Scamp 13" tires

[floyd]

Originally Posted by cmartin748

I got mine weighed at the local land fill for free. It came it at 3000# on the nose. That was unhooked from the TV. Holding tanks were full.
You can also get it weighed at truck stops for a fee such as Pilot ir T&A.
Some states will do it at weigh stations for free but suggest you call first.
My stock 13" Sccamp wheels are rated @ 1344 lbs each. The tires are 1360 lbs.
I need to weigh the tongue so that I can subtract that from the total. when I run dry I should be within the weight limits. I have had the tires wear, on other trailers, on the inside tread when overloaded but never had any chunks come out. hehe

We never travel anywhere except to the nearest dumpstation with full tanks. All tanks full will add 360 pounds of liquid to your trailer (420pounds if you believe the stated gray tank capacity). You also illustrate the importance of choosing light gear and supplies. Daily shopping en route and/or as close to the destination as practical can save quite a lot on what you lug around.
It would be interesting to empty all your tanks take all supplies clothing etc. out and reweigh your trailer.
This would give you a base from which to work and give you a chance to evaluate what you really need to carry with you.
When we were newbies we carried three times as many "necessary" items as we do now in our TV and trailer combined.

If you empty just the gray and blackwater tanks you would reduce overall weight by 216 pounds(or 280). You have a minimum of 300 pounds on the tongue so you are now under 2500 on the axle and that's before you jettison those decorative concrete lawn ornaments.
Of course the other two water tanks could reduce the weight by up to another140 pounds.

With 2400 pounds on your axle you would have 320pounds of margin on your 13" tires fully inflated. Switching to 14" tires would be a way with very few changes in loading habits to get a comfortable margin equivalent to what you now have on your axle rating.
It is unlikely that the tread separation was directly related to overloading.

[honda03842]

We had tread come off a trailer tire the day we bought it while towing it home. A chunk of tread just came off like it was a semi retread. The tires were just really old. Of course we replaced all the tires as soon as possible.

Like Floyd we don't travel with full gray or black tanks. We do carry a half tank of water. We do minimize tongue weight and have just one propane tank, more than enough for us.

[Carol H]

Originally Posted by Bob Miller

It looks like the good news is that most seem to be rated to 50 PSI or Load Range "C" which includes almost all ST tires (I think?).


Which begs the question of what to do if here is no Maximum PSI stamp.

Your best to assume they are rated at no more than 50 PSI as I have found its hard to find rims in the smaller sizes which are rated higher than that.

Your pretty well out of luck using a D rated tire on a standard Scamp rim which makes me wonder when people say they are changing to a D rated tire on their Scamps what rims they have or if they are even aware that the rims do have a PSI rating.

[ColoradoSwany]

Thanks to everyone for your input. I did find a local site to weigh our Scamp to include total, tongue and each side. Plan to get that done as soon as we get our axle reinforced to comply with the safety alert of several years ago. I found the weigh site by calling a local moving company we had used. Turns out they weigh their trucks at a local rancher's feed supply. Called them and they said I could come by anytime to weigh the Scamp for a $10 fee. Sounds good to me!

As to the age of the tires, all tires are required to have the date of manufacture stamped on them. I don't recall full detail, but I know two digits are month and two are year, e.g., 1113 would be a November 2013 manufacture date. There may be additional digits in the code. I'll look it up later. Problem is that that number sequence is small and often on the side of the tire underneath the trailer or TV.

I recently had a shop inspect and repack bearings. As I suspected by brief visual, PO was overzealous with grease to point of overflow to brakes, thus eliminating any stopping power. And yes, I now check bearing heat at fuel stops. All good so far.

I will be getting 3 new matching tires for next season. Still leaning to D rated tires and wheels. Probably doing no more than 150 more tow miles this year.

Thanks again for all your contributions!

[Bob Miller]

Sounds good, but I think that tire dates are by week and year so 1113 would be sometime in March, 2013 Guess what trouble your would be in when you got to 2613
Here's a good link on that:
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tirete...150813005823:s

[ColoradoSwany]

Originally Posted by honda03842

I have never weighed my trailer from side to side but with both tires equally inflated to 50 lbs the length of tire patch, with tire on a 2x6, is the same within a 1/4 of an inch. Suggesting there is nearly the same load on each tire.

For reference my 1991 Scamp 16 with side bath has an axle weight of 2400 lbs with 200 lbs on the tongue. We use 13" Goodyear Marathons ST185/80R13s each rated for 1480 lbs at 50 PSI. We have never had a Marathon failure in our extended travels.

Norm & Ginny,

I just noticed you are running 185 80 R13 tires. Our 2005 came with 175 80 R13. Does the 185 fit ok in your 1991? Was that the original size or did you upsize?

[ColoradoSwany]

Originally Posted by Bob Miller

Sounds good, but I think that tire dates are by week and year so 1113 would be sometime in March, 2013 Guess what trouble your would be in when you got to 2613
Here's a good link on that:
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tirete...150813005823:s

Thanks for saving me some time and getting full info, Bob!

[honda03842]

Originally Posted by ColoradoSwany

Norm & Ginny,

I just noticed you are running 185 80 R13 tires. Our 2005 came with 175 80 R13. Does the 185 fit ok in your 1991? Was that the original size or did you upsize?

The are the largest Goodyear Marathons in 13 inch. The trailer came with junk tires that we replaced as soon as possible. I don't recall the exact size.

I had always planned to go to 14 inch tires but the 13s have worked fine so far. The 185s fit with room to spare.

[Dsironi]

I am about to buy 2 new tires for my 16' Scamp. I've read the posts on this forum which are always informative and interesting. Following is a log of my thought process, for what is worth.
........
I cannot figure out why the smaller width tire is more expensive:

Carlisle Radial Trail Tire - 185/80R13 0R C1. $47 plus Prime discount @ Amazon
Carlisle Radial Trail RH Trailer Tire - ST175/80R13 6ply $61 to $75 3rd party thru Amazon. (never found an answer to that question)

Am I missing something important? The lower cost one does not have a prefix. That seems to mean it's a European metric. From what I've read it makes no difference and will work on the Scamp.

Also note that my 2013 Scamp has "made in China. MR01" stamped on the sidewall. I think this means made in March 2001. Rather old for a new 2013 Scamp!

One tire picked up a screw in UP Michigan this past weekend. Spare works fine, but the dangers posted on this site and the age of tire tell me to buy 2 new tires. I have about 20,000 miles on the tires. Agreed? Buy new?

The more I research trailer tires the more unclear I am about which are the best, if any. Having checked with a couple of my local shops, I've decided to buy the Carlisle 185/80R13 from my one of them for just a few dollars more than Amazon. He also uses the lug balancing technique.



Sironi

[floyd]

Originally Posted by Carol H

I personally would not tow my trailer with miss matched tires or any that I did not know for sure were less than five years of age. Looking at them tells you nothing. RV tires tend to degrade from the inside out. Due to the weight of your trailer you probable should be inflating to max inflation rate as stated on the tire. .

Perhaps... Looking at them tells YOU nothing!

[cmartin748]

What is the load rating? Should be at least 1350 lbs. I prefer bias ply myself. Everyone is different. The Scamp rides low enough as it is and the radials always look low on air when they aren't. I find myself checking them too much hehehe.

[Dsironi]

I want to update my post. I incorrectly identified the manufactured date on my tires. In fact it was a week in 2012, not 2001. The proper code was on the side of the tire facing the Scamp! So look carefully for it. The mechanic had to learn how to use the lug nut method of balancing. It's not done often now. The real kicker was that the wheels were bent, not noticeably damaged, but a little off round. That makes it impossible to balance it perfectly. The tires are balanced with the weights needed, but the wheels still have this slight curvature problem. The mechanic said that new wheels are likely to be imperfect as well. I will watch how they wear. The off-round wheels on trailers are the primary reason many places do not balance trailer tires.


Sironi

[Borrego Dave]

Originally Posted by Dsironi

I want to update my post. I incorrectly identified the manufactured date on my tires. In fact it was a week in 2012, not 2001. The proper code was on the side of the tire facing the Scamp! So look carefully for it. The mechanic had to learn how to use the lug nut method of balancing. It's not done often now. The real kicker was that the wheels were bent, not noticeably damaged, but a little off round. That makes it impossible to balance it perfectly. The tires are balanced with the weights needed, but the wheels still have this slight curvature problem. The mechanic said that new wheels are likely to be imperfect as well. I will watch how they wear. The off-round wheels on trailers are the primary reason many places do not balance trailer tires. Sironi

In answer to your other post on tire brands, my tire guy from all the way back to 1971 recommended Hurcules STs as he has never had one come back for problems. I'm using ST205/75R14 on my SD17 and they ride fine.
Just have to ask what the reason is for a lug nut balance over wheel weights.
When you say your wheels were a little off round, was that side to side or up and down?
I find your mechanics thoughts of new wheels being imperfect is a huge stretch. A used trailer rim I could see, not a new one. Curbs can bend them for sure. Most everything is CNC cut and robot welded and with the big $$$ of some wheels today.....can't see that happening. Any tire I've had mounted, even on a little 4x8 utility were balanced with no comment from the dealer. JMHO, might be time to look for another tire dealer.

[The Minimalist]

Several of these posts mention 'lug balancing'. Are we talking about lug centric as opposed the hub centric here?

[Dsironi]

Yes, lug centric balancing vs hub centric.
The wheels were not true left to right. Were they spokes, you would adjust the tension to true the wheel. Top to bottom off-round (elliptic?) was not noticed, but,I think, being off left to right would require somewhat of a top to bottom issue. I really am unsure how much of a wear issue this will be, since the flex in the tire should compensate some for this minor(?) un-roundedness.



Sironi