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Man... by the time I'm done with questions (I feel like I'm always asking them!), I'll have gone through every inch of our RV  :rolleyes:    Thanks for helping us learn!!

 

Please help me understand the weight ratings on RV tires.  Our tires (Rainier ST) say "Max Load Single 1760lbs"  and "Max Load Dual" 1570lbs".  I'm guessing that single, means single axle?  Our camper has a double axle... so does that mean that the max load should be no more than 6,280 lbs??  If so, why would the dual axle rating be less than the single axle?  Also... why would Jayco put that tire on our camper, when the dry weight of our camper is right there (6,047) and the GVWR for the rig is 7,500lbs.  Wouldn't the tires need to be rated for that much??

 

What am I missing?

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No,dual is side by side on the same axle. Trailers have tandem axles.

Manufacturers also take into account the weight carried by the tow vehicle (tongue weight) for the total.

 

Okay... so I would be looking at the max single load?  That's still only 7,040... which is 460lbs under the GVWR.  I'm confused, shouldn't the tire be rated for more weight??

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What size camper do you have? One thing I will tell fifth wheel owners that have a lot of weight. Get the 235/85/16 load range G 14 ply tires. ST tires are nothing but junk. The sidewalls are weak and they're notorious for blowing and causing loads of damage. If someone would make a decent 15" tire for smaller campers that would solve a lot of problems. I guess that makes too much sense and people wouldn't buy tires as often. I bought the sailun brand and I feel much more at ease when I tow now.

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What size camper do you have? One thing I will tell fifth wheel owners that have a lot of weight. Get the 235/85/16 load range G 14 ply tires. ST tires are nothing but junk. The sidewalls are weak and they're notorious for blowing and causing loads of damage. If someone would make a decent 15" tire for smaller campers that would solve a lot of problems. I guess that makes too much sense and people wouldn't buy tires as often. I bought the sailun brand and I feel much more at ease when I tow now.

 

Ours is a 32' TT.  

 

What I'm still confused about.. is shouldn't the RV manufacturer install tires that are adequate the for the weight (dry plus loaded)??   This is a brand new camper; I will put better tires on when the times comes, but I don't want to fork out for new tires when the camper is not even a year old.

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Okay... so I would be looking at the max single load?  That's still only 7,040... which is 460lbs under the GVWR.  I'm confused, shouldn't the tire be rated for more weight??

Nope, they generally cut the margin fairly thin.

 

Add to the 7040 whatever your tongue weight is rated, say 500 pounds and you are at what they said, 7,500 pounds.

 

Don't rush out and buy higher rated tires as I bet if you crawl under the camper and get the make/model of the axle itself it is probably only rated for 3,500 pounds or so.

 

All the parts that make up the suspension have a weight rating and you are limited by the lowest number of any of them.

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A couple of things to add -

 

The tire weight rating is only valid if the tire is inflated to the max pressure marked on the side.  Less air pressure reduces the capacity of the tire due to flexing in the sidewall at lower pressures. So, fill the tires up to the max.

 

While talking about tires, I consider myself a little over the top when it comes to towing and equipment. Before every trip I torque the lug nuts, check air pressure in all tires and generally make sure everything is working. This has served me well all the years we had the pop up.

With the purchase of a 35' 6,000 pound (dry) trailer I took a friends suggestion and purchased a tire pressure monitoring system. After doing research and talking to people whose opinions I,trust I agreed that I needed one and settled on the PressurePro TPMS offered by http://www.tirepressuremonitor.com

 

So far it has saved me three times, twice on tires on the truck and once on a trailer tire.

 

The latest was the first time I towed our new Aliner.  I didn't get more than 10 miles up I-26 when the pressure alarm went off.  I was able to take the next exit and find a large paved area to stop in to investigate the alarm.  This time is was a nail in a trailer tire.  Rather than call AAA or Coach Net to change it I did it my self in about 15 minutes.  What the alarm di was allow me to work in a nice quiet are off the highway rather than trying to change a tire with trucks flying by me at 70 MPH.

 

They are expensive, but isn't your family's safety worth it?

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Nope, they generally cut the margin fairly thin.

 

Add to the 7040 whatever your tongue weight is rated, say 500 pounds and you are at what they said, 7,500 pounds.

 

Don't rush out and buy higher rated tires as I bet if you crawl under the camper and get the make/model of the axle itself it is probably only rated for 3,500 pounds or so.

 

All the parts that make up the suspension have a weight rating and you are limited by the lowest number of any of them.

 

 

Yes... the sticker on the camper says the axles are rated for 3,500 lbs which confuses me... because the camper weighs more than that loaded!  The manufacturer's (yellow) sticker says the camper can weigh 7,500 lbs which is 500 more than the axles (and tires) are rated for.  I just don't understand that.  How do they get away with that; isn't it dangerous??

 

 

 

Make sure you don't go over 65mph since you are so close to the make weight of the tires.

 

Yep, hard as it is (LOVE this diesel!!)... we stick to 65 mph.

 

 

A couple of things to add -

 

The tire weight rating is only valid if the tire is inflated to the max pressure marked on the side.  Less air pressure reduces the capacity of the tire due to flexing in the sidewall at lower pressures. So, fill the tires up to the max.

 

While talking about tires, I consider myself a little over the top when it comes to towing and equipment. Before every trip I torque the lug nuts, check air pressure in all tires and generally make sure everything is working. This has served me well all the years we had the pop up.

With the purchase of a 35' 6,000 pound (dry) trailer I took a friends suggestion and purchased a tire pressure monitoring system. After doing research and talking to people whose opinions I,trust I agreed that I needed one and settled on the PressurePro TPMS offered by http://www.tirepressuremonitor.com

 

So far it has saved me three times, twice on tires on the truck and once on a trailer tire.

 

The latest was the first time I towed our new Aliner.  I didn't get more than 10 miles up I-26 when the pressure alarm went off.  I was able to take the next exit and find a large paved area to stop in to investigate the alarm.  This time is was a nail in a trailer tire.  Rather than call AAA or Coach Net to change it I did it my self in about 15 minutes.  What the alarm di was allow me to work in a nice quiet are off the highway rather than trying to change a tire with trucks flying by me at 70 MPH.

 

They are expensive, but isn't your family's safety worth it?

 

We're actually considering a monitor, thank you for the link.   I too check air pressure before each trip.  I will admit that I don't check the lug nuts each trip... but I have checked them 3 or 4 times since purchasing the camper and each time they've been good.  I need to figure out where we can have the TPMS installed; I'm guessing the place that does our camper repairs can... or maybe discount tire??  You know, the truck.. it might have a monitor on the tires.

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Yes... the sticker on the camper says the axles are rated for 3,500 lbs which confuses me... because the camper weighs more than that loaded!  The manufacturer's (yellow) sticker says the camper can weigh 7,500 lbs which is 500 more than the axles (and tires) are rated for.  I just don't understand that.  How do they get away with that; isn't it dangerous??

 

We're actually considering a monitor, thank you for the link.   I too check air pressure before each trip.  I will admit that I don't check the lug nuts each trip... but I have checked them 3 or 4 times since purchasing the camper and each time they've been good.  I need to figure out where we can have the TPMS installed; I'm guessing the place that does our camper repairs can... or maybe discount tire??  You know, the truck.. it might have a monitor on the tires.

 

You have two axles at 3,500 pounds each = 7,000 pounds  Add to that the tongue weight of 500 pounds and you end up with your gross of 7,500

 

The TPMS sensors screw on the end of the valve stems.  Metal high pressure valve stems are recommended (even without the TPMS).

 

Are you using a torque wrench when checking the lug nuts?  Without it you can't say for certainty they are good. <_<

 

I keep a torque wrench in each camper as well as a socket extension and socket for the lug nuts.  http://www.harborfreight.com/1-2-half-inch-drive-click-type-torque-wrench-239.html

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You have two axles at 3,500 pounds each = 7,000 pounds  Add to that the tongue weight of 500 pounds and you end up with your gross of 7,500

 

The TPMS sensors screw on the end of the valve stems.  Metal high pressure valve stems are recommended (even without the TPMS).

 

Are you using a torque wrench when checking the lug nuts?  Without it you can't say for certainty they are good. <_<

 

I keep a torque wrench in each camper as well as a socket extension and socket for the lug nuts.  http://www.harborfreight.com/1-2-half-inch-drive-click-type-torque-wrench-239.html

 

Yep... we purchased the Craftsman torque wrench that Bob recommended :)

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Basicaly, almost all trailer manafactures count on 10-15% (5ers 20%) of hte traielr gross weight being carried by the TV and not the trailer axels. Which is part of the reason why you have to make sure the weight distribution hitch is set up correctly because you can realy mess up the weight by transferign the rear TV axle weight to the front wheels of the TV and to the trailer axles.

 

With how close manafactures come to maxings out the axles/tires is one of the reasons why many people switch to higher rated ST or LT tires.

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TPMS from what people are telling me is sometimes they work sometimes they don't. I had a friend say his temperature got funky right before a blow out and he stopped in time before damage. Right after he changed the tire not ten miles down the road boom with no warning the tire in front of it blew without notice and city the side off badly. So yeah he knew he had a flat but did it help by not giving notice it was going to blow? Bottom line IMO is if you're going to run an ST tire have good insurance. If your camper can handle them run a LT tire.

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Thanks for the ST-LT info.  We tow a 12 foot cargo trailer.  A couple years ago we had a leak, discovered at a rest stop.  The repair truck put on an LT tire in place of the ST we had been running.  Now, on our recent trip, we had another slow leak (the LT), discovered at a campground.  Airing it up allowed us to get home with it.  Still don't know why it leaked, but I am ready to replace both tires.  Sounds like I should look for some good LT tires of appropriate size,

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TPMS from what people are telling me is sometimes they work sometimes they don't. I had a friend say his temperature got funky right before a blow out and he stopped in time before damage. Right after he changed the tire not ten miles down the road boom with no warning the tire in front of it blew without notice and city the side off badly. So yeah he knew he had a flat but did it help by not giving notice it was going to blow? Bottom line IMO is if you're going to run an ST tire have good insurance. If your camper can handle them run a LT tire.

There will always be cases where a TPMS didn't help and yet there will many more cases where it did. Personally, I like the extra visibility into what's rolling behind me (even with upgrading the commercial trailer tires).

That said, for those looking at LT tires- be aware that they typically have a lower carrying capacity than an equivalent ST tire. Make sure that you know your weights and don't put yourself into an overloaded situation by this upgrade. If you increase a size, make sure that you have room between and above the tires for the extra outer diameter of the tire. For me, I had no room and very limited options for higher capacity tires.

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Hey Tim just ordered the tire pressure monitor. I think my husband will install it at the Fort when we pick up the camper. Any special tools that you recommend? He will also be installing the Propride while we are at the Fort as well.

The TPMS sensors just screw on the valve stems, no tools necessary.  I do think it comes with a little wrench to install some sort of anti theft device, but I've never used it (if I actually got them, fuzzy memory).

 

The Pro Pride is a lot of work and I don't know if I would loose Fort time for it.  When you ordered it id you get Sean's cell phone number?  If not I can send it to you to have while installing.

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I know Tom spoke to Sean but not sure he got his cell. Go ahead and pm it to me so we have it on hand. I think he plans to work on it during nap times, we'll be there 10 days. I personally think he is crazy but I know it will be worth it.

I'll ask him for it...

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That said, for those looking at LT tires- be aware that they typically have a lower carrying capacity than an equivalent ST tire.

Except for the Goodyear G-614, it's actually higher. If you have 16" rims that is the tire to buy. I just put them on our FW, made in the good ole USA. It's an LT made specifically for trailers.

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Except for the Goodyear G-614, it's actually higher. If you have 16" rims that is the tire to buy. I just put them on our FW, made in the good ole USA. It's an LT made specifically for trailers.

Yep. For my 16" rims, the G-614 was just about the only tire that would have suited my needs.

The only thing I wasn't sure was the sizing. The tires I had were 235/80R16; the G-614s were 235/85R16. I wasn't sure if that 80 vs. 85 mattered in the grand scheme of things. Not knowing enough about the details made me wary.

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I know Tom spoke to Sean but not sure he got his cell. Go ahead and pm it to me so we have it on hand. I think he plans to work on it during nap times, we'll be there 10 days. I personally think he is crazy but I know it will be worth it.

Sending you a PM

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See, now you got me thinking about tires again......  I really don't like the Chinese junk that came on my trailer, but to get what I want (the only US made trailer tire) I need to replace the rims and each new tire would be over $300.....

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See, now you got me thinking about tires again......  I really don't like the Chinese junk that came on my trailer, but to get what I want (the only US made trailer tire) I need to replace the rims and each new tire would be over $300.....

I am with you on that... at least i only have 2 tires/ rims to replace when i want to upgrade

I already installed a 3 inch suspension lift to try an accommodate a larger rim/ tire combo

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