New Tires for the North Trail

Our trailer came with Duro tires and are being replaced as they are four years old and aging. After much discussion and research, we are going with Kumho tires with load range D. They are rated for 99 mph. The tires are being shipped motor freight and will be here Monday. Vacation is mid July to Asheville, NC, so that trip will be the real test of the tires. There are few tire choices for 14 inch tires.

If you have not yet purchased these tires, please read THIS.

Peace
Dave

Saildogs said:

Our trailer came with Duro tires and are being replaced as they are four years old and aging. After much discussion and research, we are going with Kumho tires with load range D. They are rated for 99 mph. The tires are being shipped motor freight and will be here Monday. Vacation is mid July to Asheville, NC, so that trip will be the real test of the tires. There are few tire choices for 14 inch tires.

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I would advise NOT to go 99MPH when pulling your trailer . . .

My Trail Runner starts to sway if I push it over 65MPH (I know, my tires are only rated to 65MPH, so I try to keep it there or lower).

Let us know how those tires work out. (EDIT - I see that a bad rating has been given for the tire brand you are considering in post)

I have the BlowMax tires on my 2013 Trail Runner and am planning on replacing them sometime this year . . . although my truck needs new tires first!

I have around 3000 miles on my BlowMax's . . . and so far they look like new!

I check them all the time for imperfections and keep them inflated to the stated pressure . . .

PLUS . . . I HAD THEM BALANCED!

I had light truck (LT) tires on our old travel trailer for 12 years and never once EVER had to worry about tire troubles, so will probably go that route when getting new trailer tires!

By the by . . . those LT tires were on that trailer when we bought it used, and were still on it when we traded it in almost two years ago . . . and are probably still on it now!

I hope you don't really think we will tow at 99 mph. LOL Tow speed for us is normally under 65 mph although our truck could make that trailer fly.

Regarding the Kumho tires, there are folks on RV Net Forum who have had good luck with the Kumho trailer tires. Choices for us were Maxxis or Carlisle in the 14 inch size but they were still ST tires. The Duro tires gave us good service for four years so if the Kumdo do the same, we will be pleased. It seems that tire buying needs Merlin the Magician to help make the choice.

We did go with the Kumho tires that were installed om July 3. The tires are radials and were balanced and the trailer seems to ride more smoothly than with the original Duro tires. We leave for Asheville, NC, on July 19, so this will be the real test of the new tires. Plans are to tow at maximum of 65 mph. Having tires rated at a higher mph gives a better feeling of confidence towing a steady 65 on the interstates.

UPDATE on the Kumho Tires we had installed before vacation. The trip was from MD to VA to NC to VA and back to MD using Interstate 81 for most of the travel while towing. The Kumho tires performed exactly as we had hoped in that we felt comfortable towing a steady 65 and hitting 70 when passing. The tires were balanced when installed and the trailer towed much better than with the DURO ST tires.

Our North Trail will need tires before long. I have been reading NT forum posts and other RV forums. I am just as unsure now as when I started. The ST vs LT conversations are amazing. My trailer is 8800# max, although I have not had it weighed. (going to next week). They say that anything over 10000# should use the LT tires. Why is that a magic number?? I drive 65 but occasionally when passing go over that. The tires that came with the rig are PowerKing Towmax. I monitor the inflation and temp with sensors and have not had any problems yet (knock on wood). Still looking for that definitive advice on which tires are better. Considering goodyear or Michelin, but still vacillating!

chiefaret said:

Our North Trail will need tires before long. I have been reading NT forum posts and other RV forums. I am just as unsure now as when I started. The ST vs LT conversations are amazing. My trailer is 8800# max, although I have not had it weighed. (going to next week). They say that anything over 10000# should use the LT tires. Why is that a magic number?? I drive 65 but occasionally when passing go over that. The tires that came with the rig are PowerKing Towmax. I monitor the inflation and temp with sensors and have not had any problems yet (knock on wood). Still looking for that definitive advice on which tires are better. Considering goodyear or Michelin, but still vacillating!

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Hey Steve . . .

Do you have any relatives from Southern Michigan or Northern Indiana?

Ahrens was my mom's maiden name . . .


As for the tire issue . . . I plan on replacing my BlowMax tires this winter . . . probably with LT tires!

My old trailer had LT tires on it when we bought it . . . and 13 years after that they were still on it when we traided it in for our current Heartland Trail Runner!

I just got my new truck one week ago tonight, and it has Firestone Transforce HT tires on it, and they seem to be bad@$$, so I'm hoping I can get them in the right size to fit my trailer.

There is a Firestone store two blocks from my house, so will be stopping in there this fall to get them ordered in!

No relatives that I know of in Mich or Indiana. My dad was from Iowa and his parents came from Germany. Could be some relatives, but I not into genealogy so anything is possible.