Where to buy tires and bias or radial

[RogerDat]

There are a lot of places to purchase trailer tires, I'm thinking I may just buy local but would like to know how much that sentiment will cost me over ordering online.

Also I debate radial or bias ply? I don't put on enough miles to wear out any tire. They can be expected to "age out" which is what the current pair have done.

Considerations:

• I'm probably going between 55 and 62 mph at top speed on the interstate.
• I have to purchase 3 unless I want to rely on a 10 year old spare.
• Might do a max of 5,000 miles in a year and most years under 1,000 miles.
• I'm buying ST tires. Some folks use passenger auto or truck tires. Their rig = their choice. Me I would rather have ST tires.
• 13 inch tires, probably going with load range C even though B is what a 13 ft scamp comes with new.
• I do have brakes which provides another performance and wear characteristic
• Don't recognize 75% of the brands for sale

I see some sources where Radial and Bias are almost the same price and others where the Radial tires are a decent amount more expensive. I'm guessing but a $40 radial tire or a $38 bias ply are probably not high quality. But then not sure if a sub $60 radial is any good either, would expect a bias ply at that price to be decent quality for bias ply.

[Raz]

I recently bought both trailer and truck tires from Discount Tire. No stores in New England so online Discount Tire Direct is my only option. Good prices. Fast free UPS delivery. My truck tires were a June date code.

[padlin00]

I just had a set of Goodyear Endurance installed by a local tire shop, paid $129 ea. TireRack has them for $109 ea, DiscountTiresDirect shows $110. So it was $20 each to buy local.

I went with ST's.

They don't make 13's.

You can get Maxxis M8008 in 13's for about $80 online.

[rbryan]

Roger, I would skip the bias ply tires. Radials will give you way longer tread life - sometimes 4 times as much depending on the tire. The bias ply tires have stiffer sidewalls and would work better with a heavy load, but your Scamp hardly qualifies.

[rwilhelm]

Hi
I recently bought a pair of 175R13 rafials from my local shop. Price was about $125 mounted and balanced. What tire guy told me is that radials are best, they will take the load and the pressure (mine are 45) needed for trailer use. Please note that the tires are specifically for trailers. They are not passenger car tires which sre much more flexible in the sidewalls.
The old radial tires were replaced solely because of age. Saved one for a spare.
The advantage to buying local is service for warrant and repair if needed. Goid for the local economy.
Im a happy camper

[stevebaz]

I buy by brand and I buy online as it is cheaper. Unless you are buying trailer tires from Walmart which moves allot of trailer tires the age of tires is a real crap shoot. I try to stay away from tires with statements like 2 ply tire 4 ply rated. There are hundreds of brands out there and very few made in the USA if that is your choice. Every time I went to by trailer tires local if they were in stock they were some cut rate brand I wouldn't buy and had to order the tires i want and wait for them anyways. Tires are a personal choice so choose what you are comfortable with. Most of the tire I buy for my trailers are 13 inch rim and there are not allot of good choices in that rim size.

[Tom 72]

...likely correct. But they may have overlooked your saying you won't wear these tires out. Buying a higher load range, and running at somewhat lower speeds favors you. You might be a candidate for bias ply. The problem is that there is a huge "bias" against bias.
Replacing your spare increases your current outlay by 50%, which is significant. Buying from a national or near-national retailer increases your odds of being able to get warranty or service nearby. Good idea.
If I mostly traveled within my state or bordering states, I might keep the spare, figuring I could limp home 100 or 200 miles. That might let me spend a bit more on the new tires.
To take the opposite extreme, if I was leaving for two months in Alaska, I would carry at least two spares, one of them new.

[RogerDat]

Well had a chat with my trailer guy. He sells and recommends Loadstar brand radial tires. Said the radials will track better, bias can develop cupping or chop in the tread more easily. Price difference within a brand between the two is fairly minimal. At $60 for load range C radials from him vs $46 bias ply Loadstar from Wal-Mart.

He did show me some interesting stuff about tires. Cheaper tires on some ready built trailers he had ordered for a customer the tread new is much less deep than the higher priced tires, and the weight is less. There is just less rubber in the cap and less material overall.

Another brand I have heard is good is greenball, sold at Costco, it has pretty good reviews online too. Less expensive at $45 so savings of about 15 per tire over the Loadstar. Mounting and balancing is extra for Costco purchase. But for $15 mounted and balanced still a good price.

[Bruce H]

If you order on line who is going to mount and balance them?

[Bruce H]

I rolled a flat trailer tire into the tire shop at Wal-Mart in Deming, New Mexico one morning about three years ago. (after spending the night on their lot waiting for the tire shop to open) They would not fix it because it was a trailer tire.

A short two block drive east to Big O tire and a warm welcome, just stay parked right there we will drag a jack out there and put it back on the trailer and put the spare back on the carrier for you.

[RogerDat]

Originally Posted by Bruce H

If you order on line who is going to mount and balance them?

Tire store will do mounting and balancing but some roll it into purchase price so it might pay to shop around.

My tire guy says he mounts them but doesn't do high speed balancing, big flat bed commercial trailers don't require it, for a camper he suggested I take it someplace for high speed balancing.

I may end up buying at tire store so I can get "out the door" price. There is local shop I do business with or a nation wide chain with warranty might be an advantage. But the trailer shop has a good price and they will have tires off anyway to pack bearings and replace seals.

I don't mind showing up at a shop and getting tires high speed balanced as long as that single item cost is not high for tires not purchased there.

[rbryan]

Originally Posted by Bruce H

I rolled a flat trailer tire into the tire shop at Wal-Mart in Deming, New Mexico one morning about three years ago. (after spending the night on their lot waiting for the tire shop to open) They would not fix it because it was a trailer tire.

A short two block drive east to Big O tire and a warm welcome, just stay parked right there we will drag a jack out there and put it back on the trailer and put the spare back on the carrier for you.

We like Big O too and have used them when we were out west. Around here Discount Tire is first rate as well.

[Raz]

Because I'm in snow country, shops do tire change overs (snows on, snows off) all the time. Flat rate, balanced is about $12 -$15 per tire. In Michigan I would expect a similar situation. In Texas, not so much. Raz

[stevebaz]

Originally Posted by Bruce H

If you order on line who is going to mount and balance them?

The same tire shop that you would use to patch a flat.
I normally swap them myself. Takes a jack and a couple of tire irons. An hours work at most. Its not like wrestling a 10 ply truck tire. It is a learned by doing skill. I'd rather change a tire than repack bearings.

Where I live we have allot of small one man tire repair shops that work for cash if you want to get by on the cheap and stay clean.

[Bruce H]

My point being that a mount and balance at most tire shops is $20, plus Fed ex or UPS freight gets you up to more than$30 per tire. Then there is the matter of disposing of the old tires. Trash disposal services do not accept tires. Tire shops have to pay a fee per tire to get them sent to a major recycling plant. Your on line savings evaporates.

[Glenn Baglo]

Also difficult to drop in to the vendor's shop for a simple puncture repair.

[RogerDat]

Originally Posted by Glenn Baglo

Also difficult to drop in to the vendor's shop for a simple puncture repair.

One of the arguments for a nation wide chain is warranty and repairs. Plus similar replacements available in the event of a road hazard.

Lot of discussion and views on Loadstar vs Carlisle tires. I think that I am either going to get Loadstar at trailer shop, or the Carlisle's from a tire store I do business with. Price will be the same. $69 each. Loadstar are $60 + Wal-Mart to balance for $9. Tire store has the Carlisle tires for $69 and change out the door.

Neither one is national chain however.

Oh yes tire spoons, been there done that, try to avoid it if possible. Someplace in my shop tools and junk I still have shaving soap and brush I would use to mount motorcycle tires. The shaving lather dried fast so it wouldn't rust rim but still provided some "slippery" to help get the tire bead into place.

[RogerDat]

Well my CRS (Can't Remember Stuff) may have kicked in. The tires on there are Loadstar K550 load range D tires. That is what the trailer shop carries in stock, and they replaced my axle a few years ago. I may have replaced the tires then.


Can't see the date code since it is on the back side under the trailer and no one wanted to slide under trailer in a crushed rock driveway but once it is in the shop they will check the date code, there is a decent chance the tires are still "fresh" enough to use.


Load ranged D when Scamp sells them with B so a definite case of overkill for tires.


Can't wait to get a battery rack welded on the tongue, and hook up the battery, inverter and charging system. Be nice if don't have to buy tires at the same time.

[thrifty bill]

Originally Posted by Bruce H

I rolled a flat trailer tire into the tire shop at Wal-Mart in Deming, New Mexico one morning about three years ago. (after spending the night on their lot waiting for the tire shop to open) They would not fix it because it was a trailer tire.

A short two block drive east to Big O tire and a warm welcome, just stay parked right there we will drag a jack out there and put it back on the trailer and put the spare back on the carrier for you.

It really varies by location. A couple of years ago, I was in Fairbanks, AK with my motorcycle pulling a small cargo trailer. Walmart had the right trailer tires in stock, and mounted them to my trailer wheels for no charge. Manager told me that Walmart corporate told him not to carry 12 inch trailer tires, but he sells a lot of them so he just ignored them.

[Steve Hammel]

Originally Posted by RogerDat

There are a lot of places to purchase trailer tires, I'm thinking I may just buy local but would like to know how much that sentiment will cost me over ordering online.

Also I debate radial or bias ply? I don't put on enough miles to wear out any tire. They can be expected to "age out" which is what the current pair have done.

Considerations:

• I'm probably going between 55 and 62 mph at top speed on the interstate.
• I have to purchase 3 unless I want to rely on a 10 year old spare.
• Might do a max of 5,000 miles in a year and most years under 1,000 miles.
• I'm buying ST tires. Some folks use passenger auto or truck tires. Their rig = their choice. Me I would rather have ST tires.
• 13 inch tires, probably going with load range C even though B is what a 13 ft scamp comes with new.
• I do have brakes which provides another performance and wear characteristic
• Don't recognize 75% of the brands for sale

I see some sources where Radial and Bias are almost the same price and others where the Radial tires are a decent amount more expensive. I'm guessing but a $40 radial tire or a $38 bias ply are probably not high quality. But then not sure if a sub $60 radial is any good either, would expect a bias ply at that price to be decent quality for bias ply.

I've bought several sets from e-trailer. I always get the tires with some type of fancy wheels, use them for a couple years and then sell them locally. e-trailer's prices are so good I've never had trouble selling them for fairly close to what I've paid for them and have the piece of mind knowing I have fairly new tires. Plus the shipping is free, the delivery is quick, no mounting or balancing charges because it is done at their warehouse.