Trailer Towing – ST Tires vs. LT Tires

Mark Polk of RV Education 101 wrote this excellent article:
Trailer Towing – ST Tires vs. LT Tires

Great article. Thank you for posting.

A couple of years ago, I got caught up in the excitement of people "upgrading" their trailer tires and went so far as to go to my trusted local tire dealer. After a couple of minutes of talking with the owner, he gave me a much needed education on much of what this article talks about. He stressed proper inflation, regular inspection of sidewalls, reasonable driving speed when towing (always under 65 mph, no matter what), and healthy dose of common sense. LT tires, of course, are not intended to sit in one spot for months at a time either. Further, he believed so strongly that LT tires do not belong on my 5th wheel that he told me that his shop will not sell them to anyone for use on a 5er. Proper tool for the job, and all that.

We still have the original tires on our unit. Next summer, I plan to replace them not because they're worn out, but because I think 5 years is old enough for something as important as tires.

Great article. Thanks for sharing.


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Great article - BUT - I went through the China Bomb mess with Mission tires on my Heartland Cyclone. Went to LT tires 2 years ago and have had no more tire problems. Tire explosions cause way to much grief and money for repairs, I'll stick with LT.

I think 'Quality' is the main issue regarding the use of ST tires. The ST blow outs occure because of the use of cheaper junk brands, not construction. How often you heard of a Maxxis ST tire failing?

This LT vs ST tire argument will go on forever. Those who promote using ST tires have probably never tried a set of the "others". I haven't had any problems with or because of my LT tires. How many stories have you read about major damage or the infamous "2 blowouts" in one day from someone using LT tires? I will never have anything but LT tires on my rig. You can choose whatever you want...That's my story and I'm sticking to it..Don

GOTTOYS said:

This LT vs ST tire argument will go on forever. Those who promote using ST tires have probably never tried a set of the "others". I haven't had any problems with or because of my LT tires. How many stories have you read about major damage or the infamous "2 blowouts" in one day from someone using LT tires? I will never have anything but LT tires on my rig. You can choose whatever you want...That's my story and I'm sticking to it..Don

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X2
Another Don

I am digging the 17.5's.

My previous unit came from the factory with LT tires. I have seem many trailers with factory equipped LT tires.

The ST LT discussion is much like the Ford, Dodge, Chevy discussion. It is much a matter of opinion and experience. Me, I drive a Ford and use LT E rated on the truck and ST G rated on the RV. I have had blowouts with Michelin LT tires, Goodyear G614s, China Bombs and both the ST and LT. I had Michelin LT E rated on the Alfa Gold 5er we used to have and had a blowout on it. Seems to me this is a no win argument but good information to have. BTW my independent tire dealer recommends changing tires on the RV every 3 years regardless of the appearance of them.

Has not anyone noticed that the source of much of the advice contained in this article is based on research from Goodyear. If Goodyear is recommending the use of ST over LT why then are people inclined to change to GOODYEAR LT tires. I do not understand this.

Personally, I am using Maxxis ST.

Duramax1 said:

Has not anyone noticed that the source of much of the advice contained in this article is based on research from Goodyear. If Goodyear is recommending the use of ST over LT why then are people inclined to change to GOODYEAR LT tires. I do not understand this.

Personally, I am using Maxxis ST.

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Goodyear g614 also has RST as part of its name.


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The commercial 17.5's are recommended to be replaced about every 6-8 years.

My plan is to keep these when I sell the Rv in the future and put new tires on the stock rims. Keep these for the next RV as these cost to much.

I am admittedly new to RVing as it has been years since I had one in the past. When reading my HL owners manual I noted that it said the ST tires are rated for 65 mph and they recommend no driving at this speed for any length of time.

I have a friend who is the *** manager of a very large tire store here. (They provided most of the tires for Monaco Coaches that were built here. He agreed with the HL owners manual. He said if I want to drive much over 55mph to go to LT tires. He then shared his first experience with RV tires. He and his wife bought a new pull trailer and were going to Rushmore. He though he should chnge his tires and his wife talked him out of it. He blew 2 tires and the last one did over $5000 damage to the coach.

He said any tire can blow but the major cause is over heating. Driving ST tires to fast and inadequate air pressure are the biggest culprets. He emphasises to check the pressure regularly, do regular visuals for damage and to stay with in speed ratings.

Terry

"if tires with the ST designation are used at speeds between 66 and 75 mph (106 km/h and 121 km/h), it is necessary to increase the cold inflation pressure by 10 psi (69 kPa) above the recommended pressure for the rated maximum load."

I found the add 10 psi if you drive between 66 and 75 mph information interesting. I do find myself traveling 68 to 70 mph. This puts the rpms right at 2000 and seems to be where I get the best mpgs.

Gang:
You know a lot of the things we Big Rig RVers do is based on what the professional truckers do. Like pulling with diesels. So what kind of tires are on professional truck trailers???

I just had 1 of my LR G tire repaired that had a slow leak. It is 4 years old and leaked for 3 of those years. It had 3 peace of metal in the threads and only one went through the tire due to the thickness of the threads. We removed the other 2 imbeded in the rubber and every thing is fine. They put a plug in like they would on heavy truck tires and told me that the Freestar tires look like great tires.

I had ST Good Year tires on previous 5th wheel and had blowouts all the time and got mad at the cost and installed cheap LT tires with 600 lbs per tire less load rating an my troubles were over. After over 6 years of trouble free travel and over 60k miles we traded the trailer with tires still looking fine and no real bad signs of wear. And 4 of those years have been while fulltiming. I will only use LT tires on my trailers and that is by past experience.

ST tires to me is a money making gimmick that permit suppliers bypass the more important specs of LT tires.

PS. If there was as many failures on passenger vehicles as on ST equipped trailers we would have a safety epidemic on our hands. I see more trailers stuck with failed tires and bearings then other vehicles and never any transports trailers. The odd trailer tire carcass. But there is bearly .01% that are RVs on the highways.

In my career I never repeated the same mistake twice and therefore I will not understand this propaganda I keep reading about. Failures cost us money though not a serious safety concern. So noting is being done about it.

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Our thoughts exactly. Replace after 5 years is the way to stay safe.
So, even with the ST we shouldn't tow over 65?

wyleyrabbit said:

Great article. Thank you for posting.

A couple of years ago, I got caught up in the excitement of people "upgrading" their trailer tires and went so far as to go to my trusted local tire dealer. After a couple of minutes of talking with the owner, he gave me a much needed education on much of what this article talks about. He stressed proper inflation, regular inspection of sidewalls, reasonable driving speed when towing (always under 65 mph, no matter what), and healthy dose of common sense. LT tires, of course, are not intended to sit in one spot for months at a time either. Further, he believed so strongly that LT tires do not belong on my 5th wheel that he told me that his shop will not sell them to anyone for use on a 5er. Proper tool for the job, and all that.

We still have the original tires on our unit. Next summer, I plan to replace them not because they're worn out, but because I think 5 years is old enough for something as important as tires.

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wdk450 said:

Gang:
You know a lot of the things we Big Rig RVers do is based on what the professional truckers do. Like pulling with diesels. So what kind of tires are on professional truck trailers???

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That would be going to a 17.5. The H Rated and J Rated tires are similar to those one the big rigs. As the Cooper RM 160 tire I am running is defined for drive and tow applications with a speed rating of 75 mph.

Mind you, you will find these 17.5's on big rig trailers such as a double drop equipment hauler. Usually though it will be a J rated and not the H Rated.

I'm retired now, but that "*** manager" position sounds pretty interesting! lol
(sorry, sometimes I can't help myself)

tljack said:

I am admittedly new to RVing as it has been years since I had one in the past. When reading my HL owners manual I noted that it said the ST tires are rated for 65 mph and they recommend no driving at this speed for any length of time.

I have a friend who is the *** manager of a very large tire store here. (They provided most of the tires for Monaco Coaches that were built here. He agreed with the HL owners manual. He said if I want to drive much over 55mph to go to LT tires. He then shared his first experience with RV tires. He and his wife bought a new pull trailer and were going to Rushmore. He though he should chnge his tires and his wife talked him out of it. He blew 2 tires and the last one did over $5000 damage to the coach.

He said any tire can blow but the major cause is over heating. Driving ST tires to fast and inadequate air pressure are the biggest culprets. He emphasises to check the pressure regularly, do regular visuals for damage and to stay with in speed ratings.

Terry

Click to expand...