Tires are around 3 inches apart , like Scott's picture ,so don't have room to do anything much except load range and tire brand.

 

This is copied from Dexter axles website:


Dexter Axle - Trailer Axles and Running Gear Components - Running Gear Tips


Tip #24: Axles should be spaced far enough apart to allow a minimum of 1" clearance between the tires. More space would be required if tire chains are to be used.


You can go with what makes you comfortable. All I can say is that my goose at 33" center to center on the axles was fine with the 235/85. It only had about an inch between the tires. Anything under 33" would not work. They were close enough that getting to the grease fitting on the equalizer was a pain.

 

I have been using LT tires on y 5th wheels since 2006. Previous to that I had two blow outs on ST tires on my 1st 5th wheel. My second 5th wheel came with LT tires but they were made in Taiwan, so I replaced them with Uniroyal LT highway tires. My current 5th wheel came with Chinese Goodyear tires. I swapped them for BFG Commercial TA when I bought it. They got recalled and Michellin stepped up with a new set of Michellin LTX MS2. In ten years and thousands of miles I have had zero problems with LT tires. The only problem is they will crack and deteriorate if you don't keep covers of some type on them 100% of the time. They will likely need to be replaced because of age before the tread runs out.

 

I have G614's for the past 3 years and 6000 miles without a peep out of them.


However, you would need to check on fitment.


One other thing. Over the years I have seen pics from people showing tires in the same exact "size" that are completely different in actual size.


With such a tight clearance issue, I would want to verify the actual size when changing brands.

 

Using a tire size calculator 235/80/16 are 30.9" diameter and 235/85/16 are 31.7" diameter. You will only lose .8" between the tires and .4" on the height.

When deciding on tires you have to look at how many miles you put on them in a year and how long they set per year without moving. If you are a low mileage user you may consider using cheaper tires and changing them every couple of years but if you put a lot of miles on I would go to the highest quality tire that will fit on your rig. Me I run commercial rib tires on 17.5" rims to get higher weight ratings and higher quality tires but we put a lot of miles on in a year, they are .5" smaller diameter than the 235/85/16 they replaced. If I had to choose between China ST tires and LT tires the LTs would win, last year when I had to replace two of my tires I had to choose between a China tire or GY at twice the price, I don't like GY but that's what I put on.

Denny

 

My guess on mileage would be 5 to 10K miles per year. Looking for quality tire manufacturer based on what you folks have been running.

 

Got to keep a log book in the trailer.

I don't have my hands on mine right now but it is easy to see where/when/miles that way.

 

I went through the same recall tracyclifton went through with the BFG Commercial TA. At that point I was upgraded to Michelin XPS Ribs and have been happy with them.

 

I just upgraded to 16's and 215/85R16 LT's and I've got a little over 2" between the tires now. Compared to the 225/75R15 D ST tires that came with it my new tires and wheels are rated for 200lbs more load a piece so my wheels/tire combos weight capacity is nearly 100% of my trailers GVWR as opposed to 88% with the tires and wheels that came on it from the factory.

 

Here's my thoughts.

I'm not a China fan but I will say the Provider 235/85 R16 is an outstanding

tire so far with 25k miles on them on a 3 car wedge tri-axle and the wear is

even. I have ran just about every tire 10ply +

I had absolutely terrible luck with the Sailun brand as they would build up too

much heat from all the steel in them and blow 1 every other week.

I am a owner-operator and I can honestly say I thought about ordering them

for my dually as well but they say trailer use only.

 

Thanks for the Sailun report. You are the first one I've heard with a bad experience with Sailuns, on this forum and RV forums. Its a pretty well respected tire at half the price of Goodyear G614s.

 

I read all tire posts close and I pay attention the the miles people put on them and the brands. I know a lot of people swear by GY614 G tires but I couldn't get them to last much over 25K miles without falling apart so for how I used them they didn't work out. When I hear that someone is a owner operator and puts a lot of miles on I pay attention to what they are using.

I changed to 17.5" commercial tires years ago to get some longevity out of my tires, they are just to expensive to by every couple of years and repair damage to the trailer when they give up.

Denny

 

Bigredtruck, your original question was what tires do we use. I have also done a lot of research as I had to replace my tires on our last 3000 mile outing. You have a 40ft rig if I'm reading your sig line correctly. Based on what I've read, I would not run an E rated or ST tire on a rig of that size. I think anything less than G rated you are taking chances. As RVpuller says, Goodyear 614s have very high recommendations from users, but not everyone is satisfied. When I did my research, I found a lot of posts about how GY was standing behind their product and paying for the RV damage when one failed. My preference is to avoid RV damage to begin with. And then you get into the China vs USA battle. Iive never heard of the Provider recommended by rose88racing and didn't find any reviews on that one. I just wanted the most reliable product for the best price! I didn't find anyone who had experienced a Sailun failure, so I chose to take my chances with them, and so far very, very happy with the choice.

 

On the rating sticker they had D rated tires but put on E rated.

 

Camper the Sailuns may work?? But they didn't hold the weight of a 3 car hauler.

Search for F835 Taskmaster, Provider, Linglong, etc..... Whoever puts their name on them. Mine say Provider 14 ply F835 I bought 6 wish I would have bout 600 and sold them.