Trailer Tires Only???

   / Trailer Tires Only??? #1  

Chuck_Lind

Gold Member
Joined
Mar 21, 2004
Messages
355
Location
Mahaffey, Pa.
Tractor
2000 New Holland TN65 & 1956 John Deere 50
Why do they make tires for "Trailer use only"?

What is different about their design, if any?
 
   / Trailer Tires Only??? #2  
I would not bother with trailer tires, I have been bitten twice. After reading TBN every day I learned that trailer tires do not meet dot approval for vehicles or something like that. I am sure someone will correct me. They are not built to the standards of vehicle tires, so they are inferior. I will only put truck tires on my trailer now. You will see they are about the same price, hold more weight, and better built.

Chris
Chris
 
   / Trailer Tires Only??? #3  
Sopposedly (sp) ST tires have more carbon black to reduce sidewall cracking from ozone damage and different sidewalls to help or reduce damage from sharp turns if mounted in pairs or triple. It is up to the manufactuer to rate them. They are not approved for use on anything but trailers. Many dissagree but i buy LT tires which are DOT approved for motor vehicles and trailers.
 
   / Trailer Tires Only???
  • Thread Starter
#4  
So...does this mean that if I have a set of Michelin radial tires for my car, the longevity and performance of the Michelin's would greatly outweigh any standard trailer tire??

Rather confusing. I thought the reason for "trailer-only" tires was that trailer tires cannot handle forward acceleration...like in a front wheel or rear wheel drive car/truck. The trailer tires just support the weight and that's all?

Hope an expert in this field can weigh-in some facts.
 
   / Trailer Tires Only??? #5  
I am no expert on trailer tires, but I have had to replace a few on my boat trailer over the years (mostly due to sidewall UV rot). I believe that the real difference with trailer tires is how they are biased/reinforced. It is my understanding that diagonal bias tires (fabric) have the same number of plies on the sidewalls as on the tread area, belted bias have diagonally biased fabric plies plus extra plies in a belt on the tread area, and radial tires have one ply wrapped around the body of the tire plus two layers in a belt around the tread area. I believe the reasoning for this construction is to stiffen the sidewalls for better "tracking". Jay
 
   / Trailer Tires Only??? #6  
Here is some info-
http://www.championtrailers.com/tire_art.html

FWIW at the bottom they sum it up with "For trailer application, it is essential that you select the correct tires to match your application and capacity requirements. (ST) Special Trailer tires are normally more expensive than (P) Passenger car or (LT) Light Truck tires because they are built tougher with more material and are more bruise resistant. This is necessary because most trailer suspension systems are stiffer and less sophisticated than automotive suspension systems. Consequently the tires must be capable of withstanding more ABUSE."
 
   / Trailer Tires Only??? #7  
i wont have a Radial tire whether it be a ST/P/LT or antying else for that matter on my trailers. I will only run bias ply tires int he correct load range or one higher than it needs. i dont think a radial handles the tire scrub near as well as a biad tire does. i think that is what leads to the tread peeling off of radials. make some sharp turns and you can see the tires scrub. Add some more weight and that tire scrub is amplified. Can you imagine what it is doing to the steel belts in the tread area?? pulling and twisting them?? no thanks. the fabric ply's are better suited to handle that type of stress. will i get less miles out of them?? maybe/probably but i would ranther replace tires than repair fenders from the tread peeling off. utility fenders not too bad but you take a RV that has has the tread peel off. you got all kinds of stuff messed up and some expensive repair bills.

Bias Ply Tires all the way :D :D :D
 
   / Trailer Tires Only??? #8  
To each his own- but I've never had a problem with the radials on my 99 toy hauler trailer, grossing around 7-8K usually, got probably 10,000 miles on it now with original Goodyear Radial Marathons...:cool:
 
   / Trailer Tires Only??? #9  
I pull a small single axle tool trailer 30,000 to 40,000 miles a year 2500# total. In the last 10 years I have tried most tires Discount Tire sells. The trailer tires come apeart at 9 to 12000 miles. I now use one of there House brand LT tires and get better than 30,000 miles with no problems. Have never had one come apart .
 
   / Trailer Tires Only??? #10  
Skyco said:
To each his own- but I've never had a problem with the radials on my 99 toy hauler trailer, grossing around 7-8K usually, got probably 10,000 miles on it now with original Goodyear Radial Marathons...:cool:

is it kept indoors our out when not in use?? I had 2 marathons shed their tread in less then a year when we bought our 5er. it was brand new and so were the tires. fortuanly for us the damage to the trailer was covered. i could have bought several sets of tires for what was charged for repairs. i have had bias ply's on there since. i mean im not saying that bias plys wont blow out or anything but i have had one bias ply blow on me in the 5er but when it did it completely shredded and didnt keep slapping the crap out of the trailer. the damages were nothing like what the radials caused.

but like you said to each their own :D :D there are many of many stock trailers round these parts that im sure most have LT truck tires because that is what came off of the truck when they put new tires on the truck sorta passed down to do trailer duty till completely gone. nothing wrong with that either
 
 
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