15' tires
Printed From: R-pod Owners Forum
Category: R-pod Discussion Forums
Forum Name: Podmods, Maintenance, Tips and Tricks
Forum Discription: Ask maintenance questions, share your podmods (modifications) and helpful tips
URL: http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=11045
Printed Date: 21 Jun 2025 at 12:09pm
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Topic: 15' tires
Posted By: Wepod
Subject: 15' tires
Date Posted: 07 Jan 2018 at 11:26am
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I know this has been talked about before but can you replace the stock 14" tires on a non HRE pod with the 15" tires that come on the Hood River Pods? What size tire is on the HRE and who makes a good D rated tire and rim?
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Replies:
Posted By: mjlrpod
Date Posted: 07 Jan 2018 at 12:16pm
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You can put 15 inch tires on. Just make sure you have clearance from the fender. I know on mine 15 inch will fit easily. Who makes a good D rated tire, is open to debate. I have carlisle tires, 14 inch D rated 8 ply tires. I changed out the C rated tires immediately, I just didn't trust running tires at or near their max recommendation. Many say goodyear endurance, and others say you should get E rated tires. I can say I have about 2500 miles or more on my tires and i have no complaints. They are cheaper than the goodyear, but not cheap tires. It's a matter of preference.
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2017.5 Rp-172
2020 R-pod 195
2015 Frontier sv 4.0L 6cyl
I'll be rpodding
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Posted By: mcarter
Date Posted: 07 Jan 2018 at 12:49pm
I also have Carlisle tires, D rated on my 14" wheels. I would check out etrailer, they have tire and wheel sets at reasonable prices and a good selection, you're not going to get a lot of lift going to 15" tire and wheel
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Mike Carter
2015 178
" I had the right to remain silent, I just didn't have the ability."
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Posted By: Wepod
Date Posted: 08 Jan 2018 at 8:17am
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I know I am not going to get a lot of lift going from a 14" to a 15" but I need to replace the cheep tires that came on my trailer after 15,000 mi. I am looking into a lift kit now with my dealer to see if that is available. I know the new HRE pods have the lift welded on to the trailer frame so the bolt on lift may not be available any more.
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Posted By: mcarter
Date Posted: 08 Jan 2018 at 8:51am
I agree with a tire upgrade, the D rated are way to go, you can also contact FR directly and inquire about lifts. I don't know which axle you have, but etrailer has lifts for the Dexter Torqflex. Good luck.
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Mike Carter
2015 178
" I had the right to remain silent, I just didn't have the ability."
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Posted By: Wepod
Date Posted: 08 Jan 2018 at 2:19pm
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Just got back from the dealer the lift kit is available and will cost me $ 385.00 installed. They did one on another pod last week and got about 3" of lift so I am going that route. Still need to find tires and rims so I will be internet surfing for those.
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Posted By: mcarter
Date Posted: 08 Jan 2018 at 3:35pm
Cool. Good news
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Mike Carter
2015 178
" I had the right to remain silent, I just didn't have the ability."
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Posted By: Keith-N-Dar
Date Posted: 08 Jan 2018 at 6:32pm
Originally posted by Wepod
I know I am not going to get a lot of lift going from a 14" to a 15" but I need to replace the cheep tires that came on my trailer after 15,000 mi. |
Why do you need to replace your tirres so soon? We put many more miles and lots more years on ours, replacing them this spring in a trailer new in 2011. Our tires looked fine but I was concerned with the years.
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Keith-N-Dar
Boris & Betty (Boston Terriers)
2011 R-Pod 177
2010 Ford F-150
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Posted By: Wepod
Date Posted: 09 Jan 2018 at 7:35am
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The tires are not worn out but I want the 15" for more clearance and less roll resistance. Also I want to get a D rated tire as I think the C rated tires don't have strong enough sidewalls for a fully loaded 179 Pod.
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Posted By: jglynn55
Date Posted: 19 Feb 2018 at 1:13pm
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I had a blowout on the factory C tires so bought the D tires for my trip to Florida from Nashville. Wow, what a difference. I think the increased tire pressure helped. The C was 50 and the D is 65. The trailer seemed lighter and more balanced and less drag on my TV.
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Posted By: lostagain
Date Posted: 19 Feb 2018 at 1:36pm
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When I replace our C rated tires, I think I'm going to buy new rims and tires together and upgrade the tire to an E weight capacity rating and an L speed rating (81mph). Not that I'll ever drive anywhere near that fast, but the margin of error, especially on hot desert pavement is worth the few extra bucks. But, when you change tire size such, it's easy to forget to change out the spare tire and rim.
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Never leave footprints behind.
Fred & Maria Kearney
Sonoma 167RB
Our Pod 172
2019 Ford F-150 4x4 2.7 EcoBoost
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Posted By: Wepod
Date Posted: 20 Feb 2018 at 8:01am
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So I now have the lift kit installed and I am starting to look at tires and rims. I have been wondering about the possibility of keeping the 14" rims and replacing the factory tires with D or E rated tires possibly with a taller profile tire or a truck type tire to save some of the cost of buying new rims. A quick look at E-Trailer shows 15" D rated tires and rims from Kenda and Taskmaster. i am not familiar with those brands is anyone running these tires and are they happy with them?
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Posted By: DavMar
Date Posted: 20 Feb 2018 at 11:15am
Originally posted by jglynn55
I had a blowout on the factory C tires so bought the D tires for my trip to Florida from Nashville. Wow, what a difference. I think the increased tire pressure helped. The C was 50 and the D is 65. The trailer seemed lighter and more balanced and less drag on my TV. |
Did you stay with stock 14" rims? Do you feel less "bounce" with the D rated tires over the C rated?
One last question what D rated tires brands would anyone recommend?
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Dave & Marlene J with Zoey the
wonder dog.
2017 Rpod 180
2016 Toyota Tacoma SR5 4x4
Lexington, NC
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Posted By: texman
Date Posted: 20 Feb 2018 at 1:30pm
Can you use 14" auto tires ? instead of the trailer tires?
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TexMan 2015 182g
2018 Sequoia
http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=9122&title=texman-182g-mods - TexManMods
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Posted By: DavMar
Date Posted: 20 Feb 2018 at 1:54pm
Originally posted by texman
Can you use 14" auto tires ? instead of the trailer tires?
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Yes if you buy 15" rims and lift the camper body.
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Dave & Marlene J with Zoey the
wonder dog.
2017 Rpod 180
2016 Toyota Tacoma SR5 4x4
Lexington, NC
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Posted By: lostagain
Date Posted: 20 Feb 2018 at 1:56pm
P and LT tires are not really designed for trailer use. They don't have the sidewall stiffness/strength to resist trailer sway and don't have the weight capacity. To get LT tires with adequate sidewall strength and payload capacity, you'll end up spending a lot more money per tire. You can get an ST tire with a weight rating of D or E and a speed rating of as high as L (81mph) for under $125 per tire on e-Trailer. Personally, if I owned a tire shop, I'd refuse to sell P and LT tires for trailer use because of the potential liability when an accident occurs.
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Never leave footprints behind.
Fred & Maria Kearney
Sonoma 167RB
Our Pod 172
2019 Ford F-150 4x4 2.7 EcoBoost
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Posted By: texman
Date Posted: 20 Feb 2018 at 2:03pm
LOSTAGAIN
thanks for the reply on that; i knew there had to be a reason. I am still running factory tires on my 2015. Probably have 8-10k miles so i am thinking of the replacing too.
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TexMan 2015 182g
2018 Sequoia
http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=9122&title=texman-182g-mods - TexManMods
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Posted By: mcarter
Date Posted: 20 Feb 2018 at 3:50pm
+1 to lostagain. I went with D rated Carlisles, they are a ST tire.
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Mike Carter
2015 178
" I had the right to remain silent, I just didn't have the ability."
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Posted By: lostagain
Date Posted: 20 Feb 2018 at 4:57pm
I checked out some on Amazon and found a D load rated Carlisle tires with an M speed rating (way faster than I'd ever pull a trailer) with 8 ply radial construction for about $65 each. That's a pretty good deal and a pretty sturdy tire.
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Never leave footprints behind.
Fred & Maria Kearney
Sonoma 167RB
Our Pod 172
2019 Ford F-150 4x4 2.7 EcoBoost
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Posted By: mcarter
Date Posted: 20 Feb 2018 at 5:25pm
Good tires, my C rated were spongy and not good for highway travel.
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Mike Carter
2015 178
" I had the right to remain silent, I just didn't have the ability."
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Posted By: lostagain
Date Posted: 20 Feb 2018 at 5:39pm
mcarter, did you also replace the spare? I'm tempted to buy a couple of the Carlisles but am inclined to take my chances on the spare. It'll only be used to get to a repair shop to fix the tire or until I can buy a replacement if it can't be repaired.
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Never leave footprints behind.
Fred & Maria Kearney
Sonoma 167RB
Our Pod 172
2019 Ford F-150 4x4 2.7 EcoBoost
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Posted By: mcarter
Date Posted: 20 Feb 2018 at 5:43pm
I did not, guess I look at the spare as a temp fix. End of the day wheels don't match and I would have to replace tire on custom wheel as necessary.
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Mike Carter
2015 178
" I had the right to remain silent, I just didn't have the ability."
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Posted By: jglynn55
Date Posted: 20 Feb 2018 at 6:30pm
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I bought the Carlisle 14" D rated tires from Walmart online. If I went with the 15", I would have had to figure out the correct TV hitch height, plus buy new rims. I don't know what I don't know about the 15" but the 14" D 65 pound tires are fantastic. I purchased the $10 Walmart tire guarantee so if I have an issue, I can always find a Walmart store. The next rally I go to, I will see who has the 15" and ask if I can test drive their rig and they can test mine so we can compare.
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Posted By: mcarter
Date Posted: 20 Feb 2018 at 6:46pm
You're fine, a 1/2 inch is what you're talking about. Wise choice in D rated.
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Mike Carter
2015 178
" I had the right to remain silent, I just didn't have the ability."
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Posted By: Lori
Date Posted: 12 Mar 2018 at 1:48pm
We are just purchasing a 2011 Rpod 182 . The dealer replaced the tires with new R14 class C tires....we have heard that D is much better and also 15 inch better still. Does anyone know if we can change these tires out for 15D tires? New to camping world!!
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Lori Norris
RPOD 182G 2018
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Posted By: jglynn55
Date Posted: 12 Mar 2018 at 2:58pm
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hurry and replace the c class tires. It is still hard to believe the fantastic difference the d class is to the ride. Don't know if they would give you 15". Don't forget the spare. I am close to the limit in hauling capacity so it made a big difference with me.
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Posted By: GlueGuy
Date Posted: 12 Mar 2018 at 3:05pm
Not all "Class C" tires are the same. It depends on the tire diameter (14", 15", 16"), and the cross section.
On our so-called 15" class C tires, the weight rating stamped into the tire is 2350 lbs. That will accommodate up to a 4700 lb trailer (single axle), which is in the same range as a 14" class D.
So check the weight rating on your tire(s). Take the gross weight of your trailer (3800 lbs in our case), and add 10 or 15 percent. For us that would be ~~ 4370 lbs. Since our class C tires are rated for 4700 lbs, we are probably just fine.
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bp
2017 R-Pod 179 Hood River
2015 Ford F150 SuperCrew 4WD 3.5L Ecoboost
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Posted By: Lori
Date Posted: 12 Mar 2018 at 3:25pm
Thanks for your input! We are also wondering if anyone has feedback on purchase price of 11K for a 2011 in excellent condition with a grill and screen enclosure as well as 2 tvs, new tires, mattress etc. 181G....I see so many prices!
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Lori Norris
RPOD 182G 2018
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Posted By: lostagain
Date Posted: 12 Mar 2018 at 3:45pm
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I just replaced my C load range tires with Carlisle D range tires. I got 14 inch tires because the spare is also 14 inch and I didn't want to have to buy a 3rd rim and tire. As it turns out the Amazon screwed the order up and sent me 1 rim, then sent me a pair and won't take back the extra. Now I have 3 new 14" rims. If I had known they were going to screw up the order, I would have gotten 15" rims and a 3rd tire.
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Never leave footprints behind.
Fred & Maria Kearney
Sonoma 167RB
Our Pod 172
2019 Ford F-150 4x4 2.7 EcoBoost
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Posted By: jglynn55
Date Posted: 12 Mar 2018 at 4:07pm
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Lori. If I had to do it over again, I would have bought used. All the extras cost money. So that factors into the price. If you buy used, then it is worth going to the international forest river rally in august in Goshen Indianna where the manufacturing plant is. It is a long trip from florida, but make it an adventure. Free of charge, they will check out your trailer. Last year they recaulked all my outside seams. I had them add a few upgrades and they only charged me their cost on parts, with free installation.
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Posted By: DavMar
Date Posted: 12 Mar 2018 at 5:44pm
Originally posted by GlueGuy
Not all "Class C" tires are the same. It depends on the tire diameter (14", 15", 16"), and the cross section.
On our so-called 15" class C tires, the weight rating stamped into the tire is 2350 lbs. That will accommodate up to a 4700 lb trailer (single axle), which is in the same range as a 14" class D.
So check the weight rating on your tire(s). Take the gross weight of your trailer (3800 lbs in our case), and add 10 or 15 percent. For us that would be ~~ 4370 lbs. Since our class C tires are rated for 4700 lbs, we are probably just fine.
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Some valid points and your right it does depend on tire size and how many ply's, ect. that determine load ratings.
Some other points to look at when considering increasing your load rating is also what is the speed rating for your tires of the size you use? The higher the load and speed rating the cooler a tire will run which means greater safety and reliability. Though beyond a D load rating on tires in 14" or 15" for our trailers I would consider overkill to say the least. Consider the very top rated tire the Goodyear Endurance tire in ST205/75R14 in a D load range is 2040 lbs. at 65 psi. and is an 8 ply tire with a N speed rating of 87mph. The same tire in a 15 inch size has as load range at 2150 lbs. at 65 psi. with the same ply's and speed rating.
I'm considering seriously going with the Carlisle Radial Trail HD ST205/75R14 tire which also a 8 ply tire with a D load range of 2040 at 65 psi. with an M speed rating of 81 mph. for about half the price plus then for the Goodyear Endurance's. The reason why is since we are only pulling two tires that the rubber meets the road I want piece of mind when having to cruise high speed long distance on the interstate. Though I am still debating on swapping out the C range spare tire for a D since its only for emergency use.
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Dave & Marlene J with Zoey the
wonder dog.
2017 Rpod 180
2016 Toyota Tacoma SR5 4x4
Lexington, NC
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Posted By: mcarter
Date Posted: 12 Mar 2018 at 6:03pm
Not sure where this post is going and it's convoluted with 14 and 15 inch opinions. Bottom line is the D rated 14" D rated are an improvement for many reasons over the C rated tires. Load rating, speed rating, price. I felt a significant improvement with going from a 14" C rated to a 14" D rated and am extremely satisfied with the Carlisle's. I believe I don't need a spare that is D rated, unless I was to add into a rotation pattern. If you are using a current 14" C rate, you will see a noticeable difference with a D rate. If your plan is to go larger in wheel diameter then you need to consider a 3 wheel replacement that gains you 1/2 in clearance, pretty costly and I agree that the 15" tire replacement have different specs.
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Mike Carter
2015 178
" I had the right to remain silent, I just didn't have the ability."
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Posted By: Subzilla
Date Posted: 13 Mar 2018 at 7:58am
DavMar, sent you a PM.
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Mark
Concord, NC
2017 RP 179 "Podzilla"
2011 Silverado 1500 4X4
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