airstream, 6800 total gw, 6200 lbs on 2 axels, 15" wheels. The only ST tires I can find are Marathons and I am afraid of them. What about running LTX Michlin 235-15 LT tires on this trailer? Last owner was running off brand 235-15's and it sure seems to pull okay. What is the deal with running LT tires on a trailer instead of the ST's?

 

st is just a standard trailer rating kinda like 10 ply on a 2500/3500

i had a tt one time that i bought and it had reg tires on it and when i went to get it inspected they would not inspect it cause it did not have a st tires

now i am not the tire sheriff and you do what makes you happy and comfortable but me i will stick with the recommendation of the guys who build it

and as always you will find many guys will tell you just cause it works dont make it right/legal or safe

good luck be safe and happy hauling

 

I don't believe any LT 15" tire will have the load capacity of a ST tire. Look into the Maxxis M8008 ST tire. They have a 10ply rated 15" 2830 pounds tire available. About $105 each online.

 

Green Ball Transmasters are a really nice 10 ply tire. I have sold 6 sets of those and my clients love them. Less than $100ea.

 

I'm buying a set of Maxxis in two weeks for mine.

 

Okay, here is my exact dilemma. This trailer calls for 7.00 x 15. Maximum tire pressure 45 psi. It has a brand new(less than a month and less than 100 miles) set of Michlien LTX, 235 x 15 inch tires on it. It seems to track and pull fine, but I got no way to quantify that. The Michliens are load range C (6 ply) and are rated at 1925 lbs or so a tire. The Goodyear Marathons are rated at about 1850 at the recomended 45 psi and 2050 at 50 psi. I know ST ratings are different by at least 10% and maybe more from the LT's, but the trailer gross weight load per wheel is 1600. The Michliens are a bit wider in the tread so they will scuff more on tight turns. So is it worth taking the Michliens off and installing the Goodyear ST tires to have the "trailer rated" tires on it. Not going to get 10 plys on this one no matter what. I am leaving next month headed to Alaska, a trip that involves both a lot of higway driving and then the Alaska highway. I got one guess to get this thing right, and have heard of a lot of the Marathons failing on the highway.

 

In that case, run the Michelins. You are well below the carrying capacities of those tires.

I would not own a Goodyear Marathon after dealing with all the disasters caused by them over the years.

This is why I sell and own the GreenBall/Towmasters.

If I were going to drive the Alaskan highway and needed new tires before the trip, 10 plys would be the only choice.

 

I think you will be ok. If I were traveling to Alaska, I would have 2 spare tires. Not uncommon to loose one tire and the opposite tire on the axle go a few miles down the road. Good Luck!

 

I have read ALOT of people having good luck w/the Maxxis. I have the Goodyear Marathon's on my 5er,(not by choice, it came new w/them) but I will be replacing them w/the Maxxis as soon as I have the $. I've towed about 1K mi. on them w/ no problem. If you do decide to go w/the Marathons, make sure they have the circle around the small 'S' after where it says Marathons & they are made in Canada NOT China. Good luck!

 

I have a set of Mexican made Denmans on our 5th wheel. They're E rated 225/75 R15s. So far so good at the one year mark. I always got 3-4 yrs out of the Marathons. ST tires have different compounds that help with sitting in the sun for weeks at a time as most RV's do. They'll wear out a lot faster than LT tires with their softer compound but most people don't use their trailers enough to wear them out. Most trailer tires simply get old with plenty of tread left. ST tires get a bad rap mostly because they're typically run at near their capacity after sitting for weeks.
Another characteristic of ST tires is their tread is designed to scuff easily on corners. Too much traction puts more side stress on the suspension and wheels when you drag them around corners or back into tight spots at 90*.
ST tires are also designed to give a smooth ride while carrying far more weight than a similar sized P or LT tire. Unfortunately, that also means more heat.
The E rated Denmans I have now are physically smaller than the Marathons and they're very hard. First time out we had broken dishes for the first time. Could be coincidence but I think I'm going to go out on a limb and give the Marathons another round next time.
If it were my Airstream, I wish it were!, I'd go with a set of D rated Marathons. They're good for 2450 lbs each and will give the AS a smooth ride for 3-4 yrs. Just my humble opinion...

 

what are the problems with the marathons? we have them on our fifth. we haven't had a problem with them so far. we had "load star" tires on there previous and made the manufacturer buy us new tires because all four tires were wearing unevenly and just before they actually bought the new tires for us all four tires seperated... the tires were always inflated properly before EVERY trip. i'm a stickler for that...

please tell me what to look out for on the marathons...

 

Goodyear changed something in the last year (out of the country/outsource?) and they are not holding up. Feel free to check out some of the other RV forums to confirm. My spare is a Marathon, luckily the one I got was one of the last 'made in the usa' tires.

 

so far i have several thousand on our tires over two years, they are made in china and good for 2450# at 65 psi. so far we haven't had any problems and the sidewalls still look good with no cracking. ( i just came in from prepping the trailer for the weekend). but hearing that other people have had problems with them i'll keep an eye on them. thanks for the info...

 

With the weights you give here, I will say stay with the Michliens don't wast your $$ just for ST tires. As far as the Alaska Highway goes it is no worst than some of the highways here in the, (as a Alaskan would say) lower 48. With that begine said I would take a spare just as I would there.

 

I have Remington's and Denman's on the trailers and both hold up well.