New Shoes for the MetalCloak CTI Trailer

After just over three years and close to 55,000 miles, the tires that we had been running on the Corner Travel Index CTI) Trailer were ready to be replaced. As most of the jeepers that have been on that trailer know, its heavy…like 4200+ lbs empty heavy.

Anyone that has pulled trailers, campers, cargo haulers etc. knows that the tires for trailers typically don’t perform as we think they should. We were very surprised to get the life we did out of the Falcon R52 LT tires that we had been running…and they were still in pretty good shape when we pulled them off…except they had started to bubble through the tread pattern in places. But that said…we never experienced a flat with those tires…ever.

When it came time for some new shoes, we did like most good consumers do…we researched websites, forums, manufactures…we read reviews…we asked questions. It turns out that, according to our sources, the Falcon R52 is no longer available. We think that they were lasting too long so the manufacturer was losing money 🙂

So after all of our research, reading and talking with others…we decided to throw it all out the window…mostly because we know that the only real review that matters is the one from personal experience. So we called our local tire supplier in a small town in western Colorado to see what he had in stock, since we had another dilemma. We needed tires and we needed them quick since the trailer would be headed on another 5,000 mile trip in a couple of days. And, I had a couple of requirements: Size; number of plys, 14; G rated; and a decent speed rating, in this case “L” or 75 mph.

Our local supplier gave me two options…one of which I had never heard of…and the other was a SteelPro AST MileStar tire. Done. An easy choice since I also know a couple of the guys that work for Tire Co (the company behind the MileStar brand). We would always rather do business with people that we know, rather than ones we don’t.

These tires hold a max pressure of 110 psi. and are beefy, weighing in at just over 60 lbs each. They also have a load rating of 4400 lbs per tire!

Time will tell how they hold up and we will keep you posted on how they are doing! For more information about the tires you can visit their website:

STEELPRO AST