"trailer" tires

[reelfishin]

Re: "trailer" tires

I find this coment interesting.

I'm running 4- Cooper ST 205-75R14 Special Trailer radials on a Tandem Loadrite trailer. The sidewall states a load rating of #1760 with a max. inflation rating of 35 psi. The hubs are slotted galvanized hubs that came stock on the trailer so I got to beleive that they're "trailer" hubs.

Any ideas?

http://coopertire.com/html/products...om_trailer&LanguageId=1&tiretype=S&sorttype=T

I'm assuming you are referring to it having a spoked galvanized rim, if so it's a trailer rim.
What they are referring to above is front wheel drive car rims being used on trailers, they tend to have the lug flange outboard near the outer part of the rim, not in the middle of the rim. (In other words if you were to mount them on a trailer, the tires would be in way too far inside the fenders, this is a weaker design rim not meant for heavy loads). The hub is the part that the rim bolts to and in which the bearings are located.

The cooper tires you showed are fine if they are rated to carry your load. multiply the total number of tires times the weight rating on the tires, I'd want the trailer's weight to be no more than maybe 75% of the sum of the tire rating.

I do notice that Cooper offers a very bare bones selection in tires, they don't offer any 13" and they don't seem to offer any heavier load range D tires. I have a good local dealer here and they can only offer me Chinese made tires in my sizes. I have a pair of bias ply Nanco tires that I just got that have a 1230 lb rating and are only A78-13 ST sized tires. They are marked Load range C and are bias ply tires. They made that trailer track and ride like when it was new, it was terrible with a set of Tow master Radials I had on it. I went with these since I both needed to lower the trailer a bit and didn't need any real weight capacity, they didn't have the lighter version of these so I went with the heavier rating for the same price.
They have about 500 miles on them now, I used the trailer to pickup a few boats out of state since it's all just been overhauled with new springs, tires, rims, bearings and lights.
The rims shown are brand new galvanized trailer rims from Load Rite.
I'm also a bit more comfortable running off road with bias ply tires as that they have a tougher sidewall that's less susceptible to punctures.

 

[SuperNova]

Re: "trailer" tires

You will find weight limits on trailers and certainly load limits pertaining to tires and trailers. A lesser tire will lower the capacity of a trailer to that of the sum of it's tires. A trailer tire generally can carry far more weight than a standard passenger car tire.

This statement summarizes everything that needs to be discussed; it only leaves out the fact that you can get LT (light truck) tires to carry the higher load ranges. Also as stated in the last sentence the operating term is "generally".
What it all boils down to folks is you have to look at the sidewall of the tires and see what the actual load rating is, multiply by the number of tires on the trailer to get the total load rating and make sure you aren't going to exceed it with whatever you are going to tow.
Other than that, there are some very subtle differences between trailer tires, passenger car tires and light truck tires and bias ply versus radial construction.

As stated many times before-- It is NOT illegal to put car or truck tires on your trailer....It IS illegal to put trailer tires on your car or truck. ---Why don't you spend some time on thinking why that would be. And go back and actually read the link that guy74 provided...here I'll make it easy
http://www.subaru.com/owners/carcar...91903trailer_safety&navid=TRAILER-TIRE_SAFETY
Go ahead read it....it'll answer all your questions.

 

[reelfishin]

Re: "trailer" tires

Good luck finding LT tires in a 14" size, I've been looking around here for two months for new tires for my truck. I want to replace my tires before winter but haven't found a single local tire dealer that stocks a non aggressive tread LT tire in 14", let alone any assortment of 14" tires period. I called 12 tire dealers today, not a one had 4 225/70R15LT tires in stock that weren't either made in China and/or lugged all terrain type tread. I hate mail ordering tires due the the cost of shipping but I don't think I'll have a choice when the time comes.
Trailer tires are just as tough to find, but in those, it seems it's 12" 14", or 15" only, I have problems here finding 13", which all four of my trailers use.

I would venture to guess that if you went down to the local boat ramp and took a survey of all the trailers parked there with boats in the water, more than half would have passenger car tires, and more than half of those would be either mismatched sizes or bald.

 

[cdnfthree2]

Re: "trailer" tires

I found a tire website that says both are good tires but that biases tires aren't that good for free rolling aplications. I was still torn basically because of the price difference, but my wife said "get the good ones", and "it would be stupid to buy something that wont last." So, we'll pay more.

 

[kenmyfam]

Re: "trailer" tires

I would not use anything but a true trailer rated tire on anything I pull behind me. And that's about it !!!!

 

[reelfishin]

Re: "trailer" tires

I'm not sure I buy into the idea that the bias ply tires aren't as good for a free rolling situation. Most of my trailers seem to both track better and pull easier with bias ply tires. I had another trailer the other day that I towed home with fairly new Towmaster radials on it, I replaced them with two new 6 ply bias ply tires and with no other changes, it tows like its not even there. With the radials, it bucks and jerks all over. I think that bias ply tires are less susceptible to directional pull or the crown of the road. Especially if the trailer isn't perfectly square, and many aren't. The radial tires seem to follow the crown of the road and get jerked back in line over and over, the bias ply tires just follow the truck straight. The trailer is a 4 month old Load Rite with 13" wheels and a 2200 lb. GVW. I can actually watch it drop down the crown of the road and jump back that causes the sway and jerk feeling I feel. Thats all gone with the bias ply tires. A measurement of the axle alignment shows the axle is 3/16" further forward to the right or 'steered' slightly left. I loosened the U bolts and adjusted this to perfect but haven't put the radials back on. (I had towed that trailer over 200 miles with the axle out of alignment with no tires wear showing). I can see what it was doing, and can see that the radial tires had better traction, but they easily made the situation feel much worse than it really was. I don't think any trailer I've even gotten has been dead on perfectly aligned when I got it.
I would have actually expected the trailer to just track off to one side and not continuously jerk back in line with the axle angled so slightly. It certainly wasn't enough to see by eye.

I have had trailers though with extreme camber angles scuff or scallop tires at higher speeds when unloaded.

 

[cdnfthree2]

Re: "trailer" tires

My patience is wearing thin. I decide to go with whatever my best current tire is so that I can use it as a spare. It's a Carlisle "trailer tire" Sport Trail ST175/80/13 4 ply C rating. I look all over the tire as well as online and find NO indication as to it being a radial or bias. Nothing.

 

[Sea18Horse]

Re: "trailer" tires

Well, I tow a 14' fiberglass driftboat with an '84 Toyota 4wd pickup. When the Firestone 500s that were on it when I got it finally rotted away I went and got a couple of new white spoke wheels from Les Schwab for the trailer and then went to the local used tire store and got a couple of B F Goodrich radial T/As for $30.00 a piece. Tows just fine. And I sleep just fine at night. It's just a trailer! With rare exceptions we're not landing the space shuttle here!

Cheers..................Todd

 

[Gary H NC]

Re: "trailer" tires

I'm not sure I buy into the idea that the bias ply tires aren't as good for a free rolling situation. Most of my trailers seem to both track better and pull easier with bias ply tires. I had another trailer the other day that I towed home with fairly new Towmaster radials on it, I replaced them with two new 6 ply bias ply tires and with no other changes, it tows like its not even there. With the radials, it bucks and jerks all over. I think that bias ply tires are less susceptible to directional pull or the crown of the road. Especially if the trailer isn't perfectly square, and many aren't. The radial tires seem to follow the crown of the road and get jerked back in line over and over, the bias ply tires just follow the truck straight. The trailer is a 4 month old Load Rite with 13" wheels and a 2200 lb. GVW. I can actually watch it drop down the crown of the road and jump back that causes the sway and jerk feeling I feel. Thats all gone with the bias ply tires. A measurement of the axle alignment shows the axle is 3/16" further forward to the right or 'steered' slightly left. I loosened the U bolts and adjusted this to perfect but haven't put the radials back on. (I had towed that trailer over 200 miles with the axle out of alignment with no tires wear showing). I can see what it was doing, and can see that the radial tires had better traction, but they easily made the situation feel much worse than it really was. I don't think any trailer I've even gotten has been dead on perfectly aligned when I got it.
I would have actually expected the trailer to just track off to one side and not continuously jerk back in line with the axle angled so slightly. It certainly wasn't enough to see by eye.

I have had trailers though with extreme camber angles scuff or scallop tires at higher speeds when unloaded.

Keep an eye on those Nanco bias ply tires.I had the Exact same tires that came factory on my 2007 travel trailer.They towed fine but with about 900 miles in them all of the sidewalls had cracks around them.The cracks were all the way around the tire about 2 inches from the bead.Inside and outside of all 5 tires..even the spare that never was used.
I called the dealer and they put me in touch with the tire distributer.
They replaced all 5 with no questions asked.
They upgraded me to radials....still a chinese made tire..

So far they have been fine.I can not tell a difference in towing between the bias and radial.I guess a lot depends on the balance of the trailer.

Here is a pic of those Nanco tires with cracks..

 

[cdnfthree2]

Re: "trailer" tires

As of today, I'm done. Went and picked up five brand new rims and with Good Year Radials. I believe the extra money was well spent. I got them at a tire/wheel click and mortar mega warehouse that just happened to be close by. Guy at desk was very knoledgable and said that Bias tires do wear out much faster than Radials but still have maintained their demand beacause of the tougher sidewalls and low price. If you dive your trailer through rocky areas and construction sites, Bias tires are still the best tire for you. If you get a lot of flats not due to wear(rocks and construction sites), the low price will also be good for you. Radials are simply the best for lots of miles minus all the hazards. I buy it.

 

[VaGent]

Re: "trailer" tires

Are you sure you didn't mistake "LT" for "ST". The tipoff for trailer tires is the inflation pressure. Trailer tires (depending on size) will have inflation pressures that start at 50 PSI and go up to 90 PSI (as for my 20.5x8x10, 10 ply pontoon trailer tires). LT (light truck) tires would be less than 50 pounds and auto tires will be around 36 PSI. I wish you would have photographed that designation because ST, LT, and P (Passenger) are all "application" designators and are an integral part of current tire specifications. If these were very old tires I suppose they could have sneaked in under the radar but I have never seen an auto tire marked as ST and marketed as a Special Trailer tire. Seems to me that would leave a huge hole in a legal dispute. If the ST was separated from the rest of the size designator I could see where some confusion or deception might be possible. But if the ST was the same size and directly in front of the tire size it should have been a trailer tire.

I just bought a used Loadrite trailer that came with 15" Dicco ST Sport Trac tires that are H78X15. I'm not sure if these are the correct tires that came on the trailer or not as it has swapped hands several times over the years. It's 21 ft long & the surge brake master cylinder states it is good for 6000 lbs. It has 5 leaf springs that are close to being 3/8" thick & the frame & tongue are made of 3"X4" tubular galvanized steel as are the cross frames. The axle is a 2"X3" tube & it has 10" brake drums on it. It's plenty strong enough to carry my pontoon boat that will weigh a mxiumum of 2200 lbs loaded. The original factory sticker stateing the model/serial number & GVWR are missing so I have no information to go on other then the fact of the over size of the frame & srings. There are no markings anywhere to indicate this information.

My question is this. Would I be better off going with 20.5x10 or 20.8z10 tires & wheels or leave it like it is now? I've been looking at a lot of new pontoon trailers on the internet & it appears they all come with 20.5X10 tires using the galvanized wheels. I understand using the smaller tires & wheels will help a lot in loading/unloading the toon. And "IF" I do go to the smaller tires/wheels, should I go with radials or biasedply tires? Thanks in advance. I want to be SAFE more then anything else with whatever I use.

 

[Titanium48]

Re: "trailer" tires

The 10 inch tires will make loading and unloading easier by lowering trailer, but they won't fit over 10 inch brake drums. You could replace them with 7 inch brakes, but they are only rated for 2000 lbs and generally only fit on 2000 lb axles. You're probably better off going with 13 inch wheels and ST175/80D13 (bias) or ST175/80R13 (radial) load range C tires. These will fit over the brakes and will carry 1360 lbs each, but are still 4 inches shorter than the ones you have. If you need more load carrying capacity (that trailer sounds very heavy) you may try to find them in a load range D version or go with LR C ST205/75D(R)14. The 14's are only 2 inches shorter than your 15's though.

 

[VaGent]

Re: "trailer" tires

The 10 inch tires will make loading and unloading easier by lowering trailer, but they won't fit over 10 inch brake drums. You could replace them with 7 inch brakes, but they are only rated for 2000 lbs and generally only fit on 2000 lb axles. You're probably better off going with 13 inch wheels and ST175/80D13 (bias) or ST175/80R13 (radial) load range C tires. These will fit over the brakes and will carry 1360 lbs each, but are still 4 inches shorter than the ones you have. If you need more load carrying capacity (that trailer sounds very heavy) you may try to find them in a load range D version or go with LR C ST205/75D(R)14. The 14's are only 2 inches shorter than your 15's though.

Thanks for the information. This is what I was needing to know. I have a set of 14" tires & wheels but not sure what size the tires are but I will check them out today. They are now on a LONG boat trailer & are nearly brand new. I have a friends pontoon boat trailer made by Tracker & it came from the factory with 14" wheels on it. When I pulled it home it did not sway on the highway at all even with tour buses & large trucks going by me at over 70 mph so I guess if I use 14" on my trailer & have it balanced correctly I should be just fine with the proper tires on it. It's eithr that or else go with a dropped axle instead of using the straight axle on it now.

I've removed all the rollers (heavy duty 4 sets) so that will lighten up the weight of the trailer by several 100 pounds & I am using smaller size cross frames (2x2 square instead of 3X4 ) as I just don't need all the extra weight for carrying my pontoon boat. Looking at the Tracker trailer verses what I have it's easy to see the Tracker is built on a much lighter frame then what mine is. The main frame on the Tracker is 1-1/2X3 tubular steel with 2X2 cross frames & using 1-1/2 "C" channel for the bunk supports. The tongue is 3X3 square so it is much lighter then mine. At best I will be carrying 2200 pounds on the trailer. Everything on the Tracker is welded whereas everything on the Loadrite is bolted together which I like better as I can adjust everything. Thanks again for the information. I will let you know how it turns out as I hope to have the trailer all finished this coming week.

 

[204 Escape]

Re: "trailer" tires

A year ago, we bought a used 1999 Viper Coral f/s, with a 225 hp Merc. I put new COOPER 8 ply SRM II Radials 185R14C tires on it, because I was concerned with the weight of the big Merc hanging on the back of the boat.

The boat towed fine, no sway etc., BUT, I do NOT like GOODYEAR tires on anything !!!!!!! (Just personal problems with EVERY GOODYEAR tire I ever owned).

When we bought our new/leftover 2006 LARSON 204 Escape a year ago, last August, it had the factory Carlisle tires on it.

Being tight with my $$, I was NOT wanting to let the COOPERS go with the used boat trade, SO, I told the dealer that I would pay out of own pocket to have the tires switched out.

I pulled our new boat to the tire shop, about 10 miles away, on a road that was winding, hilly, and some what rough.

Had the tires switched and pulled the trailer back. The difference was totally unbelieveable !!!!!!!! I am glad that I made the change.

 

[VaGent]

Re: "trailer" tires

A year ago, we bought a used 1999 Viper Coral f/s, with a 225 hp Merc. I put new COOPER 8 ply SRM II Radials 185R14C tires on it, because I was concerned with the weight of the big Merc hanging on the back of the boat.

The boat towed fine, no sway etc., BUT, I do NOT like GOODYEAR tires on anything !!!!!!! (Just personal problems with EVERY GOODYEAR tire I ever owned).

When we bought our new/leftover 2006 LARSON 204 Escape a year ago, last August, it had the factory Carlisle tires on it.

Being tight with my $$, I was NOT wanting to let the COOPERS go with the used boat trade, SO, I told the dealer that I would pay out of own pocket to have the tires switched out.

I pulled our new boat to the tire shop, about 10 miles away, on a road that was winding, hilly, and some what rough.

Had the tires switched and pulled the trailer back. The difference was totally unbelieveable !!!!!!!! I am glad that I made the change.

Since I am new to boating I don't a lot about tires for boat trailers. I have a 5X8 utility trialer that does fine on the factory tires that came on it. I too am like you in that I do not care for Goodyear tires at all due to a lot of problems I've had with them in the past. I have a set of Coopers on my Ranger pickup that I like very much. They ride good, are wearing well & I keep them rotated faithfully. I think I will see if I can find some Coopers to put on my boat trailer since I know Cooper to be a good tire & see what happens. With the economy like it is now, I don't want to "waste" money trying to find something that won't work good to start with. I am also going to switch out the 15" tires & wheels on the trailer now for the 14" I have on another trailer I am not using for anything.

 

[reelfishin]

Re: "trailer" tires

Keep an eye on those Nanco bias ply tires.I had the Exact same tires that came factory on my 2007 travel trailer.They towed fine but with about 900 miles in them all of the sidewalls had cracks around them.The cracks were all the way around the tire about 2 inches from the bead.Inside and outside of all 5 tires..even the spare that never was used.
I called the dealer and they put me in touch with the tire distributer.
They replaced all 5 with no questions asked.
They upgraded me to radials....still a chinese made tire..

So far they have been fine.I can not tell a difference in towing between the bias and radial.I guess a lot depends on the balance of the trailer.

All of the Nanco tires I have here are marked Made In Taiwan, not China. Not that it's much different, but maybe a different or older batch.
I just got a bundle of B78 -13 Towmaster bias ply tires on a deal, they'll be what I use for a while now. I already have 4 pair mounted and ready to install on two of my trailers this week. Two more will end up on my latest acquisition this week as well.
I don't tow very far, I could get away with just about anything for tires. I just like to know I can go anywhere or any place if I can.

My tires will dry rot away long before they wear out. If they wear out, something is bent or worn on the trailer. The farthest I drive to the ramp is about 20 miles, and that's on back roads at under 45 mph in most cases.
several of the ramps I use are paved with crushed concrete debris and clam shells and the road leading to them are rough dirt trails. Bias ply is what works best for me. They also seem to fair better time wise, they aren't as likely to crack and get unsafe.
I did buy a pair of Titan trailer tires for my one trailer last fall, they are already showing dryrot cracks. Especially the tire that faces southward when the boat is parked along side my shed outback. That's the one that gets the most sun. I put four Chinese tires on my car a few months ago, being I only keep that car as a spare I wasn't too concerned about high dollar tires. They look fine so far and are the first tires not to have balance issues on that car. I took off a three year old set of Cooper Lifeliner SE tires that drove me nuts with vibrations. They put on a warranted 7 sets of tires finally saying that it was my car. (they would lump up at higher speeds, they'd be fine till I took it on the highway for a long ride at highway speeds, then they'd begin to break belts and get lumpy). The "Sun Day" branded $33 each Chinese tires have been fine all summer and I've run those up to 80 mph plus for hours at a time with no issues. The car is a full size LTD Wagon.
I had Cooper el cheapo tires on my truck with great results, never a problem, the same goes for a few other cars. I liked their cheaper Trendsetter line over the top of the line touring tire.
I've never tried their trailer tires, the local Cooper dealer only stocks Carlisle brand tires, some of which now are imported too.