Should I move from Load Range D to LR-E ?

 Following an RV Forum on trailers.

Originally Posted by NavyL

If the trailer came with Load Range D tires from the factory, and you replace them with Load Range E tires - I just don't see the need to run the Load Range E tires at the full 80 psi. Tire manufactures have inflation pressure v. weight charts for a reason.

My reply:

If you change from LR-D to LR-E (or from LR-C to LR-D) you will only get an increase in load capacity, or an increase in the Reserve Load, if you run higher than the Certification Sticker inflation psi. If you look at the Load & Inflation tables (they are almost all identical for ST and LT type tires) and look at your actual scale weights you can calculate your current Reserve Load and see what inflation you would need to get to a Reserve closer to 20% or 25%. Due to the unique forces ("Interply Shear") tires must tolerate on multi-axle trailers, I and other tire engineers suggest at least a 15% Reserve with 20% being better. On my personal RV I run 20 to 25% Reserve Load.

While we are talking about the certification label, I advise people to snap a picture of the label, or labels if more than one, along with a shot of the complete tire size and Load Range info on your tires PLUS the full DOT serial including the data code portion of the DOT serial. That way if the printing on the sticker fades or your tire gets cut and destroys itself you have a record so you can file a claim if you purchased "Road Hazard" warranty on your tires as I have, or need to check against a tire recall notice, you can answer the question of what size and Load Range you are currently running. Keep a picture of the Weight Slip too. Its a lot easier to have all this tire related info in one place on your phone.

##RVT1047

Videos from Goodyear worth watching

 I would strongly recommend every RV owner watch the four videos from Goodyear. 

https://www.goodyearrvtires.com/helpful-videos.aspx

Note: If you have problems running the videos you can try using VLC Video Player. Download for free HERE

 While they focus on RV applications, the information can still be informative and educational for anyone that owns a vehicle that has tires. Watching these will also give you a break from my run-on sentences in my sometimes over-detailed posts.

PS I know Tim Miller, the Goodyear Engineer in the video. While I never worked directly with Tim we did share some knowledge about tires in RV applications. 

 

##RVT1046