Changed My Tires!

[beacher]

There is another thread asking about which tires to use, and also a post about a guy selling OEM Fleetwood stuff on Ebay a couple of weeks ago.

Both of these reminded me to change my tires!  Finally!

I have a 2004 Fleetwood GTE Niagara.  It has seen many miles, alot of campgrounds, and a few states so far.  I recall all the recommendations to change your PopUp's tires every three years, just based on age, regardless of the wear.

Last year, YEAR 3, I was "Just Too Busy" to deal with changing the tires.  Heck, they looked virtually brand new every time I washed them!  There were no cracks, and the tread even seemed to be even and acceptable!  So, I used the old tires for another camping season.

Boy, was I lucky!!!:yikes:

This past weekend I replaced my old tires with the exact same 13" DURO tires that it came with, purchased from some Fleetwood dealer on Ebay.  What I found out was that I had aparently driven many miles with my tires underinflated.  They were  both worn more on the edges, but still had some tread in the center.  Kinda!

My street side tire tread was very low on the inside edge, (the part I can't see from where my trailer is parked when I wash it and store it).  The outside sidewall still looked like a fresh new tire.  And the outside and center of the tire still had acceptable-looking tread.  But there was clearly uneven wear from being underinflated, and a bald patch on the inside edge that was starting to buldge!:eyecrazy:

I'm pretty sure that if I had used these tires on my next planned camping trip out to the desert in Joshua Tree, (a round trip of hundreds of miles), I would have had a nice blowout. :eyecrazy:

From now on I'll take that three year replacement recommendation much more seriously!

[AzRon]

Good to know info, thanks for sharing, glad you didn't have a failure!

[austinado16]

Hey, you got your money's worth out of those bad boys.  Nice!  Keep 'em inflated to the max pressure and see how much better you like it.

Have fun in Joshua Tree.  Last time I was through there the CHP set up a road block just north of the 10 freeway, inside the park, and pulled all of "us" over.

[erich0521]

Good advice Beacher.  

Tire pressue is huge. Keep them at their recommended.  

I also had tires that looked good.  ie. tread, no dry rot cracks, etc but were over 4 yrs old.  Did have a blow out while in FL.

fortunately, spare was good and only about 30 miles to a UHaul dealer who had some tires in my needed size, etc.

Now they are all replaced.

[heygirl]

Wow, that's great advice.  I just ordered new tires but haven't put them on my pup yet.  I bought my pup used and have no idea how old the tires are.  I'll make sure to remember to check the pressure on every trip and make a log book to remember to replace in 3 yrs.

[Brauma]

This thread is just what I was looking for. I bought a used Pup last spring and I have no idea when the tires were last replaced. Last season I noticed I had one that kept leaking down. So, now that spring is here and we're starting to plan our first trip, I made the tire my first priority.

Sure enough, the tire is dry-rotted and is leaking in two spots! Wow, we got lucky last year.

Last year was my first year and I still consider myself a complete rookie. I didn't buy it at a dealership and I usually bypass dealerships because of cost. So, where can I buy pop-up tires and can someone give me a recommendation on a brand?

[SpeakEasy]

Speaking of tire pressure, let me ask a question about my obsessive behavior. Whenever I do a "long" trip, I check the tire pressure first thing in the morning before setting out, while the tires are cool. When we've crossed the plains and approached the Front Range of the Rockies on a particular travel day, we've gained a lot of altitude. On the morning after that travel day, I've found that I've had to release some air. That's all well and good, and it is to be expected. It makes sense. But, what about the return trip? On the last morning in the high country, should I over-inflate knowing that when I lose that altitude the tires will return to normal pressure? The advantage would be that most of the day (all afternoon) I'd be driving with correctly-inflated tires. The disadvantage would be that for the morning at least, I'd have over-inflated tires. I have never done this, because I'm a bit uneasy about overinflating. But then, by the time you've driven down those several thousand feet your tires are warm, and I've always been taught not to measure the pressure unless they're cold.

See, I told you was overly obsessive.

How many of you would do what I've done? How many of you would overinflate in anticipation of the loss of altitude? How many wouldn't even think about this?

[wavery]

Speaking of tire pressure, let me ask a question about my obsessive behavior. Whenever I do a "long" trip, I check the tire pressure first thing in the morning before setting out, while the tires are cool. When we've crossed the plains and approached the Front Range of the Rockies on a particular travel day, we've gained a lot of altitude. On the morning after that travel day, I've found that I've had to release some air. That's all well and good, and it is to be expected. It makes sense. But, what about the return trip? On the last morning in the high country, should I over-inflate knowing that when I lose that altitude the tires will return to normal pressure? The advantage would be that most of the day (all afternoon) I'd be driving with correctly-inflated tires. The disadvantage would be that for the morning at least, I'd have over-inflated tires. I have never done this, because I'm a bit uneasy about overinflating. But then, by the time you've driven down those several thousand feet your tires are warm, and I've always been taught not to measure the pressure unless they're cold.

See, I told you was overly obsessive.

How many of you would do what I've done? How many of you would overinflate in anticipation of the loss of altitude? How many wouldn't even think about this?

It may be "reasonable" to reduce tire pressure at high altitude if you are going to drive a lot of miles at that altitude. If it's just a matter of going 100 miles to get to the CG and back again, it may not be worth the effort.

The important thing is, be sure that you have the means to re-inflate the tires when you get back to your normal driving altitude.

Always check trailer tires "Cold". The pressure will increase as they heat but they are designed to do that.

Trailer tires can handle over-inflation much better than they can handle under-inflation. Over-inflation can cause excessive wear in the center of the tread. Under-inflation can cause severe side-wall damage, over-heating of tires and blow-outs.

[denbert]

I'm about to replace the two tires on my 2002 Rockwood Premier.  They now have Carlisle ST175/80R13.  I'm looking at reviews on the Carlisle and the Goodyear Marathon.  A LOT of negative reviews!  Any suggestions?

[austinado16]

Get some load range C tires, have metal valve stems installed, air 'em to 80psi and enjoy.  Personally, I would not air down at altitude, no matter what......they're tires and we're not flying them to the moon.

But that's just me.

[denbert]

OK, I just bought some DynaTrail tires for the 2302 Rockwood.  The Carlisle tires were coming apart by losing big chunks of tread and the steel belts were exposed.  The new tires are also 13", Load Range C, Load Capacity 1360 lbs just like the Carlisle tires.  However, when look at the specs for the Rockwood 2302, the GVWR is 3036 lbs, the Gross Dry Weight is 2297 lbs, the Axle Weight is 1981 lbs, and the hitch weight is 316 lbs.  Should Forest River have put heavier rated tires on the camper in the first place?  Should I have bought heavier rated tires today?  Isn't this camper pushing the limits of this tire or am I missing something?  Or should I just pump them up to 80 PSI and enjoy?  Even though the maximum pressure stated on the sidewall is 50 PSI?

[austinado16]

Well, if it was running around on 13's rated at 1,300lbs at 50psi, and you've put back the same rating, I'd go with the 50psi that's on the sidewall.

[flyfisherman]

OK, I just bought some DynaTrail tires for the 2302 Rockwood.  The Carlisle tires were coming apart by losing big chunks of tread and the steel belts were exposed.  The new tires are also 13", Load Range C, Load Capacity 1360 lbs just like the Carlisle tires.  However, when look at the specs for the Rockwood 2302, the GVWR is 3036 lbs, the Gross Dry Weight is 2297 lbs, the Axle Weight is 1981 lbs, and the hitch weight is 316 lbs.  Should Forest River have put heavier rated tires on the camper in the first place?  Should I have bought heavier rated tires today?  Isn't this camper pushing the limits of this tire or am I missing something?  Or should I just pump them up to 80 PSI and enjoy?  Even though the maximum pressure stated on the sidewall is 50 PSI?

I like Carlisle tires. Of course, my fishing buddy's SIL is the general manage of a large tire distrubutor in the area so I've gotten a little insight into tires. The problem with Carlisle is they have different series or models; the cheap, the premium and sometimes some in between!

But I'm like you ... I like tires that can sustain the trailer weight rather than having to depend on the hitch to support some of that GVWR. No doubt the tires you replaced were sized ST175/80D13 - LRC - I see their carrying capacity is 1360 lbs.

The Carlisle "Sure Trail" series gives some options with 13" tires ~ if you could handle just a tad wider tire, still a LRC tire ... ST185/80D13 (and just a tad higher, too, not quite an inch total), but this tire supports 1480 lbs @ 50 psi ... getting a little more into my comfort zone! Also, they offer a LRD model, too. It's still a tad wider yet, but surprisingly not as high ... it will carry 1730 lbs @ 65psi

But, by all means, as already said, go by what it says on the tire sidewall for tire pressure. My 12" tires call for 80 psi and that's EXACTLY what they get, cold, in the mountains, at sea level or all points in between! And I get good tire wear and service ... and they are Carlisles (the better ones!)



Fly

[austinado16]

Nice to see some options in the 13's.  I agree, if I were buying them, I'd step up to the taller (less revolutions per mile!) versions that can carry another couple hundred pounds.

I looked on //www.northerntool.com and didn't see any 13" options other than the standard fare.  

I'm on 12" pizza cutters @ 80psi as well.  I kept waiting for them to grenade last August on the 12hr haul across the desert to the Grand Canyon.  I have no idea why they didn't.  Tread temps were in the 140F range too.  I guess if they can survive that drive, they can survive anything.

Now watch me have a blow-out in the first 2mi of our next tow.

[harleywolf]

Just went through this with our Pup, brought my new tires home this weekend in fact. I had to buy out of town since I could not find them in my town, could have ordered them but where my dad was TDS had them cheaper than I could order them. So my dad picked