Posted 2010-07-26 7:24 PM (#122817) Subject: Thos of you who run LT tires on your trailers!!!
Member
Posts: 12
Location: NEW SMYRNA BEACH, FL
After two blowouts within an hour of each other on the way home from GA I figured it was time to replace my tires...I have done A LOT of research on tires in attempt to prevent the above situation from EVER happening again! I decided on the BFG Commercial T/A's since I run the traction T/A's on my 350 and LOVE them. After much reading on the internet I found people saying that the LT tires made their trailer sway and the sidewalls were too soft for the tight turns we make in our 5th wheels. NOW im sooo confused on what to buy!
What is yall's experience with LT tires...I have a 2005 Exiss 6 Horse with an aftermarket weekender. Any opinions at this point would be great!
Posted 2010-07-26 8:04 PM (#122822 - in reply to #122817) Subject: RE: Thos of you who run LT tires on your trailers!!!
Expert
Posts: 5870 Location: western PA
Originally written by FL_BWAB on 2010-07-26 8:24 PM
After much reading on the internet I found people saying that the LT tires made their trailer sway and the sidewalls were too soft for the tight turns we make in our 5th wheels. NOW im sooo confused on what to buy!
What is yall's experience with LT tires...I have a 2005 Exiss 6 Horse with an aftermarket weekender. Any opinions at this point would be great!
I can't offer advice about 5th wheel hitches. I can say that for GN and BP trailers, LT truck tires work very well indeed. Never a blow out, never any unusal swaying, only stable and accurate towing under every condition. If a tire has enough side wall for a 3 - 4 ton vehicle, whilst steering it through corners at highway speeds, it will have little difficulty pulling down the road. In addition, it will usually die of old age before it wears out.
Most tires will suffer at slow speeds while the trailer is being jack knifed, regardless of its type. A bias ply tire will not drag on the sidewall as much as a radial during this maneuver.
Do a search on LT tires and you'll find many advocates within this forum. Most owners run them at their max inflation rates. I for one recommend their usage, and would not have a horse trailer equipped with anything other than a LT truck tire. If they're good enough for my truck, they'll work on the trailer as well.
Posted 2010-07-26 9:02 PM (#122824 - in reply to #122817) Subject: RE: Thos of you who run LT tires on your trailers!!!
Member
Posts: 12
Location: NEW SMYRNA BEACH, FL
Thanks...I did mean GN and not 5th wheel though...I have a 5th wheel RV and got confused for a sec there. I was thinking the same thing...they are great on the truck..I suppose worse case senerio I could always put them on my truck at a later date if I dont like them on the trailer.
Posted 2010-07-27 7:42 AM (#122838 - in reply to #122817) Subject: RE: Thos of you who run LT tires on your trailers!!!
Regular
Posts: 70 Location: PA
We had a similar situation recently on our 2006 - 3 horse 10 ft LQ trailer that we just purchased in April. It had Firestones on it that looked like brand new and we made it home from Alabama to PA empty with no problem. First trip, we loaded horses & blew a rear driver side tire in driveway - looked like someone had slashed sidewall - went to F/S dealer & also took one of the other tires (just to have it checked) - they matched the tire & said everything OK & couldn't site reason it blew. Going camping Memorial Day & left at 4AM, still dark & traffic came to halt & truck driver came back & said he had been trying to call us on CB (we hadn't turned it on) asked if we knew we had blowout on trailer? Husband & I looked at each other? This time it was front driver side & again the sidewall blew) Trucker said we would be stopped for about an hour so we pulled off on shoulder & changed the tire. We were so thankful since we never felt the tire blow & don't know how long that other tire might have carried the load by itself, even though it was new. We felt God was really watching over us. After that I also did a lot of research - Firestones were an E load (10 ply) & "plate on trailer" called for an F load (12 ply). I also read info in this forum and spoke to people with trailers bigger than mine & wound up buying Goodyear G614 (LT235/85R16G - G load 14 ply) ww.Goodyear.com/RV/Products. These tires are made for trailers. When I went to pick up my trailer, they were still mounting them & I was able to see the difference in the sidewall and there was no comparison. The sidewall on this Goodyear is really thick! We are running the Firestones on the front of our F-350 and they are fine there but our conclusion was that they were just not a heavy enough tire (sidewall) for the trailer. One of our friends has an 01 Sundowner 4H/LQ & the G/Y was the original tire & he still has them on and he probably has about 40,000 miles on his trailer. The other issue was proper inflation & plate on trailer says F Load - 80 PSI, however, we did have the tires properly inflated to 80PSI. Goodyear's are either 100 or 110 PSI (can't remember but it's on the tire) & we were advised to inflate to what tire calls for. I am sure you will receive a lot of good advice from the experts on this site but just wanted to share our experience & hope it helps. When you are pulling that much weight & have horses on board, you don't want to worry about blowouts.
Posted 2010-07-27 7:49 AM (#122839 - in reply to #122817) Subject: RE: Thos of you who run LT tires on your trailers!!!
Elite Veteran
Posts: 1069 Location: MI.
Ok, I have read opinions on this a lot. I am buying tires for our 8000 lb. axle trailer. One last time, what tires should I get? Sorry for hijacking the thread.....
Posted 2010-07-27 8:03 AM (#122840 - in reply to #122839) Subject: RE: Thos of you who run LT tires on your trailers!!!
Expert
Posts: 3802 Location: Rocky Mount N.C.
Originally written by Gone on 2010-07-27 8:49 AM
Ok, I have read opinions on this a lot. I am buying tires for our 8000 lb. axle trailer. One last time, what tires should I get? Sorry for hijacking the thread.....
If they are 16" wheels, I would spend the cash and purchase these.... They only come in one size. They are what I ran on our 6 horse head to head with 8000# axles. Rated at 3750# at 110 psi. Be sure your rims will support 110 psi.
Thos of you who run LT tires on your trailers!!!
Ok, I have read opinions on this a lot. I am buying tires for our 8000 lb. axle trailer. One last time, what tires should I get? Sorry for hijacking the thread.....