Tire Recommendation 17B

[USMCJS]

In Sept. 2020, I put new Goodyear Endurance tires on my new to me 2016 17b. Just returned from a trip to the Yukon and after that trip, I believe the tires have approximately 18,000 miles on them and look very worn. Debating whether to go back with the Goodyear Endurance ST205/75R15 or try another tire. First priority is Safety. All other issues are way down the line. I would appreciate any recommendations / comments. Thank you very much.
Jim

[Mike G]

Carlisle tires are decent quality. Hard to predict whether they'll last longer. Really, though, $300 every 18k miles is not a terrible expense.

[USMCJS]

I agree on the cost. It's worth the cost to know or at least feel like you're safe.

[Iowa Dave]

We pulled our 21 about 40,000 miles on the set of Endurance tires that we got as soon as we got the trailer home from the original owner. I put a new set on this past
April.

The ones I took off were evenly worn and had 4/32 and 5/32 tread depth left. I would recommend getting a tread depth gauge for as little as they cost and definitely a tire pressure tester and 12 or 18 volt compressor to keep the pressures where you want them and to detect wear across the face of the tire at several spots. I believe strongly in balancing trailer tires just like tow vehicle tires.

I rotate the tires at about 8,000 miles and keep a close eye on inflation pressures.
I am running 56 PSI on these new ones. I have them balanced and I make sure the king nut on the axle shaft is snug at about 5 to 8 lbs torque according to Dexter. I’m running metal valve stems now.

We run very very little gravel and usually drive 60 mph or slower unless the traffic is heavy and going much faster (read that Chicago) a few times a year.

The new Endurance tires were base priced at $132 each at my Goodyear dealer. This was up from $108 each in August of 2017.
This has been my experience. YMMV
Iowa Dave

[Mike G]

I do sort of wonder if rough roads (especially gravel) wear tires faster. I have no data.

[Ops]

Originally Posted by Mike G

I do sort of wonder if rough roads (especially gravel) wear tires faster. I have no data.

A friend and neighbour works in the forestry industry and just replaced his trucks BFG K02's after roughly 40,000km/24,000miles. THAT is due to his driving on gravel logging roads approximately 70% of the time and in 4WD.

I have the same tires on the same make/model/year vehicle, with 40,000km on them and there's still another 40,000 left on them. Then again - I'm on pavement 98% of the time, rarely go off road and rarely use 4WD.

Anything that causes your suspension to work harder, like rough roads, will cause your tires to work harder, which will wear them faster just like it wears suspension components faster.

[Doug2000]

I just bought my tires already on the rims from the farm supply or trailer supply. Same weight ratings. Saves time and money getting tires installed and balanced. If we’re away, it’s easy to find another trailer tire already on a rim ready to go which has happened.

[John in Santa Cruz]

FWIW, I've put about 10,000 miles on some MASTER-something chinese trailer tires on my E21, all kinda rough roads, a few 100 miles of gravel roads in there even, and they are holding up fine. let me go outside and check what brand they actually are...

Ah, MASTERTRACK UN203, ST205/75R15, Load Range D. They were new week 20 of 2019. Local good tire store said they've been putting these on all the contractors, government, fire, etc trailers for years, and had zero complaints.

[h2owmn]

Goodyear endurance on my 2018 17A. Working quite well.

[gklott]

2-years old and 42000+ miles on the old pair, which had 3/32” tread remaining. Just replaced at Discount Tire, Marble Falls, TX. All 4 tires USD 737 with life time rotation and balancing, chrome metal stems, and full replacement hazard certificates.

73/gus

[Dave & Penny Smith]

Folks:

A cautionary tale based on my experience with Carlisle tires. Our 17B came with Carlisle tires when we purchased it (new) on 8/14/2015. They had been run for some 17,755 miles when I replaced them with Goodyear Endurance tires on 5/26/2020. The Carlisle tires were showing some wear and as they were nearing the 6 year age mark, I felt that they should be replaced. Unfortunately, I did not replace the spare tire as it had never been on the trailer. given that we had never had a flat with the Carlisle tires, I felt using the old (but never used) tire as a spare was a reasonable risk. As of 7/06/2022, we still have not experienced a flat-- the Goodyear tires have been run for 4963 miles. (COVID concerns have keep us closer to home the last two years. On 7/06, I found that the Carlisle spare had literally blown up! It was mounted on the spare tire carrier on the back bumper of the Escape, and the top portion of the tire had exploded, destroying the tire cover. I had never experienced such a tire failure on an old, but never used tire. My conclusion is that the 6 year maximum age limit is something to be religiously adhered to. Fortunately, the Carlisle failure did not happen while it was on the trailer in use. So, other than having to replace the spare tire cover, I'm not out anything. Bought a new Goodyear Endurance yesterday. I will not resist spending money for new tires when the existing Goodyears need to be replaced.

Dave

[CharlesinGA]

Originally Posted by Dave & Penny Smith

Folks:

A cautionary tale based on my experience with Carlisle tires. Our 17B came with Carlisle tires when we purchased it (new) on 8/14/2015. They had been run for some 17,755 miles when I replaced them with Goodyear Endurance tires on 5/26/2020. The Carlisle tires were showing some wear and as they were nearing the 6 year age mark, I felt that they should be replaced. Unfortunately, I did not replace the spare tire as it had never been on the trailer. given that we had never had a flat with the Carlisle tires, I felt using the old (but never used) tire as a spare was a reasonable risk. As of 7/06/2022, we still have not experienced a flat-- the Goodyear tires have been run for 4963 miles. (COVID concerns have keep us closer to home the last two years. On 7/06, I found that the Carlisle spare had literally blown up! It was mounted on the spare tire carrier on the back bumper of the Escape, and the top portion of the tire had exploded, destroying the tire cover. I had never experienced such a tire failure on an old, but never used tire. My conclusion is that the 6 year maximum age limit is something to be religiously adhered to. Fortunately, the Carlisle failure did not happen while it was on the trailer in use. So, other than having to replace the spare tire cover, I'm not out anything. Bought a new Goodyear Endurance yesterday. I will not resist spending money for new tires when the existing Goodyears need to be replaced.

Dave

The Firestone space saver spare in my 2004 Pontiac Vibe did the same thing. I had not looked at it in a while but had some stuff apart removing the seat covers for laundering and noticed it. Tire stores shrugged their shoulders and said check a junkyard, even the family owned store I deal with 99% of the time. I ordered a Continental on Amazon, very new date.

With my 2008 Bigfoot, it still had the original 2007 dated Goodyear Marathon spare on it and that was the first thing I replaced. It is now on my utility trailer (local use, nothing heavy) along with the only good Hercules off the ground, from the Bigfoot. I have 5 GY Endurance on the BF now, new rims, balanced, solid metal stems, and Centramatics too.

Charles

[Dlawseth]

I'm following the advice on tire replacements - I'm currently looking since we are coming up on five seasons (though only 12,000 km/7,500 miles), much of it on logging roads. However, I've become confused about load ratings. Our 2017 17B OEMs are Rainier ST, which have a maximum load rating of 2,150 lbs. The dry weight of the 17B is 2,640 lbs, with a GVWR of 4,000 lbs. This doesn't appear to add up well. Am I miscalculating how the load is applied or distributed between two tires?

[Viajante]

Each tire is 2150#; for a total of 4300#. So the tires are ok.

[John in Santa Cruz]

actually, total of 4300 lbs...

[Dlawseth]

Thanks both. I’ll take and find comfort with either 4300.

Don

[rubicon327]

With a GVWR of 4000# is Escape still using the Torflex #10 on the 17? This axle is typically rated for 3500# but can be configured for up to 4,000# capacity I believe. I know some of the weight is on the tongue but it seems to be cutting it a bit close. Doesn’t seem like it would be too difficult for Escape to step up to a Torflex #11.