Tire tread depth

[dryfly]

I recently installed a set of Goodyear Endurance ST tires on my new 5th wheel. I noticed the tread depth was 8/32", and this was considerably less than the 13/32" I was used to when I used BFG LT Commercial T/A's on my previous trailer. I had never realized the difference in tread depth was that much difference in ST vs. LT tires.

After some research, I found that less height on the tread may well contribute to dissipating heat from the tire carcass, thereby promoting longer life and fewer separations. Certainly an important factor in ST tires.

Less tread depth for "life of tire" does not concern me as I replace tires every 5 years. I have never experienced much wear at this interval.

[Chum_lee]

dryfly wrote:
I recently installed a set of Goodyear Endurance ST tires on my new 5th wheel. I noticed the tread depth was 8/32", and this was considerably less than the 13/32"

After some research, I found that less height on the tread may well contribute to dissipating heat from the tire carcass, thereby promoting longer life and fewer separations.

Less tread depth for "life of tire" does not concern me as I replace tires every 5 years. I have never experienced much wear at this interval.

Tread depth is only one aspect of tire life. Every major tire manufacturer (Goodyear, BFG, Michelin, etc.) has their own proprietary rubber compounds which vary in relative hardness/softness in order to create what THEY believe is a superior tire. Generally, softer compounds wear more quickly, but provide better wet/dry traction, better NVH (Noise Vibration Harshness) characteristics than hard compounds. The manufacturers that use softer compounds have to increase the tread depth to provide comparable design life to tires with harder compounds.

Look at some tires for racing applications. The rubber is so soft its like wet glue when hot. They have fantastic grip, but, . . . . they wear out in 100 miles or less. That just wouldn't work in a heavy duty trailer/truck.

Chum lee

[JIMNLIN]

op wrote:
No problem on hijacking the thread. I feel like I had good service with the BFG T/A.

agesilaus wrote:
I'm thinking about jumping off the ST bandwagon and going up to 16 in LT tires on my TT. I recently noticed I have Marathons on them. People have recommended Michelin Defenders but those are over $200 each.

The only 16" LT E tires I've had Michelin recommend for trailer use was their (1) commercial grade all steel ply carcass XPS Rib tire...and (2) BFG Commercial T/A 2.
The Destinations don't have a solid ribs(s) in the tire tread. One or two solid ribs really helps the tires track the tow vehicle better than without.
I've ran two sets of the Commercials T/A 16" LT E on my current rv trailer. Ran the first set 55k miles and the 2nd set around 52.5k miles . No issues.

Bridgestone R-238 16" LT E is another commercial grade all steel ply carcass tire thats the tire mfg recommends.

The two all steel ply carcass tires are considered the holy grail for all 16" LT E for trailer use.

Poly carcass 16" LT E tires;
Firestone Transforce HT
Goodyear Wrangler HT
Cooper Discoverer HT-3
Bridgestone R-500 .

I have email recommendations from all these tires from their respective tire mfgs for trailer use as long as they meet the trailers axle capacities.

OP....the vast majority of rv trailer owners never wear their tires out...but usually time out. The Endurance will work fine unless your the type that runs 20k-25k miles per year. Don't sweat it and enjoy the ride.

[dryfly]

JIMNLIN wrote:
On my GN trailers when on the road 24/7 we actually wear a tire out all the way down to the tread wear bars.
The thinner the tread the less miles of service before their worn out. This is where the LT with its 14-16/32nds of tread depth gives us far greater miles of service.

Another thing we see is the tires carrying heavy loads with a greater tread depth runs cooler unlike tires on a light vehicle such as a road racer. The closer the tire has worn to the wear bars the hotter it runs. And as one member said its more prone to picking up road debris.
New tires can run hotter/tread roll/tread squirm till their broke in.

ST tire builders have made claims in the past about their ST tires being superior in bla bla bla.... however most lay persons found out the hard way what worked vs what didn't.

I understand and may regret the ST tires. The Endurance is the only one I considered based on a lot of good reports on these forums. My 5th wheel is 30' and probably weighs less than 9K lbs when loaded. The Endurance tires are rated for 2K lbs over that so I'm well within the weight limits. Also, I usually drive about 60 mph, so all things considered I'm not pushing them.

Only time will tell. If I have problems it won't be too big of a deal to go to 16" wheels and LT tires.

I'm still wondering if shallower treads on tires used with trailers carrying a lighter load will dissipate heat better?? Would be interesting to see if any of the manufacturers have done studies.

[dryfly]

JIMNLIN wrote:

agesilaus wrote:
So how did those BFG LT Commercial T/A work, I'm thinking about jumping off the ST bandwagon and going up to 16 in LT tires on my TT. I recently noticed I have Marathons on them. People have recommended Michelin Defenders but those are over $200 each.

You will get a far greater recommendations if you start your own thread...if your looking for more info. That way were not hijacking the OP topic with another topic.
Several 16" LT E tires out here that are used for trailer service. The Destination isn't one of the better choices for a trailer position.

No problem on hijacking the thread. I feel like I had good service with the BFG T/A. I probably had 10 different T/A's on during the 10 years I had the trailer and only had one blow out. That's one more than I would have liked.

The T/A's were rated high 10 years ago but over the last few years I've seen some complaints. I still might consider them again if I go to 16" wheels.

[JIMNLIN]

agesilaus wrote:
So how did those BFG LT Commercial T/A work, I'm thinking about jumping off the ST bandwagon and going up to 16 in LT tires on my TT. I recently noticed I have Marathons on them. People have recommended Michelin Defenders but those are over $200 each.

You will get a far greater recommendations if you start your own thread...if your looking for more info. That way were not hijacking the OP topic with another topic.
Several 16" LT E tires out here that are used for trailer service. The Destination isn't one of the better choices for a trailer position.

[JIMNLIN]

On my GN trailers when on the road 24/7 we actually wear a tire out all the way down to the tread wear bars.
The thinner the tread the less miles of service before their worn out. This is where the LT with its 14-16/32nds of tread depth gives us far greater miles of service.

Another thing we see is the tires carrying heavy loads with a greater tread depth runs cooler unlike tires on a light vehicle such as a road racer. The closer the tire has worn to the wear bars the hotter it runs. And as one member said its more prone to picking up road debris.
New tires can run hotter/tread roll/tread squirm till their broke in.

ST tire builders have made claims in the past about their ST tires being superior in bla bla bla.... however most lay persons found out the hard way what worked vs what didn't.

[agesilaus]

So how did those BFG LT Commercial T/A work, I'm thinking about jumping off the ST bandwagon and going up to 16 in LT tires on my TT. I recently noticed I have Marathons on them. People have recommended Michelin Defenders but those are over $200 each.

[ScottG]

They don't seem to be wearing very much on my trailer and I expect to get just as much life out of them as all the others.
I suspect the main advantage of shallow tread (besides cost to the MFGR) is that they dont squirm as much and should theoretically track better.

[wildtoad]

I wonder if 8/32 tires get more flats than 13/32 ones.