How to Choose RV Tires

There are a variety of choices available and it’s essential to choose the right set for your type of RV and lifestyle.

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Words by Perry Mack

We had stopped to help a motorcyclist when the pick-up truck towing a double-axle travel trailer went by with one flat tire on the passenger side. We assumed they would pull over to change it but as they kept going the RVers seemed oblivious to it.

While we drove to catch up to make them aware of the problem, oncoming traffic made it impossible to get their attention. Chunks of rubber flew past us with billowing clouds of blue smoke as they accelerated to highway speed. This was going to end badly.

RVs have all the typical home and automotive systems to maintain but among all of the parts and components in a trailer or motorhome, tires need some of the most routine maintenance and eventually replacement.

How Do You Choose the Right RV Tires?

There’s no doubt that you’ve had to purchase a new set of tires for a vehicle. Trailer tires are a different beast. For your daily driver, you typically decide whether you want (or need) Passenger (P) or Light Truck (LT), and then choose summer, winter, or all-season.

For your RV, there are almost an infinite number of choices but you’re going to look for Special Trailer (ST) tires, which are specifically designed for towables as well as cargo and boat trailers. They have thicker, stiffer sidewalls to carry increased loads, minimize flex, and reduce the chance of sidewall punctures. They allow the trailer to track better and reduce trailer sway, providing improved handling and safer RV experiences.

When is it Time to Replace Your Tires?

Some signs are obvious while others are unseen but just as dangerous. Damage is the easiest to spot like a gash in the sidewall from a sharp rock. It’s common to roll over sharp debris or a branch while focused on backing into that perfect spot. Check the inside of the tire below your RV as well as the outside walls.

Wear is another common problem. Before you replace tires because of wear, check to see if it’s even. When the worn area is uneven there may be an underlying problem and can cause a new tire to wear prematurely. When it’s fixed you will get a lot more distance and even save you some money.

Tire recalls do happen and a recent case was the Goodyear G159 (size 275/70R22) that is commonly used for RVs. (https://www.nhtsa.gov/press-releases/goodyear-recall-tires-rvs). Your tires could be perfect in every way but they still need to be replaced. Check your spare as well.

How Long Do RV Tires Last?

This is a challenging question since tires can wear out even if you don’t put any kilometres on them. As a result, both distance and time are factored into warranties (i.e five years or 50,000 km (about 30,000 mi).

An accepted baseline from manufacturers and techs is roughly every five years. This is because rubber doesn’t last forever, and your tire can lose one-third of its strength in three years. Some signs that it’s time to replace them immediately are a crack that’s deeper than 1/16” or if there’s less than 3/16” of tread depth left.

You can cut corners on some RV maintenance expenses or upgrades to save some cash but tires shouldn’t be one of them. The good news is that the information you need is in your owner’s manual. It’s best to go to this source rather than the tires on your rig in the event the previous owner (if you bought a used RV) had tried to save some money and didn’t mount the recommended tires.

Load Weights and Treads

Ask your dealer about more aggressive tread patterns if you are planning on doing some off-highway adventures. The larger tread blocks and deeper treads provide more traction in loose dirt, sand, and mud.

To make sure you don’t follow bad advice, here are some key pieces of information to know. Tires have a load capacity. All your tires must be the same size, have the same load capacity and be 20 percent greater than your trailer’s gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR). Also, don’t confuse this rating with the dry weight (i.e empty tanks, no cargo, no people), which is a lesser amount.

The load range of a tire refers to how much load your tire will carry at a specified tire pressure and is represented by letters of the alphabet. The farther down the alphabet, the higher the load range.

You can extend the life of your tires with minimal effort using the following techniques.

  • Keep them covered. Tire covers protect them from direct sunlight and help prevent UV damage.
  • Keep them clean. Rocks embedded in the treads and road grime (which often has oil and grease) accelerate tire degradation. Wash your tires regularly and apply a tire protectant. Not only will they look better, but they’ll also last longer.
  • Keep them properly inflated. Check your tire pressure before you hit the road and before you come home. We keep a portable tire inflator in the RV to make sure of this. If your tire pressure is too low, your tires will get too hot. Excessive heat wears out rubber and can cause a blowout. Over inflated tires will ride centre-high giving resulting in less traction and control.

The RVer we mentioned at the beginning of this article did pull over safely. Investing in a tire pressure monitoring system could have saved the tire if it was a simple puncture. The rim was also suspect since the heat from the burning tire can affect the shape. The tire next to it could have been affected as well.

We helped him make the change to his spare and checked and corrected the pressure on all of his tires with our gear. Now, he had to decide whether to replace all his tires or risk the rest of the trip without a spare.

Tires typically work flawlessly for years. So well in fact, that they’re easy to forget. Just give them a little TLC while you own them, know when to retire them, and choose their proper replacements when it’s time.

Wear Pattern

Tires do talk and their language is tread wear. Here’s the Rosetta Stone of translating tire language.