Tires - Making sure

[rickst29]

But note: I bought them pre-mounted on new rims.
My old TM rims were ugly and dinged-to-death. It would have cost me about 1/4 -1/3 of the price for the new rims to have a local place mount and balance the tires properly. And more important, I'd have to pull off my TM rims and stick them in the SUV, along with the new tires, to even go there. And then, another trip to bring the mounted tires back home.

The cost of buying fancy new rims, with new tires balanced and mounted by them, looked really good in comparison to wating all that time. You get one cardboard box per tire, ready to go directly on the TM. You get to finish the whole job at one time.

[funpilot]

I went out to the Maxxis website and they have a list of their tires and their ply rating. You need to scroll down to see the table.

http://www.maxxis.com/catalog/tire-1...t-radial-m8008

Out on Amazon, I read a review (second one) that says that are 10 ply.

http://www.amazon.com/Maxxis-M8008-R...B004QL6I0U#Ask

[Padgett]

Will someone who has one just copy what the sidewall says please ?

The Maxxis page says 10 "ply rating". it also says "Double steel-belted construction" which I would read as two steel belts (and an unknown number of polyester and possibly one nylon). I would be surprised if the total for the tread was more than six and the sidewall is probably the same as the polyester.

As to the wheel, I know that mine are made by Carlyle Tire and Wheel, are 15x6" 5 lug with 1/2" studs and rated for 2150 lbs. so a good match to my 205x75x15 LRD tires. To go to 2540 lbs takes a 6 lig wheel

[ShrimpBurrito]

On my Maxxis 8008 load range E tires, it says:

Tread: 2 polyester + 2 steel + 1 nylon
Sidewall: 2 polyester

Dave

[funpilot]

Originally Posted by Padgett

Will someone who has one just copy what the sidewall says please ?

The Maxxis page says 10 "ply rating". it also says "Double steel-belted construction" which I would read as two steel belts (and an unknown number of polyester and possibly one nylon). I would be surprised if the total for the tread was more than six and the sidewall is probably the same as the polyester.

As to the wheel, I know that mine are made by Carlyle Tire and Wheel, are 15x6" 5 lug with 1/2" studs and rated for 2150 lbs. so a good match to my 205x75x15 LRD tires. To go to 2540 lbs takes a 6 lig wheel

Found what you are looking for at tirerack and it looks like you are correct:

The load range/ply rating branded on a tire's sidewall identifies how much load the tire is designed to carry at its industry specified pressure. Passenger tires feature named load ranges while light truck tires use load ranges that ascend in alphabetical order (letters further along in the alphabet identify stronger tires that can withstand higher inflation pressures and carry heavier loads). Before load ranges were adopted, ply ratings and/or the actual number of carcass plies were used to identify the relative strength with higher numeric ratings or plies identifying tires featuring stronger, heavier duty constructions.

Today's load range/ply ratings do not count the actual number of body ply layers used to make up the tire’s internal structure, but indicate an equivalent strength compared to early bias ply tires. Most radial passenger tires have one or two body plies, and light truck tires, even those with heavy-duty ratings (10-, 12- or 14-ply rated), actually have only two or three fabric plies, or one steel body ply.

[funpilot]

Sent a question to Maxxis about the pros and cons going from a D to E grade tire. Here is what they responded:

Robert,
Unless you need the additional load carrying capacity there is no reason to use a higher ply rated tire. The load range "D" and "E" will carry the same exact load inflated to 65 PSI. The higher ply rated tire has heavier components and therefore will run at a higher operating temperature, which you would want to avoid. However, if you choose to use the load range "E", you should check with the trailer or wheel manufacturer to verify the wheels can handle inflation pressure beyond 65 PSI. At 65 PSI you would be fine, but again there would be no operational or safety advantage. Thanks for your inquiry and interest in Maxxis Tires.
Best Regards,
Your Maxxis Support Team

[funpilot]

I do have a question for the team though. When estimating the weight of the trailer for the tires, do I count the tongue weight on TM's spec sheet? If yes, then the 3124 comes to 4902 pounds max which is at the limit of "D" tire.

[TrailManorMan]

Originally Posted by funpilot

I do have a question for the team though. When estimating the weight of the trailer for the tires, do I count the tongue weight on TM's spec sheet? If yes, then the 3124 comes to 4902 pounds max which is at the limit of "D" tire.

I think the tongue weight is on the TV hitch, therefore shouldn't be part of trailer weight when in hitch mode

[tentcamper]

Funpilot, You only count the weight on the axle, not the weight on the tongue.

The tongue is applied to the TV GVW, which most of it will be on the TV rear axle unless you have a WDH.

If you have a WDH, some of the tongue weight will be redistributed to the trailer axle and TV front axle. I would use 30% of un-WDH tongue weight that is applied to the trailer axle with a WDH. It's most likely really around 15-20%, but dips in the road will apply a greater force.

[Padgett]

I am learning to think of a WDH as a torque applied to the hitch. The total weight of the tow and towed has not changed but the force relationship between the two has.

My tongue weight is now 460 lbs and placed on the hitch ball adds 460 lbs to the TV. However since there is a 3:1 ratio between lever arm and wheelbase of my TV, this has the effect of also unloading the front axle by 150 lb which adds to the load on the rear axle since the TV wheight is unchanged.

So the effect is to add 600 lbs to the rear TV axle while removing 150 lbs from the front. Front goes up a 1/2" and rear goes down an inch.

So for my TV there is a 460 lb tongue weight and a 150 lb torque.

What a WBH hitch does is to apply a reverse torque to the hitch system to effectively transfer some of the tongue weight back to the trailer axle and and apply an equivalent torque (complex analysis of force vectors is left to the student) to the TV.

However when a WDH says "800 lbs" the real question needs to be "in what direction ?".