Passenger tires ok?

[88FW200Horizon]

I have a 1988 Four Winns Horizon 200 with 5.0L OMC Cobra. Trailer is a Metal Craft dual axle and all four tires are P20575R14 load range B. My best guess is the boat and trailer weigh about 3500-3700 pounds with fuel, etc. Boat/motor is about 2700 pounds. Tires look good and no rot, plenty of tread. I have a 625 mile (one way) trip coming up to Lake Powell in early October and do not want trouble but I also don't want to buy new tires if these are good for the job. I suspect that I am not extremely loaded using a 2 axle trailer on this weight boat. If fact, I see some boats like mine for sale with either single or dual axle trailers. Also, the old surge brakes have been replaced with electric brakes (this is very cool). Thoughts? (yes, I am inspecting and repacking or replacing wheel bearings well before the trip.)

 

[cougar1985]

Re: Passenger tires ok?

i would not use passenger tires on a trailer pulling a load but thats just me ,ive been told that their designed differently,though im not 100 percent positive thats true.check with a reputible tire shop.seen many a blown tire on trailers and the results can be terrible.

 

[bassboy1]

Re: Passenger tires ok?

Car tires and trailer tires differ a lot. Trailer tires have much stronger sidewalls, to reduce some of the side to side swaying. Car tires need the flex in the sidewall to steer. Trailer tires are also engineered to sit for long periods of time, and then get used for a long trip without any service. Car tires aren't. I would get new trailer tires, and keep the 1 best car tire as a spare. Other than that, no, use TL tires.

 

[rndn]

Re: Passenger tires ok?

Change the tires to trailer rated ones. It's not worht ruining your trip by having a tire blowout on the way there.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Passenger tires ok?

trailer tires class c rating atleast if not D. too much weight for B.

 

[DaveM]

Re: Passenger tires ok?

Passenger tires will work just fine...on your passenger car. Trailer tires are for a trailer. So use 'em Rosie, that's what they're there for.

 

[bruceb58]

Re: Passenger tires ok?

Duplicate post

 

[bruceb58]

Re: Passenger tires ok?

trailer tires class c rating atleast if not D. too much weight for B.

C is as high as you are going to get on a 14" tire. Load range B is fine for your load though.

 

[dingbat]

Re: Passenger tires ok?

Something to think about

Consider that all Light Truck (LT) and Special Trailer (ST) tires are fully rated for trailer applications. This means the tires can carry their full sidewall weight rating when used on a trailer. When passenger tires are used on a trailer, the load capacity of tire must be de-rated by 10%. If the tire has a maximum load rating of 1900 lb., it may only be used in a trailer application up to 1710 lb. This means the GAWR rating on the trailer Certification Label must not exceed 3420 lbs. On a single axle trailer, or 2 times 1710 lbs.

 

[bruceb58]

Re: Passenger tires ok?

What is the source of that quote?

 

[bjcsc]

Re: Passenger tires ok?

LT's are what horse trailers come with. The quote came from (or at least also appears) here.

 

[bruceb58]

Re: Passenger tires ok?

LT's are what horse trailers come with.

All the new horse trailers we have at dealers here have ST tires on them.

 

[bjcsc]

Re: Passenger tires ok?

Could be a California thing? I have 4 horse trailers (two doubles, 1 triple, and 1 4-horse slant gooseneck with a change room) and every one came new with LT tires (which I still run). I would not run P's, though...

 

[bruceb58]

Re: Passenger tires ok?

http://209.210.60.43/rcProd1.asp?id=108&c1=31&c2=32

Just one example!

 

[Rob454]

Re: Passenger tires ok?

my buddy runs car tires on his trailer. I had a set on my trailer but I got a good deal on a set of real trailer tires and chrome rims ( paid 40$ for 3 rims and two tires brand new) so i gave him my old ( new) car tires that I had on my trailer. he bought two more and is using them on his boat trailer. I think having 4 tires youre a lot safer than two tires. Speaking car tires.
probably not the best thing to use but hes been using them for about 6 months now without any problems.

If you can afford it i woudl go get some trailer tires but it doesnt sound liek you really need them since your tires are still ok. if youre gonna get a flat tire youre gonna get it with a new or old tire. I dont think nails and road debris really care what they puncture.

that said my other buddy is using LT ( light truck) tires on his trailer. he use to have P235 75 15 and switched to LT 235 75 15. The LT tires he has are pretty stiff sidewalled and this is on a trailer that carries abotu 2-3 tons of broken concrete pretty much all the time. the only time the trailer wasnt loaded with broken concrete was when I borrowed it and his quad to go hunting.
in case you didnt know
P= passanger
LT= light truck

All that being said I woudl look around for a set of trailer tires. there are plenty of people selling them for various reasons. I just got a trailer spare tire for 20$. the guy sold his trailer and had the spare tire in the garage. the guy who bought it didnt want it.

Rob

 

[bjcsc]

Re: Passenger tires ok?

http://209.210.60.43/rcProd1.asp?id=108&c1=31&c2=32

Just one example!

Hmmm... well if I ever catch the SOB who stole all my ST tires from my horse trailers the night I bought them and replaced them with LTs I'm going to string him up!

Seriously, no doubt ST tires are better for some trailers. That's why they were developed (guess what they used before ST tires existed). However, in many applications (including 3500lb boats on dual axles) my opinion, which is different than yours, and based on my personal experience, which may be equal to or less than yours, and in any case certainly not more than, but is mine to give nonetheless, especially since I believe that's what forums are for, is that properly rated LT tires are more than enough. I've hauled as much as 8,000 pounds of moving Percherons thousands of miles total on LT tires without a single problem.

You don't need a 30.06 to kill a squirrel...

 

[bruceb58]

Re: Passenger tires ok?

bjsc,

Are your tires 16"? If so, that may be why you are seeing the LT tires.

 

[jtexas]

Re: Passenger tires ok?

cars have torsion axles which holds the tires on the ground.
boat trailers (mostly) have leaf springs that bounce a lot.
car tires have to withstand lateral forces of acceleration and braking.
boat trailer tires have to withstand a lot of sitting around waiting.
there's a reason why car tires are (mostly) inflated to 35 lbs while boat trailer tires take (mostly) 50 lbs.

no doubt a lot of trailers have done just fine with car tires, but nevertheless I'm going with the trailer tires on mine.

 

[88FW200Horizon]

Re: Passenger tires ok?

Thanks guys for all the input, I went to the tire store today and had them mount 4 new ST20575R14 tires on my rims. The trailer actually came with one brand new trailer tire spare so I'm set for the spare too. Now on to the inspection and repack/replace the wheel bearings!

 

[bjcsc]

Re: Passenger tires ok?

bjsc,

Are your tires 16"? If so, that may be why you are seeing the LT tires.

Yes they are. This is getting complicated, huh? No wonder people have a hard time deciding on tires...what's the deal with 16" tires?