Tire Advice 17b

[USMCJS]

New owner of slightly used 2016 17b needs tire advice. The trailer has the original tires so I suspect they were manufactured in 2016. I would like to replace them. One local trailer shop recommended Power Kings. However, the reviews are not good on the tires he recommended so I'd like to consider others. I want no Chinese manufactured tires and I have a bad history with Goodyear tire failures.

Any advice appreciated.

[padlin]

I'm sure opinions differ, but to me the best ones to choose from are the Maxxis M8008's and the Goodyear Endurance. You've already ruled out the Endurance so go for the Maxxis. They are NOT made in China, they come from Thailand.

[Bill and Earline]

I realize that prior models of Goodyear trailer tires were unreliable. The new ones, the Endurance (since 2019) have a good reputation. There are quite a few of us using them. In case of a problem, it seems there is a dealer in every town.

To check the "born on" date of your current tires look for an oval stamped into the side wall about an inch long with a four digit code, usually near the word D.O.T. Example of 3316 would be the thirty-third week of 2016.

[gbaglo]

Originally Posted by USMCJS

Any advice appreciated.

That's dangerous.

[marant]

What ever you do, do not do what I did.

The tires on our 2010 17B needed replacement when we purchased it, and, upon examination, I decided to replace the rusty rims also. Ordered a rim/tire combination from Walmart with no problem.


I mounted them myself, and obviously was not paying attention to what I was doing, as I mounted one backwards, with the stem on the inside! Discovered it after a short trip and fixed the problem with no damage, but lesson learned: Pay Attention to even the simple things.

[Vermilye]

2x on the choice of Maxxis or Endurance. I had Maxxis on my 17, and currently have Goodyear Endurance on my 21.

[USMCJS]

Thanks to all for your advice. I have ordered three Goodyear Endurance tires.

Jim

[Iowa Dave]

I think you’ll like the Endurance tires. I had a set of Marathons that worked out well for us and never caused any problems. The Original Marathons on our 2013 Escape 21 went a good long distance. They were replaced when we bought the trailer in 2017 with Endurance. I have right at 37,000 miles on those and will buy new ones next spring. I’m at about 5/32 tread depth yet and won’t do any long distance running before winter. I rotate the tires at about every 7,500 miles so the spare is used up too. I’ll be fine till next April or early May. I buy tires in person, know my salesman, and tell him I expect fresh tires. I’ve had a couple Goodyear tires on Dodge Pickups separate or have broken belts. I quit Goodyears on my tow vehicle and am using Michelin’s on both of our vehicles now. I’ve been happy with the Michelin’s.
They have been LTX, Defenders and Latitudes. Everyone has opinions on tires, and depending on their problems or lack of, opinions vary widely.
Iowa Dave

[flynfrfun]

Planning on installing Goodyear Endurance tires on our 17b. Curious what pressure to run? I’ve been running 50psi on my existing Carlisle’s. Looking at Goodyear’s chart, it appears I could run anywhere from about 40psi all the way up to 65psi. The trailer fully loaded is about 3200lbs. On the chart I could run 40 psi at that weight. But that seems low. Wouldn't my gas mileage suffer?

https://www.goodyearrvtires.com/pdfs/rv_inflation.pdf

[Iowa Dave]

Our 21 weighs 4360 loaded. On 4 tires that’s about 1100 lbs per tire. I drive right at 62mph on highways with limits from 60 to 75 mph. About 58 mph on roads with 55 mph limits. At summertime temps where the day is predicted to be 85 degrees or less, I start the day ( cold tire temp) at about 60 psi. On days when it will be 85 plus, I start the day at about 58 psi. I do not sense a harsh road response at those pressures with that load. My wear has been uniform across the tread without excessive edge wear, inner or outer ,and without center of tread excessive wear from over inflation. Others may have other results. When I check the pressure hot, at the end of the day I do not find pressures in excess of 65 psi. Since the tires are rated at 65 psi cold I think I’m in the range. Some folks run a little softer than I do. For my trailer weight I like where I’m at and I do not have open cabinets or pictures off the walls at the end of the day. That’s just one opinion, I’m sure you’ll get others.
Iowa Dave

[Bill and Earline]

I mentioned in a previous post that the Endurance tires have been around since 2019, but based on Iowa Dave’s exquisite memory, I checked my receipts. We got our set of Endurance tires in November 2017, based on my son having researched and bought 4 for his boat trailer and Dave’s purchase.

We have around 30,000 miles, with no problems and I will probably replace them within he next year depending on how many miles we are able to go in that time.

The tires show in bold letters on the sidewall of the tires, 65 PSI, but I run 58 PSI,or so. The speed rating is in the 80’s mph. I drive 60, unless I obstruct traffic, then it’s up to 65.

[flynfrfun]

Thanks Bill and Dave, I will start with 60psi and see how it goes. Waiting and hoping that Discount tire has the Goodyears on sale for Labor Day.

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by flynfrfun

Planning on installing Goodyear Endurance tires on our 17b. Curious what pressure to run? I’ve been running 50psi on my existing Carlisle’s.

With the same size tire, and no need for increased capacity, I don't see any reason to change inflation pressure from the previous tires.

Originally Posted by flynfrfun

Looking at Goodyear’s chart, it appears I could run anywhere from about 40psi all the way up to 65psi. The trailer fully loaded is about 3200lbs. On the chart I could run 40 psi at that weight. But that seems low. Wouldn't my gas mileage suffer?

https://www.goodyearrvtires.com/pdfs/rv_inflation.pdf

40 PSI would be adequate, but even if that's all that you need 50 PSI isn't unreasonably high.

The same load/inflation chart applies to all brands and load ranges of ST tires up to the maximum pressure for each load range.

Originally Posted by Bill and Earline

The tires show in bold letters on the sidewall of the tires, 65 PSI...

That's the maximum inflation pressure; it will be 65 PSI for every Load Range D ST ("special trailer) tire.

[flynfrfun]

Discount tire inflated my new Endurance tires to 65psi. I could definitely tell it was a rougher ride for the trailer on a short test drive, so I lowered them down to 55psi. We are going to Nehalem Bay state park in OR next week. About 5hrs from home. That will give me some time on the road to see what I think. I had them install metal valve stems so I could install tpms. Looking forward to being able to monitor my trailer tire pressure.

[escape artist]

Originally Posted by flynfrfun

Discount tire inflated my new Endurance tires to 65psi. I could definitely tell it was a rougher ride for the trailer on a short test drive, so I lowered them down to 55psi. We are going to Nehalem Bay state park in OR next week. About 5hrs from home. That will give me some time on the road to see what I think. I had them install metal valve stems so I could install tpms. Looking forward to being able to monitor my trailer tire pressure.

Hi: flynfrfun... When I asked my rural tire dealer about new rubbers for "Escape Hatch II" he stated "All trailer tires are made in "Chyna". After we got that straightened out and the GY Endurance tires (Made in USA) came in and were mounted he told me all the guys were impressed at how much more they weighed than the "Chyna" ones. I run mine at 45 psi like I did the original Carlyles. Alf
escape artist N.S. of Lake Erie

[flynfrfun]

Thanks for that Escape artist! Thats good to know. I will be shooting for the best ride possible without sacrificing mileage too much. Only way to know is to get out and drive. I have this Oregon trip and then a biggie down to the Salton Sea in CA next February to zero in on what psi I like.

[Mike G]

Originally Posted by flynfrfun

Discount tire inflated my new Endurance tires to 65psi. I could definitely tell it was a rougher ride for the trailer on a short test drive, so I lowered them down to 55psi. We are going to Nehalem Bay state park in OR next week. About 5hrs from home. That will give me some time on the road to see what I think. I had them install metal valve stems so I could install tpms. Looking forward to being able to monitor my trailer tire pressure.

One thing to watch out for... my TST tpms sensors have brass threads, and I have to specify 'no aluminum valve stems' to avoid galvanic corrosion. I ruined one sensor a couple years ago because it would not come off the stem (so I couldn't add air).

[flynfrfun]

Originally Posted by Mike G

One thing to watch out for... my TST tpms sensors have brass threads, and I have to specify 'no aluminum valve stems' to avoid galvanic corrosion. I ruined one sensor a couple years ago because it would not come off the stem (so I couldn't add air).

Thats good advice. I just checked and the valve stem is not magnetic. It does have a chrome plating on it though. I don't plan on leaving the tpms sensors on the tires while in storage so they will only be on the stem about 2-3 weeks a year. I’m going to check with Discount tire to see exactly what stems they installed. Chrome plating and brass are 3 apart on the galvanic chart. Aluminum and brass are 11 apart! They say closer is better.

[alanmalk]

Originally Posted by Iowa Dave

Our 21 weighs 4360 loaded. On 4 tires that’s about 1100 lbs per tire.

...
That’s just one opinion, I’m sure you’ll get others.
Iowa Dave

And one more opinion. Using the same logic as Dave and looking at the Goodyear inflation chart, I see that 25 psi is the minimum for one tire carrying 1/4 of the entire weight of my '21. But of course that leaves zero safety factor and probably excessive tread wear.

When I drove home from the tire dealer the ride was terribly harsh because they inflated to the sidewall max of 65 psi. Perhaps that's ok for a break-in period but unacceptable for the long term.

Common sense suggested to me (a rare event, indeed), that I should inflate to the Escape recommended 50 psi. So that is what is was for 18 months.

But the other day I drove the trailer home from long term storage and noticed the ride to be smoother than average. Checked the pressure and found the tires to be down to 45 psi. (A loss of 5 psi over 9 months, plus perhaps cooler weather can account for this change.)

Liking what noticed about the drive I have now reduced my starting pressure to 48 psi. We shall see how my upcoming trip to Utah goes with this new (and rather trivial) change.

--
Alan

[Iowa Dave]

I concur that finding the particular “sweet spot” based on trailer weight, road conditions, tire wear and stability when towing and braking takes a bit of experimentation and concentration on the “feel”. A wise man told me I could learn to feel the difference in 1/2 of a thread of tension on the Anderson hitch. I told him I doubted that I could I just wasn’t that good. But after about 20,000 miles of towing the Escape 21 I found that I could feel the difference and modify the thread count from about 4 1/2 to 6 on my setup depending upon load conditions etc and my estimate each morning on the hookup became very comfortable throughout the day. Always with exactly the same amount showing on both sides and always with even tire pressures on the Escape and “towing pressures” on the tow vehicle. I drive my rig when I’m comfortable with the performance and don’t mirror settings of others.
Good luck to all in your travels.
Lombardi Said “Luck is where preparation meets opportunity”. I believe that.
Iowa Dave