Truck Tires on TM???

I have read and heard all types of horror tales about tire failures. Both my brother (5th wheel Cedar Creek) and brother-in-law (tag along Prowler) have experienced blowouts in the past three months. It was time to replace all four tires on my brother's 5th wheel and he went with four load range E truck tires instead of trailer tires. Anyone else tried using truck tires and if so what were your experiences?

Bill

YES, I was having nothing but problems on several 5th wheels. Finally I switched to "All steel", Michelon. I never had tire problems again. I will be switching to all steel on the TM, when I get a chance to look for them. I also put them on the pick up, worked out great.

Good luck.

Jack

We are new Trailmanor owners and have only had one short 50 mi rt so far. The owners' forum is full of great information. While researching how to find (and read) the tire manufacturing date, I found this advice:

"Light truck tires have stiffer sidewalls in order to carry heavier loads, but also are engineered for safe handling and road gripping ability. Trailer tires, on the other hand, are designed to give a soft ride and to slide sideways or scrub the road while cornering. Because of these differences, never put light truck tires on a trailer. Some people think that if the tire is good enough for a truck it must be good enough for a trailer, but this is a fallacy. Light truck tires are not engineered for the unique stresses of trailering."

Here's the link:
http://www.newrver.com/publish/readtires.shtml

[Bill]

Trailer tires, on the other hand, are designed to give a soft ride and to slide sideways or scrub the road while cornering.

Here's the link:
http://www.newrver.com/publish/readtires.shtml

Interesting. If a trailer has two or more axles, then some of the tires must scuff across the pavement during a turn. A single-axle trailer does not scuff, of course, so this part of the reason is not valid for TMs (except the 3326).

So we are back to "passenger car tires are designed to give a soft ride, trailer tires are designed to give a soft ride, and truck tires have a stiffer sidewall."

Less difference than I thought. Or maybe we should be thinking about passenger car tires on the TM.

Bill

I just remembered...when I bought the new 1996 Alpinlite it came with Goodyear Wrangler truck tires. '96 was a BAD year for Wranglers. That's when I switched to the All Steel. I never had tire problems again, as long as I had the Alpinlite.

For what is worth.

Jack

Originally Posted by Bill

So we are back to "passenger car tires are designed to give a soft ride, trailer tires are designed to give a soft ride, and truck tires have a stiffer sidewall."
Bill

Bill, I read that article also, and believe the author (that you are just quoting from Casa Dos' post) made a misprint in organizing her sources for all the info. Trailer tires are not designed to give a soft ride. I have stated before that with 50-65 psi, you're not going to have a "soft" anything. Radial trailer tires might give a little "softer" ride.

I was looking at TaskMaster tires, but they don't make the 215/75R14 size.....however they did have a document that might be interesting reading as to the differences between passenger, trailer, and LT tires. It's called "Why buy trailer tires". Even this article has a few things I don't agree with either.

http://www.taskmasterproducts.com/ac...r_service.html


EDIT: Back on the subject of using LT truck tires on the TrailManor, I believe is going to be a mute point. Being the common sizes and plies seem to be a 215/75R14 Load range C (6 ply rating) and a 225/75R15 Load Range D (8 ply rating), I don't think you will EVER find these tires produced in anything but a ST trailer tire. If anybody can find them manufactured in a LT tire, I'd be interested in them sharing this info, so I can look into them. Thanks

[Frenchy]

I have used light truck tires on my TM for the last four years. I had two blowouts with ST tires before I changed. You can get 14 inch tires with higher load rating. I bought Cooper tires last time. The dealer said they were a commercial type light truck tire. They were 195R14C, Load Range D 106/104Q with a load rating of 2095 lbs at 65 PSIG. I keep them at 65 PSIG. They are not TT tires however but I have had no problem with them. Ive had them for four years. They fit and worked very well on my 98 3023 while on four extended trips. One trip to Grand Teton NP (4,500 miles) from southern Indiana. One trip to Alaska (10,000 miles) from southern Indiana. One trip to Carlsbad Caverns (4,000 miles) from southern Indiana. One trip to Grand Canyon, Zion, Bryce, Arches, Mesa Verde (5,000 miles) from southern Indiana. I believe it is very important to have your TM tires balanced and to weigh your TM every time before you take a long trip.

Originally Posted by Frenchy

I have used light truck tires on my TM for the last four years. I had two blowouts with ST tires before I changed. You can get 14 inch tires with higher load rating. I bought Cooper tires last time. The dealer said they were a commercial type light truck tire. They were 195R14C, Load Range D 106/104Q with a load rating of 2095 lbs at 65 PSIG. I keep them at 65 PSIG. They are not TT tires however but I have had no problem with them. Ive had them for four years.

Hey hey Hey!!!! Frenchy may have found the answer for us. These 195's he is talking about are in what's called a European Metric tire sizing. They work out to be close to what would be a 195/80/14 if that size was made in a P-metric size.

Looking at Cooper/Mastercraft charts, this tire works out to be 26.20 inches, compared to a 215/75R14 which is 26.60 inches. Half of that works out to be .20 inch difference. A little shorter but not much.

http://www.mastercrafttires.com/us/e...ht+Truck+Tires

They are an 8 ply tire, and carry over 2000 pounds apiece, like Frenchy said. I can get these tires in the MCraft brand for the 195/14, but not in a 225/75/15. I think this would be something good to test, and Frenchy is already doing it.

Thanks for the info Frenchy.