Tires

[BaysideBruce]

On the way back home today the Bayside seemed to want to say more than usual.  Once we got home and I set it up to dry out (of course it rained most of the weekend while we were camping) I notice a large bulge on the corner of the tire.  Right were the tread and sidewall come together.  So I guess I am in the market for new tires.  I have Duro ST185/80 D 13 tires.  Can someone explain to me what these numbers mean? Does "D" mean Load Range D?  And if so is "D" for heavier loads than "C" or is it the other way around?  Can any suggest where to get tires and are "Duro"s a good tire, even though these tires are 4 years old... or is that what I should expect for trailer tires?  
Thanks!

[tlhdoc]

On the way back home today the Bayside seemed to want to say more than usual. Once we got home and I set it up to dry out (of course it rained most of the weekend while we were camping) I notice a large bulge on the corner of the tire. Right were the tread and sidewall come together. So I guess I am in the market for new tires. I have Duro ST185/80 D 13 tires. Can someone explain to me what these numbers mean? Does "D" mean Load Range D? And if so is "D" for heavier loads than "C" or is it the other way around? Can any suggest where to get tires and are "Duro"s a good tire, even though these tires are 4 years old... or is that what I should expect for trailer tires?
Thanks!

The ST stand for special trailer, which is what you want on a trailer.
 
185/80 is the width of the tire and the % of the width of the tire that the side wall is.
 
D is for the number of ply.  D tires have 8 ply and can carry more weight than a C tire which will only have 6 ply or a B tire that only has 4 ply.
 
Duro is a good trailer tire company.  I couldn't find anyone in my area selling Duro tires so I called Duro.  They gave me the number of a business in Las Vegas that sells tires which are drop shipped from Duro in Ohio.  Four years is a good life for a trailer tire.  They tend to dry rot and not wear out.  Good luck in finding new tires.

[oldmoose]

I had the same problem this summer, except both tires had bulges and one was flat (didn't know that until the day before we left the rv park). Called a tire store and he had to order tires. Had to borrow a spare to get the trailer to the store as we were camping. Now I have 2 new tires.
Moose

[AustinBoston]

On the way back home today the Bayside seemed to want to say more than usual.

Hmmm...what does it say?  I've never heard our Bayside say anything.  It will groan and moan from time to time, but I don't recall hearing it say anything.

I notice a large bulge on the corner of the tire.  Right were the tread and sidewall come together.  So I guess I am in the market for new tires.

Yep.

I have Duro ST185/80 D 13 tires.  Can someone explain to me what these numbers mean? Does "D" mean Load Range D?  And if so is "D" for heavier loads than "C" or is it the other way around?

What tlhdoc said, with the addition of "R" meaning radials.  You will not be able to get radials with a high enough weight rating.  The only ones that will work for you are the "D" rating.

Can any suggest where to get tires and are "Duro"s a good tire, even though these tires are 4 years old... or is that what I should expect for trailer tires?

For trailer tires, Duro are among the best.  Trailer tires don't get used as often, and so are subject to dry rot.  We recently replaced the tires on our Bayside with something other than Duro (the name escapes me at the moment...the retailer was a local Tires Plus store) for a lot less money than Duro, but I'm not expecting to get the same life out of them.

The tires we replaced were worn out (there were areas where the tread was completely gone), but they had close to 25,000 miles on them (which is reasonably good wear - they carry more than 1.5 times the weight of our Astro tires and are considerably narrower, so the tread load is very high).

Whatever you go with, make sure they are rated for at least 1700 lbs, about half the rated axle weight of your Bayside, or you risk significantly overloading them.

With your Bayside, always run them at the maximum inflation pressure (usually 65 PSI).  Check them (including the spare) before every trip.  Use a quality gauge, don't ever trust the gauge on the gas station hose.

Austin

[BaysideBruce]

Thanks for all the replies.  And yes, due to a typo my Bayside does "sway" and not "say".  Sorry if I confused you...  :confused:   I just bought a set of Duro from TiresUnlimited.com for around $145 which includes shipping.  Not a great price but they were about the only ones I could find that had the size tires in stock that I needed.  I do plan on having new valve stems put in and have the tires balanced.  Will most garages put them on the rims and balance them or will this be a problem too?  


Has anyone looked a having larger tires/wheels put on a Bayside since they seem to be on the heavy side for that size of wheel and tire?  I noticed a lot of 14" wheels and tires that were rated for 1800+ load range.  Just wondering...

[tlhdoc]

Without doing something to your axle and wheel well 14 inch tires will not fit.  Some people have modified their popups to install 14 inch tires.

[mike4947]

As for the stems and balancing. Make sure they use high pressure metal stems. The 65 psi requirement of the tires makes them a must. As for the balancing small RV wheels are manufacturered with a process that does not insure the center opening is concentric with the wheel bead or lug nut locations. Balancing should either be done on the trailer or using a lug centric adapter for their balancer. It attaches to the wheel with lug nuts and assures you a good balance.
I've seen way to many trailer tires/wheels come off the balancer actually worse off than when they used the center hole.
Most shops will look at you funny about both the high pressure valve stems and the balancing, but it's worth finding one that will do it right.