5.30x12 tire diameter differences

[austinado16]

Time to replace the tires and being the avid Craigslist shopper that I am, I've been sitting on a brand new pair of Duro's that I scored last summer for $45ish if I remember right, including the rims.

So I haul out the camper today (in preparation for our trip to Kings Canyon tomorrow afternoon), pull the wheels off and toss them in the bed of my truck, along with the new Duros.  It's then that I notice:yikes:the Duros are about 2" smaller in diameter.  What the h:mad:ll?

Down to the tire store I go, and they don't understand it either, since both sets of tires are 5.30x12's Load Range C.

They call their supplier and nope, the tires only come "one size" and that can vary about 7%.  We order a pair of Carlisles after reading their spec.....22.1" in diameter ($57ea).  Some of the other tires available were in the 21.8" diameter range.

Weird.  Anyone know what's up with that?

[shawnh]

i just replaced my Duros with Loadstar and the Loadstars are a bit bigger in diameter as well.  On my Jayco the clearances are really tight anyway so it's really a close fit now with the new tires.  It seems like the specs that I can find online all seem to indicate that the Duros are a bit smaller in diameter than the other brands.  You are using load range C tires?

[flyfisherman]

Time to replace the tires and being the avid Craigslist shopper that I am, I've been sitting on a brand new pair of Duro's that I scored last summer for $45ish if I remember right, including the rims.

So I haul out the camper today (in preparation for our trip to Kings Canyon tomorrow afternoon), pull the wheels off and toss them in the bed of my truck, along with the new Duros.  It's then that I notice:yikes:the Duros are about 2" smaller in diameter.  What the h:mad:ll?

Down to the tire store I go, and they don't understand it either, since both sets of tires are 5.30x12's.

They call their supplier and nope, the tires only come "one size" and that can vary about 7%.  We order a pair of Carlisles after reading their spec.....22.1" in diameter ($57ea).  Some of the other tires available were in the 21.8" diameter range.

Weird.  Anyone know what's up with that?

Carlisle has at least two different series of tires, their regular (or price concession) tire and their premium line.
Regular line: Sport Trail = 21.7 dia
Premium line: USA Trail = 22.1 dia

The difference is more tread, i.e., more rubber on the road! Obviously the top of the line tire will cost more, but they last longer.

My fishing buddy's SIL is the general manager of a large tire distributor in this area and we all got to gether for a fishing outing here awhile back and what an insight I got into tires and the tire business! A lot of tires now being imported from China are crap. Seems there are different "independent" manufacturers in the land of rice and everything nice and they will make tires for anyone, with any label wanted on them. Problem is inconsistency. And sometimes the bigger problem is who is going to stand behind the tire quality.

The SIL says you can't beat Carlisle's warranty. They will stand behind their tires for the warranty period 100%. The Carlisle USA Trail is what lives on my Starcraft and no problems.



Fly

[austinado16]

Yeah, the USA Trail is the one I bought....for a couple reasons:
1) It was the largest diameter, and in my (small primate) brain, less trailer tire spin speed the better

2) They were Carlisle's and the most expensive version I could buy.

Tires are a big pet peeve for me.  They're expensive and if you buy crap tires, you're stuck with them until they either fail or wear out, regardless, you're miserable until they're gone.  Magnify that 10x for how I feel about trailer tires and my desire NOT to be on the side of the road in BFE changing a flat at zero-dark-thirty...or at high noon on 250*F asphalt in 115*F temps.

[saltysenior]

one problem i ran into w/ new tires popped up 12hrs before leaving on a trip....put on the new tires mounted on my wheels,and just by luck checked the clearance ... the tire was hitting the framework while still on the jack.......the tire #'s where the same but the new one was 1'' bigger in diameter.....then they would not take the tires back because they had already mounted them.....fun start...then it rained..

[austinado16]

That'd be the last time I was a customer at that tire store...and I'd still make them take them back.  

As an Update, the Carlisle's worked out great.  5hrs each way to and from the CG at 60-65mph.  Glad I went with them because I didn't give one thought to "trailer tires" all weekend.