Best 14" tires to buy for 2003 2720?

[GoldenBear]

After reading all the posts about blowouts and tire age, etc. I really want to get new tires for our used 2003 2720.

I am getting crossed-eyed trying to figure out which tires we should try to get. We want to stay with the 14" because we want to try to keep the TM in the garage and the lift kit would prevent that. I understand that we should have the new tires balanced and have steel stems and caps put on. We could buy these new tires from Sams, Costco, or America's Tire.

We do travel on lots of unpaved roads in both the desert and up in Big Bear, but we usually crawl really slowly to keep from beating up the TM. We are towing with a 2002 Honda Odyssey with airsprings.

Help! We are trying to get the new tires before our trip out for the Memorial Day weekend. Thanks in advance for your help.

edit: I ended up buying the Kumho 857 195/75r14. After googling and reading more from other trailer forums, everyone who had the Kumho 857s were really happy with them. I couldn't get the 205/75r14 because supposedly Kumho stopped importing them to the US because of the weak dollar and low demand. The 195 is a little narrower, but I love the higher load rating and feel safer already.

[commodor47]

Unfortunately there is no “best” answer to your tire question. I too have read all the posts dealing with tire failures and the tire experiment underway with several members of the board. We are very lucky to have the benefit of Wm Tire’s experience and his knowledge of tire quality. I can only comment on our experiences.

We bought our unit used from a private party in NC. It was a year old (2003 2720 SL) then and had been lightly used. The OEM tires were 14 inch Goodyear Marathons with a production date of 2002. In 2005 and again in 2006 we went on a 3-month trip to AZ, FL, and SC before heading back home. Each year we traveled around 10,000 miles for the 3 months. There were no issues with the tires. In April of 2007 I replaced all 3 tires with another set of the 14 inch Goodyear Marathons, had steel valve stems installed and had all 3 tires balanced. Right after Christmas we departed on our third winter trip to AZ. Another 3 months on the road and 10,500 miles . . . and no issues with the tires.

Trying to make a decision is like the judge telling the jury to forget what they just heard. Having read all the posts on tires one begins to second-guess tire integrity. I am keenly aware of the possibility of a tire failure while under way and hope I never have to deal with a failure along a busy Interstate. Maintaining proper tire pressure, checking for tire damage at fuel stops, avoiding road hazards, keeping highway speed between 60 and 65 mph will all help alleviate anticipated tire failure and make your travels more enjoyable.

Dick

[allenj]

After one of our original Marathon's blew out on the Interstate, we decided to upgrade, which we've been meaning to do for a while. We don't have a lift kit and I didn't feel like installing one (if that's even an option on our model year), so I called our local Discount Tire to see what they had in a 195/14 with load range D, and ended up with these:

Yokohama Y356 LT195/75R-14/D1 - $95 each.

This is a light truck radial tire, which I thought would be able to handle the interstate speeds better and smoother. Imagine my surprise when, after getting them home last night, I did some pre-posting checking on the model and discovered that even at 65 psi their weight rating is actually less than the Marathons (only 1710 lbs, vs the Marathons at 1760)! :eek:
I called back the tire place to see what they could do, and my only other option in that size is a Carlisle, rated at 1880 lbs. I know they don't have a very good reputation, but now I'm kind of stuck, so I'll swap the Yokohamas for them and see - at least they have a better weight capacity than the Marathons.

[hsannerud]

You might check into the Kumo Radial 857...they have a weight capacity of 2271 lbs...I'm quite happy with mine....

Harry

[allenj]

Harry,

I had been planning to get the Kumhos, but I waited too late - you can't get them anymore. I've seen some other posts indicating that Kumho has stopped importing that tire line due to the weak dollar.

[cali camping]

After reading all the posts about blowouts and tire age, etc. I really want to get new tires for our used 2003 2720.

I am getting crossed-eyed trying to figure out which tires we should try to get. We want to stay with the 14" because we want to try to keep the TM in the garage and the lift kit would prevent that. I understand that we should have the new tires balanced and have steel stems and caps put on. We could buy these new tires from Sams, Costco, or America's Tire.

We do travel on lots of unpaved roads in both the desert and up in Big Bear, but we usually crawl really slowly to keep from beating up the TM. We are towing with a 2002 Honda Odyssey with airsprings.

Help! We are trying to get the new tires before our trip out for the Memorial Day weekend. Thanks in advance for your help.

edit: I ended up buying the Kumho 357 195/75r14. After googling and reading more from other trailer forums, everyone who had the Kumho 857s were really happy with them. I couldn't get the 205/75r14 because supposedly Kumho stopped importing them to the US because of the weak dollar and low demand. The 195 is a little narrower, but I love the higher load rating and feel safer already.

GoldenBear,
Can you tell me more about your off-road adventures in the Golden State? We've been wanting to do some "real" boondocking, but there is not much info out there on leaving the paved roadways! We are in Northern California and would love to get away from it all.
PM me if you like or you can email me directly at - [email protected]

[ShrimpBurrito]

I have the 205 Kumho's too and couldn't be happier. This place has 195 Kumhos:

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/Sizes.jsp?make=Kumho&model=Radial+857

They are a reputable place, and ship them either to your house or to a shop of your choice where you want them installed.

Dave

[Bill]

Allen -

If all else fails - and I'm not suggesting it as a first step - upsizing to 15-inch Marathons is easy if you have enough clearance above the tire. According to Dexter Axle, you should have about 3 inches, to allow for suspension flexing over big bumps. My TM had 3 inches, and hence only 2-1/2 inches after the conversion. I elected to go with it, and avoid hitting big bumps at high speed.

Bill

[PopBeavers]

Allen -

If all else fails - and I'm not suggesting it as a first step - upsizing to 15-inch Marathons is easy if you have enough clearance above the tire. According to Dexter Axle, you should have about 3 inches, to allow for suspension flexing over big bumps. My TM had 3 inches, and hence only 2-1/2 inches after the conversion. I elected to go with it, and avoid hitting big bumps at high speed.

Bill

Be aware that this increased the overall height. If I did that then I could no longer park the TM in the garage.

We purchase our 2005 TM 2720 new, taking delivery in March 2005. I have somewhere around 7k miles with no tire problems. I never exceed 60 mph, seeing as the legal speed limit is 55 mph. We have the factory Marathons.

I check the tire pressure for TM and TV when we leave home with a pressure gauge. For a weekend trip I just visually inspect it, tire kick test, when we break camp to go home.

I have had zero problems.

[Civil_War_Buff]

I replaced all 3 of my tires this year on my 2002. I decided to go with Maxxis www.maxxis.com that I bought from the manufacturer online. I did an extensive search online and could find NO bad things about this brand. I made sure to have the tires and wheel balanced too, which the factory (TM) does not do.

I do like what I see regarding the Kuhmo tires, a little higher load range could be good, but keep in mind that at 65 psi, a blowout will do a lot more body damage to the trailer as would the 50 psi in the load range C tires. Just my .02

[ShrimpBurrito]

I wonder if most of the trailer damage is done during the actual blowout, which is a fraction of a second, or from the subsequent thrashing of the separated tread against the trailer while you try to pull over....

Dave

[Al-n-Sue]

I think I have seen on this forum that the factory has now started balancing tires at the factory.

[tom123]

We traveled on a 7500 mile trip across the United States with our 2004 2720 trailer. I checked the tire pressure everyday - 50 pounds (especially after the first blowout). We had the factory 14" Marathons. Our trailer was pretty full. I never traveled faster than 65 MPH. Each of the blowouts happened after we had traveled for at least 2 hours and the temperature was over 90º F. Our last blowout was on I-15 on a busy afternoon. I was going 65 MPH passing a Semi in 115º heat! It took me a while to pull over. Luckily we were hauling it with a heavier vehicle, a 2004 F-150. As a result, the undercarriage was torn up pretty well. I believe the load range "C" is not enough for these trailers under these conditions.

I checked the clearance under my trailer and we have plenty of room to go to a 15" (ours came with the lift kit and still barely fits in our garage) I'll probably have to take some air out of the tires to get it to fit in the garage, but it will be worth it. (Thanks for the 3" Clearance tip Bill)

If you have not had any problems with your load range "C" tires, consider yourself lucky!

[bigben8011]

I blew a tire out on my last trip two weekends ago. old tires that had been abused. luckily there was a walmart up the street. going tommarow to get another new one on the other side. kind of a pain to change a tire on these things.

[PopBeavers]

We had a blow out on the curbside, Marathons. Almost exactly 4 years old from date of mfg.

DW was driving and did an excellent job of getting off to the shoulder of the freeway, eastbound I80 at Baxter, CA, in about 100 yards. No damage other than a shredded tire. There was no say or any other indication of a failure other than the loud bang. Good thing the radio was off. Outside temperature was over 100 degrees. We hit a pot hole about half an hour prior to the failure. I had inspected both tires at a rest stop about an hour prior to the failure and all appeared fine, not too hot to the touch, no signs of cracks or bubbles, air pressure appeared (visual inspection) normal. Tires had been inflated the evening before we started out.

I suspect it was the age of 4 years, the temperature and perhaps the small pothole. From now on, after any pothole I will inspect the tires.

Even though I have a bad knee, I swapped the spare in about half and hour and we were on our way.

Based on a recommendation from my local mechanic, I am putting TowMasters on.

I could not find a tire on the three day weekend, so going home on Sunday we went about 40 miles and left it with a friend in Grass Valley. I will go back to get it either this weekend or next.