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Old 01-13-2012, 12:00 PM   #1
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Name: Steve
Trailer: 2018, 21ft escape— 2019 Ram 1500 Laramie
NW Wisconsin
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New Tires

I am planning to have the Scamp factory install a complete new axle with a 3 inch lift kit on my 16 ft. SD Scamp. I stopped in Backus Minnesota (Scamp factory) yesterday and talked to Kent Eveland and he recommended going to a 205 75 R 14 tire.
I would like to go to a D load rated tire so the capacity of the tires is equal to or greater than the axles load rating (3500 lbs) I looked for several hours this morning for a tire this size with a D load rating , that is made in the USA or Canada with no luck. Does anyone have any suggestions where i can find such a tire? I currently have Goodyear Marathons (Made in China and purchased by the previous owner) with less than 5000 miles and only 2 years old and when you run your hand over the sidewalls it feels like their full of bulges . I want to go on a 5 to 6000 mile trip this summer and just don't trust my current brand of tire.

Thanks Steve Dunham
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Old 01-13-2012, 12:13 PM   #2
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Quote:
Originally Posted by steve dunham View Post
I am planning to have the Scamp factory install a complete new axle with a 3 inch lift kit on my 16 ft. SD Scamp. I stopped in Backus Minnesota (Scamp factory) yesterday and talked to Kent Eveland and he recommended going to a 205 75 R 14 tire.
I would like to go to a D load rated tire so the capacity of the tires is equal to or greater than the axles load rating (3500 lbs) I looked for several hours this morning for a tire this size with a D load rating , that is made in the USA or Canada with no luck. Does anyone have any suggestions where i can find such a tire? I currently have Goodyear Marathons (Made in China and purchased by the previous owner) with less than 5000 miles and only 2 years old and when you run your hand over the sidewalls it feels like their full of bulges . I want to go on a 5 to 6000 mile trip this summer and just don't trust my current brand of tire.

Thanks Steve Dunham
Carlisle tire
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Old 01-13-2012, 12:45 PM   #3
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Name: Steve
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Carlisle tires

Quote:
Originally Posted by Roger Kimble View Post
Carlisle tire
I checked their website (Carlisle) and with a tire distributor and you are correct Carlisle's are " MADE IN THE USA" but are a bias ply tire not a radial tire.

Thanks Steve Dunham
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Old 01-13-2012, 01:15 PM   #4
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The best quality small trailer tires you are going to find is the Marathons, even if they are made in China. My family is in the tire business big time and I have researched this extensively with the same idea you have. I gave up and decided to run the Marathons on my trailer.
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Old 01-13-2012, 05:29 PM   #5
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Steve,
Here is my opinion on trailer tires. If at all possible, avoid ST tires. For 13" tires there is no option but STs, but for 14" and 15" there are several options. Kumho and Maxxis sell tires for trailer use that are meant for light trucks in other countries. These are not ST tires and are not made with 1950s technology. They are not speed rated at 65 mph. You will have to order on line and have the tires mounted locally. Below is a link to Tire Racks specs for the Kumho Radial 857. The sizing is different and you can see that the 185R14 is D load rated at 1874 lbs (1874 x 2 = 3748). The 185R14 has a diameter of 25.6" the same as a 205/75/14.

Kumho Radial 857

P.S. I wouldn't put Goodyear Marathons on my wheelbarrow. I had a 2 year old, New Zealand made, one come apart outside Turkey, Texas. Correct inflation, no high speed, trailer weight 1/2 the load rating. Never again!
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Old 01-13-2012, 05:53 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by steve dunham View Post
I checked their website (Carlisle) and with a tire distributor and you are correct Carlisle's are " MADE IN THE USA" but are a bias ply tire not a radial tire.

Thanks Steve Dunham
Like Bruce H, I too spend a lot of time doing research on tires whether it is truck, car,trailer, or road racing.
The best research can sometimes produce less than perfect results.
Anyway... While I had satisfactory results with Marathons, I am convinced that Carlisle makes a better radial for small trailers.
I bought Carlisle's best "C" rated radial for my trailer and they are great!
Since that purchase, Carlisle has come out with a new radial which has a better tread compound and much improved UV protection. IMHO it is the best on the market, but the price reflects the quality.

"Discount Tire" sells Marathons and both Carlisle Radials...
They rate the Marathon as "BEST" and the Carlisles are each rated as "BETTER". That would support Bruce's position.
I still think that Carlisle's newest Radial takes the prize.
The Marathon is even more expensive....about 35% more.
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Old 01-13-2012, 05:58 PM   #7
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Name: Norm and Ginny
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We've used 13" Marathons for 5 years without issue. We're now on our second set. No negative comments about other brands of tires because I haven't used them.

It is our intention to move to 14" tires for more margin at a future date.

The load capacity of our tires is just shy of 3000 lbs. Our trailer fully loaded weighs about 2200 lbs plus 200 on the tow vehicle. I can't ever imagine getting much heavier than this.
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Old 01-23-2012, 05:23 PM   #8
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Name: Steve
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I got three prices on Kumho #857 radial tires with rims and mounting (I can not find any US or Canadian made radial trailer tires ) The low price was $680.00 and the high price was $722.00 . I got prices from Tires Plus , Discount Tire and The Tire Rack. These prices seem high to me for basically a small truck tire . Does anyone have a suggestion where else to look for tires. The local tire dealer in my small town seems to have better prices than the big boys but he only sells one brand and he needs to special order them

Thanks Steve Dunham
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Old 01-23-2012, 06:43 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by steve dunham View Post
I currently have Goodyear Marathons (Made in China and purchased by the previous owner) with less than 5000 miles and only 2 years old and when you run your hand over the sidewalls it feels like their full of bulges . I want to go on a 5 to 6000 mile trip this summer and just don't trust my current brand of tire.

Thanks Steve Dunham
Hi Steve. When the bias ply imported tires on my previous trailer literally fell apart I went to a local tire place and bought "the best he could get" which turned out to be Carlisle Radial Trails. A year later they started showing bulges on the side wall. I took them back to the tire store and was assured that that was normal, due to the way the tire was made. Our Trillium came with the same tire and sure enough the same bulges have appeared. I would suggest that before you pay the big bucks for new tires it might be worth a trip to the Goodyear dealer to see what they say. Raz
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Old 01-23-2012, 06:44 PM   #10
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Anything here that interests you?

TRAILER TIRES .COM, The Trailer Tire Superstore!
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Old 01-23-2012, 07:11 PM   #11
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There is currently a similar discussion on RV.Net here
RV.Net Open Roads Forum: Travel Trailers: Tires
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Old 01-24-2012, 08:40 AM   #12
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Originally Posted by Donna D. View Post
Anything here that interests you?

TRAILER TIRES .COM, The Trailer Tire Superstore!
Been there-- No
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Old 01-24-2012, 04:08 PM   #13
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$112.00 each plus $48.14 shipping (for three), doesn't sound all that bad. Kumho Radial 857
Can't you use your present rims?
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Old 01-25-2012, 11:18 AM   #14
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Rims

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Originally Posted by Ray N View Post
$112.00 each plus $48.14 shipping (for three), doesn't sound all that bad. Kumho Radial 857
Can't you use your present rims?
No !
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Old 01-25-2012, 12:17 PM   #15
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I am currently running Carlisle Radial Trail ST205/75R14 They are Load range C with 1760# per tire. That is 3520#'s which exceeds your axle rating. I have zero issues with them and by keeping your tires at 50psi it will will give you lot's of life and performance
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Old 01-25-2012, 01:00 PM   #16
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Steve,

Both the ST205 and ST215/75R14s exceed the 3500 pound goal. The 215s by 240 #s. Either tire should give plenty of margin. I would imagine that it's almost impossible to get a Scamp to even 3000 pounds.

Our last set of Goodyear Marathons probably went 20,000 miles including 1000 miles of gravel over 4 years without issue. This year's set has about 4,000 again without issue.

I have no history with other trailer tires because I've always had Marathons.
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Old 01-31-2012, 02:14 PM   #17
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Name: Steve
Trailer: 2018, 21ft escape— 2019 Ram 1500 Laramie
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Scamp Tires (Marathons)

I received an E- mail today from Scamp concerning tires I am posting it below.

"The brand we are currently using is a Trail Master Radial ,For some reason some of the tires coming have been Trans Master Radials. Which we have not had any problems with .With the Goodyears they have been made over in China and because of that the quality has went way down. We used to carry Goodyear but had way too many problems with them."

Just for your information
Thanks Steve Dunham
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Old 01-31-2012, 02:37 PM   #18
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Name: Dave
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British Columbia
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My only experience with Marathons was not a happy one. At less than a year old and less than 3,000 miles, always run inflated to within 5 psi of max, one blew up in a rather spectacular fashion, taking my black & grey water drains & valves with it. Another blew shortly afterwards. I have a "no name" tire on one of those spots now, with the other blown-out Marathon replaced under warranty by (sigh) another Marathon. I ran Carlisles for years & years on other trailers with no issues whatever.

However, lately I am coming to the conclusion that any tire that is so-called "trailer rated" is just NOT a good deal - a light truck rated one is likely to be sturdier, capable of much more hi-speed running and taking more general abuse
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Old 02-01-2012, 10:08 AM   #19
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Name: george
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Steve,
I'm new to this forum, but have been hanging around several of the other RV forums for the past several months as I get up to speed on this new-to-me travel trailer pastime. I too have been trying to find decent tires to replace the china bombs that are on my camper. My tires are the common 205/75-14 radial, LR C. From what I have read, it seems the tires out of Korea have a pretty good reliability reputation. I have located a source for Hankook RA08, in a 195R-14, LR D, so I may go with a set of them. They are load rated for 2094 pounds at 65psi.

george
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Old 02-03-2012, 06:58 AM   #20
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Here's the tire George spoke about.......

http://busdepot.com/details.jsp?partnumber=RA08
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