New tires/rims on my 72 boler

[Lisey]

I am hoping to get some advice as to what to run on my 1972 13 ft Boler. I am looking for new rims and tires. what size(s) can I run, my tire guy says the current size ( 155 60 R 13) are extremely hard to get where we live. Anyone?

[Thomas G.]

You can probably run 175 or 185 width tires. Have your tire guy measure your rim width and confirm this. Also look up the outer diameter of the bigger tires and confirm that they will fit in your wheel well.

[WildBirder]

Hi Lisey, the forum.

Is your boler new to you? Do you have pics?

Those tires are very hard to find. It would be recommended to upgrade to larger tires. More rubber on the road equals a safer ride.
Bolt pattern is going to be the first thing you need to look at if you replace the rim. You're probably running 5 bolts at 4.5" diameter "bolt circle". 13" or 14" rims (That's the number after the R) will both work on a boler.

Here's a link to understanding the code. Tire code - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

What will fit on a boler may vary due to the condition of the axle. With time these axles wear out and sag. Lowering the boler and leaving less room in the wheel well and perhaps having the fiberglass wheel well partially cover the tire. Post pics here and we can let you know

Mine came with 185/70R13. It had a new axle and gave it gave plenty of room in the wheel well. I'll let others pipe in for more specific tire size recommendations.

Tires are a popular topic here and if you search the forum you'll find numerous lengthy (and conflicting) discussions. Much of it to do with the tire type. Passenger vs. trailer specific. Load rating and PSI etc.

[WildBirder]

Originally Posted by Thomas G.

You can probably run 175 or 185 width tires. Have your tire guy measure your rim width and confirm this. Also look up the outer diameter of the bigger tires and confirm that they will fit in your wheel well.

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by Lisey

... my tire guy says the current size ( 155 60 R 13) are extremely hard to get where we live.

155/60R13 would be extremely difficult to find - is this really the size? 155/80R13 would be much more likely... and still less common now than the slightly larger sizes mentioned by others in this discussion.

[Ian G.]

Mine are 185/80R13 Maxxis tires
Fit great

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by Ian G.

Mine are 185/80R13 Maxxis tires...

There is more than one model of Maxxis tire - presumably these are Maxxis M8008 ST185/80R13, not Maxxis MA-1 P185/80R13.

[Ian G.]

Originally Posted by Brian B-P

There is more than one model of Maxxis tire - presumably these are Maxxis M8008 ST185/80R13, not Maxxis MA-1 P185/80R13.

I thought the assumption for ST tires would be obvious but you are correct, they are the M8008

[glamourpets]

Originally Posted by WildBirder

Hi Lisey, the forum.
Those tires are very hard to find. It would be recommended to upgrade to larger tires. More rubber on the road equals a safer ride.
Bolt pattern is going to be the first thing you need to look at if you replace the rim. You're probably running 5 bolts at 4.5" diameter "bolt circle". 13" or 14" rims (That's the number after the R) will both work on a boler.

Perhaps true, but wouldn't MORE rubber mean lower fuel economy? Or perhaps the difference is too low to notice the difference?

Derek

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by glamourpets

Perhaps true, but wouldn't MORE rubber mean lower fuel economy? Or perhaps the difference is too low to notice the difference?

More tread width on the road will probably increase rolling and aerodynamic drag; I can tell that there is more drag on my van and car with the summer tires than with the winter tires (only 10 mm wider section in each case) by the speed those vehicles coast down mountain grades.

More overall tire diameter will lower drag, if it makes any difference at all.

More rubber (and wheel) also means more mass, but this is a tiny difference in proportion to the trailer weight.

[glamourpets]

I suppose it is all compromises. A larger surface area would also allow the brake to give more stopping pressure before they lock the wheel. If fuel economy was the onlyy priority, we would have tires the width o a bicycle on therem

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by glamourpets

I suppose it is all compromises. A larger surface area would also allow the brake to give more stopping pressure before they lock the wheel. If fuel economy was the onlyy priority, we would have tires the width o a bicycle on therem

Absolutely true!

[Francesca Knowles]

Originally Posted by Lisey

I am hoping to get some advice as to what to run on my 1972 13 ft Boler. I am looking for new rims and tires. what size(s) can I run, my tire guy says the current size ( 155 60 R 13) are extremely hard to get where we live. Anyone?

I'm surprised that your "tire guy" can't answer that question for you.

I've been buying my tires from the same tire shop for years, and trust their judgement very much...but if they couldn't answer such a basic question I'd be finding myself another shop!

Francesca

[Lisey]

Thanks for the advice. My tire guy has some ideas, but he has not seen the trailer yet.

[slavandheather]

We're restoring a 1978 Boler and are installing Carlisle ST175/80R13C1 tires from Discount Tire on new 13" rims. We did get a new axle also.

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by slavandheather

We're restoring a 1978 Boler and are installing Carlisle ST175/80R13C1 tires from Discount Tire...

"ST175/80R13C1" isn't a valid tire designation - it's Discount Tire's corruption of "ST175/80R13", presumably for the Load Range C version of what is likely a Carlisle Radial Trail RH. It's no big deal, but if someone goes asking for "ST175/80R13C1" at a competent tire retailer, it will just cause confusion.

[Francesca Knowles]

Originally Posted by Brian B-P

"ST175/80R13C1" isn't a valid tire designation - it's Discount Tire's corruption of "ST175/80R13", presumably for the Load Range C version of what is likely a Carlisle Radial Trail RH. It's no big deal, but if someone goes asking for "ST175/80R13C1" at a competent tire retailer, it will just cause confusion.

This is incorrect.

"C1" is a designation in a new tire rating system initiated in Europe. It has to do with an individual tire's rolling resistance, perhaps the most important fuel-economy related feature of a trailer tire.

Carlyisle is to be congratulated for putting that information on its tires, and let's hope that other..."competent"?...tire makers will soon follow suit.

Francesca

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by Francesca Knowles

This is incorrect.

"C1" is a designation in a new tire rating system initiated in Europe. It has to do with an individual tire's rolling resistance, perhaps the most important fuel-economy related feature of a trailer tire.

Carlyisle is to be congratulated for putting that information on its tires...

Sure, if that's true I'll happily withdraw my comment.

It's fascinating that Carlisle doesn't mention this in their own site; do they show it on the EU-defined label? It's also very interesting that a company which manufactures in Asia and North America to U.S. standards (ST from TRA) would identify those ST tires with a Euro standard. More interesting, according to the Hankook link "C1" is a vehicle class, not a tire class; even more interesting, C1 is for passenger cars (a strange choice for an ST tire). Even better, the Discount Tire site ends other sizes of the Radial Trail RH in "D1" and "E1" - since the other vehicle classes in the EU system are "C2" and "C3", what do these other letters mean? Could it be that each capacity of tire is for a different class of vehicle (cars, light trucks, heavy trucks), or are those letters really the load range, as I suggested?

Again according to Hankook link, the performance ratings in the EU system would be a letter from A though G for fuel efficiency, a letter from A though G for wet grip, and noise rating of "Wave 1", Wave 2", or "Wave 3". Where are those performance class values for this Carlisle trailer tire, in either the Discount Tire website or any Carlisle material? I couldn't find any mention of the EU scheme or the corresponding ratings for any tire anywhere in the Carlisle website or their 97-page downloadable full 2012 catalog. Okay, I know, stop teasing... we all know they're not there because Carlisle isn't supporting the EU labelling system for their trailer tires, and Discount Tire just has a website glitch, which was the point of my first (short, clear, useful) post.

The Hankook page is good; a more authoritative source is the EU Tyre Labelling page. It explains that the ratings are provided on stickers, labels, and technical promotional material at the retail location. The Hankook site has a nice tool for displaying the information, once you find it (there's an icon near the left side of each tire product page).

Aside from any possible application of this EU labeling standard to Carlisle's tires, it is good to know about. It looks like the Uniform Tire Quality Grading system in the U.S. (also used here in Canada). That one isn't applied to ST tires, either.

Originally Posted by Francesca Knowles

... let's hope that other..."competent"?...tire makers will soon follow suit.

Since Discount Tire is the same company which mis-reported the "R" for "radial" as a speed rating on many trailer tires (as confirmed by e-mail from the Consumer Affairs department of Discount Tire / Americas Tire), they - and specifically their website - have no credibility to me. My reference to competence was clearly related to retailers (e.g. Discount Tire), not manufacturers (e.g. Carlisle). Although I have no desire to buy Carlisle tires, I make no judgement of their competence nor did I intend to suggest any such judgement.

Any moderator or administrator who deems that this part of the discussion is an annoying diversion is encouraged to move or delete this post along with the misleading post to which it is responding with this author's thanks.

[Francesca Knowles]

Originally Posted by Brian B-P

Sure, if that's true I'll happily withdraw my comment.

Sure took a lot of bandwidth to do so, but I'll take your word your withdrawal was in there somewhere.

Francesca

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by Francesca Knowles

Sure took a lot of bandwidth to do so, but I'll take your word your withdrawal was in there somewhere.

No, it wasn't.

Once more, with more clarity, for those having trouble reading:

The "C1" on the end of tire designations in Discount Tire's defective website is not a reference to the European Union's new tire rating system. It is just the load range, incorrectly presented.

Any moderator or administrator who deems that this part of the discussion is an annoying diversion is still encouraged to move or delete this post along with the misleading posts to which it is responding (up to a string of 4 posts now) with this author's thanks.