How to Find the Load Range or Weight Capacity for Wheels and Tires
Question:
My Rv has 16 inch Aluminum wheels Tandem with 7k axles. The tire is a 12 ply. I want to upgrade to 14 ply. I was told there is a code on the wheel which tells the rating to upgrade the tire weight rating. Thanks
asked by: Jerry T
Expert Reply:
On the back side of your aluminum wheels, either on one of the spokes or near the bolt pattern, there will be a weight rating for your wheel stamped somewhere. You might have to clean it really well to be able to see it, but it will be on the reverse side of the wheel. One thing you might want to look out for is that once in a while an aluminum wheel might be stamped for two different bolt patterns, for instance, it might have a rating stamped for a 5 bolt pattern AND a different rating stamped on it for a 6 bolt pattern. Use the weight rating that matches your bolt pattern. Aluminum wheels will almost always have a weight rating stamped on the back; it varies on steel wheels.
We have 2 tires that are 14 ply and will fit your 16 inch aluminum wheels. Taskmaster makes the Provider # TTWPRG235R16 and Lionshead makes the Westlake # LHWL410. Even though these tires are very similar, I recommend going with the Westlake because it has a 5 year warranty as opposed to the 2 year warranty that the Provider offers.
There are a few different codes that are on the tire as well that we can use to get some more information about any tire. The most common code that people see is the code that looks something like this: ST235/85R16.
The ST means that it is a trailer tire, 235 means that the tire is 23.5 cm wide, 85 is the sidewall ratio-you can use this to find the height of your sidewall. The R stands for radial which is a better road tire; if it was a bias tire then it would be used more for off-roading or local driving. The 16 lets you know what size wheel that this tire will fit. I have attached a help article that goes into a little more depth on this code for you.
The other code that we can look for is called the Load Range. If you look closely at your tire, somewhere on the sidewall it will tell you what the load range is. We can use the load range to determine what ply the tire is. The universal code for finding out the ply of the tire is as follows:
A is 2 ply
B is 4 ply
C is 6 ply
D is 8 ply
E is 10 ply
F is 12 ply
G is 14 ply
It increases by 2 plys per letter. I have attached some demonstration videos for you as well.
Products Referenced in This Question
Westlake ST235/85R16 Radial Trailer Tire - Load Range G
- Trailer Tires and Wheels
- Tire Only
- Radial Tire
- Load Range G
- 235/85-16
- 16 Inch
- L - 75 mph
- Westlake
more information >
Product Page this Question was Asked From
Provider ST235/85R16 Radial Trailer Tire - Load Range G
- Trailer Tires and Wheels
- Tire Only
- Radial Tire
- Load Range G
- 235/85-16
- 16 Inch
- M - 81 mph
- Taskmaster
more information >
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