[goodellj]

I was going through tires when my 2012 3150RL was new. It came with E-rated tires and I was replacing an average of 2 tires a year. I got a TPMS and a Viair compressor and kept the pressures well maintained. Some tire replacements were due to punctures but most were due to broken belts, and I was always far from home. I decided that replacing the tires with whatever the local tire shop had in stock was not satisfactory, so when I replaced 2 tires due to wear with good quality tires, I also got 2 extra unmounted tires which I carried in the bed of the truck (and kept the original spare). We wintered in AZ and I used one of the unmounted spares on the way out and the other on the way back. I was very frustrated and always asking for advice from tire techs (and I had lots of contact with them!).

Finally one of them asked about the E-rated tires and the weight of the trailer. I had weighed my trailer several times and it was always under it's weight limit by at least 500 pounds. He said I was too close and needed a greater weight margin. After using both my unmounted spares on a 3,000 mile trip, I went to my local tire shop at home and replaced all 4 with G-rated tires, and of course I got 2 extra unmounted spares. The G-rated tires are slightly larger than the E-rated tires and fit on the same wheel rims.

That was 3 years ago and I have had no problems since, even though I have put 24,000 miles on them. I always do a thorough inspection before each trip and I have lots of experience and know what to look for. We just got home from El Mirage AZ and I noticed a little uneven wear on both rear tires, so I rotated them. I still have the 2 unmounted spares and I've been hauling them on every trip. This summer I am going to replace the original spare with one of the G-rated unmounted spares, since it is pretty old now.

I never thought I would be thinking about replacing the 4 tires on the trailer because of age (due to my frequent troubles), but I am now planning to replace them at 4 or 5 years. BTW, the G-rated tires are Gladiators.