One Tire Different than the Other Five

[JBill9694]

Due to road damage I had to replace one of my OEM Westlake ST235/80R16 Load Rating G. Not much to choose from at current location but did find a Goodyear Hercules ST235/80R16 LRG (Westlake has "Load Rating G" stamped on it while the Goodyear has "LRG", don't know if this is important or not but want to include all the information here that I can). Thought everything was good until I started reading the fine print. The Westlakes have a load rating of 4080 pounds at 110 psi. The Goodyear has a load rating 3970 pounds at 105 psi. I don't know much, but I'm pretty sure I don't want to over inflate the Goodyear so this leaves with 1 tire with a lower load rating and a lower tire pressure than my other five tires. I really am not ready to replace the rest of the Westlakes (I know it's coming, but not now) so I think I have two choices that I would like to get some input on: 1. Go ahead and run with the Goodyear and the five Westlakes. 2. Keep running with my spare, which is a Westlake and use the Goodyear as a spare.

Some more data to help you form an opinion:
- We have put just shy of 13,000 miles on the Westlakes in just over 18 months. Our next move will be after New Year and will be less than 300 miles after which I'll have 4 months to decide what to do.
- Our actual on axel weight it just under 15,000 pounds.
- We have three axels and each is rated at 7,000 pounds
- The tire position is curbside, front.

Any thoughts, ideas, or suggestions?

[Cate&Rob]

Hi John,

A 3% reduction in load rating (4080-3970)/4080 is relatively insignificant difference. I tried looking up more info on "Goodyear Hercules" but was not able to determine exactly which new tire you have. If it were me, I would be inclined to run the next 300 miles on the Westlake spare since you have had a good experience with the G spec Westlakes. Keep a close eye on the other two curb side tires. If you travelled very far with one flat tire on that side, the other two will have been overloaded for some length of time.

Rob

[JBill9694]

Thanks, Rob. I was leaning towards using the Goodyear as a spare. Am keeping close watch on the other two curbside tires and so far no apparent damage or sign of extra wear.


Looking ahead, do I change the other tires out to Goodyear Hercules or stay with the 4080 pounds at 110-psi? A brief search for ST235/80R16 Load Range G found Provider Taskmaster, Premium Trailer Contender, and Westlake. All with the 4080 pounds at 110 psi rating (It seems like Goodyear has hedged the G load rating by dropping to 3970 pounds at 105 psi. Might be within allowable tolerances but seems somewhat devious to me).

Another option would be to go to ST235/85R16. It looks like these tires would be 0.45 inches wider and have a 0.93 inch greater diameter. Looks like it basically be the same three tires as for the ST235/80R16 at slightly higher cost and with clearance issues, so I'm not seeing a compelling reason to change the aspect ratio.

What a way to spend Christmas morning. Think I'll go do something more fun.

Merry Christmas

[Ernie Fergler]

John, If you are considering full replacement, most folks consider the Sailun S637 the best st tire available. They are a commercial grade tire with a 4400 lb load rating. I have no 1st hand experience to relate to you, only research. When it's time for me to buy new tires, I will buy the sailuns. As far as the tire you bought, Goodyear is a brand and Hercules is a brand. I have never heard of a Goodyear hercules ( but that doesn't mean it doesn't exist). I personally would run the westlake on the ground, and use the Goodyear/Hercules as a spare. This advice is only my opinion and worth every penny you pay for it. Ernie

[JBill9694]

Thanks, Ernie. The Sailun S637 didn't show up in any of my previous searches. I'll be checking the Walmart here just in case they have one on hand and then see if I can return the Goodyear/Hercules.

[TucsonJim]

Ernie Fergler - Welcome to the forum.

Jim

[Yoda]

Even with the road damage being the cause is not the Westlake still under warranty? I remember something about it being 3 years,

[JBill9694]

The tire being under warranty never even occurred to me. Probably because I didn't have a hard copy of it in my warranty and manual package and was more focused on trying to find a replacement quickly so that I wouldn't be traveling without a spare. I did just check Westlake's standard warranty on line and it doesn't cover road damage, so now I don't feel like I misspent my money, at least not on that account. Still peeved at Goodyear for having a Load Rating G tire with a lower maximum load and pressure rating than Westlake, but I'll get over it. Someday. I'm sure.

[chunker]

John, If you are considering full replacement, most folks consider the Sailun S637 the best st tire available. They are a commercial grade tire with a 4400 lb load rating. I have no 1st hand experience to relate to you, only research. When it's time for me to buy new tires, I will buy the sailuns. As far as the tire you bought, Goodyear is a brand and Hercules is a brand. I have never heard of a Goodyear hercules ( but that doesn't mean it doesn't exist). I personally would run the westlake on the ground, and use the Goodyear/Hercules as a spare. This advice is only my opinion and worth every penny you pay for it. Ernie

I also looked up tires and found Goodyear and found Hercules, different brands. A note of caution, some lower tier tires use "GOOD" as part of the name. A quick glance and you might read Goodyear instead of what it really is. Of course there is BF Goodrich which has been around a long time but on a trailer I was looking at re entry I saw this "off-brand" with Good????? name. M y first glance I "saw" Goodyear but the tire model name wasn't recognizable and my second look I saw it wan't a Goodyear. Sorry for not remembering what the other actual name was.

Last spring in UT we were in a grocery store and I wanted ice-cream. Back east Breyers is a good brand so I found it and got it. Back at the RV the ice-cream was flat, bland. Closer inspection revealed I had bought Dreyers with a D. Purpose of that story make sure what you are buying. Deceptively similar names to trick a consumer. For the record I usually get Bluebell, not Bluebunny, Blueunicorn, etc.

[jtfreemanrv]

I am looking for tires now a Sailun ST234/80R16 is rated at 4080 lbs @110 and the Sailun ST235/85R16 is 4400 @ 110. About 1 inch bigger in diameter so only about .5 inch difference in clearance. I picked up a nail in my westlakes that had 14000 miles on them. So since I need to get a new tire I might as well change them out now while one is free.

[howson]

I am looking for tires now a Sailun ST234/80R16 is rated at 4080 lbs @110 and the Sailun ST235/85R16 is 4400 @ 110. About 1 inch bigger in diameter so only about .5 inch difference in clearance. I picked up a nail in my westlakes that had 14000 miles on them. So since I need to get a new tire I might as well change them out now while one is free.

What trailer are you putting these on, jtfreemanrv? (Forum hint: helps if you add your info to a sig line like mine below.)

[jtfreemanrv]

2018 375 RES-R with IS and disk brakes Just started on this forum so I will look into that info

[Derf]

I bought a set of the Sailun S637 tires at SimpleTire. Best prices I could find

[SBARLAG]

Does anyone ever have difficulty finding an air-fill location (i.e. gas station) that will register >100 psi?

[howson]

Does anyone ever have difficulty finding an air-fill location (i.e. gas station) that will register >100 psi?

I have my VIAIR with me at all times, so never have to worry about having an air supply: https://www.viaircorp.com/portables/450p-rv-auto

One of the keys is the "100% duty cycle"--it may not be super fast but it can run and run and run and run...