We have just picked up a pretty slick, new to us, Thor Skamper 235T Travel Trailer.

The tires look pretty decent, but I have a hard time trusting tires that have sat for too long and a long tow. (South Dakota to Fairbanks, soon!)

Looking at tires, I am thinking I want some 8-ply D load rated tires, more for extra rigidity than carrying capacity (dry weight is only 4075, so let's say 7000 loaded)

What is the difference or reason behind bias-ply and radial variants? Any advantage with one or the other?

I have even seen some recommend LT tires for their ruggedness and use. What width are trailer rims, typically, and do LT tires fit them? I am also considering some junk-yard pulls for wheels to be able to run LT tires. (5-4.5 pattern)

Open to your advice! Thanks!

There are a lot of junk trailer tires on the market. I have read a lot of good things about the latest Goodyear Endurance trailer tires. https://www.goodyear.com/en-US/tires/endurance/reviews

A lot of people scoff at the notion of LT tires on a trailer. They will swear up and down they are constructed differently. When asked specifically how they are constructed differently, they can't answer. People that are using LT tires on campers and boats seem universally satisfied.

Yup... just bought four of the Goodyear endurance for our tt.
Kind of messy when a tire comes apart under a light weight camper.

I just put 2 Goodyear Endurance on my Big Tex.....inflate to fit the load you need. Made in USA

Just bought 4 Goodyear endurance for my boat trailer so far so good but only put 50 miles on em. They ride nice and hardly any wheel weights were put on to balance them. I think the endurance are the only trailer tire made in the usa. They come standard with 8 ply load range d.

You want radials if you plan to pull any distance with them, radials last a lot more miles. Bias-ply are fine for a trailer that doesn't get many miles like my big gooseneck that I only pull about 300 miles a year.

One of the best trailer tires available is the Maxxis 8008. The Goodyear Endurance is a contender, but is still a new tire. I've been pulling on Maxxis at +10,000lbs for many years without a failure.

I have has Saluin 637s on two 5th wheels. They give good service for me.

I am running the Goodyear Endurance on my 33 foot fifth wheel and they were a noticable ugrade from the junk / china tires that came with the camper. .

I'd run the heaviest tire ply that I could buy. These tires won't blow out for a few years in harsh use.
https://simpletire.com/transeagle-all-steel-str-tires

Lol...pretty sure those would never wear out!! They're all too big for my trailer, though. I am looking at some TransEagle steel-belted 8 ply.

It was over 20 years ago, but a cousin and her husband turned into tumbleweeds when he retired. Sold their house in PA, bought a new Ford diesel crew cab dually and a fifth wheel RV. They had a son and a daughter out in CO; Another son near Nashville; Oldest son's family near Durham, NC. Traveled back and forth across the country for several years, often spent winters in FL, after being in NC for a few months each fall.

Mid to late 90s, bought a new fifth wheel RV, longest one available, when they were in FL Headed for PA that spring with it. Got up into GA and a trucker called them on the CB, told them they had a trailer tire coming apart. Put the spare on..Got most of the way thru SC, same thing happened to another of the six trailer tires. Replaced the OEM Goodyears with six new Michelins. One of our farmer relatives in PA, got the remaining 16" Goodyears for farm use.

Cousin said the Michelins lasted the rest of the time they moved that RV back and forth across the country, for another six or eight years.

We tow heavy and need the extra side wall strength, the side wall is where most blow outs occur. We replace trailer tires every few years because of the saltwater environment that we work in. As your towing your forever hitting sharp objects and if something sharp happens to cut the rubber to the steel belts, rust will begin immediately. Before long the steel belts will break and then usually a wobble in the tire will occur before the tire blows out. I've never had anything to heavy duty.

I understand all of that, but I am not towing anything nearing "heavy-duty." The tires you mentioned won't even fit under the trailer I am asking about.

Maxxis M8008 by far!

I believe that age not road hazards or wear is the most common reason trailer tires fail. I would advise you to first check the date code that is on your side wall. If the tires are more than six years old, you really need to change them out. I have a 30 ft. 4 season fifth wheel (8500 lbs. dry weight) on which I run 16” Hankook light truck tires on truck wheels. From my experience of dragging these damn travel trailers around North America, good LT tires and wheels work. CP.

I've been hauling travel trailers since I was 15 years old and have had exactly one blowout and that was my fault for putting off new tires...Always from Lee Schwabs and there recomendation for my use on washbordy/rough roads for my work....All ST tires and never an issue.....Keep the tires new and covered from the sun and they will last a long time...ST tires are made for the different characteristics a trailer has over a pickup..They work well if you take care of them and keep them covered when not in tow.

What ever the trailer tire. I catty two spares.

Stay away from Chinese tires and step up a load range from what is required for the trailer. Also when making a long haul like your doing leave home with a minimum of 2 spares mounted on rims.

That is what I am running. These tires are 14 ply tires. Plus I also run tire monitors. I would say that no matter what tire you decide to run invest in tire monitors.

Here's something else to consider - all ST tires have a 65 mph limit. Beyond that and you're risking heat buildup. LT tires are made for much higher speeds.

ST tires have heavier cords and belts than LT's but LT's are very adequate. Here's something I copied from etrailer.com. Especially note what I put in bold print about the 2 different LT designations.

From the Tire Rack:

LT = If a tire ends with "LT," it signifies the tire is either an earlier "Numeric", "Wide Base" or "Flotation" Light Truck size designed to be used on vehicles that are capable of carrying heavy cargo and towing trailers (Numeric sizes), use 16.5-inch diameter rims (Wide Base sizes) or are wider, over sized tires designed to help the vehicle drive on top of loose dirt or sandy surfaces (Flotation sizes). This includes light, medium and heavy duty (typically 1/2-, 3/4 and 1-ton load capacity) pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles. Tires branded with the "LT" at the end of their size designation are also the "little brothers" of 18-wheel tractor-trailer tires and are designed to provide substantial reserve capacity to accept the additional stresses of carrying heavy cargo.

For my purposes, I choose tires that have the LT designation at the end of the size designation.

You might pick up the latest issue of Trailer Life Magazine. It has an overview of trailer tires, what's available and their recommendations. They also have a review of pressure monitor systems.

My good year endurance are rated for 87 mph.

Goodyear seems to have beefed up the Endurance to a higher speed rating. 65 is the industry standard.

I told the boat trailer dealer to keep the ST tires. I picked up the rims and mounted Bridgestone R250 in the 235/85R16 size. They're a steel case tire like the Michelin XPS. They've been bomber since 2012, but I'll replace them this year due to age. They're going on the beat up 12k equipment trailer of my dad's, so those 25yo tires can be retired.

I'd be inclined to putting LT tires on whatever I could get them on, if stockers are 15" or 16".

I would choose LT tires, they are stronger and safer.

ST tires may be rated for more capacity, but to get that weight rating they typically come with a lower speed rating (usually 65mph) and are not rated to carry passengers.

LT tires are rated for higher speeds, can carry passengers, and are rated for trailer use.

I am convinced the weight rating system is different, and doesn’t reflect the real world performance of the tire. You just don’t find folks that use LT tires on trailers complaining much, not true for ST tires users.

When my E rated pickup tires get down to about 25%, I put them on my horse trailer. They won't be worn out by the time I replace the pickup tires again but they'll be pretty old so the trailer will get the used pickup tires again.

LT vs trailer tires. Trailer tires are designed to roll, and brake. That is all they are engineered to do.

LT tires are designed to passenger safety specifications. They are designed to withstand extreme steering forces, hard acceleration, panic braking, give 50,000 to 60,000 miles of life on a pickup, minimal rolling resistance for MPG, And typically, not only are LT tires tougher, last longer, but they are usually less expensive than trailer tires.

At the house are three single axle flatbed trailers, two tandem axle horse trailers, one triple axle flatbed, a tandem axle camper trailer (22 ft heavy old school) and the tandem axle under the jet boat.

With the exception of the boat, every one of the trailers are wearing take offs from the pickups or the blazer. load range C 15 inch on the light trailers off of the Blazer. D or E 16s from the pickup on the triple axle. Some of them are coming up on 30 years since original purchase.

When I bought the boat, it had 14 inch wheels, and needed tires. It got brand new c load rated LTs from Les Schwabb, for less money than the equivalent duty, but inferior trailer rated tires.

You definitely want radials. Less heat build up, lower rolling resistance, better MPG, longer life.

Your tire dealer will recommend a proper tire size to fit your wheels and application. You MIGHT have to insist on LT tires if he tries to sell you trailer tires. He might even come up with a story to convince you the trailer tire is superior.

We bought our RV trailer used. Nice looking radial trailers tire with 90% tread remaining. A couple summers later, two of them actually exploded sitting in the driveway. Both times I was in the yard and heard it, about like a 12 ga going off in the yard.

I have never heard of a passenger or LT tire exploding like that. Maybe the old bias tires would blow out while going down the highway back in the '60s. But just sitting, parked in the drive way?

Just like 90% of farmer owned trailers out there.

Another vote for Goodyear Endurance. Had them on my single axle boat trailer for 3 years pulling a heavy boat.
Run 75 mph all day without a problem. Great tires.

And if you have 14” wheels you can get European “commercial” tires which are the equivalent of LT. I have 185r14 hankook vantra RA18 tires on my boat trailer, a HUGE weight limit increase over the previous 13” LR”D” Bias ply ST tires which are the highest rated 13” tires available.

Good year endurance or Maxxis M8008.I run both no issues.

Never found anything better than Maxxis 8008.

Going on a fishing trip with my 26 ft fifth wheel camper in two weeks, and this thread caused me to look at my tires. I thought they would be fine, but no, the tread is separating on two of them with the steel belts visible. I wonder how I even made it home the last trip. I pull the boat behind the trailer, so it's a load.
Just ordered 4 new Maxxis 8008 10 ply E rated tires on line.

Thanks for a timely discussion, it saved me time and BS on my trip, and much cheaper to deal with it now than on the road.

Follow-up question; any on-line source that sells the wheel mounted tires you’d recommend?

I am looking at 4X GoodYear endurance 205/75R15 LRD on galvanized wheels for about $640 delivered from eCustomRims.com

Never used them. But I think tirerack.com sells tires mounted on wheels. I have perused their website and was impressed with their prices. Once upon a time long ago.

Goodyear Endurance here for two years with no problems.
Not a lot of miles though.
Keep them out of the sun.

If your trailer mostly sits, either take the wheel/tire
off and put them back on when you get ready to
tow it, or just block it up where there won't be a
bunch of weight in one spot for a long period of time

I like the maxxis also, but last time out they only had carlisle, so that is what is on now, so far so good.

But I would check the date code, I like to keep pretty new tires on at all times, they are kept covered and i park the fifth wheel on large planks.

Just bought five Goodyear Endurance tires for my 26' travel trailer. Peace of mind! A blow out ain't a good thing and a good spare is important, just in case. JMHO

Are those USA made tires or imports?

Which tires are you referring to? The Goodyear are USA made. The Maxxis from what I can find are Thailand.

The Goodyear’s, thanks