Cobra Trailer Tires (US)

On Jul 24, 9:15�am, Eric Greenwell wrote:
jcarlyle wrote:
Hi, Eric,
Here's a link to a fairly definitive article on trailer tires:
http://www.discounttire.com/dtcs/inf...ionAnxiety.dos
As you can see, it states that trailer tires are indeed optimized for
load, and that for the same dimension an ST tire carries more load
than a P or LT tire.

I found this article on the Subaru site:http://tinyurl.com/9jesg

It varies somewhat from the Discount Tire article. I suspect neither
article fully explains what we'd like to know and I wasn't able to find
a decent third article. Two statements were particularly interesting to me:

� ST tires are designed for as soft a ride as possible so they don't
� transmit too much shock to the trailer and its contents.

That might explain why an ST tire has the same load capablity at a 10
psi lower pressure than an LT.

� Trailer tires typically employ heavier steel or polyester cords and
� somewhat lighter sidewall construction than light-truck tires, and
� trailer tires typically run lower air pressures than their truck
� counterparts. This gives ST tires good load-carrying capacity, but
� with the desired softer ride. ST tires also have the advantage of
� rubber compounds that are specifically designed to resist
� deterioration from the elements, including sunlight and ozone, during
� extended storage.

I was very surprised at the Discount Tire article giving a 3-5 year life
for trailer tires, as I've always heard they were optimized for much
longer life (time) than car tires. A tire that loses 1/3 of it's
strength in 3 years doesn't sound like one I want on any vehicle, and
I'm very skeptical of that number. I know the person quoted is from
Goodyear, but Goodyear sure doesn't say that about their trailer tires.

--
Eric Greenwell - Washington State, USA
* Change "netto" to "net" to email me directly

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Try calling John at Eastern Sailplanes. John gives a safety talk on
what he has found on trailer tires over the years at contests he
attends. Its really an eye opener as he gets many calls from folks who
have blown tires along side the road. By the way, he doesn't sell
tires, but has collected quite abit of information about them.
Basicly, after 3 years, your taking a chance on them blowing out. When
they do blow out, when your traveling, they have a tendency to also
remove the fenders. Most RV tires even come with expiration dates,
which generally run 5 years, stamped on the side of the tire. I have
noticed, as I travel accross the country during the summer, rv
trailers along side the road with blown out tires. Some of them are
fairly new, so I would use caution on what brand I would buy.
Good luck shopping for them, as I have found out, their alot of
salesman giving different stories on what fits my needs.