Kodiak5er
Alex Bay NY Summer; Sanford FL Winter
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Joined: 07/11/2004
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wildernesshd wrote:Fleetwood was using LT tires as-far back as 2000, as on My Wilderness 5`er.
My under standing is that an ST tire will not meet as strict DOT regulations as an LT. that`s why the ST says for trailer use only.
I haven`t read any complaints of problems caused by an LT used on a trailer, but many problems with ST used on anything.
just My 2 cents
I couldn't have said the above any better and agree completely with wildernesshd.
Our HEAVY Newmar Cypress came with Goodyear 614 LT tires from the factory.
The ST tire is not DOT rated for passenger carry while the LT tire is.
Because the ST tire is not made to the same stringent specifications as the LT tire, we will have more problems with them. In other words the ST tire is a cheaper tire than the LT tire, it's too bad we can't get LT tires in all the same sizes as you can the ST tire.
I think there are two reasons some people have tire problems.
One is that most of the ST tires are speed rated at 65 MPH and the other is that some people do not weigh their set ups and overload the tires.
If you want to find out where your tires were made, go to this site and follow the directions.
The last four numbers in the DOT code (only on one side of the tire) is the week and year the tires were made, (2207 would be the 22nd week of 2007). If you have a three digit code the tires were made before 2000.
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Gale Hawkins
Murray, KY
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All Light Truck(LT) & Special Trailer(ST........re fully rated for trailer applications.
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Pickle2
Riva, Maryland,
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mikeoh wrote:Where are Maxxis made??
I phoned the company and was told that they are made in China.
Pickle at Pickldom.
Wife, Deb; Daughters: Brenna(13), Alysson(13)
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Rough2000
Arkansas
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I read this article and did not see any referance to 81%...perhaps I overlooked it. I did notice that the expert did make a lot of assumptions in order to answer the question that was asked. By the way, the poster of this question did make some statement that his vehicle was capable of pulling the trailer at 70 to 75mph. I the poster is doing that...I assume he is half nuts and probably should not be pulling a trailer regardless of how the tires are loaded.
"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter."
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ckwizard777
Texas
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I think there are two reasons some people have tire problems.
One is that most of the ST tires are speed rated at 65 MPH and the other is that some people do not weigh their set ups and overload the tires.
I agree with this statement from Kodiak5er.
I was on my home from work last friday and I observed 2-fivers and 1-TT keeping up just fine with the 70-75 MPH traffic on RT1 southbound.
Ken & Deb
1999 Sunnybrook 30RLFS
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JIMNLIN
out here
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Joined: 09/14/2003
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LT tire not recommended or made for trailer tire application is really very bad info. Source can be traced to a certain ST tire manufactures web.
The Michelin XPS Rib LT tire are recommended for "commercial trailer service" by Michelin. Other LT USA made LT tire manufactures have recommended a certain line of their LT tires for heavy trailer use.
LT tire use may be new to some RV newbies on this web but in fact were used and recommended much longer than RV.net's been online or the net or our modern RV industry has been around.
Many USA domestic ST tire manufacture dropped their ST production line years ago. My truck tire dealer at that time had posted a copy of the letter from BFG stating there simply was a better tire in their LT tire line up for trailer use. 'course that was back then we had many 14"/15" LT tire sizes. BUT are no longer in production.
The Goodyear Marathon webs says their a ecnomical priced tire for RV use. That says tons.
"good judgment comes from experience, and a lot of that comes from bad judgment" ............ Will Rogers
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pdinaj
Apache Junction,Arizona
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Pickle2 wrote:mikeoh wrote:Where are Maxxis made??
I phoned the company and was told that they are made in China. Almost correct but not quite. The company was started in the 60's in Taiwan, now makes tires in China, Vietnam, Thailand, Japan and several places in the world. You have to look at the tire to see where it was made. I have 4 on my trailer but the jury is still out. Mine were made in Thailand. Manufactures in China are said to be prone to apply the tread to a tire carcass that is not completely clean which causes the tread to peel and beat the hell out of the trailer when it goes south. I don't know if that is exactly true or not.
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nolra
Houston
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jpjulian wrote:For those who have installed LT truck tires on their trailers, those tires are not designed for the stresses that tandem axle trailers place on the tires. You may have not had troubles but I am bothered the dealer would not only sell but install tires that are clearly beyond their design limitations. I've seen what can happen when a tire truely blows and takes out body parts and components on big-rig semis and it aint pretty. The first time was about 1963 when the station wagon my mother was driving was passing a lumber truck. Inside tire on the drive tandem blew which took out the outside tire which caused the load to shift and fall onto our car. One of my sisters landed in intensive care. The last time was a couple summers ago and I was on a trarric stop under a bridge. A passing dump truck had a blowout on the left stear axle tire. Sounded like a bomb went off. It took off the front fender and brake chamber. No, these instances have nothing to do with LT tires on RV's. Just examples of how much damage can occur. Fortunately we have never had a flat or blowout on any of our RV's and our current 5th wheel happens to have Chinese made tires. Yes, I have some concerns about them but as I keep an eye out for cold tire temps and axle weights, am not too concerned. Any sign of trouble and they are gone the way of the wooly mammoth. Light truck tires are for light trucks, trailer tires are for trailers and never the twain shall mix. My .02.
Joe
Joe
I've personally never heard of a properly loaded LT tire blowing on an RV application. I've heard of literally hundreds of properly loaded/inflated ST tires blowing on trailers. Your life, your choice. I replaced the ST in my trailer with LT's the first week I owned it. With a speed rating of 99 vs 65, which do you think is the stronger built tire?
Problem is the ST SHOULD be built with stronger sidewalls but from the evidence of tire failures I've had, seen or heard of, it appears they aren't.
I had a lawn guy next door a few weeks ago with a load of dirt on his tandem utility trailer. Tires looked almost flat, axles where bowed out, scared me to death. I looked at the tires just for fun and there where 4 different passanger car tires/rims on the trailer. The lawn guy swears he's never had a blowout, just tires cut and punctured from his many trips to the city dump. He gets all his tires/wheels from a local auto salvage yard (guess what's now on my utility trailer)..
Look around at what people that tow their trailers for a living use. You'll find VERY few ST tires. Just the recreational users getting sucked into the ST market hype and having to replace blown ones every few thousand miles..
I blew one ST tire on a tandem axle boat trailer (carlisle with about 500 miles on it) and of course it was on major freeway. It scared me half to death while changing it. When I got the boat home I immediately replaced the tires with LT tires. Six years later and with another owner the same tires are still working fine on that trailer. The other ST tires I took off the trailer had splits down the tread.
Your choice but it's a clear choice to me.
* This post was
edited 03/30/09 09:13am by nolra *
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camper26
Lancaster PA
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Joined: 09/30/2003
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I will take a Goodyear, Michelin, BF Goodrich, Firestone etc. "LT" tire over a generic name brand "ST" tire anyday. 95% of the tire issues you read about are cheap ST tires. The only reason more manufacturers do not offer the LT tires from factory is because of the cost. The LT tires are a better tire and cost more. They take the cheap route. Just look at any unmounted LT tire versus an ST tire. The difference is clear. I'll stay with my LT tires.
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kakampers
Fulltimer
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The only ST tire worth anything today is the Goodyear G614...However, if Michelin made a G rated tire they'd be on my Bighorn faster than you could spit!!!
The XPS Rib is the best tire we've ever used on a trailer, and we've never had anything other than Michelin on our trucks and have never had so much as a flat tire, much less a blowout!
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