Tire Help

[calewjohnson]

Good evening,

Currently at a campsite with some limited internet (Tengo internet)...so my searching has been meek at best.

I have a Voltage 3950. Made it to our Thanksgiving camp site....while doing a post trip walk around, I noticed one of the tires has developed a bubble in the sidewall. Heading into town tomorrow to price some tires....

I had Kumho 857 on my last trailer, awesome tire, but not in my size now... I have ST235/80R16 on this trailer. I was leaning towards Maxxis, but ran across some info that said there were better options for a 16 inch tire.

Thanks in advance...sorry, I know tires are a touchy subject, but I am in a pickle....would like to do this only once and not have to give up my first born.

Cale

[azdryheat]

Your best bet is LT truck tires. I put Michelin XPS Ribs on mine. Maxxis are about the best ST out there. Bottom line is to stay away from any ST tire made in China.

[calewjohnson]

Originally Posted by azdryheat

Your best bet is LT truck tires. I put Michelin XPS Ribs on mine. Maxxis are about the best ST out there. Bottom line is to stay away from any ST tire made in China.

The LT tires (from what I see in the specs) don't have enough capacity. It looks like I would be maxed out at 18k... I know Maxxis are made overseas...Tawain? Better than China?

Cale

[wahoonc]

Maxxis has multiple plants in Taiwan as well as China. However they appear to have very good quality control, I have never heard of a QC issue with them. They are going to be my choice when I upgrade in the spring. Good luck with your search.

Aaron

[calewjohnson]

Originally Posted by wahoonc

Maxxis has multiple plants in Taiwan as well as China. However they appear to have very good quality control, I have never heard of a QC issue with them. They are going to be my choice when I upgrade in the spring. Good luck with your search.

Aaron

I will let you know what I decide tomorrow. I will go down and get them ordered, then have them installed next Sunday when we roll out....

Cale

[Burl]

Maxxis tires have been very reliable on boat and camper tires in my experience. If I ran the miles of some of the members a "truck" tire might make sense but a tire that will fit your current wheel and work well is a Maxxis IMHO.

[HornedToad]

Originally Posted by calewjohnson

I noticed one of the tires has developed a bubble in the sidewall.

Was that a Westlake that bulged???

My Westlakes have served me well but before next season I'm going to go with Sailun S 637 tires from Big O Tire to get into a 14 ply G rated tire. Yes I know these are made in China, but like the Maxxis they get good reviews and the price is right.

[ATCguy]

Cale... do yourself a favor, and go put some REAL tires on that rig. Goodyear G614 RST

They carry a "G" Load Range, and can have no speed restriction. Each tire has a max load rating of 3750 lbs @ 110psi.

I put these on my rig last year, and have been completely satisfied. Yeah, they're a tad expensive, but it's good peace of mind.

Many Camping World dealers carry them... and surprisingly, so do many Wal-Marts.

Here's a link for them: http://www.goodyearrvtires.com/tire-selector.aspx

[azdryheat]

Originally Posted by calewjohnson

The LT tires (from what I see in the specs) don't have enough capacity. It looks like I would be maxed out at 18k... I know Maxxis are made overseas...Tawain? Better than China?

Cale

How much weight do you think there is on your axles? If you have 18,000 pounds on your 3 axles, your trailer is way over weight - remember the 3500-4000 pounds on your pin.

Your trailer doesn't weigh much more than my 3600 and I only have 13,100 pounds, without toys, on the axles and 3,500 pounds on the pin (CAT Scale). 13,100 pounds divided up 6 ways is 2183 pounds per tire. Even at the trailer's GVWR of 19,000 - still with 3500 on the pin - that's only 15,500 on the axles and 2583 pounds per tire, which is well under the 3042 maximum for the LT tires.

[azdryheat]

Originally Posted by wahoonc

Maxxis has multiple plants in Taiwan as well as China. However they appear to have very good quality control, I have never heard of a QC issue with them. They are going to be my choice when I upgrade in the spring. Good luck with your search.

Aaron

The Maxxis I've seen have all been made in Thailand.

[azdryheat]

Originally Posted by ATCguy

Cale... do yourself a favor, and go put some REAL tires on that rig. Goodyear G614 RST

They carry a "G" Load Range, and can have no speed restriction. Each tire has a max load rating of 3750 lbs @ 110psi.

I put these on my rig last year, and have been completely satisfied. Yeah, they're a tad expensive, but it's good peace of mind.

Many Camping World dealers carry them... and surprisingly, so do many Wal-Marts.

Here's a link for them: Goodyear RV Tires – Tire Selector

He doesn't need that much capacity. The 3950 GVWR is 20,000 pounds of which at least 3500 will be on the pin. That would leave 16,500 pounds on the axles, which equates to 2750 per tire, well under the max load of any LT tire. The 614 is a great tire but isn't it overkill in this particular case?

[calewjohnson]

Originally Posted by azdryheat

How much weight do you think there is on your axles? If you have 18,000 pounds on your 3 axles, your trailer is way over weight - remember the 3500-4000 pounds on your pin.

Your trailer doesn't weigh much more than my 3600 and I only have 13,100 pounds, without toys, on the axles and 3,500 pounds on the pin (CAT Scale). 13,100 pounds divided up 6 ways is 2183 pounds per tire. Even at the trailer's GVWR of 19,000 - still with 3500 on the pin - that's only 15,500 on the axles and 2583 pounds per tire, which is well under the 3042 maximum for the LT tires.

While I admittedly have not ran across the scale...I say we are 18k...I took the 1800lbs from our old trailer (I know that for a fact, it was weighed and we have not thrown anything away yet) and put it into this one... The sticker says 15.5k, but I know that is a low number. With all that said, I know it is my fault for not knowing the actual numbers sooner, but I want to ensure I have enough capacity on the tires if I end up at the full 20k weight.

Cale

[DesertRat]

The Goodyears should work fine on your three axle trailer. Now on a two axle trailer that's a different story. I had all of mine fail on my 2003 Teton. That's why I switched over to 17.5 tires.

[calewjohnson]

Originally Posted by HornedToad

Was that a Westlake that bulged???

My Westlakes have served me well but before next season I'm going to go with Sailun S 637 tires from Big O Tire to get into a 14 ply G rated tire. Yes I know these are made in China, but like the Maxxis they get good reviews and the price is right.

Yes, they are Westlake. The tire dealer I talked to was surprised...he said they are popular for commercial use around this area.

Cale

[calewjohnson]

Since I am unsure of the psi rating of the wheels, I am wanting to stay at the 80psi that are currently on the trailer. I don't have a lot of cash to drop on new wheels at the moment.

Cale

[calewjohnson]

Originally Posted by azdryheat

How much weight do you think there is on your axles? If you have 18,000 pounds on your 3 axles, your trailer is way over weight - remember the 3500-4000 pounds on your pin.

Your trailer doesn't weigh much more than my 3600 and I only have 13,100 pounds, without toys, on the axles and 3,500 pounds on the pin (CAT Scale). 13,100 pounds divided up 6 ways is 2183 pounds per tire. Even at the trailer's GVWR of 19,000 - still with 3500 on the pin - that's only 15,500 on the axles and 2583 pounds per tire, which is well under the 3042 maximum for the LT tires.

So your saying that if I am 20k rolling down the road...I will have about 4k pin weight and 16k on the axles? About 2700lbs per tire?

Thanks,
Cale

[DesertRat]

Originally Posted by calewjohnson

So your saying that if I am 20k rolling down the road...I will have about 4k pin weight and 16k on the axles? About 2700lbs per tire?
Thanks,
Cale

Only way to know for sure is go into a truck stop & get it weighted. Cost only $10.00 here at Flying J. My V3605 with nothing in the garage full propane, 10 Gal. of gas in the gen tank, 2/3 water was at 11,200 on the two axles & 3k on the pin. Mine is rated at 16.5k. My axles are rated at 7k & my pin is rated at 4k. That would be 18k in my book but don't plan on carrying that much in it anyway.

[Moto4play]

Originally Posted by calewjohnson

So your saying that if I am 20k rolling down the road...I will have about 4k pin weight and 16k on the axles? About 2700lbs per tire?

Thanks,
Cale

Yes, your math is correct. But you will only know your real numbers at the scale. I would hope the 3950 that is spec'd at 15K would not weigh in over 20K but knowing how bad they are at building these things, they can't be much better at weighing them!

I too am back and forth on the LT or ST tire. You talk to a long time tire guy and he will tell you to stat with the ST because they are designed to dissipate heat better and they have a stronger and stiffer side wall. The LT series you are really paying for a lighter side wall that is steerable.

I think it's been said in other write ups but a lot of truth to it is that you need to make sure that your tires are designed to support the weight. I think if you are over killing they are going to run cooler rather than running them at the max weight capacity. Heat will cause the tires to break down and so will mixture in the tires, especially when they sit still. This is why they recommend the nitrogen instead of normal air. I think I would rather get heavier rated tires (like load range F), filled with Nitrogen and put some of the saved money in to a monitoring system and pull over if you start running hot and monitor air pressure.

The tires I am looking at are either the Gladiators or the Kenda Karrier HD ST235/85R16. Just my two cents!

[azdryheat]

Originally Posted by calewjohnson

So your saying that if I am 20k rolling down the road...I will have about 4k pin weight and 16k on the axles? About 2700lbs per tire?

Thanks,
Cale

That's what I'm saying. I've seen others forget to subtract pin weight from gross weight to obtain weight on the tires.

What you might do is get your trailer weighed and know for sure. I weighed mine last week, first with the trailer then without and it was real easy to do. Total cost was $12.50. The closest CAT Scale to you in Monterey is in Salinas at a 7-Eleven on the 101 at Monterey Penicular.

[calewjohnson]

Ok...here is what I did....since I am in a pinch (Christmas being so close), I opted for the Maxxis, they gaveme a great deal ($1100 out the door) and will work a good deal on some ST tires. They said they will sell me whatever I want and they will help me sell the Maxxis when I take them off.

Those that have went to the Goodyear G614 tires (or equivalent), did you change the wheels? If so, what did you go with. Also, with the tires being a little over an inch taller, have there been any problems with wheel clearance in the wheel well?

I think the Maxxis will do me fine until we PCS back to the East Coast, I will have some extremely good tires by then.

Cale