RV Travel Newsletter for Sunday, August 2, 2026 - "ST-Type verses LT-Type tires"

phillm47

Did anyone read THIS article that was in yesterday's RV Travel Newsletter for Sunday, August 2, 2026? The author's credentials indicate he is an expert in this field. His suppositions on this subject May be entirely correct, BUT….the author states his opinions without giving real evidence to support his claim, other than opinions. No mention of side wall thicknesses between ST & LT tires. As a retired engineer myself, I would have never been able to get away with "my opinion" and "ever wonder why?" without providing more data would have never flown to make my point.

After reading the title of the article I was excited to learn the real differences from an "expert" as I am curious about this subject. AND - the author may be right on all points, but just expressing an opinion without any real data or evidence, or even mentioning the company the introduced ST tires….I just found this article disappointing. I enjoy the RV Travel Newsletter and learn things from it, but not this time.

If I'm in left field here please get me back on track.

phillm47

HERE is an article on boat trailers. It may be all BS, but they do state that ST tires have thicker, stiffer side walls which account for the load rating differences, among other things. No "magic compound", just design difference.

MuttonChops

@phillm47 ; that article seems like a useless opinion piece that answers nothing IMHO

Back in 2015 the then TrailerLife.Com Site (believe it is gone now) had an informative article called
RV Tires 101 . . . I printed the article back then, PDF attached.
That provides a sane discussion of tire ratings and types.

For myself, feel nuCamp trailers at least up to the TAB400:

• Have low GVWR and don't stress XL tire rating at all
• XL construction do have thicker sidewalls then 'P' tires which is 'SL' like
• SL do have a maximum speed limit, so XL are safer on our GVWR trailers. As many owners exceed the SL speed limit and won't increase tire PSI . . . if anything many owners reduce PSI to reduce towing interior items bounce.
• I trust the Engineering Staff(s) to select safe (original equipment) tire types
• If towing a huge 5th-wheel or my 6000# boat I'd require SL tires but not needed for a 320S

But like the original linked article all of above is just an opinion. 😉

RV Tires 101 _ www.pdf

phillm47

@MuttonChops Thank you for the pdf. I find it informative; agree with your bullet points regarding our Tab trailers.