Product Reviews and Introductions – Page 9

The founder and man at the helm of Factor 55 is an engineer with an aerospace background who creates and tests everything right here in the USA, at Boise, Idaho. Factor 55 continues to design and manufacture what are arguably the best Closed System Winching™ and recovery products available. Cutting-corners, and making stuff cheaper or offshore is not an option.

Filling the Pack Mule’s two hitch receivers on the front Buckstop Truckware bumper are two Factor 55 HitchLink 2.0 recovery shackle mounts to facility vehicle recoveries. Key features include:

– Using a receiver as a recovery or tow point

– Lightweight precision CNC machined 6,000 series aluminum

– Weighs only 1.9 pounds. Steel versions weigh up to 8 pounds

– Rated at 9,500 pounds

– Ultimate failure at 51,000 pounds

– Fits standard 2-inch receivers

– Fits common ¾” screw pin shackles/D-Rings

– Anodized or powder coated for oxidation protection

– $80

Two HitchLink 2.0 for the receivers on the Buckstop front bumper.

Warn EPIC D-shackle in a Factor 55 HitchLink 2.0 to facilitate Closed System Winching™. Secured with a BOLT Lock.

Oscar The Pack Mule retains the factory Ram 2.5” receiver in the rear, so for the first time I am able to use Factor 55’s HitchLink 2.5 product in the back. Additional features of the HitchLink 2.5 include:

– Will accept both ¾” and 7/8” shackles

– Can be oriented inside the receiver, vertical or horizontal, depending on need

– Eliminates a receiver sleeve to downsize and downgrade a receiver to 2”

– Rated at 18,000 pounds, with Ultimate Failure at 69,000 pounds

– $120

HitchLink 2.5 for 2.5” hitch receivers, is rated for working loads of 18,000 pounds.

The FlatLink MultiMount ($200) was introduced at the 2017 SEMA Show, but it took me one year to add this fantastic winch line shackle mount to the end the Pack Mule’s Warn synthetic rope. With few exceptions, the hooks supplied with otherwise top-quality winches have been substandard since the introduction of recreational self-recovery winches. According to Factor 55, many are only rated for a working load of 4,000 pounds and will fail around 16-18,000 pounds, though some let go as early as 11,000 pounds. Yikes! (The EPIC Hook on my Warn M16.5ti-S was rated for 18k.)

FlatLink MultiMount allows winch pulls from two directions.

All of Factor 55’s shackle mounts correct the common hook deficiency, while also facilitating Closed System Winching™ techniques for additional safety. My MultiMount was ordered with the optional Rope Guard ($50), which protects the synthetic rope from impacts, abrasions, and UV exposure. Features unique to the FlatLink MultiMount include:

– Designed for difficult off-camber vehicle recovery scenarios, where two different winch pull directions are often necessary

– Oval Hole opening connects to the pin ends of 7/8” and 1” screw-pin shackles

– Two additional shackle pin-mounting holes provide secure shackle attachment points for multiple pull directions. The center hole provides a secure conventional center pull shackle mount point eliminating shackle side-loading forces at the MultiMount interface

– Winching with a bridle arrangement is possible by using the two outer shackle pin mounting holes in combination with common bridle rigging

– The MultiMount may be folded flat against fairlead surfaces when stowed, resulting in minimal impact to vehicle approach angles

– Maximum Load: 16,000 pounds

– Ultimate Strength: 40,000 pounds

All Factor 55’s winch shackle mounts are designed to fit snug against winch fairleads and avoid the damage often caused by traditional hooks and rigging.

Tell ‘em you read it on RoadTraveler.net.

James Langan

Resource:

Factor 55

New, Made In USA, Cooper Tires for an old Avion travel trailer.

Cooper Discover HT3, LT 235/75R15 For A Vintage Travel Trailer

Automotive tire tread-separation failures are presumably at record historical lows due to the quality of modern tires, and the advent tire pressure monitoring systems (TPMS). I’m not a fan of how TPMS systems have been implemented on late-model heavy-duty Ram 2500 trucks—which require 60 psi in front and 80 psi in the rear to avoid a dash-light and flashing EVIC display—yet having psi information available while driving is a huge safety feature. The TPMS amber warning light helps alert the average, possibly inattentive driver that they have a tire that has dropped below the psi specified by a manufacturer. Like them or not, TPMS are surely here to stay, however there is no legal requirement to monitor pressure on trailers.

Trailer tires are probably ignored more than those on cars and light-trucks, and that’s saying something because many drivers give their automotive tires zero attention or maintenance until there is an obvious problem. I can only offer anecdotal evidence, but I observe far more trailers on highway shoulders with obvious rubber failures than tow-vehicles. A quick search for factual data about these trailer failures didn’t produce scientific charts I could quote, though there were plenty of links to articles and posts about trailer tire failures and how to avoid them. There was a common thread among them, which helps corroborate my experience and traditional advice: buy enough tire and don’t exceed the rated capacity.

Many trailers are used infrequently, whether RVs, utility trailers, or seasonal boat trailers, and it appears many owners fail to ensure tires are appropriately inflated and ready to travel. If pressures are not checked and adjusted to proper levels before a trip, particularly during the hotter months, tires can be easily overloaded; this will cause overheating, which can lead to separation failures. Trailer tires are also often left to rot in the sun, which contributes to aging before they see many miles.

Plenty of tread and wearing evenly, but an extreme example of trailer tire dry rot.

Needed RV Tires

Our vintage 1978 Avion travel trailer has served us well for the past 24 years and has consumed several sets of rubber. In addition to the miles traveled, bias-ply tires and the independent suspension have sometimes contributed to rapid wear. The Avion’s Adjust-A-Ride suspension helps the trailer ride and tow well, but there is limited adjustment available to insure perfect wheel alignment.

Like Ford’s Twin I-Beam and Twin Traction Beam (TTB) suspensions on older F-Series trucks, camber changes caused by varying loads and/or suspension cycling is less than ideal for wear. Many new trailers use radials; however, bias-ply tires are still around and often wear less evenly and much more quickly than radials.

Poor wear from bias-ply trailer tires after only a few thousand miles. The balanced radial replacements wore evenly, with no other chassis changes.

More recent sets have been radials, but cheap, offshore-made, and from a wrong-side-of-the-tracks store; often you get what you pay for. They worked, but I also didn’t drag the trailer beyond the state line for a few years, and I was less concerned about failures. I had an important trip planned to Idaho, Colorado, and back to Nevada to have my 2017 Ram’s (aka Oscar the Pack Mule) Hillsboro aluminum flatbed installed and to help design the new Hallmark flatbed camper, so I wanted to mount something better. That prompted the question, what are the best trailer tires for my application?

Special Trailer, P-metric, And Light Truck

Special Trailer (ST) tires are designed to be used on trailers, and they are not safe or legal for passenger vehicles. They are original equipment on many new trailers and are often the default choice for most at replacement time. P-metric, passenger car tires, are not specifically designed to be used on trailers, but they can be. However, their maximum load capacity must be reduced by nine-percent.

The speed rating for most ST rubber is 65 mph, though some now have higher ratings, and I purchased a set from Discount Tire a couple years ago that were capable of faster speeds. There are many states with higher speed limits without additional restrictions for trailers. Some drivers and tow-vehicles have no problem driving faster than 65 mph, but the treads need to be designed for that duty to be safe.

This Heartland ST225/75R15E from Discount Tire has an 87 mph speed rating.

There is a sometimes-overlooked third option, Light Truck (LT) tires. Unlike P-metric sizes, LT tires can be loaded to their rated capacity for trailer applications. If you have any doubts about this, read it for yourself on a respected authority’s website: https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=219

Considering LT tires not only expands the sizes that might fit a chassis, but light truck rubber can provide an additional benefit rarely seen on P-metric or ST equivalents: more tread depth. Just like it does on trucks, deeper tread helps us get more miles out of a set and can also disperse more water, snow, and other debris. Using LT tires on trailers is not revolutionary; there are a few manufacturers that put them on new units. Many RV owners unhappy with the limitations or poor quality of some ST tires have chosen to move to LT designs.

Some folks dutifully repeat hearsay that ST rubber is the only choice for trailers, primarily having P-metric in mind as the sole alternative. Instead of ST, maybe LT designs should be our go-to choice? I read a compelling argument by an RV tire expert who explained some of the ST tire shortcomings. He asked, “How is it that ST tires are rated to carry more weight than LT tires of the same size?” He explained that the loading formula for ST rubber is based on old alpha sizes, a maximum speed of 65 mph, and a shorter life expectancy. That explains a lot and doesn’t sound like a great compromise. Special Trailer tires are rated higher than comparable light truck versions partially because rapid wear (and possibly early failure) is acceptable. There are always opposing views, and I found another RV expert who acknowledged the checkered past and design limitations of ST rubber, but he still prefers them.

Towing at 79 mph is okay if safe and legal, but not if your trailer tires are only rated for 65 mph.

Outdated Size

The original size tires for our 40-year-old Avion trailer were 7.00-15 LT-D, which were about 29.5-inches tall. Note that this is an LT size, not an ST size, and could support 1,970-pounds each. (Modern ST versions of this exact size are rated for 2,040-pounds at 60 psi, about 70-pounds more per tire than the originals.)

Back in 1994 when we bought the Avion, the 7.00-15LT bias-ply size was still readily available. They can still be sourced but are rarely in-stock, and brand and tread choices are few. The common replacement is an ST225/75R15 radial, and a few sets of these have been run on the original Avion aluminum wheels, including load-range-C versions that had just enough load capacity.

The 225/75R15 is about one-inch shorter than the OE size, which effectively lowers the trailer about one-half inch. Some would consider a lower chassis beneficial, and generally it has been fine. However, this Avion was already pretty low, and when driving on dirt roads to deer-hunting base camps in Nevada’s Outback, lower has not been better. So I carefully researched sizes, specs, and measured the available clearance inside the Avion’s wheel wells, before jumping up to a bigger LT size.

Cooper’s Discoverer HT3 LT tire can be loaded to its rated capacity.

Cooper Discoverer HT3

The LT235/75R15 size is small by modern pickup standards, but they are still made and available from full-line manufacturers. The overall diameter is similar, though slightly wider and taller than the original 7.00-15LT. The exact dimensions of a tire in any given size will vary between manufacturers, and with the limited clearance on the trailer, I was concerned about possible rubbing. I measured carefully, studied the suspension and fender wells, and convinced myself that Cooper Tire’s LT235/75R15C probably would not rub ($130 each).

The Coopers looked good and appeared to fit, but would they actually clear?

The original 7.00-15 were load-range-D, and most 235/75R15LT are load-range-C. However, as I detailed in another tire article, it is time to starting using a tire’s load index and the actual capacity, instead of load range or ply rating. What does the sidewall say? The load-range-D, 7.00-15LT treads were rated for 1,970-pounds at 60 psi. These load-range-C Cooper Discoverers in LT235/75R15 have a capacity of 1,985-pounds at 50 psi. Tread depth is a whopping 14/32”, not quite double the 8/32” on a typical ST. It should be easy to get thousands more miles out of these Coopers. Pay a little more to get more performance, wear, and safety? You bet!

The HT3s were mounted on the OE aluminum wheels, static/single plane balanced, and test fit to the Avion. The Cooper Discoverers appeared to have adequate clearance, but I went to a nearby high school parking lot after hours to articulate the axles on some large, teenager-inspired speed bumps, while inspecting for possible rubbing. With an HT3 stuffed into the fender well, clearance between the outer shoulder and the inner fender was tight, about 1/2″, but they did clear.

Compressing the suspension on speed bumps confirmed loaded clearance.

Not a lot of space, but enough, and I checked several times while traveling.

2,200 Mile Road Test

The real test was heading out across the Western United States, over fast rural highways and freeways. Leaving Western Nevada, I drove almost 500 miles to have the Pack Mule’s flatbed installed in Idaho, then another 700 miles to Fort Lupton, Colorado, to Hallmark Campers. The most direct route home was an additional 1,000 miles.

The Avion dutifully followed behind the regular cab flawlessly, at any legal speed, which is 80 mph on some sections of rural Interstate 80 in Wyoming, Utah, and Nevada. These HT3 have an N-speed-rating, 106 mph, of course that’s a bit fast, and most towing was between 65 and 75 mph.

Balancing is always a good idea for all-round performance and safety.

The Discoverers never felt hot to the touch, barely warm, and did not appear to wear during the trip, as they still measured a full 14/32″ upon returning home. This contrasts with the short life I’ve experienced from bias-ply tries on the same chassis, which sometimes have been consumed after just a few thousand miles. I am extremely happy that I chose the Cooper Discoverer HT3 specifically, and a high-quality LT tire in general.