Another tire/weight question

[fast900]

Ok, I am a long time creeper on the forum. I have used the site many times to educate myself and recently I have used it to become confused about tires. Right now I have a 3550 tsl with g rated china bombs. They are not showing any signs of wear or damage but the rig was a 09 left over so there is probably quite a bit of hidden UV damage. I am not in a position to spend the money on 614's but I am a big fan of Michelin xps ribs. The question I have is this, using the dry weight of the rig (just for calculations sake), should I take the pin weight from the dry weight to come up with the weight on the axles?

11780 dry - 2028 pin = 9752 on the axles

The michelin is rated at 3042 so that would handle 12168. I just want to make sure that e rated tires can handle the 5er.

 

[cookie]

The 3550 now comes with E rated tires. Personally I think that using E rated tires on a coach with a GVWR of 15,500 is cutting it close.
You are using numbers based on the dry weight. These are not the numbers that you will have when you are loaded for travel.
It would be ideal to weigh your rig when you are loaded for travel and get the actual numbers.
For example Heartland lists my dry weight as 12,018 and actual travel weight is 14,775 and a listed pin weight of 2,350. Actual is 3,025.
If I had E rated tire I would only have a magin of 400 pounds. Too close for me.

Peace
Dave

 

[fast900]

I agree completely. The only reason I used the dry weight is I haven't made it to scales yet but I wanted to make sure I understood what to do with those weights. I don't believe I will get as heavy as yours though. . We only use the water in the parks so we never carry water or have anything in the waste tanks. I usually put all the luggage in the back room to cut back on pin weight as much as possible. Thanks for the help.

 

[jnbhobe]

I'm with Dave you have to be carefull with tires. I would use nothing less than G-614's

 

[JohnDar]

Yep, they're putting E's where G's used to roam and calling it good. Just for comparison of weights, my listed weights were 12115 lbs. and a pin of 2065. Actual scale weights are 14575 lbs. and a pin of 2950. That's with empty tanks, just the two of us with enough clothing for three weeks of summer, and the stuff we'd need to maintain life in the rig.

 

[TireHobby]

I suspect your trailer’s certification label depicts 7000# axles. The newer version of some ST brand names actually have 3520# of load capacity with the ST235/80R16E at 80 psi. Its not a desirable situation but it's legal.

Using any tires with less load capacity then the vehicle’s GAWR as depicted on the certification label is not legal.

There are a lot of tires on the market that mimic the GY G614. They are less expensive and will last just as long when well maintained. But, most buyers don’t like where they are manufactured.

Here is the reference that enforces minimum tire requirements for your axles.

http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/rules-regulations/administration/fmcsr/fmcsrruletext.aspx?reg=571.120

TireHobby

 

[Urban350]

Not to argue anybodys point here but this is my situation I have #7000lbs axles with load range E ST tires from factory and they are rated at 3420. This is right from the factory.

 

[lwmcguir]

Just saw a SOB along side the road today with a Passenger side blown tire. Tire and camper parts along the side near where he stopped. If you travel hot and heavy then the 8 or 10 ply tires won't cut it.

 

[TireHobby]

Not to argue anybodys point here but this is my situation I have #7000lbs axles with load range E ST tires from factory and they are rated at 3420. This is right from the factory.

I don’t know what the CDN regulations are. If the unit was built and sold in the USA the manufacturer has violated DOT regulations by not providing tires with enough load capacity to equal the vehicle’s GAWR. However, the certification label must list the GAWR as 7000#. The tag on the individual axles are provided for the vehicle manufacturer. The vehicle manufacturer can legally set the GAWR below the 7000# listed on the individual axles. Those that have contracts with Goodyear will depict 7000# axles as having 6850# GAWR on their certification labels because the GY ST tires are rated at 3420# @ 80 psi. Then they just lower the vehicle’s cargo capacity.

Another verification must also be made. ST235/80R16E tires can be rated 3420#, 3500# and 3520# and it’s legal. So the only way to actually verify what you have is to read the individual tire sidewall information. After doing all the homework and still coming up with tires rated below the vehicle’s certified GAWR you will have some heavy ammunition on your side to force the manufacturer to replace your tires and maybe even force them into a recall situation if the whole series of trailers was fitted with those tires.

TireHobby

 

[caissiel]

From past experience LT tires are way superior to ST tires. They have much more thread protection for road debris and the only negative will be road friction caused by more agresive threads.
On my previous unit ST tires would constantly blowout on the rear tires. So I got mad and installed LT C rated tires on 5k axles with 1920lbs cap. And for the first time I was able to trust the tires to drive in the dark. They were overloaded and air pressure was increased to 10psi above the rated cap and in 7 years and over 50k miles I never had tire failure.

To me LT tires are a no brainer. They are rated for passenger safety and way supperior to ST tires that I will never again put on my trailers. I have the Freestar LT G rated tires on my unit for the past 3 years and 15k miles and they look like new.

 

[Urban350]

I don’t know what the CDN regulations are. If the unit was built and sold in the USA the manufacturer has violated DOT regulations by not providing tires with enough load capacity to equal the vehicle’s GAWR. However, the certification label must list the GAWR as 7000#. The tag on the individual axles are provided for the vehicle manufacturer. The vehicle manufacturer can legally set the GAWR below the 7000# listed on the individual axles. Those that have contracts with Goodyear will depict 7000# axles as having 6850# GAWR on their certification labels because the GY ST tires are rated at 3420# @ 80 psi. Then they just lower the vehicle’s cargo capacity.

Another verification must also be made. ST235/80R16E tires can be rated 3420#, 3500# and 3520# and it’s legal. So the only way to actually verify what you have is to read the individual tire sidewall information. After doing all the homework and still coming up with tires rated below the vehicle’s certified GAWR you will have some heavy ammunition on your side to force the manufacturer to replace your tires and maybe even force them into a recall situation if the whole series of trailers was fitted with those tires.

TireHobby

These are the stickers on my trailer. So I think they can get away with it because they label the tires as such. But I do wish they had larger capacity tires on this trailer.

 

[lwmcguir]

I have blow out many Michelin tires (10 ply) prior to going with nothing but 14 or 16 ply tires. Get a tire hot and near its capacity and my experience on a trailer is that you will loose the tread. It is going to happen you just wont know when. Always have plenty of safety margin in your tires and then you insurance company will like you better for not having to replace parts of your Coach. Blew out a 10 ply Goodyear on our Yellowstone on the way to pickup the Augusta. Wrapped wiring all around the axles and tore up the fender skirt molding. Almost new tire and it just threw the tread. Still had 80 psig but it was a hot day and on the Sunny/heavy slide side of the coach. I will never tow a large camper again with 10 ply LT or ST tires.