texatDurango
North Texas
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Joined: 02/10/2002
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I am looking for opinions from those who may be more knowlegable about tires than myself.
I have a fifth wheel and just recently had the rig weighed showing how much each wheel weighed as well as the pin and truck weights. I had Goodyear G614 "G" rated tires on the trailer which were rated at 3750 lbs at 110 psi. My individual tire weights ranged from 3200 to 3600 and I wasn't comfortable with being so close to the tires maximum ratings so I switched both tires and wheels.
I now have the Goodyear 17.5" G114 "H" rated tires which are rated at 4850 lbs at 125psi.
Of course I will not be increasing my individual weights, just glad to have the extra margin of safety the added capacity affords and hopefully no more blow outs!
Per the tires rated capacities, the tires can safely support 3695 lbs at only 90 psi going all the way up to 4805 lbs at 125 psi.
My question.... Would it be better on the tire to run at full 125 psi even though I don't need the capacity or run at say 110 psi which gives me 4340 lbs support or even 100 psi which still supports 4020 lbs which is 400 lbs over what the tires will probably average weighing?
2006 Duramax Diesel 1 ton dually tugging around a 2006 Mobile Suites 36TK3 #2609. Retired and just travelling around now and then seeing the sights.
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dbbls
Missouri
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Tires will run cooler if inflated to the max.
1999 F250 Superduty, V10 with Banks Power Pack
2004 Colorado 29RL 5th wheel with 3600 watt Onan
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Dr Quick
M'boro, Tn
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Joined: 08/25/2004
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What does your owners manual say for the trailer, or the plack on the left front of the trailer near the jack location?
Over inflating a tire will cause it to wear more in the center, also you actualy have less of the tire footprint in contact with the road which could reduce braking especialy on wet roads. Will cause harsher ride too.
My tires are rated at max pressure of 60 psi, but plack says 50 psi. Towed trailer 10,000 last summer at 50 psi and '0' problems. I have aways used recommended pressure, not maximum pressure, and in close to 50,000 miles of towing 4 different trailersI have never had a tire fail.
Dr quick
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skipnchar
Topeka Kansas USA
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Joined: 12/17/2003
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Since you decided you wanted "an extra margin of safety" by over-sizing your tires I can't imagine why you'd want to not USE that margin now by under-inflating your tires. Unless you fill them up you have NOT gained any safety margin by upgrading.
As for your owners manual, that is of no use what-so-ever with you no longer have the tires to which it refers. Never a good idea to apply information about ONE product to another just because they look pretty much alike.
Good luck / skip
2004 F-250 SCREW Long Bed (new)
OR 2004 F-150 HD (85,000 towing miles)
Rockwood 8314SS 34' travel trailer
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Haifisch
Silverdale WA
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Tires that stiff inflated to max, seems it would shake your trailer to death. I would run them at an inflation pressure high enough for the max expected load without being so hard. A little higher pressure seems it would help with fuel mileage too.
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Kodiak5er
Alex Bay NY Summer; Sanford FL Winter
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Joined: 07/11/2004
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texatDurango wrote:I am looking for opinions from those who may be more knowlegable about tires than myself.
I now have the Goodyear 17.5" G114 "H" rated tires which are rated at 4850 lbs at 125psi.
My question.... Would it be better on the tire to run at full 125 psi even though I don't need the capacity or run at say 110 psi which gives me 4340 lbs support or even 100 psi which still supports 4020 lbs which is 400 lbs over what the tires will probably average weighing?
We had the same problem with our Cypress 5th wheel (we were only 20# from going over our rating) and I did the same thing you did, switched to 17.5" wheels and G114 H rated tires.
I'm running them at 110# and just got back from a trip from NY to FL and back with no tire issues what so ever. They run slightly warm and do not "shake" anything in the trailer.
The owners manual would not be right after switching tires.
Sure is nice to not have to worry about tires on a heavy 5th wheel.
1990 6500 Chevy Kodiak, 8.3L Cummins 450 HP
6sp Allison 3060, 3.70 R/A Home Made Air Ride
2006 Newmar Cypress
Picture of '93 Mountain Aire Story of it's death by fire and explosion
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smkettner
Southern California
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I usually hit the middle somewhere on these issues.
2001 F150 SuperCrew
2006 Keystone Springdale 249FWBHLS
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byronlj
Loveland, CO/Lake Havasu City, AZ
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texatdurango,
Haven't seen a post from you lately. Where did you purchase your 17.5" wheels? I am wanting to do the same as you.
Dave
byronlj
07.5 Silverado LTZ Ex. Cab 3500HD dually 4X4 duramax LMM/allison 6spd
07 HR Presidential Suite 37RLQ
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texatDurango
North Texas
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Thanks for the replies folks.
Kodiak, the 110 sounds good, that is what I was considering doing as well, thanks for the input.
Dave,
The 17.5" wheels I bought fit the 8k Dexter axles with the 8 lug nut pattern using the existing 9/16-18 lugs. I bought the 17.5" wheels and Goodyear tires from www.trailertiresandwheels.com, good folks to do business with.
Due to the profile of the tires, the new 17.5" tires/wheels actually sit the trailer about 1/2" LOWER than the old 16" tires. I was concerned that they would raise the trailer 1 1/2", which I didn't want. They mounted and balanced the tires on the wheels, and shipped them to me ready to mount on the trailer. A nice touch since we're in a park in California right now. Rolling them off the UPS truck and taking an hour to mount on my trailer was a painless task!
To those mentioning following the "Owners manual" recommendations... You could only apreciate the humor if you could see the "owners manual" that comes with these trailers... or at least back in 2006! Just an FYI.... there are many folks blowing out tires on these heavy trailers since the "G" rated tires that are supplied on the trailers are running at or near maximum limits with only a few pots and pans loaded in the trailers. Since I bought my trailer, Double Tree now offers a 17.5" option which almost everyone now uses. I wouldn't be suprised if they discontinue offering the 16" tires all together since the trailers are really just too heavy for them!
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texatDurango
North Texas
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Kodiak5er wrote: ....We had the same problem with our Cypress 5th wheel (we were only 20# from going over our rating) and I did the same thing you did, switched to 17.5" wheels and G114 H rated tires.
I'm running them at 110# and just got back from a trip from NY to FL and back with no tire issues what so ever. They run slightly warm and do not "shake" anything in the trailer.
The owners manual would not be right after switching tires.
Sure is nice to not have to worry about tires on a heavy 5th wheel.
We leave here in two weeks so I'll get a chance to see how they ride. With the Trailer Saver air ride hitch and MoreRyde suspension I don't look for any problems. Like yourself, it's going to be nice not worrying about having a blowout around every corner. My last one was last summer on I-5 just south of Sacramento in heavy traffic, not a pleasant experience!
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