I'm looking for new tires for my 5er and can't find any good LT's with a D rating. Does anyone know of any brand of LT's that's good for a 5er.

 

Take a look at Maxxis UE168's.

 

I moved up to 16'' rims and BF Goodrich Commercial LT (e-rated) tires on my toyhauler. Best tire decision I ever made. I feel very confident now while towing the trailer loaded to the gills in any kind of weather (extreme heat) or rain.

I think your options are going to be limited with 15'' tires. The 16'' rims I purchased were fairly inexpensive. Got it all at my local Discount Tire. Hope that helps.

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Nice looking rubber, I'd get them in a hart-beat but don't want to spend the extra money on rims, also plain on selling my 5er in a year or two, so I'm just wanting new rubber for now.

 

No problem. Just wanted to make that suggestion about the 16'' rims. I think I only paid like $30-35 a piece for the wheels...but I bought 5, plus 5 tires. IIRC it was around $900 or so out the door.

If you are just buying tires for the interim, I understand. But it might also be a good selling point when you do sell your 5ver to move up to the 16s. Best of luck with whatever you decide to do.

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I changed my 5er tires from 225 75R 15D to BFGoodrich CommericalT/A LT 225 75R 16E and haven't been sorry. I have had them on about 4 seasons an no problems.

 

Spend the money and go with 16" wheels, you won't be sorry. $40 bucks a wheel http://www.trailerpart.com/trailerwheels.htm#Modular

 

My trailer is a Nash 25' (S) that came with 205/75/15's which I upgraded to 225/75/15-D's (Towmaster's).

In a few years, I would like to spend the summer driving from Phoenix to Alaska & would like to have 16" LT tires on the trailer. With the 225's, I have about 2-3/4" of space between the tires, at this time. It seems that the smallest 16" LT tires I have found are about an inch taller than the ones I have now. Has anyone tried this on a travel trailer like mine & what were your results?

I checked Southwest Wheel's website & they don't show a 16" rim with a "2-3/4", 5 hole 4.75" bolt circle". Basically, it's a 5 bolt pattern with 2-3/4" between the bolt holes (center to center). All their 16" wheels are at least a 6 bolt pattern.

Any thoughts?

Joe F.

 

As another poster says the Maxxis U-168 Bravo LT seem to be gaining in popularity with trailering folks. Another LT D tire is the Goodyear Wrangler in a LT215/75-15 D at 2095 lb each. You didn't give us a tire size so if your replacing a ST225/75-15 D its rated at 2540 lb each. Thats why most folks move on up to a 16" trailer wheels and a LT tire. Watch the load capacities.

The ST tire is speed rated to 65 mph max.

 

ST Tires are NOT speed limited to 65 mph.

Based on industry standards, if tires with the ST designation are used at speeds between 66 and 75 mph, it is necessary to increase the cold inflation pressures by 10 psi above the recommended pressure for the load.

http://www.goodyear.com/rv/pdf/marat...nfo_032806.pdf

Upgrading tires is good. But new shock absorbers (or retrofit) is better, IMO. (Look into DEXTER EZ Flex). And an axle alignment and balancing the tire/wheel combination. Stick with the proper load range on the tires as heavier LR tires are hard on bearings, the trailer itself (when pressures exceed load; AND sidewalls aren't as stiff as possible as with ST tires.)

Most trailer tire failures are the result of improper maintenance (letting pressures fall too far); as well as curbs, potholes, etc, conveniently "forgotten" when failure is "premature".

I, too, would rather have LT's. But the rest is as important if not more so . . if my tires have to be the "shock absorber" they won't do well. Same with with out-of-round, out-of-balance, etc.

.

 

SUBJECT: Marathon Special Trailer Applications - General Information
Goodyear Marathon tires are widely used in a variety of towable trailer applications and are designed and branded
as “ST” (Special Trailer) tires.
This information is designed to help you obtain the best performance from tires with the ST (Special Trailer)
designation. Please review the following important points with your Goodyear Marathon customers.
· Industry standards dictate that tires with the ST designation are speed restricted to 65 MPH under normal
inflation and load conditions unless a different speed restriction is indicated on the sidewall of the tire.
· Based on industry standards, if tires with the ST designation are used at speeds between 66 and 75 mph, it is
necessary to increase the cold inflation pressures by 10 psi above the recommended pressure for the load.
o Do not exceed the maximum pressure for the wheel.
o If the maximum pressure for the wheel prohibits the increase of air pressure, then the
maximum speed must be restricted to 65 mph.
o The cold inflation pressure must not exceed 10 psi beyond the inflation specified for the
maximum load of the tire."

Makes a big difference when all the info is posted. If you notice this is for Goodyear tires only as Maxxis ST tire dealer says no to overinflation. Not many 15" trailer wheels are pressure rated above 65 psi.

Even Carlisle (the oldest ST tire maker in the US) doesn't recommend inflating their ST tires above max sidewall pressure.
This from Carlisle;;
TIRE INFLATION
"A tire's ability to carry weight and its heat-building characteristics are di-rectly related to inflation pressure, and maintaining it is one of the most im-portant safety procedures on any RV owner's checklist. The higher the pres-sure, the more weight the tire can sup-port, up to, but not exceeding, its maxi-mum cold-inflation pressure listed on the tire sidewall; "

I wouldn't pump any tire above its max sidewall pressure rating without checking with the tire dealer first.

 

I wouldn't pump any tire above its max sidewall pressure rating. . . .

Well, of course not. There is no suggestion of over inflation in the GOODYEAR guidelines.

The trailer tire is rated to carry loads according to pressure. If, say, a load is correctly carried at 45-psi, then this pressure is the best choice (as inflating past that point reduces braking/steering capacities).

But if one is going to travel above 65-mph, then one is to pressurize the tire another 10-psi; or, to 55-psi.

The .pdf goes on to say that one may not exceed the sidewall limitations as a maximum.

If the 10-psi is "not available" due to load & matching pressure, then one is advised to keep speeds no higher than 65.

The only time I would knowingly exceed sidewall pressures is if the TT is in storage, and then only a few psi.


.

 

Wow can afford a big toy hauler but can't afford rims!

 

If you're going tot LT's the carry more wt be sure to check the max rating of your wheels first.
Our trailer has 15" D rated Mission tires which according to the RV forums are pure Chinese crap. I was thinking of putting some E rated 15's on it but the alum wheels are rated the exact same as my D rated tired so since I'll need new wheels anyhow I'm going to go up to E rated 16s, either LT's or Maxxis tires which have a great rep at the RV forums even though they're made in Korea.

 

Wow, just cuz someone has a nice trailer (he didn't say its a toy hauler) doesn't mean he wants to spend $600 on 5 new wheels when he doesn't have to if he's planning on selling it soon!



BTW, I don't think you need 16's Buff, if your trailer was heavier with 6 bolt wheels maybe, but you could look into 15" E's.