Why do they put such tiny tires on travel trailers

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I know people always complain about tire blow outs on these, but her I wonder Why? How do those things tow anyways with those dinky narrow tires? I'd imagine things would get a bit interesting in a heavy crosswind
 
A properly loaded travel trailer should be within the weight limit of OEM tires on a travel trailer. Most blow outs happen from under inflation, and curb hopping, as well as excess speed. Most travel trailer tires are rated for 65mph-at maximum inflation.

When was the last time you saw somebody check inflation before pulling out of a campground? How many times have you seen a rig going faster than 65mph?


With a properly adjusted weight-distributing hitch/anti sway device-sway should be kept under control except in extraordinary circumstances.


I have towed a travel trailer from the west to east coast-and all over the inter-mountain west and had never had a blow out-because I always check inflation pressure, never exceed 65mph-and replace tires at the first signs of cracking.
 
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One of our senior engineers is from a farming family and they are all over the Goodyear Endurance (US made) trailer tires for moving some serious kit … they have even modified fenders to max out the tire size with the axle rating …
On all boats I have ever bought - the factory tires become spares … ST tires = big problem with small solutions …
 
Originally Posted By: Nick1994
I've always wondered that too. I think they should either go big or go home.



Spoken by someone who doesn't tow......
 
We take our horse trailer on the pretty rough back roads here and it has the smallish 15 inch tires/rims. Finally found some 10 ply trailer tires for it. Seems like the 15 inch trailer tires are scare in 10 ply. We had a run of flats with the old 8 plys and so far no problems with the higher rated 10 plys.
 
my little trailer seems to be equipped with the exact opposite it has large tires considering it is only 6ft long 46 inches wide.
the stock tires are 205/75/15 it has a lot of ground clearance also.
 
For problems with tires and axles don't forget rusty bearings on boat trailers. Combine that with low inflation pressures and it's a good idea to keep clear of anyone towing a boat down the road. When a tire blows out or a wheel comes off you should consider not being there.

Our horse trailers have larger wheels and tires. Horses are a live load and a bit of extra safety margin on ratings is good. We usually carry 2 spares and a repair kit. Being stuck on the side of the road with a flat and 1 to 4 horses is no fun. We also inspect things on every trip. Having an accident with horses is even less fun than a flat tire.
 
I don't know that I've seen "tiny" tires on an RV trailer, but it certainly depends upon what brand/grade of rig you're speaking of. Some of the older, lighter pop-up trailers got those dinky squatted tires and they were poor to say the least.

My rig (Cherokee Wolf Pup) came with a tire/suspension package that is actually quite will suited; actually over sized if you ask me. My dry weight is around 4k, and my GVWR is 7k, and I have two 3500 pound axles with C rated ST205-75R15 tires. I just recently "upgraded" to "D" range this summer.


Many of today's upper end rigs have decent sized tires on them. But the cheaper you go in the market of RVs, they will cut costs everywhere they can, and that includes the running gear and tires.

Is this some sort of surprise?
 
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Tire Blowout mostly happen to irresponsible owners:

1) outdated old tires, they expire/crack/loss integrity despite how few miles you run them
2) running tires low on air overheating them leading to blow outs
3) overloading tires
4) speeding with tires which overheats them
5) damaging tires by 2,3,4 of combination thereof
6) parking tires long term on less then optimal conditions (dirt, grass, gravel etc) instead of a 2x8
 
Originally Posted By: madRiver
Tire Blowout mostly happen to irresponsible owners:

1) outdated old tires, they expire/crack/loss integrity despite how few miles you run them
2) running tires low on air overheating them leading to blow outs
3) overloading tires
4) speeding with tires which overheats them
5) damaging tires by 2,3,4 of combination thereof
6) parking tires long term on less then optimal conditions (dirt, grass, gravel etc) instead of a 2x8



Some of that is true, but it's also due to cheap tires sourced from China. I personally had a blowout on one of my brand new Discount Tire branded Hartland trailer tires this fall. The tire had a whopping 1350 miles on it; was one of four brand new tires bought this summer. I was traveling 65 mph, in a light cool rain, on a smooth interstate. I had checked the tires the night before, in preparation of our return trip home that day. The tire that had a failure was a true, catastrophic separation and shredded itself in a matter of seconds. It was in the left, rear trailer tire position, when means the other three tires (LF truck tire, LR truck tire, LF trailer tire) all seemed to pass over the same ground prior to the LR tire did, before it blew out. And, they are "D" rated; good for 87mph and 2150 pound each. My trailer only weighs 5k total, which means ...
- the tire was no where close to max load capacity; probably was loaded to around 60% of capacity
- the tire was way under the rated max speed; 22 mph under it's advertised limit
- the tire was not over-heated due to environment; it was in the 50s and raining
- the tire likely did not get a puncture; the three tires in front if it didn't suffer any damage or malady
Nope - it failed because it was a poorly made, poor quality-control tire. Despite all the assurances of the guy who sold them to me.

In the future, I will ONLY buy tires made in the States for my trailers. Even though it costs more.
Goodyear finally decided to start making their trailer tires here in the States again.
 
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Originally Posted By: CKN
A properly loaded travel trailer should be within the weight limit of OEM tires on a travel trailer. Most blow outs happen from under inflation, and curb hopping, as well as excess speed. Most travel trailer tires are rated for 65mph-at maximum inflation.

When was the last time you saw somebody check inflation before pulling out of a campground? How many times have you seen a rig going faster than 65mph?


With a properly adjusted weight-distributing hitch/anti sway device-sway should be kept under control except in extraordinary circumstances.




I have towed a travel trailer from the west to east coast-and all over the inter-mountain west and had never had a blow out-because I always check inflation pressure, never exceed 65mph-and replace tires at the first signs of cracking.



+1
 
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Originally Posted By: dnewton3

It was in the left, rear trailer tire position, when means the other three tires (LF truck tire, LR truck tire, LF trailer tire) all seemed to pass over the same ground prior to the LR tire did, before it blew out. And, they are "D" rated; good for 87mph and 2150 pound each. My trailer only weighs 5k total, which means ...
- the tire likely did not get a puncture; the three tires in front if it didn't suffer any damage or malady
Nope - it failed because it was a poorly made, poor quality-control tire. Despite all the assurances of the guy who sold them to me.


That is not quite true many times the front tire will hit junk on the road and stand it up into the rear tire.. I suppose you could have had a loss of air pressure and catastrophic failure, but agreed its unknown and not likely I suppose.

Quote:
And, they are "D" rated; good for 87mph and 2150 pound each.


I'm assuming you meant they are D-"8 ply" with N Speed rating.

That is actually quite decent for trailer tires..
I laugh everytime I see some redneck bro truck with a 12" drop hitch(because of massive truck lift) towing a uhaul at 85mph that has dont exceed 45mph on the fenders.
 
those 'tiny tires' usually need to run at 70-80 PSI !!!!! most miss that and only put 32 = FAIL . . .
They use tiny ones to keep the trailer floor low & without 'tire humps' in floorplan.
Lotta gas-station air-compressors (and many homeowners ones) can't get psi up that high.
Tiny tire(s) (in good condition) can easily handle the load/speed at proper inflation.
 
Without a failure analysis you cant really make blanket statements about why a tire has failed. Over the years I have lost 2 tires, one lost air while on the expressway, fortunately I noticed it shredding the sidewall and pulled off before it came completely apart. This was a tire that had just been checked 25 miles prior and air pressure verified less than 3 hrs before. I wasnt driving over 65, I wasnt overloaded, the tire had been protected when stored and it hadnt been damaged, my best guess is I ran over something.
The other failure was a complete separation causing damage to my trailer. same care as the other time but apparently the tire had a catastrophic failure. I can guess that it was because it was a cheap chinese tire but could never say that was for sure the cause because there wasnt much of it left.

In answer to the OP question, its all about money, moist trailer builders will put only whats legally necessary and no more.
 
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Trailer tires blow for a lot of reasons, most already mentioned.

My trailer has a GVWR of nearly 7900 lbs, I'm guessing we're pretty close to that when loaded for a long trip. The trailer came with 2 3500 lb axles, which would be overloaded if not for the 1200+ lb tongue weight. I have a tongue weight scale, but have not weighed the entire trailer. The tires and axles are close to max, if not over once you consider possible side to side loading differences.

When it was new it came with cheap bias ply tires that immediately started to wear funny. For season 2 I bought 5 new Maxxis tires with a higher load rating. 205/75R15, went from Load Range C to D. I have not had a tire issue since. The first summer I had to replace 2 of the tires. The suspension seems inadequate for the load as well, I can see where some of the tires are rubbing on the bottom of the trailer. I think I'm going to replace the axles with 5200 lb axles which will give me bigger brakes as well. The higher rated springs should sit up enough to give me some clearance so I'm no longer rubbing and also allow a bump to 225/75R15 LRE tires. Beefier tires, brakes, and bearings. Crazy thing is, the next model trailer up has the same GVWR, same basic frame (just longer) and the same tires and axles. Mine had over 2000 lbs of load capacity, the longer bigger trailer had barely more than 1000 lbs of capacity. It would be super easy to over load that trailer. For all I know, I might be overloaded. I should hit the scales sometime.
 
Underinflation and speed may contribute to blowouts but the real problem for many of us is bad, often Chinese made tires.

I tow boats 4 days a week for our watershow operation, on a road trip we may have as many as 8 trailers.
This will be my 40th year of doing so.

Example 1: One of our smaller single rigs (only one motor) still had the original tires on it after 15 years, deep cracks, worn out, General brand and still no failures. We purchased new tires from Tires Plus, Nanco brand, highly recommended by the seller. 3 of the 4 blew on the first road trip of about 300 miles. Yes fully inflated and towed on 2 lane roads at lower speeds. Tires Plus did not stand behind them, claiming the same as some writers on here. They talked our treasurer into buying 6 ply rated tires, same brand, 75 lb tires......same results, just a louder bang when they blow!
Remember the original Generals never gave trouble and were only 4 ply, 50 lb tires.


Example 2: A new triple rig we purchased, $80,000 invested, also a tandem axle. 7,000 lbs of capacity, actual weight of 5,000 lbs. Within 2 years all 4 had blown out. One blew about 1 mile from our hotel (road trip) after I had gotten up early, walked around carefully checking tire pressure, etc. Could still see the hotel from the interstate on ramp....blew completely apart throwing the entire center out. Radial Trail CRT was the brand on the sidewall, made in China.
The next 8 years - till now---have been on Goodyears and have had no failures.

I could give more examples...but here is my takeaway. We replace with Goodyear Marathons and have no further problems. Likely other major brands are good also. Car tires are always good on our boat trailers and we often use them when the capacity ratings are adequate. One of our twin rigs weighed 4,400 lbs and was towed for many years with car tires only rated to hold up 3400 lbs total and they ran until worn out.

Incidentally, I contacted DOT about the 100% failure rate brands and learned that they do not test trailer tires.....only car tires for the DOT certification. Many of you older car buffs may remember when they began testing car tires, lots of them blew out when tested at their rated capacity and tire quality was forced to greatly improve at that time. Hopefully the current deregulation trend will not return us to the 1950's and 60's when blowouts were a standard part of driving.

Titan, who makes large equipment tires and we thought had a good reputation bought a Firestone Factory, fired all the help and brought in replacement workers. Yeah we live nearby....got some of their tires, 100 percent failures, although they usually threw part of the tread off before blowing, you might get 5 miles of warning and find a safe place to pull over.

I could go on, but I know that none of our blowouts were the users fault!

fsskier
 
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