Reliability of tires purchased with new travel trailer

    I've read and seen on YouTube that new tires (those purchased with a new RV) are generally unreliable. Being a rookie, I don't know "First hand" if this is true or not. YOu folks, however, have experience behind you. We just bought ours the end of July and haven't put many miles on it yet. I'd like to spend the money on reliable tires before we go on any notable trips if this is generally true.  We bought a 2018 Rockwood Mini Lite 2509S. It is currently in the shop so I can't run outside and look at the tires.


Thanks for any info and thoughts,


Mark&Sandy

Usually the tires are the bare minimum that can be put on the trailer. But you never know. When you get it home then look at the tire brand, Speed rating, DOT date and load range. Then we can give a real answer

I avoid Chinese tires like the plague.

And I use a tire pressure monitoring system.  Having a blowout on a towable is a pain.  Having a blowout in a motorhome is more of a pain.  Dangerous too.

Well, you haven?t given us much to comment on. I figure your tires are 14? and probably have about 2050# of load capacity. Your trailer being a 2018 model, it may have tires on it that meet the new RVIA load capacity recommendation of having at least 10% load capacity reserves above the certified vehicle GAWRs. You can verify that by reading the trailer?s certification label found on the left forward external section of the trailer. The maximum load capacity of the tires on the trailer should have a load capacity 10% higher than the GAWR rating depicted on the certification label. There should also be a tire/load label at that location.

With 14? wheels it?s very difficult to stay away from tires manufactured in China. Like tires made elsewhere around the world, there are those with good reviews as well bad. Generally, if the tires on your trailer were manufactured within a year of the sell date of the trailer, they will last 3-5 years when properly maintained. Especially if they have sufficient load capacity reserves above the axle loads. The primary requirement is for them to always be kept at the trailer manufacturer?s recommended cold inflation pressures found on the certification label, tire placard or in the vehicle owner?s manual.

Sorry, I don't do brand recommendations. There are just to many to keep-up with. However, I don't recommend using tires that don't have a speed rating high enough to satisfy your normal traveling speeds. Now days almost all of them are rated at 75 MPH or higher.

The "Made in China" wouldn't worry me, but RV manufacturers are notorious for using the cheapest and least-legally-allowed load capacity tire.  Anything to save a buck where most people won't notice.  When you can check the size, load rating vs axle loads, and brand, let us know and we can discuss further.  If they are marginally adequate, I'd probably run them for a year and then replace as budget permits. And definitely equip with TPMS, not matter how good or bad the tire may be.

Okay, thanks everyone! I made notes and will take them with us when we go either to get the trailer this weekend or at least get the information you all suggested from the trailer certification label and the tires themselves. I will probably post again on this thread Saturday or Sunday with what I found out.

Mark&Sandy

As they said, they are usually marginal. There is one main thing that will strand you with a TT and that's smoking the wheel bearings. The bearings are common but if you damage the axle shaft you'll be waiting to get that fixed. The next thing that could happen is blowing a tire. Hopefully no one gets hurt when it happens but you also run the risk of blowing the wheel well all to heck. It sometimes takes out wiring and propane lines and sewer pipes.

Goodyear came out with the Endurance tire which I believe is made in the USA but I don't know the sizes. Carlisle also upgraded/changed their tire but I only know about the 16 in size. Of all the accessories or gadgets tires and bearings get over serviced vs under serviced.

https://www.goodyear.com/en-US/tires/endurance/sizes-specs

QZ said:

https://www.goodyear.com/en-US/tires/endurance/sizes-specs

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Thanks for the link. Do trailer dealers put tires on, as a rule?


Mark&Sandy
 

Buy your tires at a tire shop, and check around for brands and pricing. An RV dealer is a terribly expensive place to buy anything!

Most trailers use the ST  (Special Trailer) type of tire.

Gary RV_Wizard said:

Buy your tires at a tire shop, and check around for brands and pricing. An RV dealer is a terribly expensive place to buy anything!

Most trailers use the ST  (Special Trailer) type of tire.

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That makes sense. I was pricing the Goodyear tires online that QZ mentioned and will probably go with those when the time comes. As for the dealer, I was thinking about the possibility of them putting the tires on. Can a regular tire place do that or will I most likely have to do it?

Mark & Sandy

A regular tire place can likely put them on for you, but I'd caution you to be sure you know where the safe spots are on your rig to place a jack, since a non-RV place may think they can put it almost anywhere -- rigs have been damaged from incorrect jack placement.

I'd prefer a place that specializes in truck tires more than your corner car tire store - the tire jockies are usually more experienced and their equipment is is more able to handle something other than a car.  It's not always better, but the odds are more in your favor than at Walmart or "Tire R Us".

There is nothing special about mounting and balancing a trailer tire, but jacking the trailer up to get them off/on is a bit different than driving a car onto a lift as most car shops do 98% of the time.

Larry N. said:

A regular tire place can likely put them on for you, but I'd caution you to be sure you know where the safe spots are on your rig to place a jack, since a non-RV place may think they can put it almost anywhere -- rigs have been damaged from incorrect jack placement.

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Thank you! I will try and check out the best places to place a jack on my rig this weekend.

Mark&Sandy

Gary RV_Wizard said:

I'd prefer a place that specializes in truck tires more than your corner car tire store - the tire jockies are usually more experienced and their equipment is is more able to handle something other than a car.  It's not always better, but the odds are more in your favor than at Walmart or "Tire R Us".

There is nothing special about mounting and balancing a trailer tire, but jacking the trailer up to get them off/on is a bit different than driving a car onto a lift as most car shops do 98% of the time.

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Okay, thanks. We need to research the tire outlets around here.


Mark&Sandy

BTW, there is a lot of differing opinions on using Special Trailer tires vs using Passenger Car or Light Truck tires.  Here's one view of the subject, but I'm sure there are people here who will disagree.

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=219

Optimistic Paranoid said:

BTW, there is a lot of differing opinions on using Special Trailer tires vs using Passenger Car or Light Truck tires.  Here's one view of the subject, but I'm sure there are people here who will disagree.

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=219

Click to expand...

Good article, thanks. I will look for ST tires, given the reasoning for using them and also that there would be less tendency for sway.


Mark&Sandy

Just so you know,  the counter-argument is that car and truck tires are much higher quality than trailer tires.  They are rated for speeds up to 120 mph, unlike most trailer tires that are only rated for 65 mph.  Not that you'd want to tow a trailer at 120, but some people feel it's better to have a tire that's loafing along with a comfortable reserve than one that's operating right at it's limits.

I don't tow a trailer, myself, so I don't have a dog in this fight.

Were I to pull a trailer again, I would seriously be looking at LT tires to replace the ST's. If LT's of the suitable rating could be found, it would be a no brainier to me.

The key here is  "If LT's of the suitable rating could be found".  A "suitable" LT tire has the sidewall strength and load rating necessary for the job and has the advantage of a higher speed rating (usually 77 mph vs 65 for most ST's).

For a given size, an ST tire will always have a higher load rating than an LT, so replacing an ST with an LT near-always requires an increase in the tire size to get the weight carrying capacity needed.  High weight capacity LT tires are not often available in 14" and 15" diameters, but 16" LTs are available in a variety of sizes and load ratings.

Selecting an LT  to replace an ST requires knowledge of tire specs well beyond many owners and, quite frankly, beyond the typical tires shop sales guy or tech as well.  It's appalling how little many of those "pro's" actually know.