Can't find a Maxxis tire- any recommendations?

[dpam]

On a recent long trip from Arizona I guess the monty's rear axel got bent and out of alignment, which resulted in excessive tire wear on one side. I have 4 Maxxis ST235/80r/16 tires, and now I can't find a replacement. A large tire dealer had an exclusive retail agreement to sell the Maxxis tire, but now they tell me the Maxxis tire is discontinued. The spare tire isn't in great shape, and the other 3 Maxxis tires should be good for another 1 or 2 yrs, and after that I most likely would replace all the tires with LT tires. Any suggestions on what type of ST tire I can mix with the other 3 Maxxis tires that would last and be safe until I replace all tires with LT tires?

I greatly appreciate any recommendations.

[awaywego]

http://www.maxxis.com/Industrial/Trailer.aspx
You might try this site.

http://www.maxxis.com/Dealer-Search-...=11&pageRef=45

[mlh]

David you are a lucky man. You do not wont ST tires. You should get at least E rated LT tires, some would say G rated tires. The ST tires just do not have enough reserve capacity for your heavy camper. There is no ST tire that is safe for your camper. You are lucky you could not find a ST tire. With luck Dqdick will be along shortly to tell you about reserve capacity.
Lynwood

[DonandJudy_12]

Just bite the bullet and start your new tour of SAFE towing by putting American made LTs on the Monty- You won't be sorry- JMHO- Don

[The Weekenders]

quote:Originally posted by DonandJudy_12

Just bite the bullet and start your new tour of SAFE towing by putting American made LTs on the Monty- You won't be sorry- JMHO- Don

X2!!!! I did it last year and a great investment in many ways.

[bncinwv]

I believe there is some biased information here with regards to the ST tires. I agree that most ST tires are Chinese junk, however, I have never heard excessively bad reports regarding Maxxi tires. If I was going with ST tires (which I don't), I would choose Maxxis above all other ST brands, but they are the only ST tire, I personally would consider. I believe LonnieB has stated that this is the only ST tire that he would recommend. I do not dispute that the LT swap may be desirable, but if the money outlay is an issue, I see nothing wrong with tracking down a Maxxi to defer the cash outlay for a year or two.
Bingo

[1retired06]

Agree, I have heard good things about Maxxis. Check with your local Firestone Store, as the one in our town was able to order them last year for a neighbor.

[Lee F.]

I have had Maxxis tires on my last three rigs and have never had any problems nor have I heard of anyone having problems. I will buy them again when my present ones wear out.

[TLightning]

Maxxis are the lessor of the evils...still would not have one.

[DQDick]

Ok, here it is again, by popular demand:


I have asked many times for someone to explain how a ST tire can be rated to carry more weight than a LT tire in a similar size, without a good answer.

The answer lies in what is called reserve capacity. To quote from Trailer Parts Superstore and this same statement exist on just about every tire site:

HEAVY DUTY 'LT' TRUCK / TRAILER TIRES
'LT' signifies the tire is a "Light Truck/Trailer" series that can be used on trailers that are capable of carrying heavy cargo such as equipment trailers.

If a tire size begins with 'LT' it signifies the tire is a "Light Truck-metric" size that was designed to be used on trailers that are capable of carrying heavy cargo or tow vehicles. Tires branded with the "LT" designation are designed to provide substantial reserve capacity to accept the additional stresses of carrying heavy cargo.

So what is reserve capacity? It is capacity beyond the rating of the tire, capacity that is held in reserve. This reserve capacity comes from the heavy-duty sidewall of the LT type tires. LT's rank at the top of the list when we look at P, ST and LT tires.

Now I finally have an answer to how a ST tire can be rated to carry more weight than a LT tire of similar size.

The ratings of ST tires infringe into the reserve capacity of the tire. This is double bad, because the design of the ST gives us a tire with less reserve capacity to start with as it has a lighter sidewall to start with as most ST tires are much lighter than their LT counterparts.

To quote one tire site:
"Put a different way, the load carrying capacity of an ST tire is 20% greater than an LT tire. Since durability is strictly a long term issue - and the results of a tire failure on a trailer are much less life threatening than on a truck - the folks that set up these load / inflation pressure relationships allow a greater......ah......let's call it load intensity."

There it is in print to be read. They make a calculated decision to give the ST tire a higher load rating because a failure is less life threatening.

I have on a number of occasions pointed out the weight difference between the different tires and have been told that does not matter. Well it does matter. The rubber in the average tire only makes up around 40 some percent of its weight, the rest is in the steel belts, gum strips, steel beads, and the carcass plies. The remaining 60 or so percent of the stuff in a tire is what builds in the reserve capacity.

So to review again, here are some weights:
1. Michelin XPS RIB LT235/85R16 LRE (rated to 3042lbs) Weight 55.41
2. Goodyear G614 LT235/85R16 LRG (rated to 3750lbs) Weight 57.5
3. Bridgestone Duravis R250 LT235/85R16 LRE(rated to 3042lbs) Weight 60
4. BFG Commercial TA LT235/85R16 LRE(rated to 3042lbs) Weight 44.44
5. Uniroyal Laredo HD/H LT235/85R16 LRE(rated to 3042lbs) Weight 44.44
6. GY Marathon ST235/80R16 LRE(rated to 3420lbs) Weight 35.4

So which tires on the list have the most reserve capacity? Well that is not a completely simple answer, as one of the tires is a G rate 110 lb tire and the rest are LRE at 80lb inflation. So if we disregard the G614, then the Michelin XPS RIB and the Bridgestone Duravis R250 due to their all-steel ply construction will have the most reserve capacity inherent in their construction. The twin Commercial TA and Laredo will be next and the Marathon would have little or no reserve capacity available because it was used up in its higher load rating, AND because of it's much lighter construction it had much less inherent reserve capacity to start with.

So what have we learn from this?

I think that the first thing that we learned was that a LT tire can be used at or near it max rated loading without having issues, as they built with "substantial reserve capacity to accept the additional stresses of carrying heavy cargo".

The second thing we may have learned is why ST tires are failing on mid to larger 5th wheels, in that they do not have inherent reserve capacity beyond that rated max loading. Again this is because they have less reserve capacity to start with and their greater "load intensity" used up any reserve capacity that might have been available.

Now, here is an interesting bit of information. I just called Maxxis Tech Line and asked the weights for two tires.

ST235/80R16 LRD 3000 lb rating at 65 lbs of air weights 38.58
ST235/80R16 LRE 3420 lb rating at 80 lbs of air weights 43.43

What??? The Maxxis load range E tire weights almost the same as the Commercial TA?? This is a ST tire that has heavier construction than the GY Marathon at 35.4 lbs. So it has more inherent reserve capacity due to its heavier construction.

Those that claimed its virtues maybe did not know why it was a better ST tire than some of the others, but there it is! It is a heavier built tire with more reserve capacity.

So as one chooses a replacement tire or is asking for an upgrade on a new trailer please get educated on where the reserve capacity exist. Is it inherent in the tire you choose or do you have to factor it into the weight rating of the tire you choose.

Those with heavy trailers that are switching to 17.5 rims and tires rated to 4805 lbs and getting a double injection of reserve capacity, in that they are using a tire with lots of inherent reserve capacity and the tire has much more capacity than the application. It is all starting to make sense.

[LonnieB]

dpam, as far as I know, the Maxxis M8008 has not been discontinued. I keep 25 in stock in 5 different sizes at all times. My distributor has 26 of them in the 235/80R16 size, and there are at least 100 more scattered around the United States in some of their other warehouses. You may be able to find them by going to www.tirepros.com and clicking on the dealer tab to see if there is one of us near you. As Bingo said, Maxxis is the only brand of ST rated tires I feel comfortable recommending. That being said, I run LT tires on my Montana.

[ols1932]

I run the Bridgestone Duravis 250 LT tires on our Montana. Seems to me to be an excellent tire for our use.

Orv

[MikeM]

I also run the Duravis 250, but I made a major mistake by not getting an actual weight on the rig before I bought them (had a blowout on the China bombs and had to replace in the middle of a trip). While they are good tires, ours our rapidly wearing on both outside edges (all 4), which indicates that they are overloaded. I always check pressure and run at 80 cold on all tires along with a TST for follow-up, so pressure is not the problem.
While I'm not looking forward to the expense of G614's and new rims, I haven't found a reasonable alternative that I'm comfortable with. Carlisle ST's are made in China so that only leaves Maxxis as an alternative. Guess I'll need to bite the bullet shortly.....

[dpam]

Lonnie,you are correct the Maxxis is not discontinued, but it appears the tire retailer (Kal Tire) has discontinued carrying the Maxxis tires, which in my opinion is a wrong decision, because they now carry the Carlisle trailer tire (which is Chinese)

Kal Tire has now managed to find me a Maxxis ST 235/80R16 tire (last of their stock) at one of their stores 90 miles away and it is being shipped at no charge to Calgary. For the past two years the Maxxis tires have been great, except for the alignment problem that ruined a tire. Hopefully the current Maxxis tires last another 2 years and then I'll most likely convert to LT tires.

Other than the G614 tire I don't understand why N. American tire manufacturers don't create a superior ST weight carrying tire (3420 lbs) for RV trailers.

Thank you to everyone that provided me their recommendations.

Regards,

David