trailer wheels - 1

[tbird175]

Since posting my question about J type trailer wheels I have found a partial answer to my question. I learned from a technical publication that the J or K or other designations refer to the shape of the rim in the area that the tires bead seals to. The J type is most common on automotive wheels, the K is for motorcycles, etc.

It did state that it is important to match the tire to the proper rim. I still question why the tire manufacturers don't label their tires to match these wheels.

 

[reelfishin]

Re: trailer wheels - 1

Thats because those designations are all but forgotten since 99.9% of all modern automobiles use tubeless rims and they were never a size or type referred to by the tire buying public or as a rim type within a particular type of vehicle. Some Asian rims still use the J after the rim width or size marking. The last tube type only rim I recall was on an older truck, circa 1950's or so.

What ever even brought up the idea of different rim styles?
Are you working on an antique or some oddity where as it would have still had tube type rims? The last trailer I saw with tube type only rims was from the early 50's.

Also, the bead area on many motorcycle rims is designed to retain the tire better even in the event of a blowout. A dismounted tire would be even more catastrophic at speed than even just a flat tire.

 

[tbird175]

Re: trailer wheels - 1

Thanks for the information. I am shopping for new wheels for my boat trailer and ran across a set of wheels that were manufactured in China and had the J stamped on them. This is why I became curious. Have you had any experience with Asian manufactured wheels?

 

[Bondo]

Re: trailer wheels - 1

Since posting my question about J type trailer wheels I have found a partial answer to my question.

Ayuh,....

So why did you start a 2nd thread about your 1st subject,...

It would be Great if the Answers were at the same place as the Question,....

Have you had any experience with Asian manufactured wheels?

Lots of Asian cars have Asian wheels on them,....

Why don't you just tell Us what you're looking for,+ the sizes,...

Then We can tell you where the Best deals are....

Btw,... Welcome Aboard,....

 

[steelespike]

Re: trailer wheels - 1

I have a GEM electric car;it uses 4 bolt 12" trailer style rims.I got I believe USA 530 X 12 tires and rims from Wally world.good quality attractive held up well.Got some Chinese 480 X 12 tires and rims from Harbor freight to try smaller size.Not as attractive,poor quality, poor fit, white paint yellowed and developed rust stains in one summer.I put the 480 tires on the wally world rims they still look good after 4 summers.

 

[tbird175]

Re: trailer wheels - 1

Sorry for my posting eroor. I am new at this.

 

[reelfishin]

Re: trailer wheels - 1

Asian wheels in general come from many countries. I've seen good and bad wheels. I'd look pretty close at anything coming from China or India.
I've had trailer wheels from Harbor Freight here and they were fine, the tires do seem more susceptible to dry rot but nothing major. It's pretty much a matter of you get what you pay for.
When shopping for rims or tires, shop by tire size and lug pattern. When it comes to trailer sizes your choices will be limited in tires, rims are pretty universal, most are either 4 lug on a 4" circle, or 5 lug on a 4.5" circle are the most common. Even most rims made today for use on older tube type tires will be made so as to be able to run either tube or tubeless tires.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: trailer wheels - 1

You asked why tire manufacturers didn't label their tires for automobile use. Fact is they do label them. These days, a "P" series tire is intended for "Passenger car" service. "ST" branded tires are special trailer tires. "LT" tires are branded as light truck tires. Yes, people do mount P, ST, and LT tires on trailer rims because the rims will accept them. Is it a good idea? I won't say yes or no because it always sparks a very long and needless discussion. And then most people don't mount their own tires anyway so the relationship between "J", "K" and any other designation is a rather moot point as the tire shop selling you the tires will know if you have the correct bead profile for the rim (or vice-versa).

If you want to make your brain hurt -- the link below goes into the various wheel designation codes and what they mean. Scroll down about 2-1/2 screens.

http://www.carbibles.com/tire_bible_pg2.html

 

[reelfishin]

Re: trailer wheels - 1

You asked why tire manufacturers didn't label their tires for automobile use. Fact is they do label them. These days, a "P" series tire is intended for "Passenger car" service. "ST" branded tires are special trailer tires. "LT" tires are branded as light truck tires. Yes, people do mount P, ST, and LT tires on trailer rims because the rims will accept them. Is it a good idea? I won't say yes or no because it always sparks a very long and needless discussion. And then most people don't mount their own tires anyway so the relationship between "J", "K" and any other designation is a rather moot point as the tire shop selling you the tires will know if you have the correct bead profile for the rim (or vice-versa).

If you want to make your brain hurt -- the link below goes into the various wheel designation codes and what they mean. Scroll down about 2-1/2 screens.

http://www.carbibles.com/tire_bible_pg2.html

Good link, but I'm not sure I agree with where it says a rim made for a J code rim won't fit a K code rim. I have 25 vehicles and trailers outside and a dozen new tires in the garage here and not a one gives that code or format as a rim requirement, or size.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: trailer wheels - 1

Let's approach this another way. Since we can't see what you have in your fleet nor can we see the stock of tires you have, you could take inventory. Once you've identified the vehicles and trailers and the current tire sizes on that equipment you really wouldn't need to worry about the rim specification. You could post your inventory here and in a month or so you would have a chart or Excel spreadsheet for your entire fleet showing which tires can be installed on which vehicle. Or, you only need install the same tire as is currently installed on the rim. But then lets say the trailer has "P" rated tires. You can certainly install "P" designated tires of the same size or you could install "ST" rated tires and you wouldn't have to worry about the rim specification. But then you could go through the bother of removing all the tires, looking for the rim code, all of which would be a real waste of time and effort since the equipment apparently has lived quite nicely with what's there. And to complicate matters more, lets say you have some 15 inch tires but they are really wide and you would like to use them on a trailer that has 15 inch wheels. You now need to check the tire specs to see what rim width is recommended for that tire. A rim too narrow means the center of the tread bulges out and wears quickly. A rim too wide means the center of the tread bows inward and edges wear quickly. As the article I referenced indicates, the rim code specifies the bead area and has nothing to do with tire size. Furhter, unless you have some really special equipment, commonly available tires will work just fine provided they are appropriate for the vehicle and load.