Tires Revisited

[nankipootd1]

https://www.keystoneforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=45768

The link is the last discussion I had about tires.

I bought the Carlisle Radial Trail HD. 235/85/16 E rated. Air was checked before every trip and kept at 78-80 PSI. Tires are now 3 years old but have only 1500 miles on them and 10/32 tread. They came with 12/32. After the last trip when I returned home I noticed one of them had swelled 2.5 inches taller than the one beside it. The belt had separated. Was planning on getting new tires this spring but back to not knowing what to do. I personally think according to my axle weight it should have held up longer. My wheels are only rated for 95 PSI. I can get an F and run them at that pressure. Really wanting the Sailun tires but they only come in G as many do in that size. Tried calling Sailun about running them at 95 according to weight but only got someone that represents them in the USA. They had no clue. Talked to DTD about it and they said yes you will be fine at 95 PSI. Don't know if that's the right answer either. Tire buying should not be this complicated. I got the same tires on my Ram that I do on my 2003 Jeep Wrangler. Ram gets 65 front 75 rear. Jeep gets 27 PSI according to chalk test and weight. Never had an issue of any kind on the Jeep at that low of pressure. I hate to bring this up again but what's a guy supposed to do but pull his hair out lol. I am attaching a pic of the weights at the Cat scales.

 

[Gearhead]

Maybe look at Hercules tires. I put them on our previous Landmark after I blew a Sailun.

 

[MandK]

No tire expert, but fwiw, we recently had our rig weighed by RVSEF at the national rally and they asked what air pressure we run in the tires. After they weighed at all tires, they said that based on our actual weight, we could run 85-90 psi in our G rated Sailuns as opposed to the 105-110 psi that we run at. They said it would be perfectly safe and would smooth the ride out a little. Sounds like you could run the Sailuns if you choose to, but you should upgrade your rims so that a possible future inflation mistake wouldn’t ruin your day.

 

[JRTJH]

Looking at your CAT scale weights, there's a SIGNIFICANT lack of information. All you have is a "generalized weight" on the entire two axles and all 4 wheel positions "all lumped together"... You could have (not saying you DO have) one wheel position that is significantly overloaded and that could be the wheel position where the tread separation occurred. On the other hand you could have simply had a bad Carlisle tire. Although that manufacturer has a pretty good track record, they can, on occasion, produce a bad tire.

I'd recommend, before you "go for the heaviest tire that will fit your trailer rims" stop and get an accurate weight on each wheel. See first, if there is an issue with overloading, then analyze the data and make an enlightened determination on which would be the best decision...

As an example, if you do have an overloaded wheel position and you just put heavy duty "G rated" tires on the trailer, you just might be masking a potential spindle/bearing/hub/brake problem that could "self destruct on you" while the HD tires cover up the problem.....

Knowing each wheel weight before buying new tires will give you better information on which to make decisions.

 

[Rhagfo]

Well at 9,820# on the rear axles, you really don’t need more tire. Our trailer is at about 10,000# on the trailer tires, and we run LT 235/85-16 and no issues.
It does look like you are slightly over your TV GVWR, and GAWR on the rear axle. I ams assuming 10,000# GVWR and 6,000# GAWR on the rear axle.

 

[nankipootd1]

I am going to call the local CAT scales today and see if they can weigh each tire on the axle. The one that messed up was on the side with the range and refrigerator right above them. Hard to manually over load that side because there is not much storage there. I do want to know the weight there though.

 

[NH_Bulldog]

I believe that Cat Scales can only do axles, not individual tires. They have 3 platforms, Steer, Drive and Trailer. You would probably need to buy (thousands of $$) or borrow individual portable scale pads to determine specific weight at each wheel as opposed to the whole axle. Sometimes a performance/race shop might have individual scales, but the pads are typically limited to 1,750 lbs. each which won't work for you.

I have seen non-permanent DOT setups where they weigh using individual wheel scales, but never a professional truck stop scale that would do each wheel individually. There just isn't a real need to justify the added costs to install/setup/maintain a scale system specific to each wheel.

 

[Mikelff]

You never want to exceed the air pressure your wheels are rated for. You could run F rated tires at 95 psi pressure, and that’s what I would run them at. The higher rated tires will give you stiffer side walls and higher weight capacity up to the weight capacity you can carry at 95 psi. Personally, I would upgrade to F rated tires. You will have a much better margin of safety. Heat and under inflation are the main causes of tire failure, other than tire mfg. defects. I have G rated Sailins and I run them at 109-110. They run cooler, trailer rolls smoother on good roads, and I get better mileage. Trailer tires are not the same as auto tires and the two should not be compared together. They are built differently. My 41’ 5er came with oem E rated tires which were under rated for the rig. Montana has since revised their tire ratings and now use F rated china bombs for the high country units. I blew out two E rated tires before I found out they were under rated for my rig. I just went with G rated tire for additional safety and peace of mind with no tire issues since. My wheels are rated for 110 psi so I know I’m good. You probably don’t need new rims, just better tires. Safe travels.

 

[jadatis]

2 quesstions

Was the weighing trailer axle , the tandem of 5thwh fully loaded or empty?
And what was maximum speed you ever used for more then 5 minutes?

 

[Mikelff]

2 quesstions

Was the weighing trailer axle , the tandem of 5thwh fully loaded or empty?
And what was maximum speed you ever used for more then 5 minutes?

2 questions for whom?

 

[jadatis]

For topicstarter Nankipoo

 

[Durandetto]

So I see people talking about China bombs while promoting a Chinese made tire. Are the sailuns somehow the only decent China made product? I've been in the tire industry for over 20 years and wouldn't sell a sailun car tire to my worst enemy. Both Hercules and Carlisle Gs are made in the US. Genuinely curious as to why people choose a Chinese tire over the US built ones?

 

[Notanlines]

“ wouldn't sell a sailun car tire to my worst enemy.”
Sailun sales are based on many years of exemplary service following a reasonable price.
Seems odd that someone with 20 years in the tire business would back a company which made the now infamous Marathon tire which caused millions in damages, deaths and serious injuries . Unless someone happened to be a Goodyear dealer.
I’m just sayin’….

 

[Durandetto]

“ wouldn't sell a sailun car tire to my worst enemy.”
Sailun sales are based on many years of exemplary service following a reasonable price.
Seems odd that someone with 20 years in the tire business would back a company which made the now infamous Marathon tire which caused millions in damages, deaths and serious injuries . Unless someone happened to be a Goodyear dealer.
I’m just sayin’….

I don't promote Goodyear in anyway just you guys throw the term China bomb around all the time. Sailuns are China "bombs" as well. Goodyear also replaced the marathon with the endurance which has preformed quite well. I never mentioned Goodyear as an alternative. I mentioned Carlisle and Hercules. However the endurance is a great option in a 10 ply. How many years do you have in the tire industry?

 

[nankipootd1]

Everything was fully loaded when I went across scales.

 

[Stircrazy]

Sailuns are China "bombs" as well.

sailun is a chinese company but hardly a china bomb. they are in the top 20 tire manufactures in the world for starters, and if you think all the firestone, goodyear and so on are exclusivly made in the gool old US of A you need to re-think that. they source out over multiple locations just like anyone else. the difference with sailun is they started off as a comercial tire manufacture and when they built up their reputation there, they branched out in to personal vehicle snow tires and non comercial trailer tires. then they moved into pasenger vehicle regular tires. I'll tell you what, I will take their terramax AT's on a pick up over my old favorate, BFG All Terrain TA's any day. quieter on the road, more traction in snow and ice, better in wet conditions, and in dirt/mud and longer tread life they they actual guarentee. BFG dropped their tread life guarentee years and yeas ago.

90% of what people refer to as china boms are just that they happen to hit a road hazzard they didn't see, or were running under inflated because they forgot to check the tire pressure before a trip

 

[wiredgeorge]

So I see people talking about China bombs while promoting a Chinese made tire. Are the sailuns somehow the only decent China made product? I've been in the tire industry for over 20 years and wouldn't sell a sailun car tire to my worst enemy. Both Hercules and Carlisle Gs are made in the US. Genuinely curious as to why people choose a Chinese tire over the US built ones?

I believe Carlisle special trailer tires are manufactured in China with the plants under direct US supervision and oversight so as to maintain quality. You say folks on this site throw around "china bomb"... perhaps it the wealth of experience folks on this site have with special trailer tires? Many folks here use Sailun ST tires especially for heavier load applications with few negative reports. It is good to have another "tire expert" jump in and for you to add your perspective.

 

[Stircrazy]

I returned home I noticed one of them had swelled 2.5 inches taller than the one beside it. The belt had separated. Was planning on getting new tires this spring but back to not knowing what to do. I personally think according to my axle weight it should have held up longer. My wheels are only rated for 95 PSI. I can get an F and run them at that pressure. Really wanting the Sailun tires but they only come in G as many do in that size.

sounds like you hit a good pothole or somthing with that tire that caused the seperation. I wouldn't have any issue running the sailue at 95psi, but I would still upgrade the rims so I could run higher if I needed to. One think to keep in mind is what kills the tires fast (other than road hazzards) is excessive heat, so generly if you run the psi to low they make excessive heat and start dammaging the tires. so if I was running the sailunes around 80 85 psi (which you should be able to by your weights) I would drive 50 miles then pull over and imeadiatly use a temprature gun and see what the rubber temp is. then try the same thing with them at 90 and see if it drops and again at 95 (if you are keeping your old rims) run it where the temp is the lowest, this is why it is recomended to run st tires at full pressure less heat.

also by getting new rims for the sailun's it would also let you put the old rims back on a take the sailun's off if you decide to upgrade the rv in the future so you can take your expensive tires with you.

 

[crowbar-KEY]

Just for the record - before I retired, I always used Sailun tires on my flatbed trailer which carried loads up to 70k lbs. and had very good success with them. I just replaced the tires on my Springdale with Carlisles because Sailun doesn't make the size I need for it. I am soon to replace the tires on my TV and am planning to try the Sailuns on it, to see if their LT tires are as good as the big commercial tires always were.

 

[sourdough]

So I see people talking about China bombs while promoting a Chinese made tire. Are the sailuns somehow the only decent China made product? I've been in the tire industry for over 20 years and wouldn't sell a sailun car tire to my worst enemy. Both Hercules and Carlisle Gs are made in the US. Genuinely curious as to why people choose a Chinese tire over the US built ones?

Some perspective; Sailun ST tires and Sailun car tires are not the same thing. Sailuns trailer tires have a long history of very good performance across many thousands of RV owners. A manufacturing facility in China does not have to turn out bad tires. The formula for the tire compound, method of manufacturing, quality of the equipment used and manufacturing oversight is what is missing from "China bombs".

If you've been in the tire business for 20 years then you know there is a huge proliferation of Chinese tires (st/truck/auto) on the market. Most are designed, formulated and manufactured by a few large tire companies from China in the same plants then branded with any one of a hundred (or more) various brands that they ship them out under to a U.S. distributor. Sailun and a few other tire companies have tires made in China but the difference is their involvement in all of the processes noted above including tire specs and manufacturing oversight. Of course my Sailuns are from Vietnam......