New Tires for 89 Casita Recommendations?

[CathleenC]

Time to buy tires. Originally the 89 Casita had a P17580B 13" tire. When I bought it last year it has on it a 205/70 14" tire. (not a trailer tire) They are old, not worn but time to buy tires. Any recommendation on Brand, size etc.
The higher I can be from the road the better...this year Casita runs very low to the ground.
I have read a bit and hear the Maxxis and Komho trailer tires seem to be a favorite and the Marathons are not. A few more ideas out there?

Thanks in advance.
CC

[Bruce Thomas]

Originally Posted by CathleenC

Time to buy tires. Originally the 89 Casita had a P17580B 13" tire. When I bought it last year it has on it a 205/70 14" tire. (not a trailer tire) They are old, not worn but time to buy tires. Any recommendation on Brand, size etc.
The higher I can be from the road the better...this year Casita runs very low to the ground.
I have read a bit and hear the Maxxis and Komho trailer tires seem to be a favorite and the Marathons are not. A few more ideas out there?

Thanks in advance.
CC

you're gonna need different wheels to go to 13" from 14...also the 14" in that size are probably taller so youre gonna be losing height ...Bruce

[Andy B]

Originally Posted by CathleenC

Time to buy tires. Originally the 89 Casita had a P17580B 13" tire. When I bought it last year it has on it a 205/70 14" tire. (not a trailer tire) They are old, not worn but time to buy tires. Any recommendation on Brand, size etc.
The higher I can be from the road the better...this year Casita runs very low to the ground.
I have read a bit and hear the Maxxis and Komho trailer tires seem to be a favorite and the Marathons are not. A few more ideas out there?

Thanks in advance.
CC

I just got some Yokohama Y356 tires in the 195/75R14 size. This is a light truck tire with an 8 ply rating, load range D (1710 lbs at 65psi). This tire is frequently used on Volkswagen Vanagon campers because the stiff sidewall helps prevent sway in that tall top heavy vehicle. It seems to be a better constructed tire than the trailer tires that I looked at. The tire lists for around $145, my local tire shop sells it for $126, but they matched the tirerack.com price of $89. They charged $10 each to mount them, but did not charge to balance them and gave me free lug nuts for my new aluminum wheels.

Andy

[Michele B]

My 85 13' Casita came with new tires when I bought it...

The Les Schwab invoice reads:

ST175/80R-13/6 Dynatrail ST Trailer Highway Blackwall.

I picked up a matching spare when I got home, also from Les Schwab.

So far, I've put about 1900 miles on my trailer, on top of the estimated 200 miles put on since they were installed by the seller

--most recently, heavily loaded from Oregon to Northern Nevada and back. High winds, rain, etc. on steep mountain passes and NO swaying or wobbling. Tires also held their air very well.

[CathleenC]

Originally Posted by Michele B

My 85 13' Casita came with new tires when I bought it...

The Les Schwab invoice reads:

ST175/80R-13/6 Dynatrail ST Trailer Highway Blackwall.

I picked up a matching spare when I got home, also from Les Schwab.

So far, I've put about 1900 miles on my trailer, on top of the estimated 200 miles put on since they were installed by the seller

--most recently, heavily loaded from Oregon to Northern Nevada and back. High winds, rain, etc. on steep mountain passes and NO swaying or wobbling. Tires also held their air very well.

My next question was going to be if anyone had used Les Schwab tires and how they liked them since I also live in Oregon. They told me they carried the Dynatrail and Towmax trailer tires. Since they have shops in Northern California and all of Oregon, it would be a plus to be able to call on them if there were problems.

Thanks

[CathleenC]

Originally Posted by Andy B

I just got some Yokohama Y356 tires in the 195/75R14 size. This is a light truck tire with an 8 ply rating, load range D (1710 lbs at 65psi). This tire is frequently used on Volkswagen Vanagon campers because the stiff sidewall helps prevent sway in that tall top heavy vehicle. It seems to be a better constructed tire than the trailer tires that I looked at. The tire lists for around $145, my local tire shop sells it for $126, but they matched the tirerack.com price of $89. They charged $10 each to mount them, but did not charge to balance them and gave me free lug nuts for my new aluminum wheels.

Andy

Thank you for that name brand.

[CathleenC]

Originally Posted by Bruce Thomas

you're gonna need different wheels to go to 13" from 14...also the 14" in that size are probably taller so youre gonna be losing height ...Bruce

That I would go with a 15" tire if I can. Still need to take the trailer in to see my options.

[Marv]

Cathleen,
The Maxxis UE-168 is a great tire for a Casita 17. Mine have 30-40,000 miles, including a 7000 mile trip, a 14,000 mile trip and more than two years of chasing around sightseeing. I have the 205R14C, 8-ply rating light-truck. It's an 80 series so it is as tall as many 15" tires.

I feel I got my money's worth so I just ordered a replacement pair from Tire Centers. I should have them in a few days. Price is $94.50 plus shipping (around $20) each.

Marv