Trailer Towing – ST Tires vs. LT Tires

[wdk450]

I have a friend who is the asst. manager of a very large tire store here. . . . .
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 culprits. He emphasizes to check the pressure regularly, do regular visuals for damage and to stay with in speed ratings.

Terry

1. I try to follow the California Maximum Towing speed of 55 MPH whenever I tow the Bighorn. Travelling 4 hours at 55 mph instead of 65 MPH costs me 40 miles, or about an hour, and I am retired. I think it helps stretch fuel economy, too.
2. I got a TireTrak monitoring/alarm system that lets me know current pressures and temperatures, and alarms if there are any significant changes in those. In fact, I usually get an false alarm for leakage when I stop on a long trip for a rest break. The short term decrease in tire pressure due to the tires cooling down does this. I have had the TireTrak save me from disaster when a tire REALLY WAS losing pressure due to a shredded sidewall (broken drum at bearing collar).

 

[BarneyFife]

Although I respect the article, its hard to fully understand considering all the TowMax explosions both here and on rv.net.

I have switched to Marathons. Yep, Chinese made but it appears GoodYear stands behind their product if tread separation occurs.

If I do much interstate traveling and knowing I could exceed 65 mph at times, does this mean I should pump the Marathons up to 90 psi? Max pressure on the tire says 80 psi. Am I reading that correctly?

 

[jnbhobe]

Yep, Thats what they are saying. And ten pounds extra is not a problem. I see my pressures go up 15 to 25 psi on a hot day or in the sun.

 

[blacklabbob]

Excellent article. Should end questions on the "hot button" issue, but it won't. RV owners are much more informed than any genuine tire expert, right?What I do know is that my 13,500 lb. 5th wheel trailer is NOT my 4500 pound Light Truck.Amen.

 

[scottyb]

Excellent article. Should end questions on the "hot button" issue, but it won't. RV owners are much more informed than any genuine tire expert, right?What I do know is that my 13,500 lb. 5th wheel trailer is NOT my 4500 pound Light Truck.Amen.

You have a 4500 lb light truck?

 

[hobie17j]

I got rid of my china bomb tires and replaced them with LT Bridgestone tires and they have not given me any trouble....tow at 70 and 75 all the time. Fuel mileage goes up when I slow down to 65. Just traveled 1468 miles and no problems....mountains and flat

 

[jmgratz]

One thing I would like to say about traveling 55 mph. You are a traffic hazard when the speed limit is 75 mph like it is in Texas. Although I do not tow at 75, I tow at 65 you are really a hazard at 55 mph. Think about it, because those that are driving the 75 mph speed limit (they are not speeding) have to change lanes to move around you. Every time they change lanes they deviate from traveling in a straight line which puts them at more danger. Research has shown when you travel at that much slower than the other traffic you present a hazard. I know you think you are being safe but consider maybe you really are not.

 

[JanAndBill]

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???

As the owner of a trucking company for 25 years, I can tell you that tires were a major expense. When we first started out we were running 11R24.5's, then we went to LP24.5's, then 11R22.5's and finally settled on LP22.5's. For us tire size was dictated by economics. Going to the smaller, lighter tire meant more payload capacity, and the advent of the computerized engines meant the fuel mileage wasn't affected by the smaller tire. Underinflation and curbs were the biggest tire killers in the fleet. As we had many trailers dropped at customer locations, drivers and the customers were notorious for not reporting tire damage.

I switched to Goodyear G614's not because of problems with the Towmax tires. We had close to 10,000 miles on the existing tires without any problems. For me it was a matter of wanting to run at 68-70 on the interstate without worry. The same attention to details, inflation and avoiding road hazards applies to the Goodyears. If RV manufacturers really wanted to "solve" the problem, they would go to 17.5's

Another point, one of the previous posters mentioned "plugging" tires like truckers do. Plugging a tire is not an acceptable fix on any heavy duty tire, nor is it something that we did.

 

[BigJim45]

One thing I would like to say about traveling 55 mph. You are a traffic hazard when the speed limit is 75 mph like it is in Texas. Although I do not tow at 75, I tow at 65 you are really a hazard at 55 mph. Think about it, because those that are driving the 75 mph speed limit (they are not speeding) have to change lanes to move around you. Every time they change lanes they deviate from traveling in a straight line which puts them at more danger. Research has shown when you travel at that much slower than the other traffic you present a hazard. I know you think you are being safe but consider maybe you really are not.

In the state of Calif the speed limit is set at 55mph when towing. I travel I-5 where the top speed is 70mph and don't have any problems. When not towing I set my speed control at 75 and still have to move over for others that like to go 80 to 90. Oh by the way truckers have to go 55 also, but they don't.

 

[jmgratz]

In the state of Calif the speed limit is set at 55mph when towing. I travel I-5 where the top speed is 70mph and don't have any problems. When not towing I set my speed control at 75 and still have to move over for others that like to go 80 to 90. Oh by the way truckers have to go 55 also, but they don't.

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I was thinking of Texas where the speed for all vehicles is 75 and even 85 on some roads. Going 55 under those conditions makes you a real hazard. Even going 65 when the other traffic is going 85 becomes dangerous.


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[westxsrt10]

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I was thinking of Texas where the speed for all vehicles is 75 and even 85 on some roads. Going 55 under those conditions makes you a real hazard. Even going 65 when the other traffic is going 85 becomes dangerous.


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Where is the speed limit 85?

 

[jmgratz]

The speed limit is 85 on a toll road between Austin and San Antonio and in places in West Texas


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[Duramax1]

Going 85 mph with a Landmark is a death wish, unfortunately it might involve others.

 

[JohnDar]

The speed limit (aka. maximum) may be 85, but what is the posted minimum allowable speed? Even without the rig, 85 mph is crazy. 65 mph with the trailer on is fast enough for me. Any hot shot snotbubble wants to take issue with me on the road may be looking down a barrel.

 

[danemayer]

Some of those 85mph highways have armadillo speed bumps.

 

[wdk450]

I was behind a vehicle towing a utility trailer that had a fishtailing accident, and ended up on the underpass side berm years ago. It was scary as **** to see this accident developing in front of me. I think he was going about 65 mph (10 mph over the Ca. towed vehicle speed limit).

 

[jmgratz]

I think the minimum speed on the 85 mph toll road is 45 mph. Think about the closing speed when you are traveling 65 coming up on someone going 45.

 

[dewwood]

I agree with Jim, failure to maintain a reasonable speed on the highway is far more dangerous than going a little faster. I am not advocating doing 85 pulling a trailer but keeping withing reasonable distance of the other traffic is much safer than being a slow moving hazard. I have come much closer to being involved in an accident when a slow moving vehicle causes a backup than when a faster moving vehicle passes me. I realize we must be aware of what is going on around us (ahead and behind) but backups cause people to do crazy and dangerous things.

 

[scottyb]

Nothing like cruising 70 mph in car up I-5 through the central valley of CA, when a truck swerves in front of you and cuts you of, doing 55.1 mph to pass a whole row of them doing 55.0 mph. Traffic gets stacked up for a mile or so, then all the intelligence comes out. I love the state, but their law makers sure have made a mess.

 

[DW_Gray]

A special message especially for those who insist on LT tires for your trailer: I hope you keep the cold air pressure up to the allowable maximum. Read the revised Step 5 on Fifth Wheel St. to learn the new recommendation.