tires for trailer

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Too cheap to be anything but Chinese.  IMHO Chinese tires are crap.  Dangerous crap.

If you insist on ST tires your choices are few.  Lots of trailers & fifth wheels are delivered with LT (Light Truck) tires and there are lots of those to choose from.  I chose Michelin RIBS on my last towable and never had a problem with them.  They are pricy though.

Anecdotally:  I've had many tire failures.  All have been Chinese manufactured tires except one.  And that one was a 10 year old Michelin and thus my fault.  I had a set of Goodyear Marathon ST tires start failing with less than 2,000 miles on them.  The spare had sidewall problems before it was even on the ground.  They were made in China of course.
 
micknol said:
anybody have any opinions on Sotera viatus trailer tires I've never heard of them

The thing about USA tire importers is they like to have tires with a brand name associated with their businesses. The China tire industry is more than happy to give them what they want. This tire you have asked about seems to be a brand name associated with the tire wholesaler/retailer , Simple Tire.
https://simpletire.com/sotera-tires

You can get the actual china plant code off the tire and see what else they make.

Here is a tire code cross reference listing.
http://www.harriger.com/tires.htm

A popular tire retailer is Discount Tires; Their trailer tire exclusive brand name is Hartland.
https://www.discounttire.com/tires/brands/hartland
 
Save yourself a lot of trouble and put a set of the Maxxis M8008 ST tires on the trailer, then all you have to do is to make sure you keep them inflated to the proper pressure for your application.
 
xrated said:
Save yourself a lot of trouble and put a set of the Maxxis M8008 ST tires on the trailer, then all you have to do is to make sure you keep them inflated to the proper pressure for your application.

I agree.
 
Is that a motorhome?  If so, you don't want trailer tires.  Post what you have for an RV and the tire size.
 
xrated said:
Save yourself a lot of trouble and put a set of the Maxxis M8008 ST tires on the trailer, then all you have to do is to make sure you keep them inflated to the proper pressure for your application.

Is your experience with Maxxis used as an OEM tire or replacement with a higher load capacity?

There are other brand names that have specs equal to or better than Maxxis. Most are OEM tires.
 
I don't know if this true, but Goodyear claims their Endurance tire is the only tire made in the USA. Personally I'm never purchasing a tire made in China ever again.
 
FastEagle said:
Is your experience with Maxxis used as an OEM tire or replacement with a higher load capacity?

There are other brand names that have specs equal to or better than Maxxis. Most are OEM tires.

I've had three different trailers and purchased Maxxis 8008 tires after the original tires wore out....never had them as OEM. equipment.
 
pz said:
I don't know if this true, but Goodyear claims their Endurance tire is the only tire made in the USA. Personally I'm never purchasing a tire made in China ever again.

The Maxxis 8008 tires are not China tires, but they are made in Thailand.  Like I stated above, I'm on my third set on the different trailers and never ever an issue with them.  The last trailer I had, I put 15-16K on them before I sold the trailer and they were still in good shape and looked like they could go another 10K without issue

In fact, my current trailer came with a set of "China bombs" on it.  I towed the trailer home (375 miles), parked it and removed them and put a set of the Maxxis tires on, then sold the Trailer King tires.
 
"In fact, my current trailer came with a set of "China bombs" on it.  I towed the trailer home (375 miles), parked it and removed them and put a set of the Maxxis tires on, then sold the Trailer King tires."

You're not the first to do that.

One of my buddies bought a fifth wheel that came with Towmax tires.  I tried to convince him to throw them away but his wife thought it was a waste of money.

One of his China Bombs threw the tread about 2 miles from my house causing about $2K in damage and a month in the shop.  The rubber nubs had not even worn off the tires. 

False economy.
 
And the sad thing is, I had read about all the issues with the China Bomb tires and knew that when I picked up the trailer.  Fortunately, it was the end of October and the weather was somewhat cool, I ran 80 psi in them on the way home, but I was still sweating bullets the whole 375 miles.
 
xrated said:
The Maxxis 8008 tires are not China tires, but they are made in Thailand.  Like I stated above, I'm on my third set on the different trailers and never ever an issue with them.  The last trailer I had, I put 15-16K on them before I sold the trailer and they were still in good shape and looked like they could go another 10K without issue

In fact, my current trailer came with a set of "China bombs" on it.  I towed the trailer home (375 miles), parked it and removed them and put a set of the Maxxis tires on, then sold the Trailer King tires.

Maxxis would not recommend replacement tires with less load capacity than the OE tires provided. (Read the warranty). Almost all OEM tires used by Keystone in size ST235/80R16E have a load capacity of 3520#. Your maxxis 8008s provide 3420#.
 
FastEagle said:
Maxxis would not recommend replacement tires with less load capacity than the OE tires provided. (Read the warranty). Almost all OEM tires used by Keystone in size ST235/80R16E have a load capacity of 3520#. Your maxxis 8008s provide 3420#.

Yes, I noted that difference of 100# per tire.  With my setup (scale weight of trailer axle 11,120) and even with the GVWR of the trailer which is 13K, I have a total reserve of 2560 lbs which works out to 640 lbs per tire.  Even though the load capacity of the tires are decreased by 100 lbs per tire, I'm 100% better off with quality tires on the trailer than I am the Trailer King junk with a bit higher rating.  In my case, the tires are not ever overloaded.
 
I can?t post this without getting some grinding teeth reactions. Look at it logically from more than one perspective.

Tire fitments on our RV trailers are mandated in standards written by The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA). They are standards that are developed to insure minimum safety is provided. They are issued as Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS). They are standards that all RV trailer manufacturers must abide. RV trailer owners cannot twist them into another context for their own purposes. They are minimum standards, so, lowering them is a safety violation. Standards from other DOT regulations are not applicable with FMVSS standards.

We, as RV trailer owners, have an obligation to keep our trailers within the safety parameters set for them. Upgrading things on your trailer is not frowned upon. Dig into the owner?s manual and insure your upgrades are appropriate and safe.

The automotive industry has guides, charts & industry standards to use effectively when replacing tires. The RV trailer industry has no such umbrella. Our trailer?s owner?s manual says to use replacement tires like the ones that came on it. They may offer options but the offer ends once the trailer is sold if it requires a certification label change.

Most owners take vehicle certification information lightly. It?s very serious business for the vehicle manufacturer. They had to sign on the dotted line and swear - so to speak - that the information on that label is valid.

ANY tire with a seal of certification for highway service is eligible for fitment on RV trailer axles as long as the trailer builder deems them appropriate for that fitment.

When you sit down and ponder it enough you?ll see why a tire is deemed a misapplication. It?s not designed for that position. Who says so? The tire manufacturer. Who says it?s a misapplication? The vehicle manufacturer. They?re the only ones responsible for its selection and fitment on their vehicle.

With our automotive vehicles we had years and years of experience with letting the tire retailers point to a tire selection that was correct with a brand that made them money. We can?t get that level of trust with our RV trailer tires. The industry standards tell us to first look at the OE tires and then find like sized replacements. We go to a tire retailer and they sell us something that looks and sounds good but really isn?t. Why do they do that? Because they don?t know the standards for trailer tires or the difference in the fitment standards.  When the tire manufacturer is at odds with the vehicle manufacturer about tire fitments the vehicle manufacturer is correct.     
 
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