tires

[macf]

would replacing the 13" tires with 14" or 15" tires on my 16' casita be a better ride? Anyone an opinion? thanks,

[frank_a]

Wheel bearings would turn less with a larger diameter tire, thereby less heat on the bearing surfaces, always a good thing. Whenever I can, I try and get my trailer tire diameter as close to the tow vehicle tire diameter as I can. I think it improves towability as well.

Frank

[Bob Miller]

Hmmmmm....

First, everyone has an opinion!!!

Second: Better Ride? Is someone riding in your Casita while you are towing???

Third: Bigger tires will usually result in raising your trailer and, IMHO (See, an opinion) would tend to make it less stable. Also, bigger tires also cost more and trailer tires usually are replaced due to age rather than wear.

Unless I needed more ground clearance I would stick with the original sizes on some nice alloy wheels. But fancy new wheels will help you think it is riding a lot better.

Can't say that I have ever seen a set of properly cared for wheel bearings get very hot, much less wear out, and we pulled the Lil' BigFoot across Death Valley in the daytime in June one year. (BTW: A really dumb idea!!!) and they didn't get much warmer than usual.

But that's all my opinion.....

[David Tilston]

It is difficult to find 13" tires in load range D, (but not impossible). So if you have a 3500 lb axle, 14" tires make sense.

[frank_a]

Yes, and radials! By the way, always get trailer tires balanced. It's just as, or more important for your travel trailer as your tow vehicle!

Frank

[David B.]

Originally Posted by macf

would replacing the 13" tires with 14" or 15" tires on my 16' casita be a better ride? Anyone an opinion? thanks,

Wheel wells will limit the TIRE size. Wheels in 13",14",15" do not add to the over all TIRE size to fit into the wheel wells of the trailer. The larger the wheel, the smaller the tire side wall becomes. This would lead to less tire squirm which should help decrease trailer wag. Very large wheels with very low profile tires (slim sidewalls) are used on sports cars to aid in better corning, but sacrifice smooth ride. I run 13" wheels with as large a D rated tire that will fit the wheel well of our 13' Scamp trailer, and I do not have problems with trailer wag. With some applications, large tires with small wheels give a smoother ride as these "floatation" tires absorb bumps better than springs alone.
Dave & Paula

[Gene Masse]

I've seen prior comments about not going over 65 mph with 13" tires. Are the 14" and larger rated faster? I never have checked that.

[Bob Miller]

I think that most trailer tires have an aspect ratio of .8, that is, the sidewall is 80% of the tread width. When you get into P-metric sizes, like 205/60/15, you get into shorter sidewalls relative to trread width.

I think that all trailer service tires are speed rated at 65 MPH. The towed speed limit in the Golden State, as well as the MPG sweet spot, is 55 mph, and I always get where I am going.

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by Gene Masse

I've seen prior comments about not going over 65 mph with 13" tires.

I have seen comments in this forum about the 65 mph speed rating for Special Trailer (ST) tires, but nothing about a speed restriction related to size. In general, there is no such speed restriction for 13" tires, and 13" tires of types other than ST are readily available in any speed rating you might be able to use on a public road in North America; it would be very hard to find a car tire in any size rated as low as 65 mph.

Originally Posted by Gene Masse

Are the 14" and larger rated faster?

No, there is no relationship between tire rim diameter and speed rating. There certainly is a relationship between tire type and speed rating - ST tires are rated for 65 mph unless otherwise indicated by the manufacturer. In order to get a higher speed rating some people choose to use other types. LT (Light Truck) and commercial types are not readily available in 13", and most P-metric and euro-metric tires would need to be in a 14" or larger rim size to have sufficient load capacity.

[frank_a]

LT tires do not have the sidewall strength necessary (or maybe recommended?) for trailers. I would suggest staying with trailer radials.

Frank

[Francesca Knowles]

Originally Posted by macf

would replacing the 13" tires with 14" or 15" tires on my 16' casita be a better ride?

No.

Francesca

[steve dunham]

Originally Posted by frank_a

LT tires do not have the sidewall strength necessary (or maybe recommended?) for trailers. I would suggest staying with trailer radials.

Frank

They do make LT tires that are ST rated and approved for trailer use

[honda03842]

We've always considered going to larger diameter tires for the Scamp 16 and Casita 16, but have stuck to the 13" tires both trailers came with.

We did replace the original tires with Goodyear Marathons and have used Goodyears for about 6 years. We are now on our second set. We have never had a problem in our 7.5 months a year we spend on the road.

I will say we generally avoid super hot weather, do not overload our trailer, and watch them closely.

We have not noticed any roughness the ride of any of our trailers, though we're never back there. We do travel with a TV and two computers on the dinette bench and couch, none have ever moved. Of course occasionally a cabinet door comes open but I find this has more to do with the road than the ride.

Our Goodyear Marathons are each rated for 1480 lbs, C rating. We run them at 50 PSI

[georgewa]

Please accept my apologies if I am side tracking this thread on the pros and cons of installing a 14-15" tire rather than the standard 13", but I could not resist making some comments on 13" tires.

Not too long ago, I looked into replacing my '76 Trillium 1300 tires. After pounding the internet and calling different tire manufacturers, this is what I learned.

(1) All 13" trailer tires are rated to not exceed 65mph.
(2) Radial vs bias trailer tires: the only real advantage of a bias tire is that if you should have a blow out, you won't damage the wheel well of your fiberglass trailer to the extent that a radial tire blow-out would cause.
(3)It seems that all 13" trailer tires made today are made in China. I could not find any trailer tires that are made in America now. I even called a number of tire manufacturers/tire stores and when it looked like their tires had been made in the USA, I asked them to go out in the warehouse and actually look at the current tires and then tell me what was on the sidewall, and they all came back and said, " you are right, the tire is now made in China; I did not realize the manuf. made this change".
(4) Most trailer tires are C class and have a max psi of about 50 lbs. There are some D class 13" radial tires, but again they are made in China. Personally, I would prefer a D class tire if I were to inflate the tire to 50 lbs. thinking that our car tires are C class and 35psi max.
(5)Trailer tires are a special breed, and other tires cannot easily subsitute for them. You would really have to know your stuff to subsitute a non-trailer labeled tire for a trailer tire.

Has anyone found any 13" trailer tires made in the USA or other than in China?

Any comments on the best 13" trailer tire to purchase? Don't want to open the flood gates to input, but this is not something that is well documented it seems.

Thank you.

[Otters]

Originally Posted by Bob Miller

Hmmmmm....

First, everyone has an opinion!!!

Ain't is so?!!!

[floyd]

Originally Posted by georgewa

Please accept my apologies if I am side tracking this thread on the pros and cons of installing a 14-15" tire rather than the standard 13", but I could not resist making some comments on 13" tires.

Not too long ago, I looked into replacing my '76 Trillium 1300 tires. After pounding the internet and calling different tire manufacturers, this is what I learned.

(1) All 13" trailer tires are rated to not exceed 65mph.
(2) Radial vs bias trailer tires: the only real advantage of a bias tire is that if you should have a blow out, you won't damage the wheel well of your fiberglass trailer to the extent that a radial tire blow-out would cause.
(3)It seems that all 13" trailer tires made today are made in China. I could not find any trailer tires that are made in America now. I even called a number of tire manufacturers/tire stores and when it looked like their tires had been made in the USA, I asked them to go out in the warehouse and actually look at the current tires and then tell me what was on the sidewall, and they all came back and said, " you are right, the tire is now made in China; I did not realize the manuf. made this change".
(4) Most trailer tires are C class and have a max psi of about 50 lbs. There are some D class 13" radial tires, but again they are made in China. Personally, I would prefer a D class tire if I were to inflate the tire to 50 lbs. thinking that our car tires are C class and 35psi max.
(5)Trailer tires are a special breed, and other tires cannot easily subsitute for them. You would really have to know your stuff to subsitute a non-trailer labeled tire for a trailer tire.

Has anyone found any 13" trailer tires made in the USA or other than in China?

Any comments on the best 13" trailer tire to purchase? Don't want to open the flood gates to input, but this is not something that is well documented it seems.

Thank you.

In response to item #3...
I have bought Carlisle Radial Trail RH my last set was USA made, the set I bought this year to replace them are made in China. They are sure willing to let you keep believing they are American made.
I went out just now to check, and after much searching, I found the fine print "Made in China".
I have used them now for nearly 5000 miles and the quality seems to be at least as good as the set they replaced.(time will tell)
I think the buyer aught to be allowed to know the source of the products he buys, and it appears Carlisle is trying to evade clarity on this issue.
Thanks for the heads-up!

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by floyd

In response to item #3...
I have bought Carlisle Radial Trail RH my last set was USA made...
I think the buyer aught to be allowed to know the source of the products he buys, and it appears Carlisle is trying to evade clarity on this issue.

Tire dealers may be clueless or even dishonest, but Carlisle's product page for their Radial Trail RH makes no mention of origin, explicitly or by implication. They are not being informative - just as most manufacturers of most consumer products do not list origin - but I see nothing evasive here. I'm no fan of Carlisle, but unfounded accusations don't seem warranted.

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by georgewa

(4) Most trailer tires are C class and have a max psi of about 50 lbs. There are some D class 13" radial tires, but again they are made in China. Personally, I would prefer a D class tire if I were to inflate the tire to 50 lbs. thinking that our car tires are C class and 35psi max.

I suggest using the proper term load range rather than "class", to reduce confusion.

Car tires - assuming this means P-metric and euro-metric types - do not use these letter-labelled load ranges. Most euro-metric and almost all P-metric tires are Standard Load, which is roughly comparable to an ST tire's Load Range B (not C); Extra Load versions are available, which are roughly comparable to an ST tire's Load Range C. By "comparable", I mean roughly similar in load capacity for the same size, and having a similar required (and allowed) pressure for a given load.

[floyd]

Originally Posted by Brian B-P

Tire dealers may be clueless or even dishonest, but Carlisle's product page for their Radial Trail RH makes no mention of origin, explicitly or by implication. They are not being informative - just as most manufacturers of most consumer products do not list origin - but I see nothing evasive here. I'm no fan of Carlisle, but unfounded accusations don't seem warranted.

Carlisle spent years bragging up their Pennsylvania manufacturing plant and "Made in USA" as a selling point. Their sudden silence speaks volumes.
You are right...Unfounded accusations are unseemly,by either of us.

[Brian B-P]

Floyd, they now manufacture less in the USA, and don't say "Made in the USA" so much. Is that strange? If I were making something and raised the price I would not take out full-page ads to say "Now higher prices", and I believe that most companies have more sense than that, as well. There's a huge difference between being evasive and just not drawing attention to information.

I realize that it is hidden deeply in the online FAQ, but Carlisle openly admits that they have a dozen facilities outside of the US, and that they manufacture in Asia (which could be China, or somewhere even cheaper):

Where are Carlisle tires made?
Depending upon which Carlisle tire you select, the tire could have been made in either a U.S. factory or elsewhere. With 66 facilities owned and operated by Carlisle Companies, all but 12 are located in the United States. As you see from these numbers, we are an American company committed to American manufacturing and standards.

Carlisle tires manufactured in Asia are developed in factories owned and operated by Carlisle, under the supervision of American engineers and tested according to U.S. standards, unlike some other tire companies who simply contract out to the lowest bidding foreign factory.

If country of origin is important to a buyer, they can find the information... in tires, anyway.