Montana LT vs ST Tires

[ssetw03]

Hi All, New to this site but have viewed things on the forum...thank you for letting me join. I have a 2002 Montana 5er 32RK. It still has the original tires from the original owner..purchased from him in 2007. The tires on it are:
LT 235/85 R16 Load Range E.
I want to but new tires and owner of the RV storage center it would be better/cheaper to purchase new rims with the tires. He sent to a tire dealer he deals with and they want to sell me just tires but is recommending ST vs LT.
I called Keystone and they said to stick with what is on there because they are on there for a reason. They gave me 2 tire manufacturers that they deal with 1 being : Tredittire.com THey are telling that they provide all the camper manufacturers with the same tire a ST their issues for Light Truck (LT) tires.
I am confused as to how to proceed....BTW...getting a vrey good price from them of : $103.37 per tire mounted on a 6 lug White MOD rim.
Can anyone give me some advice. Thank you
Eddie - ssetw03@yahoo.com

[rohrmann]

Your trailer has no more than 6,000 lb axles, so the LT truck tire works fine for that application. If you want, you can use an ST tire, and the Goodyear Endurance is an American made E range tire that seems to be much better than a lot of the Chinese E range trailer tires. I don't think going to the extreme of replacing wheels and going with a G range tire is really necessary, but that is also an option, but it's up to you what you want to do.

[Texan]

Bob is right in that the E-rated tires would be ok for your weight capacity and axles. The Michelin rib 10 ply all steel radial is the best 10 ply tire on the market. They are all steel as the g rated tires made by Sailun and Goodyear that are very popular. I know that Discount Tire carries the Michelin Rib and probably anyone that sells Michelin tires. These tires weigh about the same as the G-rated tires. I had these tires on a previous rv with 6,000 pound axles and they worked great.

[ssetw03]

HI Bob Rohrmann & Texan,
Thank you both for your replies. I am hopefully attaching PDF Quote file from Tredit Tire com. She quotes a Rainier brand tire. Never heard of it but hopefully it is ok. According to Keystone this is 1 of 2 tire dealers that they get their tires from & Keystone says if they quote an :ST" tire than that is what I should go with. I meant to attach the file earlier but haven't been on forums in a while and had to figure out how to do it. Let me know your thoughts...Thanks Again.
Eddie

[ssetw03]

Thanks Bob ...added an attachment.

[ssetw03]

Thanks Texan....added quote please review. Thanks

[Carl n Susan]

Early Montanas through 2008 (or so) shipped with LT tires. There was always a lot of discussion on what brand to replace them with. A long ago member LonnieB was a tire distriutor who provided advice to many of us. In 2010 or so, it was true that

LT tires had vastly more reserve capacity than equivalently priced ST ones. The list he recommended were:

LT235/85R16E

1. Michelin XPS Rib - $314.00 each.
2. Bridgestone Duravis R250 - $250.00 each.
3. Bridgestone Duravis R500 - $206.00 each.
4. Firestone Transforce H/T - $162.00 each.
5. BF Goodrich Commercial T/A - $188.00 each.

Today there are ST tires with a large reserve capacity at competitive prices. I would use one of the those listed above or Sailuns (run at 80 P.S.I. as your wheels may not be certified for 110)

[ssetw03]

Thanks Carl. Not intending on keeping this camper for a long time...would like to sell and maybe go Class A....If I thought I could get maybe 10K or more out of them for the pricing I probably will go with them....just very confusing....also looking at what is the difference between 235/80 R16 & 235/85 R16...never knew the differences in 80 vs 85

[mlh]

On My “little camper 9200 pounds” I can run LT tires. They are fine for it but if I were buying new tires I would buy Sailums and run them at 80 pounds. My wheels are rated for 80 pounds. There is no good reason not to. What I would not do is get the standard ST China bomb tires. They are the best way by far to destroy the side of your camper. Until a few years ago many people here did just that.
Lynwood

[CalandLinda]

Tire replacements are managed by the tire industry. The entire industry have their standards, mostly based on tire safety regulations.

The basic replacement tire standard goes like this; Replacement tires must not be smaller than the Original Equipment tires and must provide a load capacity equal to or greater than the what the OE tires provided (via cold inflation pressures).

Tires of different designated sizes than the OE tires are considered misapplications unless approved by the vehicle manager or offered as options.

Of course there are those that feel they have more experience with tires than tire engineers and vehicle manufacturers. The smart advice is to follow tire industry standards.

[ssetw03]

Thanks Cal...this is the reason I called Keystone to get their recommendations. In my searches I hit on this Forum and decided to ask everyone their opinions. When I talked to Keystone they told me to go with the tire manufacturer Tredit Tire told me they supply many different RV manufacturers.
Believe me everyone I value all of your opinions as experienced campers. I did the same when I went for new tires on my F250 Diesel ...tried Michelin but didn't get the same mileage out of them as I did the original Continentals so I went back to Continentals for truck....getting 55K + out of them. I will digest everyone's recommendations and make my decision from there....THANK YOU ALL !!!!

[steiny93]

I'm going through tire selection on a tandem boat trailer right now.

One item to consider on ST (trailer tires). All but a couple (Goodyear Endurance and Towmax STR ii being the outliers) ST tires are rated for a max speed of 65mph. Endurance and STR ii's getting a max of 75mph rating.

Where as if you go to an LT tire your speed rating will be a lot more.

I personally believe a very high percentage of tire failures are caused by incorrect pressure / over loading / over speed in that order. Going to an LT vs an ST can enable you to remove on of those issues.

[1retired06]

Originally Posted by ssetw03

Hi All, New to this site but have viewed things on the forum...thank you for letting me join. I have a 2002 Montana 5er 32RK. It still has the original tires from the original owner..purchased from him in 2007. The tires on it are:
LT 235/85 R16 Load Range E.
I want to but new tires and owner of the RV storage center it would be better/cheaper to purchase new rims with the tires. He sent to a tire dealer he deals with and they want to sell me just tires but is recommending ST vs LT.
I called Keystone and they said to stick with what is on there because they are on there for a reason. They gave me 2 tire manufacturers that they deal with 1 being : Tredittire.com THey are telling that they provide all the camper manufacturers with the same tire a ST their issues for Light Truck (LT) tires.
I am confused as to how to proceed....BTW...getting a vrey good price from them of : $103.37 per tire mounted on a 6 lug White MOD rim.
Can anyone give me some advice. Thank you
Eddie - ssetw03@yahoo.com

Great advice on this thread in response to your question. My only comment, $103.37 for a new tire mounted on a new rim sounds too good. lI would look hard at the quality of the tire on that deal.

[ssetw03]

thx...that is what I had gotten from days of research but can't seem to get the correct LT tires...especially from this TREDIT TIRE place.....that is what has been so mind blowing & confusing.

[ssetw03]

yeah I know....just that Keystone recommended them...see further up on threads to see quote I posted from them.

[PSFORD99]

Originally Posted by ssetw03

yeah I know....just that Keystone recommended them...see further up on threads to see quote I posted from them.

You are a great candidate for the Goodyear Endurance, you certainly don't need a G rated tire, although you could go the Sailuns ,and run them 80psi. as mentioned . But the Goodyear Endurance would be an excellent choice. Me personally will not run anything but Sailun, but your weight rating you could run the Endurance. You are getting good advice here, I would listen.

[BB_TX]

Bought our 3075RL new in 2007. Replaced the Chinese ST tires a year later with Michelin XPS Ribs LT tires. Ran them for 9 years and 17,000 miles and still looked new. Replaced with same due to age, not wear.

[CalandLinda]

Originally Posted by steiny93

I'm going through tire selection on a tandem boat trailer right now.

One item to consider on ST (trailer tires). All but a couple (Goodyear Endurance and Towmax STR ii being the outliers) ST tires are rated for a max speed of 65mph. Endurance and STR ii's getting a max of 75mph rating.

Where as if you go to an LT tire your speed rating will be a lot more.

I personally believe a very high percentage of tire failures are caused by incorrect pressure / over loading / over speed in that order. Going to an LT vs an ST can enable you to remove on of those issues.

GY has rated all of their Endurance brand ST tires with a letter "N" which is 87 MPH.

What is most significant about a speed rating on ST tires is they can carry their maximum load capacity up to and including the speed rating. Thereafter, the tires will start degrading rapidly.

[ssetw03]

Thank you...appreciate ALL the advice.....

[steiny93]

Originally Posted by CalandLinda

GY has rated all of their Endurance brand ST tires with a letter "N" which is 87 MPH.

What is most significant about a speed rating on ST tires is they can carry their maximum load capacity up to and including the speed rating. Thereafter, the tires will start degrading rapidly.

Thank you CalandLinda for fixing my intel; another plus in the endurance category if one goes the ST route.