Tires

[skybear4]

There seems to be an abundance of opinions on the "best" tires to run on a TD. My original ST205/75 D 14 tires got less than 8K miles before needing to be replaced. My trailer is approximately 1400 lbs. and is pulled by a Toyota Highlander. I'd like to be able to drive 70-75 mph when possible but wonder if my trailer is bouncing along at times contributing to uneven and faster wearing of the tires. I'm thinking of going to a radial or even an LT tire. I'm generally told that around 10K miles is the usual mileage to expect on a trailer tire but
I'm sure that has to depend on several factors like weight, size, single axle, etc. Would appreciate some feedback as this forum has years of trailer miles experience to consider.

[gudmund]

if you look at the tires you have, more and likely they are radials being "bias" ply tires for the masses have been out of production for years. (the "R" in the tire size means 'radial' - ST205/75'R'14 --ST means 'Special Trailer' if I remember right - and the LT that you are speaking of means 'Light Truck') ST Trailer tires are not really made for teardrops and I am also thinking of replacing mine with regular car tires when they need to be replaced. Trailer tires are made with extra thick sidewalls for stability which is needed on regular RV sized trailers. They also use much higher air pressures for this same reason along with the much higher weights they are loaded with. Using these high pressures could be why you ended up with some of the tire wear and the bouncing around being the typical teardrop is not heavy enough to keep these tire loaded down. I use the same size as yours which says to run them at 50 psi on their sidewall which I used for awhile, after some research I found the trailer rides better at 25 to 30 psi. If you check your tire manufacture, you will find they have a psi recommendation chart for different trailer weights for this size of tire, it says I can run as low as 25 psi for the weight of my trailers (same weight as yours). Car tires do not have as thick/HD sidewalls and after seeing all of the teardrops with them along with they not carrying as much weight or having the need for stability of the high mounted load of big trailers puts me into the thinking of using them when I replace mine - the weight rating carry load for them is more than enough for the weight of our trailers along with the softer sidewall would/will give a smoother ride.
PS. now the problem I am having with mine is just the opposite of yours - I have about 20000 miles on mine and are still not showing any wear - will probably have to replace them due to 'aging' the way they are wearing.

[yrock87]

this is one of those preverbal "can of worms". you will find many opinions on tires and each camp has followers who are very vocal about their opinions.

ST, special trailer, tires are designed to withstand the riggers of trailer use. they have stiffer sidewalls to counteract the forces of jackknifing trailers (especially dual axle trailers) their tred resist the scrubbing from dual axle trailers making tight turns. they except very high PSI to accommodate the high weights of trailers and they allegedly are formulated to withstand being left unused for months on end better than passenger tires. I have even read that they withstand exhaust chemicals better due to their location behind vehicles. lastly they hold their shape better, not deflecting as much at the road surface, which decreases rolling resistance. a drawback to ST tires is that generally are limited to 55 mph. a few manufacturers allow you too add extra pressure at a given weight in order to go 65mph, assuming your load is light enough to add that extra pressure without surpassing the max pressure of the tire. nobody ever follows this "limit" but it is there none-the-less. ST tires are also more expensive than passenger tires. as a rule of thumb, standard passenger tires should be weight de-rated ~10% when used as trailer tires, ST tires do not have that limitation.

For what its worth, on a light TD I am using regular passenger tires, filled to about 28 psi. the trailer handles very well with this set up and after 1500miles I didn't see any excessive wear. these same passenger tires were originally filled to max psi (50?) and the trailer handled poorly. I am happy with my decision as the passenger tires are well within their weight rating and they provide a very stable ride at speeds in excess of 70mph.

I have also used passenger tires on my cargo trailer which made the 2400 mile trip from Fairbanks AK to the Seattle area. they also performed very well with a trailer that weighed 2400lbs. however my father is cursing himself for going "cheap" on his dual axle boat trailer by using passenger tires. his boat is heavy enough that there is significant deflection of the sidewall, which kills his MPG, he also experienced significant tread wear due to scrubbing of the tiers when maneuvering at ramps. his tandem axle car hauler handles better even when loaded down to nearly double the boat weight in large part because it has ST tires.

[Shadow Catcher]

After seeing a number of TD owners that had damage from catastrophic ST tire failures in very under loaded tires, I started looking into it in some depth.
In one study done by Good Sam better than 30% of RV owners had tire failures and these were folks who for the most part took care of them proper inflation... Part of this equation is manufactures not using tires with a sufficient load rating.
ALL of the ST tires I could find were made in China and one Goodyear tire exec I know personally said "they are junk".
ST tires are not tested to the same level as passenger car tires, according to the standards on the NHTSA site. Thinking is likely, it is less likely to kill some one.
Few catastrophic trailer tire reports are made to the NHTSA.

I decided to use passenger car tires and chose Michelin Harmony each of which has a load rating roughly equal to the entire weight of our tear drop so a substantial safety margin, and not made in China. They have an 80,000 mile warranty and will age out long before that.

[KennethW]

They have an 80,000 mile warranty and will age out long before that.

80,000 miles, just means a lot of long road trips!!