15 inch tire recommendations
Until this last trip I would have recommended Maxxis tires in the 15 inch size. I was at the North end of Lake Champlain in New York when a truck flagged me down and showed me a trailer tire about to blow. It had a bulge on the inside of the tire about the size of a softball.
My tire history is that I bought my TM used in 2008 and bought all new Maxxis tires from Tire Kingdom in Tampa Fl. where I bought the trailer because the original tires on the trailer would have been 5 years old at the time I purchased the TM.
I have since been to Key West, Alaska, Washington state, Maine, and south of San Diego to go to the 4 corners of the US. Total distance has been between 35,000 and 40,000 miles in two years. The tires have held air well and shown little wear. I keep them at 65psi and normally drive at about 65mph or less.
After reading about all the trouble others have had with tires I would have recommended Maxxis tires.To my surprise, when I replaced the failed tire, the tire dealer in Vermont showed me the date of manufacture of the bad tire and I was shocked. It was made in 2001 which means I bought a 7 year old tire in 2008 that I thought was new.
Now I don't know whether to replace with the same brand or not. I find it hard to blame a 9 year old tire that lasted that many miles. Has anyone made a list of 15 inch tires that have the 2500+ weight rating? Any recommendations?
I will strongly suggest that when you next order tires for your TM that you tell them that you want them to show you the date of manufacture before they mount the tires as well as to balance and to use metal valve stems. You have to tell them to ballance and check that they did. The tire shop in Vermont doesn't do that normally for a trailer tire, and it is their practice to inflate trailer tires to 50 pounds not 65psi. It is sometimes hard to find an air pump at a gas station that will pump up to 65psi.
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Bill and Jane
2003 3124 KS, 2007 Tundra 4X4 TRD
Reese WDH, Prodigy
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