Trailer Tire facts info

[Ken C]

Just passing along Good trailer tire info Here

[Roy in TO]

I learnt a few things reading it. Especially the comments on LT tires for trailers not being suitable for trucks and ST tires only rated to 65 MPH

[Raya]

I wonder if the 65 mph limit is true for radial trailer tires? I'm far from an expert, but it looked as though that article was (only) talking about bias-ply trailer tires? I see that there are also radial ST tires

[Martin D]

All ST trailer rated tires have maximum speed factor of 65 mph - radial or bias is the same.

Martin

[Bruce H]

I agree with the part about the tires getting weaker with age. However I have some doubts that trailer tires are subjected to less stress than drive or steering axle tires. That may be the case on single axle trailers but tandem (two axle) trailers subject the tires to a tremendous amount of stress when turning corners during normal operation. Sharper turns cause more sideways pressure on the tires, especially if they encounter pot holes or brush against a curb during the turn. It follows that a wider turn is easier on the trailer tires. If the internal steel or polyester belting has been slightly torn or loosened it will most likely not be visually apparent. I will venture a somewhat educated guess that 80 or 90% of trailer tire failures are because the tire was weakened significantly by damage during turning. Then a few hundred miles down the road on a strait highway at high speed the tire comes apart. Your best strategy to avoid trouble is to purchase new tires that have never been on the ground, keep them at maximum inflation and be acutely aware of what you subject them to during cornering.

[Pete Dumbleton]

I believe the turning stresses on multi-axle trailers is different from those of tow vehicle wheels -- There is a trade-off of sorts between ST on one end, LT in the middle and P-radials on the other end.

ST designation applies to radial and bias-ply and is a tire industry standard, as is LT.

Here's more information from a Goodyear Tire PDF about STs and speed:

QUOTE
IMPORTANT OPERATING INFORMATION
Industry standards dictate that tires with the ST (Special Trailer) designation are speed restricted to 65 mph under
normal inflation and load conditions, unless a different speed restriction is indicated on the sidewall of the tire.
Based on industry standards, if tires with the ST designation are used at speeds between 66 and 75 mph, it is
necessary to increase the cold inflation pressures by 10 psi above the recommended pressure for the load.
• Do not exceed the maximum pressure for the wheel.
• If the maximum pressure for the wheel prohibits the increase of air pressure, then the maximum speed must be
restricted to 65 mph.
• The cold inflation pressure must not exceed 10 psi beyond the inflation specified for the maximum load of the tire.
END QUOTE

Pete

[Booker B.]

Excellent trailer tire information. I wonder if a moderator could add a copy to the site documents section.

[Pete Dumbleton]

Here ya go, Booker!


Over-pressure info -- Download from here:

http://www.goodyear.com/rv/products/marathon.html


Load and Inflation Tables are found here:

http://www.goodyear.com/rv/tirecare/...iontables.html

[Donna D.]

Excellent trailer tire information. I wonder if a moderator could add a copy to the site documents section.

We're on it! Good suggestion

[Jim Hovind]

I just has Discount tire put new tires on the 25' trailer I just sold.
I had taken the tires off the trailer in the shop and brought the rims in to have the tires mounted. I installed the rim/tires back on the trailer in my shop..
The buyer picked up the trailer in the evening and left.
The next day I found a trail of wheel weights to the road.

I have had other bad experiences there also, so I wounder how accurate their information is. I would go to the tire manufactureer and use their information.

On the Burro we had new tires put on at a shop that does big truck tires, and I not sure what brand they are but the Burro has never pulled so smooth, have over 10,000 miles and the trailer still pulles smooth.

jim h

[Ken J]

Wondering if anyone is using LT tires on their trailers?

[Pete Dumbleton]

A number of the BulgeMobile trailer owners use them -- One problem is that they aren't generally available in the smaller sizes, even for my Ranger pickup truck.

[Bill MacDermod]

If you go to either Casita forum search for tires you will find many articles on everyones prefernce to either Kuhmo or Maxxis commercial light truck tires that are "D" rated and also 8 ply rated. The Kuhmo's are not stocked in the USA anymore and the Maxxis are hard to find because the 14" rims are no longer being put on the mini pickups. I have used light truck tires on my Casita when I could find them and light truck tires are perfectly acceptable to use on a SINGLE AXLE trailer, reason being that the single axle trailers job is to haul the weight of the trailer just as they do on a truck, they are not fighting for position rounding corners like multi axle trailers have to. If you can get away with putting 15" wheels on your trailer the tires may be easiers to find

[Raya]

I have not checked into this specifically for trailer tires, but I've had good luck with the online www.tirerack.com They have lots of information on the site, and I was able to source hard-to-find tires for my car there. They have arrangements with a large number of local tire places, so you can choose to have them drop-shipped to a local place for installation.

I've since learned how to check the date of manufacture, but even when I ordered from Tire Rack I knew that it was important not to get "old" new tires, since the rubber deteriorates with time. Tire Rack does a large volume of business, so one probably stands a good chance of getting "fresh" rubber through them.

No affiliation; just a good customer experience.

Raya

[Ken C]

tirerack, good to know thanks for sharing. I have read good reports from other forums about www.trailertiresandwheels.com for anyone tire shopping. I have personally used www.tiresunlimited.com and had good customer service. I had a return on riding mower tires that went fine.

[Steve C.]

All ST trailer rated tires have maximum speed factor of 65 mph - radial or bias is the same.

Martin

Not true of all trailer tires, Cooper Custom Trailer Plus tires have a 113 S rating, which is 1150kg and 112 mph. They are only available in ST225/75R15 load range D, and are the tires I currently run on my Bigfoot.
http://www.coopertires.com/html/products/s...&sorttype=T

Steve.

[Roy in TO]

Wondering if anyone is using LT tires on their trailers?

My 12" Carlisle's say they replace an LT. Does that count?

I remember commenting that I'd like to see the truck they were originally designed for.