Tire, tires, tires…..what to buy?

I’ve never had such a headache! Trailer tires have to be the worst thing to research. Consumer Reports doesn’t even test them!

So off to the web I go surfing the BIG wave of opinions.  Everyone has one, including me. So I start looking for the best ST225/75R15 LRE tire. I have 15” wheels and really do not want to invest in new wheels. The ones I have are rated up to 2830lbs and 3 years old.

History –

2005 Keystone Cougar 5^th wheel, 35’ with a GVWR of 11,790 lbs.  Original tires were Mission’s LRD. 2^nd set of tires were Carlisle’s LRD’s. I replaced the missions in 2008 and never had an issue with them.  We lived in Michigan sold our home and headed to North Carolina. After a blow out on the driver’s side I knew it was tire time again.  Was the pressure low on the one that blew?  Maybe, one of the rare times that I visual looked and said, “those look ok”.  Was it the tire or my stupidity? I’ll never know. Now it’s time again.

Until October 2011 we used the trailer for the typical weekend trips and a few long vacation trips, one around 4,500 miles.  In October of 2011 we became full-timers. Staying in North Carolina from October thru February of 2012 tires were not a major concern but in February we will start a long trip from North Carolina, to Arizona, Colorado, Utah, Montana, South Dakota then Mass via Michigan.  A lot of miles!

Concerned with tires and an avid, replace ‘em every 3 years I seriously starting looking.  I want tires to be the last thing I’m concerned with on the trip, short of checking air pressure and wear. I plan to install a tire monitoring system as well.

So what’s available in the 15” inch market that RV’rs rave about?  Not much!  I found a lot of post bashing Carlisle. To be honest I don’t know if Carlisle is really that bad or victim of selling a large percentage of trailer tires but in any case it’s very hard to find anything good about them.

China, China, China……don’t get a tire there. That goes for Goodyear, and others….I don’t know how many times I read that. 

Highly recommended, Michelin ribs (not available under 16”), Goodyear G16’s (again 16” + wheels)….and also $280-$360 per tire plus the cost of rims in my case.  And yes, the argument is made that you get what you pay for but if a Carlisle goes 3 years without issue versus a $360 tire, I’ll go with the less expensive tire.  Well, guess I fell somewhat victim to all the complaints.

Generally speaking, I read far more complaints about just about every tire company than positive comments. But, I suppose like most things most people are drawn to complain not praise much as I am here.

All said, I think the biggest arguable contribution to tire failure from what I read is speed, overloading and under inflation.  If all three are kept in check, I expect complaints would not be on blow outs but rather age.

After total frustration of reading and going to or calling just about every local tire dealership and getting recommendation for tires I’ve never heard of before to the ones that everyone complains about I finally made a decision that took months.

Maxxis M8008 ST225/75R LRE. Why Maxxis?  Price was moderate but certainly not the cheapest. It was a name I’m familiar with. It seemed to have the least negative comments and most positive that I could find. Based on my research, did not appear to be made in China.

Why Load Range E’s?  The factory D concerned me. 11,790 / 4 = 2,947.5 per tire. Load Range E’s are 2,830. Assuming even 15% on the pin, 11,790 * 15% = 1,768 that drops it to 10,022 or 2,505 per tire.

I viewthat as breathing room with the E’s and way to close with the D’s.  After all, as full-timers we carry everything with us but stay within the proper load ratings. The 5^th wheel has two slides on each side in the back. The E’s made more sense and don’t cost that much more and gives me some peace of mind.