stumpjumper

i went to a reputable tire shop today, i spoke to the owner has been there since dirt was new... i told him of my situation and asked if i should go with a ten ply trailer tire (greenball) or upgrade to a 16" with trailer tires. he said i would be better off with 16" wheels and Lt tires. He showed me a bfgoodrich commercial t/a tire that was made in USA which looked good and reasonably priced. I asked him why i should go with Lt tires instead of a 16" trailer tire. he said " trailer tires are basically bottom rung tires that aren't good enough to use on a truck or car and the life expectancy of a trailer tire is only about 24 months..................


what do you guys think/ what experience have you had??? if you want to hear my situation check out "marathon tires=junk".......

PCM

Pretty much sums up what I've been reading the last 18 months hence my decesion to ditch the 15 st's and go with 16's AND the Commercial T/A. Getting them installed this weekend. PCM

PChouinard

Bunk...
You need tires made exclusively for a trailer. I'm not sure exactly how they are different, but a trailer will destroy automobile tires and an automobile will ride like a stagecoach if you happen to put trailer tires on it.
I Build up aircraft (KC-135) wheels and tires for a living and I know aircraft tires are made to absorb huge impact loads, shear along the tread, rapid acceleration, intense heating from braking and they transfer millions of ft/pounds of torque to the brakes, but they aren't worth a hill of beans on an automobile of any size..
I suggest the trailer tires and get a good brand at that.

annabelle

I went from Tow Master trailer tires to Goodyear Lts because thats all I could get on a Sunday. Lts have run smoothly and have lasted longer. Installed on a 20 FT utility trailer.

stumpjumper

so far i have not found anything that says trailers have to have st trailer tires on them, i just looked at the california vehicle code and found nothing on the subject. i could have missed it, please tell me if i did. i also looked at a link provided in another post from the nhtsa and it was very long and skimmed over it but still didn't find anything saying a trailer had to have st tires. if i missed it please tell me the page it was on because the article was very long. granted i'm not going to put passanger tires onto a trailer but i'm seriously looking into the goodrich commercial t/a's...

PCM

May I suggest you guys look around on www.rv.net There are endless discussions about the use of LT tirs for trailers. AND endless discussions about problems with MOST ST tires. The LT tires have FAR more positive comments from user of them than do the ST user. I based my decesion to ditch the 15 ST's and go with LT's. So time will tell if I made the right decesion, howver, from the forums I have no doubt that i did. I will post my fidings as they unfold. PCM

sewman

St tires are great as long as you stay around 55mph & don't put any heavy loads on them,if you want to run 65 & or haul heavy you better take a bunch of ST spared along cuz you be throwing rubber,They can't take the load & weren't designed f/speed & longevity lije a LT.
That's why I run LT's on my 10K trailer

Hvytrkmech

Any higher end 5ver comes right from the factory with Lt truck tires on it. My Hitch Hiker came stock with with Good Year Wrangler 10 ply steer tires. I might add that class 8 trailer manufacturers use mostly the same tires that are on any OTR tractors, they are usually a steer tire to accommodate better fuel economy. Although tire manufacturers do make a specific trailer tire for class 8 trailers they are usually more expensive due to the reinforcement to the side wall to help combat curb scuffing.


Tim

FiverBob

This discussion of LT and ST tires does not take into consideration the size of the tire being discussed. The newer ST tires from "GOOD" companies in the higher weight ratings are far superior to the same rated LT tire. The new Goodyear G rated RST (radial special trailer) has much higher sidewall ratings than the same LT. It further runs cooler, has rounded sides to minimize drag on the rim when in tight corners and is designed to run straight. It further has 75mph ratings. I changed my LT's out to RST's - - I picked up the two tires to compare and about broke my back picking up the RST. Much stiffer sidewall, much heavier, and the rating is for the whole tire including the sidewalls, not just the tread area.

There is definitely a problem in finding a good ST tire in the 15" size.

Bob

stumpjumper

the tires we're discussing here are in the 2257515 to 2358516 range...i don't know of any tire in this range with more than an "E" rating. if i'm mistaken please correct me before i invest in tires...thanks

southwestwheel

The ST23580R16E, made by a reputable company (such as Titan) is far superior to a LT23585R16E or G.

StealthDiesel

There are greater trailer tire ratings than just load range E.

Even Goodyear has load range G tire that is common on larger high end trailers.

http://www.goodyear.com/rv/products/g614rst.html

I believe that Michelin makes a similar tire.

The Goodyear tire is very expensive, plus it requires a very expensive high pressure wheel to handle the 110 tire psi.

.. Joe

southwestwheel

The G is a good tire, but the ST23580R16E tire gives you the 3500 lbs. weight rating for a single axle or 3000 lbs. rating for a dual wheel axle at 80 psi. You can not run the G on a dual wheel and do not have to worry about 110 psi. Or you can move up to a stud piloted 17.5 x 6.75 and use a 21575R17.5 it is expensive, but it works.

spuddnut

I sell repair and service all sorts of traliers and do not recomend trailer tires to anyone and will order my new trailers with LT tires when I can. Trailer tires have caused me all kinds of headaches over the years so. The call first thing Monday morning " I bought this trailer from you 2 yrs. ago and I blew 3 tires on the way to El Paso" and so on!! No trailer rated tires for me or my customers

PaulDaisy

From all that I have read, the only difference between LT and ST tires that seemed to make sense to me was sidewall design that in ST is more resistant to twisting motion of sidewalls, which can occur in tandem or triple axle trailers when they are being backed up at sharp angles. Clearly, no LT tires are normally subject to such side skidding. But that is an extreme, I never skid my trailer like that, and in all other aspects LT seems superior: indeed, LT tires carry people and their technology is beyond that of ST because of the liability issues.