Question: Towing speeds for travel trailer and tire safety

[2012 DMAX]

I put new tires on our 28' tandem-axle camper last Summer before heading to the Black Hills (700 miles each way). I drove around 60 mph most of the time and the tires never got hot. We noticed some campers drive much faster on the interstate.

Is there a way to know how fast I can drive with the tires on my camper ? Don't want any tire trouble.

 

[DetailsUnlimited]

With my 33' I never had a problem with tires at 70-75.

 

[Chevy1925]

trailer tires IIRC are only rated for 65mph, could be wrong though as ive been out of the tire game a while.

i have truck tires on my toy hauler with much better sidewall stiffness and rated for 80mph. pulls much better at 70mph in a cross wind than it did before

 

[Hot COCOAL]

Is there no rating on the tire itself?

Regardless, the best thing to do is check them periodically throughout your trip. And know each trip will likely affect the tires differently.
Speed, tire pressure, outside temp, asphalt temp and the load in the trailer/on the tire all play a role on how stable the tire will be.

Bump check em every few hours and carry a tire psi gauge, altitude and heat greatly affect the tire pressure, if your conscious of all these things you shouldn't have any issues traveling at "normal" hwy speeds.
:thumb:

 

[doug9940]

I believe PPE proved that 141.99 MPH was about as fast as you can go. :thumb:

 

[OregonDMAX]

I believe PPE proved that 141.99 MPH was about as fast as you can go. :thumb:

you mean as fast as PPE could go :thumb:

 

[DAVe3283]

I've had more problems with wheel bearings on the trailer axles than the tires themselves. Be sure to keep an eye on bearing temp through the trip as well. Odds are (in my experience at least) the axles will overheat before the tires get hot or start to separate.

Repacking the bearings with high quality high-speed grease helps. Getting newer bearings or axles solves the problem, since newer axles are designed for the speed.

If your trailer is less than 5 years old, your bearings are probably golden. But check the temps anyway.

 

[THEFERMANATOR]

I've had my 32' HOLIDAY RAMBLER up to 85 before I realized it more than once. I try to keep it below 75 with good trailer tires. Then again I have JUNK dry rotted tires on an old car trailer, and I've had that sucker over 100 before.

 

[WanaDmaxsub]

In the last 2 years I have blown out 2 tires. Both of them were over 8 years old. I didn't hit anything and was doing around 60 MPH both times...I hate changing tires on the side of the road...with the dog, wife and grandson... Trailer tires are now on a 7 year replacement cycle!

 

[coker6303]

I run 10ply tires on my 28' toy hauler. Loaded down I cruise from 70-85 depending on who is in my way. Tires are 2 years old now, zero issues. Weights about 10-11klbs loaded

 

[hrlyguy2]

I constantly do 75/80 with my fifthwheel and even with my travel trailer.
Never hearings e with any of my tires or bearing.Just keep air pressure good and bearings greased

 

[Yellow Jacket]

I believe PPE proved that 141.99 MPH was about as fast as you can go. :thumb:

We had this rig up to 102 mph on the snowmobile trip out west this year, lol.

 

[Yellow Jacket]

It had a 9 speed direct trans when we bought it, I found a good deal on an older 13spd OD splitter trans, I tore it down and put all new bearings in the trans and swapped the countershaft driven gears and input shaft gear and put it back together.

With the 9spd direct drive it ran 2400 rpm around 75mph
With the 13spd "double overdrive", it ran 1600 rpm at 85mph and that's about where we ran it 80% of the trip. At 102mph it was around 2100 rpm or so, lol.

 

[Dozerboy]

I know some guys that swear by running airplane tires. This is running out to west TX where alot of guys run at the governor or bury it.


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[THEFERMANATOR]

I know some guys that swear by running airplane tires. This is running out to west TX where alot of guys run at the governor or bury it.


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That reminds me of an LLY I tuned for somebody. He is from TEXAS, and his truck was broke down. Took it to my buddys shop and he had me do a tune for it. I get a call 2 months later and the guy is complaining he can't break 100 towing a trailer. Turns out he was running 31K gross over the scales trying to do over a 100. I told him I recalibrated his speedo(per his request), but left the limiter at stock(which was 98). I couldn't believe he was grossing 31K pounds trying to break 100 MPH.

 

[Dozerboy]

Thats the norm for running out there.:thumb:

 

[Savagebeast]

I haven't hit 100mph with my trailer but I regularly cruise around 85 or so. Most trailer tires aren't really rated for anything over 65mph from what I've seen but I searched for a while and ended up getting a set of Maxxis tires M8008 I believe. They're rated to 106mph they say. So far they've been excellent but I only pull about 13,000lbs so not very heavy like alot of you guys.

 

[ALLY Fox]

Couple of things to keep in mind about trailer tires. Almost are ALL made in China. Most experts say you should replace them at 5 years, regardless of how much tread they have or how good they look. And tire stores can sell you "new" tires that are years old by the time they get a boat ride and sit in a warehouse until sold. Always ask for the most recent date codes. Sitting on concrete for months/years will shorten tire life, as will sun and ozone (like around welding equipment etc). Trailer tires should be balanced just like your truck/car tires, you would be amazed at how much bouncing can go on that you don't feel. And, yes, most trailer tires are rated for 65mph. Lots of RV owners get wireless tire pressure monitors for an added measure of safety. I try to stay under 65, especially in hot weather.

 

[thunder550]

I've lost enough trailer tires over the past couple years that I will not tow over 65 mph anymore. I'm getting ready to put a set of Commodore tires on the 24' enclosed trailer I bought for our move from Denver to Phoenix...they have a 118 load index (2910 lbs) and an N speed rating, which is 87 mph. Since I'll be very close to their weight limit, I'm still planning on keeping it to 65 even with the higher speed rating. It's just not worth it to me to have to change tires on the side of the road, and then worry about what happens if I lose another one. I'm carrying 2 spares now as well....if one tire goes out, the other on that same side is carrying double the weight, and will fail sooner or later.

 

[jevanb]

I know some guys that swear by running airplane tires. This is running out to west TX where alot of guys run at the governor or bury it.


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they would last about 100 miles tops because of the soft compound and how did they mount them on the rim because every acft wheel is 2 piece , from the C150 up to the B747, they dont stretch like a car tire,

All trailer tires that are ST rating and have a maximum speed rating of 65MPH, even the best goodyear marathon`s have this rating, run the cheap chinese brand tires and it could happen right off the dealer lot with 25 miles total. Spend about 20 minutes on any RV forum and search trailer tire speed and failures

This is what I run http://tsttruck.com/product/tst-507-flow-thru/