I've been looking at Maxxis tires to put on my Hi Lo. I presently have Goodyear tires but it looks like I can increase the ply and max load with the same size Maxxis tire.
They sell a 6 ply and 8 ply in my size. The Goodyear tires I presently have on the Hi Lo are rated for 1820 lbs load at 50 PSI. The 6 ply Maxxis are the same load at the same pressure. The 8 ply would increase the max. load to 2150 lbs but the pressure increases to 65 PSI.
The quesiton I have is will the wheels that came on the Hi Lo take the 65 PSI pressure? I've heard that the pressure is marked on the inside of the wheel, does anyone know if that true? Finally how can I find out if the present rims on the Hi Lo will stand the pressure of the 8 ply Maxxis at 65 PSI?
Thanks in advance. Seems that it would make sense to go with the 8 ply if the wheels will take the increased pressure.
Thanks and Goed Bless
Papa

The 13" white spoke rims that are on my 95 are stamped 50 psi max and can easily be seen. I put 15" aluminum 7 spoke rims on my 09 which look like and may be the same as Hi-Lo used, they are rated at 105 psi, but are not stamped, if I remember correctly. My question is why would you want to put 8ply tires on your Hi-Lo? Do you plan on carrying that much weight? 8ply tires will ride rough and trailers have enough problems with seams cracking and leaking. The weight rating of the original tires exceeds the axle max rating. Just my 2 cents worth.

__________________
Rich
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(215TL) - 1995 21' TowLite
(2209T) - 2009 22' TowLite
(2510 ) - 2010 25'

PopRichie77,
Thanks for the information. I'll have to look and see if I can find a marking on my wheels.
I've been reading about all the trials and problems associated with trailer tires. Read several folks think Maxxis are good tires. Looking at their web site and saw where they have two in my size. One a 6 ply and one an 8 ply. The 6 ply carries is a load range C, the 8 ply is a load range D. So I was wondering why not have a higher weight rating. Here is what is on the Maxxis web site:


Can I go up in load capacity?

Answer:
Yes. It will not harm your trailer to go from a lower to higher load rating, but you should never go from a higher to lower load rating.

If that's the case why not have a higher weight rating. It's only 330 lbs. The load range C carries the weight limit right to the Hi Lo limit for my model.
Not that I'd want to go over but wouldn't it make sense to have more capacity just in case? Just like not maxing out the towing rating of the tow vehicle.
Thanks again for the tip about the wheel being marked.
God Bless
Papa

I can understand why you want to go up a Load Range since your GWVR is close to the max tire load capacity.

My 2209T has a GVWR of 5500#. The axles equal 7000#, and the C range tires equal 7280#. Fortunately, I have some built in reserve capacity.

The person who had our trailer before us put on tires that were a little wider. He owned a tire shop. One of the tires was defective and caused some wheel well dammage that could have let water in. Just a caution about changing tires that may be wider. I would check with your HiLo dealer or JR in Ohio.

Papa, I think trailer tires have been improved, the Goodyears that came on our 2209T have an extra nylon ply over the steel belts. I was told by a tire guy that all manufactures have done this in my tire size. We bought the 95 used and I knew nothing about trailer tires then, we put about 30,000 miles on those tires, turned out they were the original 1995 tires, they were 4 ply, made in USA, the steel belts broke on one tire on our way home from Alaska. The tire was 10 years old. Replaced that set with Goodyear 6ply tires, made in New Zeland, then the tire problems started, and continued till I bought a set of China made tires, broken steel belts, tread came off, one failed with less than 10,000 miles and I always keep the tires properly inflated. I will say than none blew out. So far the Goodyear tires on the 2209T have about 15,000 miles on them and no problems and on the side of the tire it says made in China. If you check enough I think you will find that someone has had trouble with every brand. If you don't travel far with the trailer any tire will probably be fine. If you don't already know trailer tires have a max speed rating of 65 MPH. The Maxxis web site should tell you this. Good luck with your tires, and happy camping.

__________________
Rich
------------------------------------
(215TL) - 1995 21' TowLite
(2209T) - 2009 22' TowLite
(2510 ) - 2010 25'

Here is an intersting chart concerning tires of different dimensions and air pressures

http://www.airforums.com/forums/atta...chmentid=16648


This will be a pdf file when you go to it

but basically if you know the weight of your vehicle you can apply the correct pressure so you get the best foot print out of your tire which will make the trailer stop quicker and probably run smoother. If you arebitarily run max air pressure when you dont need it you cause the tire to not fully and evenly make contact with the road which reduces its braking ability and causes instability

A friend of mind who worked in the tire business showed me a trick to deal with the uncertainty of how much weight, when you know the empty weight of your car or trailer apply the correct pressure for the specific tire, lets say the trailer weighs 4000 lbs on the axle, 4 wheels meaning 1000 pounds per axle. If you look at the chart for a 205R75 15 a pressure of 25 pounds to 30 pounds will easily handle that weight give you a good foot print and soft ride. He would then tell me to measure the wheel at the top of the rim, remember this measurement and keep the tires pressured to maintain this measurement. I use to keep my tires inflated to 50 pounds which caused the tires to wear out in the center of the tires instead of even wear.

raamw,

Would this apply to both 6ply and 8ply tires? I would think there would be a difference if an 8-ply was used over a 6ply [?].

Jerry Curtis
2406 T

You would need to find the correct chart for your tire to know what is the correct pressure for the weight would be. 8 ply tires are for heavy loads, I personally don't see the need to substitute an 8 ply for a 6 ply unless your are near the max for a 6 ply. Don't forget one of the leading causes for RV failures such as leaks rattles and so on is road vibrations, lower air pressure reduces this but you need to be within specs of the tire, Anyone can tell you that a tire dissipates it heat through the side walls, if you run under inflated for the load you cause the tire to flex to much causing the heat to increase, also excessive speed causes undue heat build up so that is why keeping the speed down lets the tires run cooler

I have always made a habit of putting my hands on the tires to see how hot they are each time I stop, I also touch the hubs to determine if the heat of bearings/brakes, generally if they are too hot to touch they are on the verge of failure.