheap by any means.

[wegone]

I will be limited to what they offer, one downsize to living on a rural island setting. To take my trailer to the mainland would be 150 bucks and a big headache.
I will make the best of it, and I am sure anything I get will be a improvement of what is presently on there.
If I have to address this again prematurely, then I'll cross that bridge at that point. I'll see what they have to sale, warranty, etc....and make my final choice at that point, but it will be better than these, I m certain....

Thanks all, leaving soon.

edit: I know they have this brand, not sure of what else.

http://www.towstartires.com/tires/La...r-product-line

[wegone]

OK....all done, 5 new tires even the spare balanced.

Brakes, bearings, etc....good.

I went for this tire : TWR49T ST205/75R15 107/102M D/8 10 2150 @ 65 81mph

Looks better sitting on the ground than the other/old ones, more stout?
I might be imaging it, but I could feel a more "planted" trailer behind me as I pulled it home, felt more secure, anchored to the road....???

For sure a upgrade from the OEM stuff.

[Tireman9]

Originally Posted by Island Eddie

Ok, going from 5 ply to 8 ply already. I have plenty of room to go bigger as I have slides on both sides that the fender attaches to, and inside about 2-3 inches and height wise, 4 plus inches....

Technical detail. Ply Rating is an outdated concept from the 50's. If you read the information on the tire sidewall you will see both the number and type of materials used for reinforcement such as Polyester, Steel or Nylon.


In your tires the body layer or "Ply" will most likely be one and under the tread you will see the listing for the body plus 2 layers of Steel.
The term Load Range replaced Ply in the 70's While the Load range letters replace the "ply Rating" 6 ply rating would be "LR-C" 8 ply would be LD-D etc. 4 ply would be LR-B but almost all passenger type tires are LR-B so they do not have the words Load Range on the tire sidewall.