Best tires for a Toy Hauler that will see a lot of off Highway use

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Warboar

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Mar 26, 2019
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Folks I am just about ready to buy my first toy hauler here in a few weeks.  I've narrowed it down to a few models and two of the trailers that i'm looking at are in need of tires while the third has had them replaced last year.  All three trailers have triple axles so i'll be needing six to eight tires(two spares).  Two of the three have 15 inch wheels, while the third has 16 inch.  Seems the 16 inch wheel opens up a much larger selection of tires.
I've read a few articles about the best tires but they make no mention of off highway use and one article mentioned their recommended tire didn't fair well off highway. 

So for those of you who do have toy haulers and take them off the highway which tire do you use/recommend?  Would you recommend buying a Light Truck tire as opposed to dedicated trailer tire?  There was one trailer I looked at recently that the gentleman had put LT tires on his trailer and said he didn't flat out with them like the trailer tires it came with. 

I'll be doing an elk hunt this year in Colorado and a friend who lives and hunts their has said the roads that lead up to where we will hunt is "maintained" by the county but could be rutted or washboarded out but will be passable by truck and trailer. 

I appreciate any advice given.
 
I used to pull a Stacker trailer and though I did not spend a lot of time off road, I did take it off into the desert several times.

The best tire that I could find was Goodyear G-614.

There were several reasons that I ended up with these specific tires.

My Stacker gradually became so heavy that I needed more weight handling capacity.  The G-614 is rated for much more than other tires but you have to be careful to make sure that your wheels are rated for at least 120 PSI.

They are also expensive.  I also used a trailer toad under the tongue and I also used these tires for it,

All together I had 10 of the tires mounted on special aluminum wheels, 6 for the three axles, 2 for the trailer toad, and 2 spares in the Stacker and together they cost about $7,000 or $8,000.

 

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Goodyear Endurance, load range E, 80 psi max load.  Made in USA.

After years of forest service roads in WY and a shredded chinese tire causing damage...  I got a Tire Traker TT-500 TPMS.  Highly recommended.  Just finished a 5200 mile bucket list road trip and the TT-500 worked nicely.
 
I'm not sure that "off-highway" means much with trailer tires, though obviously getting offroad means greater risk of tire damage.  Traction is not much an issue with trailer tires, so are you considering some areas where a high flotation tire might be helpful? E.g. sand or deep mud?  I've driven our trailer and motorhomes onto all sorts of terrain, even dry river beds, with no concerns except ground clearance, and that's not a tire issue.

The positive difference between the typical ST tire and an LT is the speed rating. Most ST have a 65 mph max, while the standard for LT is 78 (or more). There is a downside to using an LT, though, and that is the load capacity (max weight carried) is lower for any given size.  If you replace an ST with an LT, you will almost surely need to go up in tire size to get an equivalent load rating.
 
Gary makes a good point regarding speed rating.

The GY Endurance tire is rated 87 mph.  Mine recently took a severe beating, interstate rough pavement and potholes, for 5200 miles.  I had no problems towing 65-75 mph.
 
Warboar said:
Folks I am just about ready to buy my first toy hauler here in a few weeks.  I've narrowed it down to a few models and two of the trailers that i'm looking at are in need of tires while the third has had them replaced last year.  All three trailers have triple axles so i'll be needing six to eight tires(two spares).  Two of the three have 15 inch wheels, while the third has 16 inch.  Seems the 16 inch wheel opens up a much larger selection of tires.
I've read a few articles about the best tires but they make no mention of off highway use and one article mentioned their recommended tire didn't fair well off highway. 

So for those of you who do have toy haulers and take them off the highway which tire do you use/recommend?  Would you recommend buying a Light Truck tire as opposed to dedicated trailer tire?  There was one trailer I looked at recently that the gentleman had put LT tires on his trailer and said he didn't flat out with them like the trailer tires it came with. 

I'll be doing an elk hunt this year in Colorado and a friend who lives and hunts their has said the roads that lead up to where we will hunt is "maintained" by the county but could be rutted or washboarded out but will be passable by truck and trailer. 

I appreciate any advice given.

Are you purchasing a new trailer? If so the dealer's hands are tied when it comes to changing the OEM tires from the factory. The only time they can change from the designated size delivered on the trailer is when the trailer manufacturer has authorized options. However, they can change brands and add a load range. The designated size of the OEM tire must remain the same.

The reason they cannot change tires is it may violate vehicle certification. The regulation reads, in part, like this. At the time of first sale the tires on the vehicle MUST be the same designated size as the tires shown on the vehicle certification label. The dealer is not allowed to change certification labels without permission from the vehicle manufacturer. Other information is also necessary, tire serial numbers must be kept on file for 5 years.   
 
Gary RV_Wizard said:
I'm not sure that "off-highway" means much with trailer tires, though obviously getting offroad means greater risk of tire damage.  Traction is not much an issue with trailer tires, so are you considering some areas where a high flotation tire might be helpful? E.g. sand or deep mud?  I've driven our trailer and motorhomes onto all sorts of terrain, even dry river beds, with no concerns except ground clearance, and that's not a tire issue.

The positive difference between the typical ST tire and an LT is the speed rating. Most ST have a 65 mph max, while the standard for LT is 78 (or more). There is a downside to using an LT, though, and that is the load capacity (max weight carried) is lower for any given size.  If you replace an ST with an LT, you will almost surely need to go up in tire size to get an equivalent load rating.

I'm more interested in finding something that will resist abrasion and puncture from rocks and other rough terrain.  The hunting areas I usually go to  are on somewhat graded roads for the most part and then a few miles down less favorable somewhat rutted roads which are typical for out west.  This year will be Colorado and mostly on graded county roads but depending on weather they could turn ugly. 

Going up a tire size is not out of the question as long as they will fit. 
 
FastEagle said:
Are you purchasing a new trailer? If so the dealer's hands are tied when it comes to changing the OEM tires from the factory. The only time they can change from the designated size delivered on the trailer is when the trailer manufacturer has authorized options. However, they can change brands and add a load range. The designated size of the OEM tire must remain the same.

The reason they cannot change tires is it may violate vehicle certification. The regulation reads, in part, like this. At the time of first sale the tires on the vehicle MUST be the same designated size as the tires shown on the vehicle certification label. The dealer is not allowed to change certification labels without permission from the vehicle manufacturer. Other information is also necessary, tire serial numbers must be kept on file for 5 years. 

I'm not buying new.  I'm looking at a few trailers that have tires that will need to be replaced soon if not immediately. 
 
I live, work, camp, and play in Colorado. Trailer tires hardly matter when it comes to traction. You'll be on maintained dirt roads which won't be the smoothest, but will be a far cry from "off-road". FWIW, I've never had to put my truck in 4wd in the mountains. You may encounter some snow during elk season, but by the time you need to worry about trailer tire traction, you've already buried the tow vehicle.

As far as type of tire, I have always and will continue to recommend LT tires. They are tested to much higher standards and rarely cause any trouble. I've been using them for 15 years on single, tandem, tandem dual, and triple axle trailers and have never had a blowout or had one come off the rim like so many people say they will.
 
lone_star_dsl said:
I live, work, camp, and play in Colorado. Trailer tires hardly matter when it comes to traction. You'll be on maintained dirt roads which won't be the smoothest, but will be a far cry from "off-road". FWIW, I've never had to put my truck in 4wd in the mountains. You may encounter some snow during elk season, but by the time you need to worry about trailer tire traction, you've already buried the tow vehicle.

As far as type of tire, I have always and will continue to recommend LT tires. They are tested to much higher standards and rarely cause any trouble. I've been using them for 15 years on single, tandem, tandem dual, and triple axle trailers and have never had a blowout or had one come off the rim like so many people say they will.

LT tires are on my list...  Come time to replace the GY Endurance I?m now running.

As for forest service roads...  crushed rock on logging roads Will bust tires. 

I?ve found that 4WD, low range makes it easier to pull wash boarded steep dirt grades with a loaded camper on the back  ;)

Boondocking, hunting in western WY for 20+ years, FWIW.  Chains on truck and camper many times to get the dead elk off the mountain.

 
I know all to well the flat tires from crushed rock.  I am in Civil Engineering by trade and many site visits in various company vehicles over the years have left me with many a flat tire in rental cars or trucks with passenger tires.  Not to mention several hunting trips pulling quad trailers and ending up having to go into town for two new tires or more. 

I'm leaning towards a 14ply all steel construction radial tire so they will resist puncture and abrasion better.  I was leaning towards the LT route but it looks like everything in a 16" wheel would lower the load rating a bit.  I want to go up in capability not down. 

It's going to take awhile now as I just found out my son has to have surgery done at the end of the month. 
 
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