Trailer tires or LT tires?

[moose1]

I pull a 24.5 foot 5th wheel that needs new tires. I can't seem to get a straight answer on what is better, light truck tires or true trailer tires?


95 td 3/4 ton ext cab

[a5150nut]

If you don't get a reply here or if needed soon try rv.net and check the forums there.

[Wont Goof Again]

I have been told that the main difference between LT and ST (trailer tires) are in the side walls. The ST tires are designed to handle the forces placed on the side walls when making turns with dual (or triple) axles. If you've ever watched a trailer while it is turning, you'll notice the front trailer tire leaning out of the turn while the back tire is leaning into the turn.

I believe that both LT and ST tires are available with similar load ratings.

Can anyone confirm...?

[silverado]

Use trailer tires they will stand the abuse. Truck
tires will not. A friend of mine kept having flat tires on trailer went with trailer tires problem went away.

[Viking]

Moose 1, my 5th came with LT tires. If you go to any dealer and take a look at the heavier trailers you will most likely find that they have Lt tires installed. I have had them on my last two trailers and covered many thousands of miles without a failure. BTW Lt tires are normally found on 16" wheels. Hard to find that size in trailer tires.

[Inspector]

About 4 years ago I started having trouble with my trailer tires. My rig is a 36 ft King of the Road. It was delivered with 16.5 wheels and tires. On the way to the first rendezvous the tread came off the right forward tire but did not loose the air pressure. I got it stoppped pronto. It really tore up my trailer. The tire manufacture footed the bill for repairs. This happened two more times and they paid. :D :D The trailer tires were ST rated as I recall. The problem with 16.5 tires is that you have a real hard time finding them now days. The last time I lost a tire I bit the bullit and changed all the wheels to 16s and put LT tires on and have not had another problem. It seems that the trailer pulls better and does not wollow. I inflate them to 80psi and watch the pressure closely. The LT tires seem to have a very substantial side wall.
I'll tell you one thing, the people that I bought the tires from hate to see me come in as I bought a road hazared and tire rotation policy and I'm there every 5 thousand miles.
I see no problem with going with LT tires. Also keep them covered up when the trailer is not in use. The UV is hard on any tire that is sitting.
Denny :D

[eracers999]

LT definatly have my vote. Never again any trailer st tires. Especially the goodyear marathon. If you run them hard they will blow. Experimenting with LT's over time have shown 0 failures.
Kent

[billnourse]

Kent, I couldn't agree more about Goodyear Marathons. I blew three and tried to get satisfaction from Goodyear. They wrote me a letter saying that they were the largest tire manufacturer in the world and not too concerned about my problem, however they did hope I would use their products in the future.

For anyone with 15" tires, both Carlisle and Titan offer ST225/75R15 Load Range E's that are rated at 2830# at 80 PSI.

Regards,

Bill

[Inspector]

In my above post I was reluctant to use the name of the tire manufacture of the tire that I had trouble with. I don't know why I should be as I won't ever be using them again on anything that I own. Unfortunately my truck was delivered with them. We shall see how they hold up.
The above nameless tires were Goodyear and they paid dearly for the damage that they caused.
Denny

[billnourse]

Inspector,

Goodyear did not pay for the damage to my trailer, and refused to replace all the tires, even though they had recalled them. I now try to make them pay by telling people every time the subject of tires come up.

Regards,

Bill

[ropinfool]

A long time ago I worked at a trailer dealership as a mechanic, we didn't do our own tires. This question came up many times. Our tire distributor, who carried several name brands plus lots of no names, would tell us if price was an issue sell them LT type tires vs. ST. As long as you get the load range correct you should be ok. We sold hundreds of LT tires, and yes our bigger trailers came with LT tires from the factory, only had a couple come back with issues. If I remember correctly they were Marathons. Just my 2 cents. John

[Inspector]

The first tire failure that I mentioned happened when driving along I15 in Montana. I noticed a vibration and immediatly did a scan of my dash and mirriors. I saw in the passenger side mirror a cloud begining next to the trailer. I very quickly stopped the rig and went to see what had happened. My trailers right side forward wheel well was all beat to heck. I looked at the tire and it had lost all the but a small bit of tread. To my surprise the tire was still inflated. I put the spare on and continued on my way hoping to replaced the tire in Missoula. As I mentioned 16.5 tires are hard to get in the load rating that I required. The Goodyear store ordered me one and I went on to the rendezvous in Stevensville and on up to Glacier Park.
Returning we stopped in Missoula to pick up the tire and go home. No luck, the tire was on back order.
The store manager offered me a used tire for a spare and would break down and mount the tire and I would be on my way. Before he broke the tire down I had him check and document the pressure in the carcass, which he did. We were now on our way home.
When I got home I took the tire to a local Goodyear store and showed them what had happened the first words out of there mouths were "underinflation damage". I said I don't think so and handed them the document on Goodyear paper that the tire was fully inflated at the time of remount.
In the subsequent failures and because of a now established history of my diligence in tire care it has never been implied that I didn't take care to make sure that my tires were properly inflated.
They paid no questions asked.
Sorry for the long post.
Take care of rubber and buy good tires.
Denny

[eracers999]

The final thing that happened that just disgusted me with goodyear marathons was this. My mom had a stroke and i had made many trips to Minnesota to see her and take care of buisness. The decision had been made between the wife and myself that we would move her down here and take care of her. I prepped my truck and trailer to the 9's. I would load her car with needed stuff load it on the trl, load the truck with stuff and then i had to get my mom from the rehab center. My super mom was now a mess (100% assisted care)and had multiple pairs of depends on to make the 6 hr drive. I showed up loaded to go, loaded up mom and were off. Got 80 miles south of MPLS and got a shake in the truck looked out the left mirror and that ole familiar sight, the tire comming apart then boom like a cannon going off. Got off on exit 11 and 3 mi away was a good year tire center. Explained my urgent situation, they didnt care. When they got to it, what do you think they said to me? Underinflation, i kept my cool and pursuaded them to replace the tire, got on my way and made it all the to my home. While i was driving i vowed that was the last marathon i will ever blow. I love the LT's they have earned my trust and passed some real tough tests.
Kent

[arveetek]

What was said above was correct. ST tires are made differently to withstand the sidewall forces subjected to them when turning sharply. However, LT tires are very heavy duty and come standard on most of the larger trailers.

My Dad had the Goodyear Marathons on his 5th wheel, and he blew one out and damaged the trailer. Goodyear paid for the damage and replaced two tires. Then the other side blew. Goodyear again paid for the damage and replaced the other two. He then replaced the 15" wheels with 16" wheels and LT tires.

Having said that, I will tell you that Goodyear has changed the composition and design of the Marathon trailer tires. You can tell if you have the newer, updated tires by looking at the sidewall. If you see the letter "S" inside a circle after the words "Marathon Radial", then you have the newer style tires. I think the Goodyear problem has been greatly reduced since these tires came out several years ago.

I have the Goodyear Marathon "Circle S" Load Range D tires on my 29' fifth-wheel, and they haven't given me a bit of problem. However, when I finally need new tires, I will probably go with LT tires.

Casey

[jjackson]

I'm considering replacing the original factory (Kenda..made in Japan and I've never heard of them)tires, LT235/85 16E's on my 5th wheel. Has anyone used the Uniroyal Laredo All Season AWP tires,(they have all the same ratings as the original tires) and if so, what was your experience..?

Thanks, John

[rjschoolcraft]

I have run LT tires on my travel trailer and on my utility trailer. I've had a real problem with them on my utitlity trailer. I also switched back to load range D ST tires on my travel trailer. It seems that bad things can happen either way.