New GY Endurance only available in higher Load rating. What to do?

Hello Roger,
At the end of next season I plan to replace our GY Marathon tires after 5 seasons and about 20K miles and have been thinking of the new Endurance tire. However, the specs. are somewhat different between them and am not sure what to do.

Our Marathons are LR-D ST225/75R15.  I always run them at sidewall max. pressure 65 psi. The max. load rating is 2540 lbs and gives us about 30% reserve load capacity. The required rim width is 6-7”. The standard tires for our make and model of travel trailer are an unknown brand LR-C and the Marathons were an available option so we upgraded to them. No issues whatsoever with them. I do not know what the max. psi rating for our rims is without taking one off. They are 6-lug.

I like the idea of having a 225 wide tire vs 205 because I *think* it may provide better handling from lateral forces in curves. I have our TV & TT set up for better handling including shocks on the TT. It performs very well in twisty mountain roads at speeds up to 65 mph.

If we were to get the new Endurance tires in an ST225/75R15 width, it means going to LR-E tire which have a max. 80 psi rating. The load rating increases to 2830 lbs. Required rim width is still 6-7”. The increased reserve load capacity would be fine. I have no idea if our rims are rated for 80 psi and would have to remove a wheel. I believe in the practice of running the ST tires at the sidewall max. pressure to get max. reserve load capacity.

If we were to go with an Endurance tire in a 65 max. rating, it would mean going to a LR-D 205 wide tire and the max. load rating drops to 2150 lbs. I do not want to reduce the reserve load capacity that much and would rather not have to go to a skinnier tire.

What to do if going to Endurance tires? If our rims are only rated to 65 psi, could I simply reduce the LR-E pressure to 65 psi? Have not looked at load tables to see what this does. Or stay with LR-D and have skinnier tires and substantially less reserve load capacity? Are tires rated for and inflated to 80 psi going to result in better handling or perhaps an undesirable harsher ride for the trailer? Not sure why GY did not make the Endurance a direct one-to-one swap for Marathons. It looks like GY no longer offers the Marathon?

Comments would be greatly appreciated.

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My reply:

Your 30% reserve load capacity is good. I wish other trailer owners had as much. You may not see any benefit in increasing the reserve load above the 30%. The reserve is based on actual scale readings, yes?

I would not go down to the ST205 @ 65 psi.

I see no problem with running the Endurance ST225 LR-E @ 65 until or unless you confirm higher rim psi rating. It may not be marked on the wheel and I doubt the wheels are "brand name". When you change tires you can look for anything that might ID the wheel such as part number. If the wheels are only 65, then 65 is OK.

Yes, in my posts on Interply Shear I have suggested increasing inflation, but your CIP should not exceed the rim rating (all ratings are for cold inflation pressure).

LR-E ST225's have same load capacity when inflated to 65 psi as do ST225 LR-D at 65 psi.

Hope this info helps.