Trailer tires
- Thread starter blue09dmaxx
- Start date
We run maxxis on our Gearbox 30' toyhauler and Pace 30'. Great tires so far. Lots of trips into the desert.
I also switched my trailers out to truck tires. Tired of slinging the treads off and destroying fenders.
I run 8ply on my 15's and 10ply on my 16's. House brand from my wholesale shop down in Houston.
Zero blow outs on the toy hauler in 3 years, knock on wood!
I park my stuff up on wood blocks to keep the tires from sitting in moisture. The belts in a radial will rust over time if you leave it sitting down in the dirt/moisture and it will sling a tread guaranteed.
The trailer tires have a stiffer side wall, tows better. We used to run truck tires on all of our utility trailers, but on the big stuff we run trailer rated tires.
Hell, if your serious you can get like 14 ply like we use on the cattle trailers. You will burn the tread off before they blow! Crazy tough!
Zero blow outs on the toy hauler in 3 years, knock on wood!
I park my stuff up on wood blocks to keep the tires from sitting in moisture. The belts in a radial will rust over time if you leave it sitting down in the dirt/moisture and it will sling a tread guaranteed.
The trailer tires have a stiffer side wall, tows better. We used to run truck tires on all of our utility trailers, but on the big stuff we run trailer rated tires.
Hell, if your serious you can get like 14 ply like we use on the cattle trailers. You will burn the tread off before they blow! Crazy tough!
Get g rated tires, over at rv.net is a good place to look. LT tires are 3000 lb vs st at 3700, but to run g you need rims rated for 110 psi. 17.5 inch rims and tires are the way to go as I am almost ready to do this after lots of research...
Maxxis is good, I had them on my older fifth wheel for many years and miles, never a problem. Whatever tires you get, have metal stems installed and balance them....
Sad when this is how most people determine a "good" trailer tire. Nothing against you just shows how crappy they are.
For 16" I run Michelin XPS Ribs because they are all steel and wear forever. Otherwise I'll convert to 17.5 and run XZE2's.
However this is a boat trailer, doesn't see near the weight or miles of a cattle trailer or flatbed. Maxxis is decent. All trailer tires suck though.
My boat trailer probably sees more miles than most traikers getting 600 a weekend usually
For a boat trailer, I'd just keep an eye out for used truck tires, maybe 2-3 years old tops. Find a popular size in the 15" rim dia.
More than most boat trailers. Easy miles though, guessing its highway if your driving that far. No twisting and turning which is the issue we run into especially on the tri axle cattle trailers. We do not get 6 months out of ST 235/80R16's on that trailer. We quit running ST's many years ago due to those issues but these came new on the trailer. Ordering a new flatbed now and tempted to just order it without tires since they dont have any decent options.
Tire size is simple with the ISO code. Example LT265/75R16.
LT= Optional Indicator (Light Truck in this case)
265= Section Width in millimeters (not tread width)
75= Aspect ratio/Profile
R= Radial Construction
16= Rim size in Inches
Other indicators may include ST (Special Trailer) and P (Passenger). Its important to note that these tires are constructed and rated differently. Most trailer tires are all fabric, no steel and are not designed to withstand the forces of being in a drive position. This allows them to be built lighter and is part of the reason why an ST tire rated at 3400lbs is cheaper, doesn't last long and often fails when compared to an LT tire rated at the same weight.
Bias constructed tires will have a dash or "x" usually in place of the R. Bias is almost non existant for passenger tires except for some boggers and such. Some trailer tires are still bias though.
To figure the dimensions of a tire you just use simple algebra. Knowing theres 25.4mm in an Inch.
Same example as above, 265/75R16. Theoretically the tire is about 10.5" wide. This is not exact though and the section width does differ from the tread width. Tread width is generally narrower. You will see some big variances in tread width within the same section width across brands and models. One example is comparing something like an XDN2 Michelin to many other truck tires. You can see well over an inch difference compared to many tires. Wider tread is not always good though, it can increase rolling resistance (XDN2 has one of the worst RR ratings) which increases fuel useage.
Anyways the section width of the tire will give you an idea of how wide the tire is, but the manufacturers data book will tell you more, yet nothing will be as accurate as in person measurement. ISO Metric section width/25.4= Section width in inches. 265/25.4=10.4"
The height is simple as well. Just basic algebra.
265 is the width. 75 is the aspect ratio which tells you the height of the sidewall in relation to the section width. An aspect ratio of 75 means the sidewall is 75% of the section width. 265*0.75= 199mm. Multiply by two since you are looking for the diameter and there are two sidewalls that make up the diameter. Divide this by 25.4 to get the measurement in inches.
The rim is easy, its inches, just add it to the dimension you get above and viola the theoretical tire height. Many tires will vary slightly, but usually are pretty close. Tread depth will play a role though. Remember on trailer tires deep tread is not always the best, it causes the tire to heat up and lot, squirm and wear unevenly.
The info above in an equation.
2(SW*AR)/25.4+RD=TD
SW=Section Width
AR= Aspect Ratio
RD=Rim Diameter
TD= Tire Diameter.
2(265*0.75)/25.4+16=31.65"
If it wasn't for having a Fleet account with Michelin I think I would consider others as they are painfully expensive, but the fleet price is great.
Used truck tires are good, they will wear like iron.
If the OP didn't know how to tell age, read the DOT code on the tire. One side will have the date code at the very end. The first two numbers are the week of the year (01-52) the next numbers are the year (2010=10,2013=13 etc)
You wont find LT's in that size.