Westlake strikes again

[CoChris]

Thank you. I started inputting my tire size (235, 80, 16) details on various tire manufacturer site as well as various tire dealers sites and not coming up with a tire that seems to work for my 5er. In the case of Bridgestone they only show 17" and other sites either I get the same result, show an ST tire in this size or no options for LT in my tire size. While I understand the difference between ST & LT tires, tires are not my strong point so what am I missing? If I decide to go to LT tires, what are my options, what size tires were on your rig? Since I have had such a good experience with Bridgestone and the Duravis on my truck, these are likely my first choice, but open to others. Finally, other than a higher speed rating, why a LT tire over a high quality ST G rated tire?

235/80-16 (and 235/85-16) are most often ST (trailer) tires. Depending on the load rating there are a few different manufactures. For a Solitude or Momentum I would only recommend using a load range G tires. Grand Design used to use load range E tires on these trailers but they (a few years ago) moved to load range G as the E's where at or over loaded and failing. There are also a load range H tires, but I have only seen them in a 17.5" diameter, which would require new wheels (rims) that may not fit the current hubs.

ST are "Special Trailer" tries specifically for trailers (very high side loads when turning and generally higher load rating available) while LT are "Light Truck (with higher requirements for traction (acceleration and braking) and turning (steering) and often a better (softer) ride. On a trailer as heavy as our 310GK Solitude, I would NOT use an LT tire. I would only go with an ST tire specifically designed specifically for trailers. Just my opinion. Do what you are comfortable with.

When I replace our stock Westlake ST235/80-16 load range G tires next year (after 3 years of use), I plan to go with Sailun S637 in the same size and load range. The only reason I am changing is aging (a little early - but it for peace of mind).

Chris

[BB&LAB]

Thanks Chris and I agree. After I posted my questions I found some good reading material on ST vs LT tires, tires in general etc. and I plan on when the time comes to replace my tires to get the Sailun S367 as well.

[BigSwick]

I had a blowout while driving through Dallas several years ago. I didn't even know it until somebody flagged me down. That is why I won't travel without
TPMS. You may still have a problem, but hopefully be alerted so you can stop before the damage is done to your trailer.

[Banshee94]

The damage all happened at the same time, I stopped within 500 ft. 450.00 for new skirt and fender (freight is the killer) & that is me installing them. New tires where only 600.00. Much cheaper to just get new tires like some of you did up front. The camper was not overloaded either, 1/2 of my cabinets are empty. All tanks empty. We travel very light.

That Anderson Hitch will get you every time! lol

[curtist1]

What the dill with the Anderson Hitch 2 people at our rally last month one had a B/W and other had a Curt hitch each had a 5th wheel had tire problems sever had Anderson none that we talked to has never had a problem.

[Bill's 315rlts]

Very sorry to hear that, glad everyone is okay. I have a 2017 Reflection 315rlts and I have pulled it from Pennsylvania to Seattle, Washington, as well as Niagra Falls and Memphis, Tennessee. I know it has 12,000 to 15000 miles on it and I have had no issues with the Westlakes. I have a tire monitoring system as a precaution, but thank God no issues. There are a lot of variables that can cause blow outs and tire brand is only one.

[xtoolman]

Full timer w/337 Reflection. Only advice: Replace with G rated tire any brand & invest in TPMS system to monitor. Won’t stop road hazard blow out, but heads up b4 any other failure is about happen!

[fez111]

There are those that will say this only happens on rare occasions and usually only when the RV is overloaded.

Personally I wasn’t willing to risk it and had Goodyears installed as soon as our Reflection was delivered.

lol


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Well, I agree. There are those.... We have had four blowouts on two different RV's over the years. I never really worried about what the tires said. I just filled them somewhere under the max and so they didn't look low. Then I started reading...

On the last trip with our 14000# solitude, I set each tire to EXACTLY 80 PSI that was on the Westlake original tires. 90 minutes later, BOOM! ...and a $1500 insurance claim. I checked the other tires and found their pressures near 100 Psi!!! I had to let air out of the other tires. With me and my insurance company being completely fed-up with RV tires and claims, we did two things.

The first was to have a meeting with my tire guy. I had Carlisle's on a 38 ft. travel trailer for about 20 years without an issue. My tire guy found that Carlisle has 16 inch, [16 PLY] load range "G" trailer tires that are listed under the AG section and not listed on their website. They were $100 less each than the tires on my Taurus! They are rated 4400# at max 100 Psi. https://www.carlislebrandtires.com/o...-detail/csl-16

The second was to purchase an EEZ-Tire monitoring system (with Bluetooth repeater). I was dumbfounded to find that my RV tires, starting at about 85 Psi, would gain almost 30 Psi in about 90 minutes at summer temps. More than once I have had to stop to let air out. The side with the sun usually runs several pounds higher than the shade side. This was very eye-opening. Just let me add that actually "knowing" what all 10 of my tires are doing removes any stress I had after four blow-outs... Our two cents.

[Steve70]

Glad everyone was safe. I noticed you had the chalk out in the pictures of the tire. We are big fans of the Fort and have been camping there for several years now during Halloween. Took a Halloween cruise this year instead but did manage to go over to the Fort and visit friends and do some looping to see the Halloween decorations.
Steve

[JBrewRV]

Well, I agree. There are those.... We have had four blowouts on two different RV's over the years. I never really worried about what the tires said. I just filled them somewhere under the max and so they didn't look low. Then I started reading...

On the last trip with our 14000# solitude, I set each tire to EXACTLY 80 PSI that was on the Westlake original tires. 90 minutes later, BOOM! ...and a $1500 insurance claim. I checked the other tires and found their pressures near 100 Psi!!! I had to let air out of the other tires. With me and my insurance company being completely fed-up with RV tires and claims, we did two things.

This is why I don't buy into the theory that all these Westlake E-rated tire blowouts are the result of user error, as some folks like to suggest. Guys who have never had a blowout like to assume that is because of their superior tire maintenance and monitoring, and therefore anyone who has suffered a blow out must have done something to deserve it. But tire pressures are very imprecise. Westlake and Grand Design only specify a cold pressure, which varies greatly from actual operating temperature. If I take off during a cold desert morning, ambient temperatures could rise by 40 degrees or more during the day, which greatly affects tire pressure. One side of the rig could be in the sun, while the other is shaded which could lead quite a difference in temperature/pressure. If a tire can't handle these normal variations without blowing out, that's a bad/faulty tire.