Using LT Tires to Replace ST

[floridarandy]

I've read most everything I can find and understand the differences. I'm comparing the Maxxis M8008ST, Goodyear Marathon ST, Michelin XPS LT and Bridgestone Duravis M895 LT.

Beginning Premise - LT tires seem to have fewer reported failures in 5th wheel applications. There have to be millions more LT tires on the road each year...like those on my F250. My Sundance 2900MK has a GVWR of 13,000 but my scale weights are 8080 so its hard to imagine i'd weigh more than 12,000 that would be the result of 4 LT tires and the axles at 6K each would only support 3000/side for tires anyway.

Max Weight

Maxxis - 3420 lbs
Goodyear - 3420
Michelin - 3042
Bridgestone 3042

Since I have 6000 lb axles I feel OK, especially after reading thread about more "reserve" capacity on the LT's.

Pressure - all are 80 PSI tires so existing rims should be no problem

Tire Height

Maxxis ST235/80R16 - 30.8"
Goodyear ST 235/80R16 - 30.7
Michelin LT 245/75/R16 - 30.6"
Bridgestone LT 245/75R16 - 30.7"

A little surprised that the 75 and 80 are about the same height as I'd thought the higher the number the taller the tire. But as long as they're the same height I should be OK.

Tire Section Width

Maxxis - 9.5"
Goodyear - 9.2"
Michelin - 9.6"
Bridgestone - 10"

I'll take another look under the rig but I can't think why a 1/2 of width at the widest point would be a problem? Comments?


Tread Depth

Maxxis - 9/32
Gooodyear - 10/32
Michelin - 14/32
Bridgestone - 14/32.

Price at Tirerack

Maxxis - Not available
Goodyear - $140.00 ea.
Michelin - $263.00 ea
Bridgestone - $194.00 ea

Conclusion - leaning toward the Bridgestone LT's in 245/75/R16.

As always I'll look forward to the combined wisdom of the group.

Randy in Florida

 

[YaShouldaGotaDiesel]

If you go that route, have you looked at a set of these?

http://www.discounttiredirect.com/direct/tires/hankook/size/viewProductDetail.do?pc=10837

 

[Ray LeTourneau]

While I'm no tire expert, I think you should also consider the required or suggested rim width for the tire you choose. The Bridgestone may requore a wider wheel. Also with the wider section width you may have some rubbing occur when maneuvering in tight situations. There are several members and I'm sure many more RVers running LT tires. This has been discussed in a few earlier threads. I believe the reason you see fewer reports of issues is due to the lower percentage of users. Just my nickels worth. I've heard good reports on the Maxxis tires too.

 

[branson4020]

You're better off than you think. If your rig loaded weighs 12,000 lbs, you have less than 2,500 lbs load on each wheel, assuming 2,000+ lbs for pin weight

 

[caissiel]

From my past experience I would never put any ST tires on a rig that can accomodate equal size LT tires. Watch the width for shock clearnce, its close on the inside.
I previously had many blowouts with ST's and got mad and replace them with LT's and ran them with 10PSI more pressure and 500Lbs per tire more weight then they were rated for, and never had a flat and the tires ran much cooler then the ST's. I had them on for over 6 years and 60K miles when we traded the trailer. They were still like new and no sign of aging. I barely got 2 years life out of the ST's, and at 200% the cost, for a period pof 8 years.

This is the same story I have told many times and I am confident that there will be a lot of comments on this.

LT tires according to an expert I read, have much higher specs and are underrated compared to ST's. The reason is because people carrying standards. The threads are much deaper and will be much better against foreign objects blowing them. You just need to roll over an object with the front tire and it will surely cause damage to the rear ST Tire. The rolling resistance might be more but in my case I increased the pressure, but at 80PSI rims it cannot be done. I had 50 PSI tires on 60PSI rims.

 

[GOTTOYS]

I took my ST tires off just after I bought my trailer and replaced them with LTs. Sold the old ones to some farmer for his manure spreader. It won't be long now before the self styled tire expert that goes by the name "Tire Hobby" on this forum, and several other names on other forums, will be in here to post some pointless "facts" to try and refute this decision. I did a ton of research on the subject and in my opinion I couldn't find a reason not to swap them out. They're working out just fine. JMHO...Don

 

[floridarandy]

While I'm no tire expert, I think you should also consider the required or suggested rim width for the tire you choose. The Bridgestone may requore a wider wheel. Also with the wider section width you may have some rubbing occur when maneuvering in tight situations. There are several members and I'm sure many more RVers running LT tires. This has been discussed in a few earlier threads. I believe the reason you see fewer reports of issues is due to the lower percentage of users. Just my nickels worth. I've heard good reports on the Maxxis tires too.

Ray -

Rim Width Range:

Maxxis - Not Reported
Goodyear - 6 - 7.5" (Measured 7")
Michelin - 6.5-7.0" (Measured 7")
Bridgestone 6.5 - 8.0" (Measured 7")

Tirerack defines Measured rim width as "The measuring rim width is the industry standardized rim width upon which the tire must be mounted in order to confirm it meets its dimensional targets. "

Using this definition all 3 tires would seem OK. Others welcome to chime in tho.

BTW, Ray, I was born in Wisconsin Rapids....not mainly can lay claim to that honor!

Randy in Florida

 

[floridarandy]

From my past experience I would never put any ST tires on a rig that can accomodate equal size LT tires. Watch the width for shock clearnce, its close on the inside.
I previously had many blowouts with ST's and got mad and replace them with LT's and ran them with 10PSI more pressure and 500Lbs per tire more weight then they were rated for, and never had a flat and the tires ran much cooler then the ST's. I had them on for over 6 years and 60K miles when we traded the trailer. They were still like new and no sign of aging. I barely got 2 years life out of the ST's, and at 200% the cost, for a period pof 8 years.

This is the same story I have told many times and I am confident that there will be a lot of comments on this.

LT tires according to an expert I read, have much higher specs and are underrated compared to ST's. The reason is because people carrying standards. The threads are much deaper and will be much better against foreign objects blowing them. You just need to roll over an object with the front tire and it will surely cause damage to the rear ST Tire. The rolling resistance might be more but in my case I increased the pressure, but at 80PSI rims it cannot be done. I had 50 PSI tires on 60PSI rims.

I'll have to crawl under and check shock clearance with the Missions.

Wish there was a source of specs for the Missions (like those I reported above), but I was unable to find it online. Others who might know please report. Thanks in advance.

 

[floridarandy]

Ha...never thought of this. When I got the F250 in the fall of 2010 it needed tires. After a lot of research I ended up with Firestone Transforce AT's and I love em. Just realized they make the same tire in a highway rib that also got good reports when I shopped...I just decided on an all terrain tire for the truck. Looking at the HT's on Tirerack report:

Weight - 3042
PSI - 80
Tread Depth - 14/32
Weight 38 lbs
Rim Width Range - 6.5-8"
Measured Rim Width - 6.5"
Section Width - 9.8" (Still have to check shocks as noted above)
Tread depth 7.4"
Height/Diameter - 30.5

Cost - $139.00

This may be my new favorite!

 

[Duramax1]

From my past experience I would never put any ST tires on a rig that can accomodate equal size LT tires.

I am not sure that you realize you are advising the poster to replace his ST tires with another set of ST tires as he is unable to purchase "equal size LT tires".

 

[caissiel]

I think that the 235's are also available in 16" size. I am saying I would as long as the tire fits for clearances.

 

[hoefler]

I installed Maxxis LT's on my 16' enclosed trailer that has about 6,500 lbs on 24/7. Be there 2 years now, St's would only last 9-12 months. Much better tire.

 

[TireHobby]

The debate about Special Trailer (ST) in general and replacing them with Light Truck (LT) tires is on every RV forum found on the internet. There are valid answers for questions that will arise but require technical answers that are not popular with the majority of posters. The designs are not alike and the testing procedures differ because of them. The ability to carry passengers has nothing to do with it as all DOT certified tires used on the RV trailer can carry passengers.

I’m just going to mention size here. The prefix on the tire size on the side of your ST or LT tires must be recognized by you as the owner/user. The importance is apparent when you move on to the individual tire load capacity also found on the tire sidewall. With few exceptions ST tire sizes will not equal LT sizes. However, the LT235/85R16E tire (3042# at 80 psi) may look just like the ST235/85R16E (3640# at 80 psi) but the resemblance stops right there.

TireHobby

 

[TireHobby]

The DOT requires all tire manufacturers to provide a list of individual rim sizes for each DOT certified tire delivered to their distributors/dealers. Whenever visiting your local tire dealer you can observe the list as it must be made available to the public. It may be found posted on the wall or in a folder on the counter.

TireHobby

 

[lwmcguir]

Ha...never thought of this. When I got the F250 in the fall of 2010 it needed tires. After a lot of research I ended up with Firestone Transforce AT's and I love em. Just realized they make the same tire in a highway rib that also got good reports when I shopped...I just decided on an all terrain tire for the truck. Looking at the HT's on Tirerack report:

Weight - 3042
PSI - 80
Tread Depth - 14/32
Weight 38 lbs
Rim Width Range - 6.5-8"
Measured Rim Width - 6.5"
Section Width - 9.8" (Still have to check shocks as noted above)
Tread depth 7.4"
Height/Diameter - 30.5

Cost - $139.00

This may be my new favorite!

We have ran quite a few transforces tires as well, mostly in the 17 inch size. Great performanc for the price.

 

[Jim-n-Leslie]

Randy -
Like you, I did some research on replacement tires for my Bighorn. Leslie and I were looking at a road trip from VA down to FL, and found out we had the bad Chinese tires that were reported failing in the forums. I needed four new tires on a year-old rig - an expense I was not anticipating! I looked across many different tire brands, and ended up settling on the Maxxis ST235/80R16 at $215.60 each. My most significant issue was matching the tire size to the wheels on the camper. Many of the tire manufacturers came close, but did not fit properly. A couple of things to consider: (1) "ST" tires feature materials and construction to meet the higher load requirements and demands of trailering. (2) The polyester cords are bigger than they would be for a comparable "P" or "LT" tire. (3) The steel cords have a larger diameter and greater tensile strength to meet the additional load requirements. (4) "ST" tire rubber compounds contain more chemicals to resist weather and ozone cracking. One other note - ST tires are limited to 65 mph. Heat generated at speeds higher than that can cause the inside of the tire to deteriorate and an eventual blow-out. One other personal preference - a good TPMS is a worthwhile investment. I had a tire flag yellow. After testing it, I found the valve stem was leaking by at the base. I had to have the stem replaced (thank goodness for the Good Sam Club Emergency Roadside Service), then went on with our camping. I do monitor those tires closely!
Jim

 

[floridarandy]

The debate about Special Trailer (ST) in general and replacing them with Light Truck (LT) tires is on every RV forum found on the internet. There are valid answers for questions that will arise but require technical answers that are not popular with the majority of posters. The designs are not alike and the testing procedures differ because of them. The ability to carry passengers has nothing to do with it as all DOT certified tires used on the RV trailer can carry passengers.

I’m just going to mention size here. The prefix on the tire size on the side of your ST or LT tires must be recognized by you as the owner/user. The importance is apparent when you move on to the individual tire load capacity also found on the tire sidewall. With few exceptions ST tire sizes will not equal LT sizes. However, the LT235/85R16E tire (3042# at 80 psi) may look just like the ST235/85R16E (3640# at 80 psi) but the resemblance stops right there.

TireHobby

I'm not sure from your post what you're saying. From the sizes posted it would appear that the LT tires in my post DO meet the ST tire size in width and height. As for load carrying capacity the 3042# limit of the LT tire, regardless of "reserve capacity" is more than the upgraded 6000# axles my Sundance 2900MK comes with and much less than the scale loads I travel with. The only real difference would appear to be in construction where the LT tire has a stiffer sidewall than the ST tire. But for those running LT tires I've not yet heard a downside to this sidewall construction. Please share the specifics you infer about this comparison as I am simply trying to make a smart decision based on the facts.

 

[Duramax1]

I installed Maxxis LT's on my 16' enclosed trailer that has about 6,500 lbs on 24/7. Be there 2 years now, St's would only last 9-12 months. Much better tire.

Maxxis does not produce a LT 235/80/r16

 

[Duramax1]

I think that the 235's are also available in 16" size. I am saying I would as long as the tire fits for clearances.

Please identify who produces a LT 235/80 R16

Thank you

 

[TireHobby]

Maxxis does not produce a LT 235/80/r16

If you will go to the Maxxis home page and do some research on their Light Truck tires you will find the LT235/85R16E in their HT-750 Bravo series. However their best 16" truck tire for trailer service might be the UE-168 Commercial tire in size 225/75R16 LRE rated at 3195# at 80 psi.

TireHobby