Tires

[snuffy2]

We own a 2018 Bigfoot 25RQ, very happy with it. Camper came with Goodyear 225 75 15 endurance tires, from all I have read they are good tires. One of the long trips we take twice a year is 2000 miles round trip, we take many local trips to a campground that is 280 miles round trip, in total almost 16,000 miles on the camper.

This last trip when we were turning off the highway wife said it felt like we hit something I did notice the camper hopping a little, we stopped and noticed the drivers side rear trailer had busted the cord with large ridge around 2/3 of the tire, we were only about 1.5 miles from campsite so we went ahead and set up camp changed the tire next morning when tires and outside air was a little cooler. Tire was so swollen I couldn't get the X chock installed. Anyway everything turned out ok I had planned on changing the tires after our next long trip anyway.

These tires have plenty of tread life left, are manufactured in 2017 this seems like a short lifespan for these tires especially since we store our camper out of the weather. I maintain 60 PSI in these tires so they are no where close to the maximum of 80psi cold pressure.

I ordered five new tires but will leave the spare on the camper since it has never been used. On the long trip will carry the new as an additional new tire just in case we are in a spot where we can't acquire a new one if we loose a tire again.

Anyone else experience a failure with these tires?

[snuffy2]

Have a notice that someone asked about the pressure I run but don't see it here but I'll post it anyway.

Bigfoot says 35PSI. If you look at the inflation information from Goodyear for the 225/75R15 35 PSI is good for 1750 LBS per tire, 7000LBS combined axle weight divided by 4.

When I started pulling trailers way back when a wise tire guy told me you should figure the trailer weight divided by three. His reasoning was cruising down the highway you have a major tire failure one tire has to carry load of two, you don't know when or where you will be able to pull over to change it.

At 60PSI the tire is good for 2380 LBS, 7000 divided by three is 2333.

Of course I could have just said 60psi!

[Defenestrator]

Good point about the tire PSI, though I think I'd try not to be on the road with three tires long enough for it to matter.

Goodyear Endurance are generally good tires, but that doesn't mean they can't have defects. My guess would be some sort of debris or pothole impact, though.

[Raspy]

I tend to look at those recommended tire pressures from the manufacturer, as the minimum allowable, not the actual recommended pressure. It's easy to inflate your tires to different pressures and measure the heat at each pressure. A pressure change of only 5 PSI makes a difference in temperature. Differences in temperature mean a difference in efficiency and higher temps are going in the wrong direction for tire reliability. I don't advocate running them at the maximum rated pressure as some do, because of the reduced traction and harsh ride, but definitely run them higher than the minimum you can get away with. 50 PSI in a Load Range C tire often seems about right, and is the maximum allowable, but 80 PSI in a Load Range E tire seems excessive. The only time I've ever run my trailer tires at 35 PSI was off road at slow speeds, to reduce the pounding a harder tire would give the trailer.

[gordon2]

The above is a good explanation of what I have said many times.. the risk from over-inflation is dwarfed by the risk of under-inflation. The latter is responsible for maybe 95% of tire failures - with manufacturing defects being responsible for 3-4% and over-inflation the rest.

[snuffy2]

Funny thing I noticed today, the rims or wheels are only rated for 2200 LBS! So much for the 2380 pounds in tire pressure. In theory the tire will support more than the rim.

[Raspy]

Originally Posted by snuffy2

Funny thing I noticed today, the rims or wheels are only rated for 2200 LBS! So much for the 2380 pounds in tire pressure. In theory the tire will support more than the rim.

This seems fairly common these days. And we never know the safety margin built into the design. My Black Series wheels were rated at 2,200 lbs too, and I could easily double that load load while off road on uneven surfaces when the rear set of tandems would lift off the ground. I scuffed one of my Oliver wheels, rated for 2,200 lbs, against a center divider curb while turning left at a signal. It blew the wheel apart and sent a big chunk of aluminum flying. The sharp broken wheel also ruined the tire.

[Defenestrator]

You may not be pushing them as hard as you think off-road. The rating is presumably for dynamic loads at highway speeds. Crawling along at 5mph is probably a smaller load than even a relatively small bump at 60.

[redbarron55]

In my personal experience I have never worn out a Goodyear tire.
They have always separated long before the tread has been worn appreciably.
Your mileage may vary.

[Defenestrator]

I think it's important to distinguish among the lines, for Goodyear. The previous Marathons were, by all reports, absolute junk. I've heard few complaints about the Endurance tires, though.

[Glenn Baglo]

Originally Posted by Defenestrator

I think it's important to distinguish among the lines, for Goodyear. The previous Marathons were, by all reports, absolute junk. I've heard few complaints about the Endurance tires, though.

The Marathons on my Escape 17B were replaced after seven years without incident. A lot of driving on forest service roads.

[Borden]

We have Hercules ST205 75R14 Load range C Power STR Steel belted radial tires, 1760 lbs load limit each. 3520 limit total, was told axle is 3000 to 3200 lbs limit, and trailer weight is a lot less. Tire specialist felt STR tires worked better, said there sidewalls are made for our suspension type.

We ordered the tires from local Goodyear dealer; they used the bolers original bias ply tire size to find a suitable tire size match, in modern STR tires.

C rated tire is over kill. Because we have a single axle and just want to never have a problem went with C rated. Like the two thirds math for dual axle mentioned above.

The closet door gives recommended tire pressure of original tires at 32lbs we run 35 to 40 lbs and tire limit on tire is 50 lbs

The 4 years in the original statement seems short to me for a tires life.

My wife worked for Goodyear and she has always said it is a good idea to change the tires every 5 years. The tires look like new in 5 years and we have never had a problem.

[Iowa Dave]

We had marathons on the 19 when we bought it used. I wore those down to 3/32. Then I bought new Marathons. Had no problem with them and sold the trailer. A couple years later the new owner contacted me and said he’d worn them out and was buying new tires. He wanted my recommendation. He got new Endurance tires. Our used 21 came with fairly well worn marathons. I replaced them with Goodyear Endurance tires. I ran several sets of Goodyear’s on my pickups until I went to an SUV. Been running Michelin’s for a while now. Everybody has a different experience on like products. That’s just the way it is. You vote with your $ and YMMV.
Iowa Dave