ST Tire Manufacturers: Any Difference?

[Philip]

Hello Again Folks,

I am just about ready to buy new 15" tires for my 2008, 2720 TM (upgrade from 14" tires). I have purchased the required lift kit from the factory to make this upgrade. All this work is being done, as many others have done, to hopefully reduce the chance of blowouts.

Before I purchase the tires I had a couple questions about the tire selection. I am sure this has been discussed in times past but I would appreciate the forums knowledge repated if possible. Here goes:

1. I have focused on looking at 225/75 - 15" ST tires from Goodyear and Maxxis. As far as I can find out the Goodyear & Maxxis tires come in 6 & 8 ply designs which determine the load carrying capacity. I plan to go with the higher load carrying 8 ply design. Both manufacturers have the same max. capacity(2540 lbs.) at max. pressure(65 PSI). Additionaly the Maxxis has a 10 ply design with a max. capacity of 2830 lbs. at a max pressure of 80 PSI. The cost of the 10 ply Maxxis is only $10 more($105) than the 8 ply. At last(LOL) my question is: Is there any disadvantage to having a higher capacity(10 ply) tire even though you don't really need that capacity? I am of the opinion that a higher margine of excess capacity would result in a lower duty cycle which would reduce the chances of a failure. Opinions are cheap and someone may know of facts that may tell me otherwise. I estimate my TM to be about 3600 lbs fully loaded.

2. I have only looked closely at Goodyear & Maxxis ST tire brands. Does anyone know if one brand of tire is of better overall quality than another? I have seen others on this forum talk about other brands - Kumho, Carlise, Cooper, etc. Is one brand better than another?

I plan to do everything I can think of to reduce my chance of tire failures including steel valve stems.

As always any help from forum members is appreciated.

Take care,

Phil Friess

TV - 2005 Toyota 4Runner with factory tow package
TM - 2008; 2720
Prodigy brake controller
EZ WDH.

Are you sure your '08 2720 needs a lift kit? Ours came with the lift and the 15" wheels fit just fine. I understand the lift came standard sometime during the '06 model year.

[scrubjaysnest]

Phil,
My gut would be go with the 10 ply but why don't you pm wmtire as that his business.

[Wavery]

The problem with tire selection is that tire manufacturers seem to go in cycles. It seems that the tire manufacturer that was popular a few years ago falls into the unpopular set due to bad reviews.

I'm sure that there are many poorly built tires out there but I am of the opinion that a lot of people jump on the band-wagon at the same time, then 5 to 6-years later those tires all start failing at once due to age. People start bad-mouthing the manufacturer all at once, then some other manufacturer gets all that business.

I recently bought Maxxis tires for my '04 TM but there is no way that I would recommend them to anyone as being "the best choice". I simply won't know for another 4-5 years whether they are a good choice. By that time, the Maxxis tires may have fallen from grace and some other manufacturer will be there to pick up that business. I'll be the 1st one to admit that I chose the Maxxis because everyone else seemed to be buying them I also couldn't find a lot of bad reviews on them (just a few)..

The Marathons that I took off of my '98 TM were 8-years-old. My first instinct was to buy another set of Marathons because those lasted so long without issue. I found out that Marathons had fallen from grace and a lot of people were trashing them.

[Philip]

Originally Posted by Scott O

Are you sure your '08 2720 needs a lift kit? Ours came with the lift and the 15" wheels fit just fine. I understand the lift came standard sometime during the '06 model year.

Scott,

I did talk with the TM factory and they said I would need the lift.

The TM is presently in my sons garage a fair drive from me. I will check it out when I get the chance to see if it looks as if it has the lift.

What does the lift spacer look like on your TM? Just a steel plate? About how thick is the spacer?

Take care,

Phil

[ShrimpBurrito]

Phil -

You can see a picture of my lift kit from the factory in post #2 of this thread:
http://www.trailmanorowners.com/foru...ead.php?t=8732

But given your 2008 model TM, you may not have that but still have a lifted frame due to the spindle arms on the axle having a different angle. If you read through that thread you can read some folks' ground-to-frame measurements. Of course, that doesn't mean you still can't add the lift kit. It just means if you do, it might be higher than an older TM with the lift kit due to the different axle.

Dave

Originally Posted by Scott O

Are you sure your '08 2720 needs a lift kit? Ours came with the lift and the 15" wheels fit just fine. I understand the lift came standard sometime during the '06 model year.

15" Tires Fit My 2008 2720 Also (had 14" from the factory). Mine Had The 2" Lift Built Into The Axle Itself, Didn't Need The Blocks.

[Bill]

Philip -

We have discussed a different answer to the "Do I need a lift kit?" question.

Take a look at post number 8 here
http://www.trailmanorowners.com/foru...ead.php?t=7306

or post #7 here
http://www.trailmanorowners.com/foru...ad.php?t=10326

Bill

[pauloh]

Like Philip, I've also been looking (online only in my case) this winter for a new set of tires (incl. spare) for my TM. I am leaning toward Maxxis (M8008 Trailer Tire) based on reading here and elsewhere. I finally found the "specs" chart at maxxis.com at this specific link (I copied their chart below the link, hope it reads OK, if not, try the link):
http://www.maxxis.com/Industrial/Tra...ST-Radial.aspx

Part, Size, Ply, Diameter, Width, Max Load, Max PSI, Tread Depth Side Wall type
TL15712000 225/75R15 6 28.3 8.90 2,150 50 9/32 BSW
TL15710000 225/75R15 8 28.3 8.90 2,540 65 9/32 BSW
TL15711000 225/75R15 8 28.3 8.90 2,540 65 9/32 OWL
TL15713000 225/75R15 10 28.3 8.90 2,830 80 9/32 BSW

(Google says: BSW means "black sidewall" OWL means "outline white lettering". I did not know that.)

Notice they don't have a "D" or "E" rating anywhere on this chart, but this retail site does:
http://www.gripston.com/tires/TL15713000
It says the Maxxis "D" tire handles 2450 lbs. ($119. each) while the "E" tire handles up to 2830 lbs ($136. each) and the part numbers for their D & E tires correspond to the Maxxis chart for #2 and #4 in the chart. (These are higher prices than what Philip was quoted, but the price includes shipping...wonder where Philip got his prices?)

These prices are lower than what is shown at discounttire.com for Maxxis tires, "D" and "E" rated, at $134. and $157. respectively. However I've never heard of Gripston and I do know of Discount Tire (might even be able to pick up the tires at one of their stores in Denver sometime, 6 hours from here). DT asks site visitors to let them know of lower prices at other vendors, maybe they'll match if I email or call them this week.

I'm tentatively planning to buy online, have them shipped to my rural location, check those date codes, and have a local shop put them on the rims with those steel valve stems.

So...whatya think? 8-ply "D" or those 10-ply "E"? Is there any problem with 80lbs. of air in the TM 15-inch rims? E is probably going to give a little rougher ride at 80lbs, did I read somewhere that some folks run them at lower pressure? Maybe D will do since in my paranoia I'll probably inspect them every 10 miles...once I finally get on the road (for the first time) with my TM this spring!

[Bill]

Originally Posted by pauloh

I'm tentatively planning to buy online, have them shipped to my rural location, check those date codes, and have a local shop put them on the rims with those steel valve stems.

And balance them!

Bill