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deanj View Drop Down
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Direct Link To This Post Topic: Tires Again!
    Posted: 22 Jan 2021 at 1:16pm
Factory tires or change, that is the question. Taking delivery of a new 180 soooon! Read many posts on tires, China  Bombs ! others say O.K. Not new to towing, horse/cattle trailers (goose neck) and 5th wheel, utility trailers. Three and two axles, never a single axle. All my trailers were on Carlisle 10 ply tires. My feeling is never scrimp on tires or brakes. Do I change when I get the 180 or wait? Are 10 ply too stiff for a light trailer?
My other question is about WDH?Sway. I hope no one has ever had a blow out, but was the WDH a hinderance or help?
Will be towing with a 19/20 F150, V8 (Texas Edition) with factory tow package. E2 WDH
S y D
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Cjommh View Drop Down
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 22 Jan 2021 at 1:40pm
For what it's worth I was/am debating the same, driving a RAM 1500, towing R pod 192, with Westlake tires. It is the Hood River Edition, so the tires are St235/75r, so far have done close to 3k miles, including dirt roads, no issues. Installed TPMS and I make sure they are at the correct pressure before each trip. To make things more complicated the 235's are custom to FR and even if I wanted to, it is hard to find 235's. If I go with Goodyear endurance I would go to 225's and lose some clearance, which I don't want to. So for now I am not changing. Hope this helps. 
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 22 Jan 2021 at 1:45pm
Originally posted by Cjommh

For what it's worth I was/am debating the same, driving a RAM 1500, towing R pod 192, with Westlake tires. It is the Hood River Edition, so the tires are St235/75r, so far have done close to 3k miles, including dirt roads, no issues....

Yeah, I have those Westlakes too on our HRE 195 and they've done over 10,000 miles in a year (including gravel/dirt) with no problems.  They look like they could go another 20,000 miles.

Not so sure about other OEM brands that seem to have "issues"...
2020.5 R-Pod 195 Hood River
2018 RAM 2500 6.4L
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offgrid View Drop Down
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 22 Jan 2021 at 2:24pm
My opinion is that for the most part the issues have been that some of the oem tires are marginally rated for the loads the are expected to carry, combined in some cases with inadequate user attention to maintaining prober tire pressure.

For example the 14 inch load range C oem tires on my 179 were rated at 1750 lbs on a 3500 lb rated axle. No safety factor at all. Look up the load rating of the specific tires you have and/or are considering buying, and be sure they are rated well above the axle rating. Too high can also be bad, the ride can end up too stiff which can shake the trailer too much. I think a safety factor between 25 and 50% is roughly right.

In my case I changed to 15 inch load range D’s with a 2500 lb rating for a 42% safety factor. And yep they are Chinese as were the originals,
1994 Chinook Concourse
1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft
2015 Rpod 179 - sold
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jato View Drop Down
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 22 Jan 2021 at 2:51pm
Over the past 10 years we have traveled over 36,000 miles on the originals that came with our 177, Tire King (china) load range 'C' retired after 7 years, built in 2009) and currently Hartland (china) Load range 'C' built 2015.  Granted the 177 is lighter than most others at 2440 empty and 2851 loaded with a full FW tank.  Will be going to a Carlisle load range 'D' next time at Discount Tire.  Have kept a close eye on tire pressure (50 psi) before going out in the morning and have had no issues.

  Have noted a number of tire failures on the FB site for R-Pods, but rarely is it mentioned if they had kept the recommended pressure in them or not.  Also see a lot of mods, including hardwood flooring, that jack up the weight to the degree that in some cases the weight limit stated on the tire is probably breached by the time all the 'nuts and bolts' are added for a trip down the road.  Finally speed is another factor as I have witnessed a number of 'Jehu's or Ben Hurs' that are cruise down the interstates pulling their TT at scary speeds, easily in excess of 80 mph. 

Do your homework, keep an eye on tire pressure, weight, and the speed designation on the tire and you will be fine.  Even gye have been known to blow apart or have belts shift due to manufacturing defects or owner oversight by not monitoring tire pressure.
God's pod
'11 model 177
'17 Ford F-150 4WD 3.5 Ecoboost
Jim and Diane by beautiful Torch Lake
"...and you will know the Truth and the Truth will set you free."
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 23 Jan 2021 at 9:38am
FWIW, the OEM Westlake 15" (ST235/75R 15) tires on recent model year Hood River Rpods are load range C, but they are not typical load range C tires. They are stamped to handle 2350 lbs per tire (4700 lbs per axle). We have had these OEM tires on our 179 now for 3 years, and they have held up well. I believe they are well within a reasonable safety factor.

That said, they are an odd size, and direct replacements are not available in the after market. When it comes time to replace these in 2022 or 2023, we will replace them with a 15" load range D tire.
bp
2017 R-Pod 179 Hood River
2015 Ford F150 SuperCrew 4WD 3.5L Ecoboost
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 23 Jan 2021 at 10:00am
Originally posted by GlueGuy

FWIW, the OEM Westlake 15" (ST235/75R 15) tires on recent model year Hood River Rpods are load range C...

I'm 98% sure ours are LR "D".

Yup...found my earlier post:

Our 2020.5 195 came with 15-inch ST 235/75s LRD rated at 2910 lbs (single axle).  Speed rating 75 MPH.
2020.5 R-Pod 195 Hood River
2018 RAM 2500 6.4L
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 23 Jan 2021 at 10:20am
+1 to both Pod_Geek and GlueGuy. The 195 has a 4400 lb axle so those tires have a 32% safety factor over the axle rating. The 179 has a 3500 lb axle so those tires are at 34% sf. I think those are in a good place, keep ‘em at rated tire pressure till they age or wear out.

My OEM tires had a zero safety factor on top of what was already a marginal axle capacity, so I think they were an accident waiting to happen, changed them right away.

If you want to change an otherwise adequately rated set of tires because you don’t trust Chinese stuff, feel free. Just sayin’ that I’m not sure there is data supporting that that’s necessary.
1994 Chinook Concourse
1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft
2015 Rpod 179 - sold
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Colt View Drop Down
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 23 Jan 2021 at 4:37pm
Originally posted by deanj

Factory tires or change, that is the question. Taking delivery of a new 180 soooon! Read many posts on tires, China  Bombs ! others say O.K. Not new to towing, horse/cattle trailers (goose neck) and 5th wheel, utility trailers. Three and two axles, never a single axle. All my trailers were on Carlisle 10 ply tires. My feeling is never scrimp on tires or brakes. Do I change when I get the 180 or wait? Are 10 ply too stiff for a light trailer?
My other question is about WDH?Sway. I hope no one has ever had a blow out, but was the WDH a hinderance or help?
Will be towing with a 19/20 F150, V8 (Texas Edition) with factory tow package. E2 WDH


They can't put anything on the Internet that isn't true!  Right? 

The OEM tires on a 180 ARE just barely enough.  But they are enough.  And I don't think they are China Bombs.  Their rating is equal to the axle rating.  We have no idea what factor of safety they have over rating, but you can be sure they have some.  This summer, my tire store said trailer tires got scarce.  So, I would run them, but respect their speed rating (65 MPH, I think), load rating (weigh your trailer and tow vehicle) and be sure they are always at recommended pressure, cold.  Expect the pressure to go up as much as 5 psi when hot, but never air down a hot tire.  Replace them when they are getting old or worn and spend the savings on hoses and cables. 

I changed mine at the recommended 5 years and they looked great, but the cost of repairs from a blown tire exceed the cost of tires, so I replaced them.  I went with a Load range D Carlisle radial.  I got a bump in load capacity and speed rating, both a comfort, mentally, but not a usable difference. 
John
'16 R-Pod 180
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deanj View Drop Down
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 23 Jan 2021 at 5:48pm
Thanks for all the answers!. Towing a cattle trailer for nearly 20 years I have had 2 "blow outs". With a three axle  trailer they were not to bad. Cattle did not like it. Had one in our two axle 5th wheel, more dramatic and more expensive. I think I knew the answer before posting, but now I am positive. Get a load rated tire with a better safety factor and higher speed rating.
Since retiring we moved to Arizona where we can get "warm" summers, so protecting the tires is a high priority.
S y D
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