Upgrade tire load range?

[Choxnpinz]

2018 Thor Chateau 31W Class-C. I noticed the door placard says the rig weighs 14,000 and has a max weight of 14,500. Door says the steers should be at 80psi (the sidewall listed max) and the four rears at 75 each. So assuming my tanks are dry, all cabinets and fridge are empty, once I add my 300# carcass and a few cans of beanie weenies, I'm over the max. (which irks the HECK out of me).



I've been told this limitation is because of the LT225/75R16 Load Range E tires it came from the factory with. Although they're difficult to find online, I hear there's a load range F available. Assuming I replace all six, would this allow me to carry more beanie weenies or maybe even a 12-pack of PBR?



Would this be a wise move? The tires only have 3000 miles on them, and I'm going to be loading up to go full time by October and plan to travel quite a bit. Should I upgrade the tires, or just buy the Good Sam Platinum plan so the expected blowouts will be replaced for free?


Many thanks for your wisdom!

[16ACE27]

Are you looking at the right label? The 31W has an OCCC of over 1700 lbs, not 500 lbs.

The GVWR is set by the chassis manufacturer and is not limited by the tires. You can put tires with greater load capacity on the RV but it will not change the GVWR, but it will give you a larger safety margin - I always put more capable tires on my travel trailers for that reason.

[Bob Denman]

Rather than "LT" tires: try looking for commercial truck tires. ("C")

[Hooligan2]

Look for weight carrying capacity-- OCCC (yellow sticker) for actual limits. Also the Roadside assistance plans (whether at the platinum or gold pressed Latinum level) Do not replace tires for free, only install your spare or sell you a new tire.

[EA37TS]

Originally Posted by Choxnpinz

2018 Thor Chateau 31W Class-C. I noticed the door placard says the rig weighs 14,000 and has a max weight of 14,500. Door says the steers should be at 80psi (the sidewall listed max) and the four rears at 75 each. So assuming my tanks are dry, all cabinets and fridge are empty, once I add my 300# carcass and a few cans of beanie weenies, I'm over the max. (which irks the HECK out of me).



I've been told this limitation is because of the LT225/75R16 Load Range E tires it came from the factory with. Although they're difficult to find online, I hear there's a load range F available. Assuming I replace all six, would this allow me to carry more beanie weenies or maybe even a 12-pack of PBR?



Would this be a wise move? The tires only have 3000 miles on them, and I'm going to be loading up to go full time by October and plan to travel quite a bit. Should I upgrade the tires, or just buy the Good Sam Platinum plan so the expected blowouts will be replaced for free?


Many thanks for your wisdom!

No. The GCWR and GVWR are based on the mechanical limitations of the chassis and not the load rating of the tires.

[Choxnpinz]

Originally Posted by 16ACE27

Are you looking at the right label? The 31W has an OCCC of over 1700 lbs, not 500 lbs.

I'm going to assume you know way more about this than I do, since I dunno what an OCCC is. My expertise is aeronautical engineering, and my RV expertise ends where I said "That one's pretty, where do I sign?".



Here's what the door says, and a scale ticket. What am I missing?

[16ACE27]

Originally Posted by Choxnpinz

I'm going to assume you know way more about this than I do, since I dunno what an OCCC is. My expertise is aeronautical engineering, and my RV expertise ends where I said "That one's pretty, where do I sign?".



Here's what the door says, and a scale ticket. What am I missing?

Looks like you are loaded to within 340 lbs of your limit.

The OCCC is on a yellow sticker generally near the RV door, stands for Occupant and Cargo Carrying Capacity, and is generally the difference between the GVWR and the empty weight of the RV.

So if your OCCC is actually 1700 lbs you must be carrying 1360 lbs of propane, water (fresh and not), people, food and gear.

Only you know what you have loaded in your RV so you have to determine if this makes sense or not.

[Choxnpinz]

Originally Posted by 16ACE27

Looks like you are loaded to within 340 lbs of your limit.

That's pretty scary, since I wasn't loaded with much of anything. A couple changes of clothes and some food for a weekend. I had NO water in any of the tanks, nothing in the fridge, and no toad at that time.



I'm guessing there's no way to avoid being overloaded when I head out to full-time in October.

[16ACE27]

Originally Posted by Choxnpinz

That's pretty scary, since I wasn't loaded with much of anything. A couple changes of clothes and some food for a weekend. I had NO water in any of the tanks, nothing in the fridge, and no toad at that time.



I'm guessing there's no way to avoid being overloaded when I head out to full-time in October.

Such is the life of a lot of Class C MH's - they leave the factory close to GVWR and some are at, if not over, the rear axle weight rating.

BTW, a toad will not affect your loading if towed 4 down or on a dolly. And you have several tons to go before exceeding your GCWR. Maybe carry some cargo in the toad?

[Choxnpinz]

Originally Posted by 16ACE27

BTW, a toad will not affect your loading if towed 4 down or on a dolly. And you have several tons to go before exceeding your GCWR. Maybe carry some cargo in the toad?

It's on a tow dolly, so the tongue weight of the dolly would count as weight on the RV frame, yes?


Yeah, I plan to load some of the more bulky/heavy items in the toad, but like you, it really irks me to no end that they produce these units without enough cargo carrying capacity.

[EA37TS]

Originally Posted by Choxnpinz

It's on a tow dolly, so the tongue weight of the dolly would count as weight on the RV frame, yes?


Yeah, I plan to load some of the more bulky/heavy items in the toad, but like you, it really irks me to no end that they produce these units without enough cargo carrying capacity.

OCCC is clearly visible on all rigs for customers to see before they buy. Manufacturers don’t have a clue how much crap owners are going to stuff in compartments or hand from ladders.

[taylorbob1]

Originally Posted by Choxnpinz

2018 Thor Chateau 31W Class-C. I noticed the door placard says the rig weighs 14,000 and has a max weight of 14,500. Door says the steers should be at 80psi (the sidewall listed max) and the four rears at 75 each. So assuming my tanks are dry, all cabinets and fridge are empty, once I add my 300# carcass and a few cans of beanie weenies, I'm over the max. (which irks the HECK out of me).



I've been told this limitation is because of the LT225/75R16 Load Range E tires it came from the factory with. Although they're difficult to find online, I hear there's a load range F available. Assuming I replace all six, would this allow me to carry more beanie weenies or maybe even a 12-pack of PBR?



Would this be a wise move? The tires only have 3000 miles on them, and I'm going to be loading up to go full time by October and plan to travel quite a bit. Should I upgrade the tires, or just buy the Good Sam Platinum plan so the expected blowouts will be replaced for free?

Many thanks for your wisdom!

Since you have tires that probably have a 2017 date, they are now approaching the start of year 5. I suggest that you use them for a while but stay within you weights. And be prepared to start shopping for new tires in the next 12-24 months.

When you do decide to get new tires, make sure that they are 225 75R 16 Load C rated (not E rated).
Load C's have a max capacity of about 3,200# (vs E @ 2,600#).

Here are a couple of value priced brands that make a Load C...
- General Grabber HD
- Nexan Rodian

There are many posts on this topic. So do a SEARCH to find your answers.

[jabrabu]

There is a big thread on this topic here:
https://www.thorforums.com/forums/f1...ems-23626.html


Both the LT and C type tires are 10-ply E load rated tires. However, the standard LT tires are 115/112 rated and the C type are 120/121, so they have a higher load rating even though they are both classified as load range E. ( By C type I mean commercial truck tires, not load range C.) The LT tires are usually designated as LT225/75R16 and the commercial type are 225/75R16C.


I have a 2018 Chateau 31E so very similar to your 31W. It is very heavy at the rear, and I have had a few rear tire failures. Earlier this year I replaced the rear tires with General Grabber HD tires, 225/75R16C, with the load index 121/120. We are doing a 6500 mile trip starting in a couple of weeks and hopefully won't have any tire issues.