Cardinal RV Club

Don Wilson wrote:Twinkle Pie,

Welcome to the Cardinal Rv Club.

You mentioned something about being naive! I would say you are not naive at all. Someome who is naive would go to a dealership not knowing anything and not having done any prep on what they wanted and rely on the dealer for their information! The fact that you are asking these questions first and from owners of the type of trailer you want shows you are a smart consumer!

Don

Thank you, Don! You've made me feel better!

Thanks everyone for the great information...you've all definitely helped us decide what we want/don't want.

Now all I have to do is find a dealer with the unit we want in stock. We'll probably order, but I'm afraid to buy a trailer without standing in it first to make very sure the floorplan works.

Thanks again!

Get American made tires on the rig from the factory. Do not settle for the Kenda or other Chinese OEM tires. Do a search here for tires and then decide what US brand to go with.
And, welcome to the club.
Tim

I had an electric awning on my MH. It was nice just to push the button, but was not braced like the manual awning I have on my Cardinal is now. The wind almost ripped off the electric one! So, check the wind resistance.

And, do you plan to keep the RV covered? In a shop building, etc.? don't make my mistake--my 31RK was 6" too long to fit in my shop! Bummer! So, I have to build a lean2 now. I do think it's important to keep it out of the rain/sun if you own it awhile. Welcome to the club! Mark

Tim wrote:Get American made tires on the rig from the factory. Do not settle for the Kenda or other Chinese OEM tires. Do a search here for tires and then decide what US brand to go with.
And, welcome to the club.
Tim

Good luck on this one........factory won't do an "exchange"....AND it's almost impossible to find "American" made tires rated for RV heavy trailers according to all of the posts that I have read....do a search.

This was taken from the Michelin web site. Note where it says that tire manufactures, at least those who bother to make them... The only name brand companies I have found that make “ST” tires are GoodYear and Maxxis. Other tire manufactures recommend using truck (LT) tires. Although some will disagree with this, they may have no other choice.

The "ST" Sign

Look at the sidewalls of the tires on your car or truck, and you'll likely notice a "P" or "LT" designation. P stands for "passenger" while LT indicates "light truck," meaning they are designed for those specific types of automobiles. A look at your trailer tire sidewall, on the other hand, will likely reveal a "ST" designation, which stands for "special trailer."

ST tires are made specifically for use on trailers and differ considerably from automotive tires. Therefore, tire manufacturers—at least those that bother to make ST tires—strongly discourage the use of anything but ST tires on trailers. About the only exception is when an ST tire is not available for a particular extra-heavy application, such as single-axle trailers with an unusually large load that surpasses the capacity of an ST tire. In those cases a commercial grade truck tire is usually best.

While the tire industry has established this standard for trailer tires—the ST—trailer manufacturers are not required to use them. As long as the tire meets the trailer's load and speed requirements, it is allowable by law. However, the majority of trailer manufacturers do use STs because of the tire's inherent trailering benefits.

Benefits

One of the benefits of an ST tire when it comes to trailering is that it has about 10 percent more load capacity than an equivalent LT tire and nearly 40 percent more than a P tire when each is filled to its maximum psi rating. Furthermore, the ST's mold shape is designed to accommodate trailer wheels, which are typically narrower than P and LT wheels. Being narrow is an advantage on trailer tires, but a disadvantage on wheels that steer and wheels that are attached to the drive axle. Steering and/or driving tires benefit from a larger footprint, which provides the extra traction and performance demanded of them.

The original tires that FR put on my 5er were LT235/85/R16 E rated tires by Kenda, then I got the swap out to Kenda ST tires and now I'm happy to be back with Firestone E rated LT tires made in the USA. I'll keep you informed as to how these hold up. The data plate on the trailer says LT235/85/R16 E rated tires in flated to 65 psi. Talk about a faulty data plate.

The type tire and their ability to do the job is a topic that will never cease to be discussed and should increase as more and more are manufactured overseas due to outsourcing.

Tim wrote:The data plate on the trailer says LT235/85/R16 E rated tires in flated to 65 psi. Talk about a faulty data plate.

As a relatively long 34 model number (almost 37 feet total) and on E rated tires as per spec mine says 50 psi! I run 80 and they look like normal radials, lower them to the recommended 50 and look they look flats.

We have the Cardinal 30WB with aluminum protectors for the awnings. My brother, an A&P and camping old-timer, said it was important to have these protectors to ward off UV exposure. Worth considering...

RamMan3500 wrote:We have the Cardinal 30WB with aluminum protectors for the awnings. My brother, an A&P and camping old-timer, said it was important to have these protectors to ward off UV exposure. Worth considering...

Welcome to the club RamMan, I am also an A&P and gotta agree keeping the sun off the material will lengthen it's life. I have a cover over my main awning but didn't bother with my slide awnings as a full-timer they are always out anyway.