Any Consensus on Trailer Tire Brands???

[Dougster]

Just blew out two brand new Loadstar brand trailer tires this weekend and am looking to replace all tires and wheels on both of my 10K trailers with 16" 235 width radial tires in Load Range E (preferably) or D (if necessary). I don't trust the little 15" 225 width Load Range D junk tires anymore on an equipment or dump trailer.

Is there any consensus at all on trailer tire brands? Is any one brand considered the best? If not, which brands are considered more reliable? The archived threads here seem to indicate various tire deficiencies & problems with all of the currently available brands... although most of those brands have names I would never know outside of the trailer realm. Most are apparently imported from you-know-where.

Also, I am stuck with 6-bolt hubs on all axles and am having a hard time finding Load Range E tires mounted on 6-bolt wheels. Seems they put only 16" Load Range D tires on 6-bolt wheels and Load Range E tires on 8-bolt wheels. Is this an inadequate or mismatched wheel strength issue? Am I crazy and/or wasting money special ordering 16" Load Range E tires on 6-bolt wheels?

Dougster

 

[Jimbrown]

Personanly I have have never had any luck with so called trailer tires. I would repalce them with Lt 235 80 16 load range E and be done with it.

 

[Dougster]

Personanly I have have never had any luck with so called trailer tires. I would repalce them with Lt 235 80 16 load range E and be done with it.

Hi Jim - Thanks for the feedback. I have seen that kind of statement a number of times before... but I'm confused about why a light truck tire of equal rating would work out better than a purpose-built trailer tire. Is there a technical explanation for this? Or is this all from experience and observation... generally empirical knowledge?

Dougster

 

[Mike_VT]

I have carlisle trailer tires and they the same tires that they transport pre fab homes on and never have had a problem. You might want to check them out

 

[Dougster]

I have carlisle trailer tires and they the same tires that they transport pre fab homes on and never have had a problem. You might want to check them out

Thanks Mike. I noted some complaints on that particular brand in a different thread here... but then again, I think there have been complaints on just about all the brands at one time or another. I'll do some research and check them out!

Dougster

 

[8561]

Hey Doug -

There are certainly many knowledgeable posters on this site that will give you great advice. The best advice I can give you is to also check out rv.net. It's a very large RV and camper discussion site, and tire discussions are pretty routine there. Those folks lives are all about towing heavy loads, mostly on trailer tires, and I think you'll get great info and advice there in addition to what you get here.

 

[Dougster]

Hey Doug - There are certainly many knowledgeable posters on this site that will give you great advice. The best advice I can give you is to also check out rv.net. It's a very large RV and camper discussion site, and tire discussions are pretty routine there. Those folks lives are all about towing heavy loads, mostly on trailer tires, and I think you'll get great info and advice there in addition to what you get here.

Thanks for the excellent tip Tim. I'll go see what's going on over there!

Dougster

 

[thatguy]

I have carlisle trailer tires and they the same tires that they transport pre fab homes on and never have had a problem. You might want to check them out

I have had horrible experiences with Carlisle tires (at least in the 13" camper sizes)... 3 original tires blew out separately - causing about $800 worth of camper damage..

If you frequent any of the camping forum - it seems that there is not a single great trailer tire.. All are subject to blowing at some point without notice..

I think the LT (light truck) tires make decent trailer tires because of the stiffer sidewalls.. BUT I think the ST (special trailer) have special rubber that keeps them from deterating in the sun as fast..

 

[Dougster]

I have had horrible experiences with Carlisle tires (at least in the 13" camper sizes)... 3 original tires blew out separately - causing about $800 worth of camper damage.. If you frequent any of the camping forum - it seems that there is not a single great trailer tire.. All are subject to blowing at some point without notice.. I think the LT (light truck) tires make decent trailer tires because of the stiffer sidewalls.. BUT I think the ST (special trailer) have special rubber that keeps them from deterating in the sun as fast..

Yeah, my research into trailer tires is not going well at all. Looks like all I can buy anywhere is pure Chinese junk. They should at least make them put "Made in China" on the tires in big letters where you can see it so you will stop to think how dangerous they are. They almost killed me this past weekend and I am not in a hurry to let it happen again.

But I still don't know about this "light truck tire" alternative approach. I can find very little hard evidence anywhere to support the notion that LT tires are inherently safer than ST tires when installed on a trailer. The only clear advantage is that I may still be able to find American-made LT tires. No such luck with ST tires. If anyone can point me at a legitimate study or maybe a premium trailer manufacturer that actually uses or recommends LT tires be used on their trailers in lieu of ST tires, please do so. This is literally a potential life or death matter.

Whatever I do, upgrading eight tires and wheels will not be inexpensive. I need to make sure I do it right the first time. No more near-death experiences... thank you!

Dougster

 

[thatguy]

Good luck finding better information.. I have seen a lot of equipment trailers with LT tires on them as OEM.. On smaller campers (popups) the Duro brand tires have a good reputation - but I dont know what they make in larger sizes..

I swear if I could find some sort of solid rubber tire that wouldn't shake my camper to death I would put them on there in heart beat.. For the most part it seems everyone that has a trailer has had tire problems..

keep us posted

Brian