Planning to Re Tire soon

[craigav]

My tires are ~8 years old now and they are in great visible shape, however I am thinking that due to their age I should consider replacing them soon.

With that in mind, I have noticed that for our 225/75r16 (115\112r load rating) tires that in certain brands (such as Michelin but they are not the only brand) you can get a 225/75r16C (121\120r load rating) tire.

For example here, the common 225/75r16 tires are rated for a weight rating of 2470lbs each (dual) but the tires with the "C" are rated for 3085lbs each (dual) which is 615lbs more per tire (x4 tires = 2460lbs increase) with the same size tire.

With that in mind, I am not suggesting that I or anyone else should overload their RV, however I am thinking that having tires that are rated to carry more weight would be good. Here is a link to the tires I am looking at, not necessarily from this seller, just that this link has the tire specs listed.

https://www.petestirestore.com/22575...E_p_14821.html

Great price on this higher load rated tire...
https://www.discounttire.com/buy-tir...er-hsr/p/44535

Does anyone already use the higher load rated tires or have any thoughts to share with going with the higher load rated tires?

Thanks, Craig

[Mahatnmacoat]

Hey Craig, thanks again for all your input on my inverter project. I just re-tired our rig. I put Hercules 225/75R/16C tires on it. We plan to do mostly dry camping and it's my experience than "nessary stuff" expands to fill every cubic inch. The devoted girlfriend commented today that the rig has a lot of storage space ('02 Designer 3230 w/ full basement) under it. In my opinion the higher weight rating is worth the price. FYI Hercules tires are the discount brand built by Cooper in South Korea. I paid $882.00 for all six mounted, balanced, old tire disposal and lifetime warranty. I also paid a tow truck driver a hundred bucks to follow me the five miles from the storage lot to the tire dealer. The tires on our rig were the original 2002 installs, sidewalls cracked all the way around, the tread peeling off. My deal with the tow guy was that I'd give him the C note to follow me whether he had to me or not, I considered it cheap insurance. Plus I tipped the three guys that did the work ten bucks apiece. They worked hard, reinstalled the wheels so that I can easily get at the valve stems and let me look over their shoulder. They earned their pay. My reasoning is I'm not going to put fifteen thousand miles on the tires in the next five years when they time out. I ended up getting my insurance from Progressive. Turns out Progressive is an affiliate of USAA. Got a good rate that includes roadside assistance. So I'm confident tires are handled. I think if I had paid twice as much for Goodyear or Michelin I wouldn't have gotten twice as much value.

Thanks again and best!

[RogerR]

I retired my Raineer china bombs at 2 years and about 7,000 miles. I upgraded from C to D and that added quite a bit of capacity (more than the axle was rated for and more than the axle scaled at,) but more importantly raised my max speed from 65 rated to 87 rated. I ran them at max PSI - 65 until I read on the website that Goodyear Endurance should be inflated to the weight carried. At 65 they were just too stiff and lots of shaking damage, cabinets opened, etc. At 55 pounds they ran much smoother, no cabinets opened, noting shaken loose.

It is nice to have the 87 max speed as occasionally I want to go faster downhill to make the next uphill in long interstate trips.


My cost was held down by ordering mine mounted and selling my in date tires to someone to use on his old boat trailer for local travel.

[Quantum]

Originally Posted by RogerR

I retired my Raineer china bombs at 2 years and about 7,000 miles. I upgraded from C to D and that added quite a bit of capacity (more than the axle was rated for and more than the axle scaled at,) but more importantly raised my max speed from 65 rated to 87 rated. I ran them at max PSI - 65 until I read on the website that Goodyear Endurance should be inflated to the weight carried. At 65 they were just too stiff and lots of shaking damage, cabinets opened, etc. At 55 pounds they ran much smoother, no cabinets opened, noting shaken loose.

It is nice to have the 87 max speed as occasionally I want to go faster downhill to make the next uphill in long interstate trips.


My cost was held down by ordering mine mounted and selling my in date tires to someone to use on his old boat trailer for local travel.

I think he's looking for tire recommendations for his motorhome, not a travel trailer.

[pconroy]

Huh... You got me thinking again. Last set of tires I bought I swear were E rated.

225/75-16 LT E rated.

Here they are:
https://www.discounttire.com/buy-tir...ler-ht/p/30646


You're right - the rule of thumb is 5 or 6 years of tire live. Then replace regardless of tread. I recall looking at the date codes on our 2016, and thinking 2021 would be the year to replace the others.


I'm happy with the Wranglers and will buy four of those.

[craigav]

Thanks Everyone,

Mahatnmacoat; I will look into the Hercules brand, I have Michelin's now as that is what came on them from the seller. Mine is a 2010 and the tires were replace early 2014 due to a recall. So even Michelin's can have issues. I am like yourself and don't want to pay a lot for tires rated for many more thousands of miles than I plan to go over the tire's life.

RogerR; I was referencing tires for Class C motorhomes, however your information is spot on with my thoughts that it is better to have a higher rated tire than what is standard. I think most RV's that you pull come from the factory with the cheapest china bombs that they can get by with.

pconroy; Yours and my RV's are likely similar in weight, which puts the rear tires at very close to their rated capacity. Do you have thoughts with even a bit higher of a rating than the E rated tires?

In any case, I plan to thoroughly inspect what I have, Michelin recommends replacing their tires at 10 years no matter what, and to have them inspected every year after 5 years.

After I have inspected them carefully I will make further plans. There is a local lake I like to go to and if I don't plan to go on long trips I may wait a bit before I replace these, and only if I see no issues with what I already have. I already know that I have a lot of tread left, and I know the exterior outward view of the tires shows no issues. I plan to do some RV service soon though, and I will carefully inspect each tire based on what the Michelin site suggests to look at when inspecting tires and then go from there.

Thanks, Craig

[pconroy]

Originally Posted by craigav

Yours and my RV's are likely similar in weight, which puts the rear tires at very close to their rated capacity. Do you have thoughts with even a bit higher of a rating than the E rated tires?

No. They came with E rated Michelins and have been great. The Discount Tire shops near me top out at 'E' so that's what I'll do.


I guess if they had a higher range I'd probably consider it - but based on the little looking I've done, everyone seems to top out at 'E'.


I try to be a good boy about the tires, check inflation regularly. Check temps too. A TPMS is on my to-do list.

[craigav]

Originally Posted by pconroy

No. They came with E rated Michelins and have been great. The Discount Tire shops near me top out at 'E' so that's what I'll do.


I guess if they had a higher range I'd probably consider it - but based on the little looking I've done, everyone seems to top out at 'E'.


I try to be a good boy about the tires, check inflation regularly. Check temps too. A TPMS is on my to-do list.

Hi Patrick,

I have the Michelin E rated tires on mine as well. The DiscountTire website shows these (in the link) are rated to carry 615 more lbs of weight than E rated tires, it is part of the new rating system though so no letter is associated with it.
https://www.discounttire.com/buy-tir...er-hsr/p/44535

Regarding the TPMS, this is what I have and it has worked very well for me (no repeater needed).
https://www.innotechrv.com/InnotechR...4_8615288.aspx

I am not making any recommendations though just that it works well for me.

I will add that I ran through a lot of issues at first, not with the TPMS but with trying multiple valve stem extensions so I could easily use the TPMS, and what I ultimately did which works great for this system is that I determined that by using a ~10" 1/2" clear silicone hose (I think it was 1/2"), I can install the sensors and take them off again without the need of any valve stem extension (in particular the inside tires for the rear axle), just load the sensor in about 10" of tubing which is a snug fit, screw it on the existing metal valve stem, and wiggle the hose loose to remove (this company claims their sensors are the smallest on the market which is good). I lost one sensor early on and the valve extension and I had a flat all because of a bad valve stem extension, so no more extensions for me (and I tried about 4 different types of extensions). I also have a straight on tire gauge to reach the inner valve stem (no angle) that helps when filling the tires with air and adjusting for seasonal and timely pressure changes.

Certain companies sell extended valve stems specifically made for dually's, however they are not needed with my setup. In any case, I certainly do recommend a TPMS for all my friends, I hesitate a bit with any specific recommendations though, just sharing what worked well for me. Also, I have 12 sensors, 6 for the RV, 4 for the toad, and 2 spare.

~CA

[pconroy]

Craig - I'm going to go look for four of those Pathfinder HSR tires you referenced. Thanks for the tip!!!


patick

[craigav]

Originally Posted by pconroy

Craig - I'm going to go look for four of those Pathfinder HSR tires you referenced. Thanks for the tip!!!


patick

Hi Patrick, If you purchase the PathFinder HSR's, let me know what you think about them. I haven't purchased mine yet but from what I have read, these appear to be a great value. Not too mention for others, they are rated at 2460lbs (for the rear four) more than what most of us currently have. I don't plan to overload my rear axle but it is good to know that the tires are not the weakest link. ~CA

[pconroy]

Originally Posted by craigav

Hi Patrick, If you purchase the PathFinder HSR's, let me know what you think about them. I haven't purchased mine yet but from what I have read, these appear to be a great value. Not too mention for others, they are rated at 2460lbs (for the rear four) more than what most of us currently have. I don't plan to overload my rear axle but it is good to know that the tires are not the weakest link. ~CA

Purchased four but not installed until this Friday. Our local Discount Tire had to scrounge them from other stores.


I mentioned I had two Goodyear Wranglers up front - they're only a year and a half old - so they'll stay there. The Pathfinders will go on the rear.


I'm looking forward to trying these! Thanks again for finding them!!

[Swill4wd]

Remember the weight per tire, nice and level on the scale, isn`t the same as the weight on the tire on a hard corner........