2040 pound capacity trailer tire

[teddadbear]

Previous discussions have described how the Mac26x approaches the limit of its standard trailer and tires. I just bought my first spare tire for the trailer, and was delighted that its maximum load is 2040 pounds at 65 psi cold versus the 1760 at 50 psi for the standard tire. I got the spare at my local Goodyear/Gemini store; it's a Goodyear HMG2020 ST205/75D14 that my store's manager said should be available at other Goodyear stores. It has Tread=6 plies of nylon and sidewall=4 plies versus my standard tire's 2 plies on both areas. The curious part is, the tire sidewall also says "Property of U-Haul - Not for Sale;" the manager said it was no problem, but I'll make sure I keep my receipt! $20 for the rim, & $65 for the mounted tire. (A local marina wanted to sell me a shrink wrapped spare for $110 that was only a class B, much less capacity than my standard, so be careful.)

[Catigale]

Was this a one off or is it a standard part?

IF it was a standard, please post the part number and source....I would definitely move up a grade when replacing!!!

[Bobby T.-26X #4767]

look at the Michelin XCA 205/75R 14 commercial truck tire. It has an 8 ply rating and 3 steel belts on the tread. at 65 psi two tires are rated to carry 4560 lbs.

Bob T.
"DaBob"
'02X w/ '04 90-TLDI

[Catigale]

I couldnt find that XCA on Tire Rack site. Is there a difference between a trailer tire and a Light Truck Tire ?? I thought trailer tires has extra stiffness in the sidewalls for the side loads they experience....

[Robert]

According to this web page, you can swap your stock 215/14 trailer tire/wheel assemblies for 205/R15 and only increase the diameter by 0.2 inches. This will increase your load capacity from 1560 or 1870 to 2120 lb.s per wheel.

Note that the ST205/15 is 27.2 inches in diameter while the ST215/14 is 26.6 to 27.0 inches in diameter.

14 Inch tire/wheel assy.
http://www.titandist.com/pdfs/page48-43-42.pdf

15 Inch tire/wheel assy.
http://www.titandist.com/pdfs/page49-43-42.pdf

[Chip Hindes]

ST205/75D14 HMG2020 with Tread=6 plies of nylon and sidewall=4 plies versus my standard tire's 2 plies on both areas. Note the "D" in D14 means class D, or 2040 pounds.

No, the "D" doesn't mean load range D. It means bias ply construction, as opposed to "R" which is radial.

Who is the manufacturer of your tire? I am unable to find any tire manufacturer which lists ST205-D14 tires in Load Range D. Goodyear's factory website is quite comprehensive and lists no such tire, only Load Range B and C. They certainly aren't commonly available; maybe the Uhaul thing on the side of the tire is an indication it's a custom tire made for Uhaul only.

We had a similar discussion some months ago, which I can't find now. I'll have to do another search when I have more time to putz with it. Everybody got all excited about another tire manufacturer which had listed higher capacity for their tires; we finally figured out they were exactly the same as every other tire but were using a different load rating system (static load capacity versus dynamic load capacity) to make their stuff look better.

I was tempted to accuse the company you're dealing with of the same thing, but the 65 psi max pressure tends to validate the higher rating.

Obviously though, you're going to need two minimum if you want to gain anything in capacity; three if you wisely keep one a spare. With two, you're going to be in serious trouble if you need to replace one while on the road.

(On Edit) I found it. You can check the whole lengthy original discussion or simply go directly to the Goodyear tire manual where you'll see your tire listed. Looks like you may have found the only one being made, even though Goodyear lists the size in their generic manual, as far as I can tell they don't actually make one. Would still be interested in learing the manufacturer.

[Bobby T.-26X #4767]

i can't find anything about that "u-haul" tire for purchase either.
it must be a special order/not on the price list/top secret kind of thing.

however, you still have an undersized axel and bearings to worry about as well before you start loading it up to 4K# plus.

[Catigale]

OK - what say the trailering gurus out there...

would you rather have a trailer radial tire run at near 100% load rating

or

A bias ply truck tire run at 90% of load rating??

...and " a tandem trailer' is not a choice, Chip....

[kmclemore]

Radial every time. Runs cooler.

[Chip Hindes]

OK - what say the trailering gurus out there...

would you rather have a trailer radial tire run at near 100% load rating

or

A bias ply truck tire run at 90% of load rating??

...and " a tandem trailer' is not a choice, Chip....

These are false choices. You're asking to choose betweeen something barely adequate and something adequate but nonexistant.

Where is the 14" bias ply truck tire you cited?

[Catigale]

I got it...the higher rated tire turns out to be a radial after reading the posts more carefully..

Never mind !!!

[teddadbear]

I couldn't find any mention of this "D" rated tire on Goodyear's web site either, but the "Goodyear" name is as big as can be on both sides of the tire. I've modified my original posting to have that info, as my Goodyear/Gemini store does sell other brands, such as Dunlop. Other info on the tire that may help: DOT NLKC 2JW3 4304; I believe the last 4 numbers are the date code, the 43rd week of 2004, so it's a little old and perhaps no longer carried. It also says, "Made in Indonesia," so perhaps this isn't one of their high volume lines typically carried in stores. Other listings include 8 PR LR D, which I assume the latter pair means load range D, and 1000751 CTT15TAAAG, of which I have no idea. I called the store manager and he had nothing to add beyond what was in my first post, the Goodyear HMG2020 ST205/75D14; he recommended if anyone wants one of these tires to call their local Goodyear store with that information and they should be able to find the tire. I'm surprised Chip's previous discussion didn't come up on my search of this website; I believe the terms I used were "tire trailer load." I understand the cautions of, "you still have an axle and, in general, a trailer rated for 3500 pounds," but at least I am strengthening what may be the weakest link, the tires.

[Chip Hindes]

Steve, if you mean that Michelin XCA radial Bobby T mentioned, that doesn't seem to be reasonably available either. It's not listed on the Michelin website; and I checked a bunch of U.S. Michelin dealers, none of them list it either. The only place I found it is on some site in a foreign language; I couldn't even figure out what language it was.

I imagine the $$ for a commercial truck tire would make it somewhat cost prohibitive as well.

[Bobby T.-26X #4767]

i guess that Michelin tire has been DC'd in the U.S.
i'll ask around tomorrow about "D" rated 14" tires in general.
a u-haul dealer may know as well.
it's obviously something that's not in high demand, not on the regular price list or regularly stocked, if at all available.

i've got "sag" issues with my springs that i need to take care of first.
that is, when the trailer is without Mac, it sits up great.
with Mac, the tires almost touch the fenders.

[Catigale]

On a related note, Im starting to see some cracking on my sidewalls of my original trailer tires, 5th season

How do people make the call as to when to replace...ie...when do you consider the cracking 'serious' ??