Car Tires on Utility Trailer

[oldyellr]

There are plenty of radial trailer tires?

Is that a question or a statement?

Here is a piece explaining the pros and cons of radial trailer tires. There are more pros and it contradicts what another poster said about radials being prone to sway.

 

[simplemike]

They will work fine my trailer came with them on it when it was new, still on there now 15 years later. For the notion of all the sidewall stress look at the side load a front wheel drive car puts on the front tires turning and breaking.

Mike

 

[mikehaugen]

Not legal up here. We have run LT tires on our trailer in the past, but now require a trailer tire.

That doesn't mean people don't do it. It may not even be intentional, many people don't know any better and don't always go to tire shops to get tire mounted.

 

[WilliamBos]

That doesn't mean people don't do it. It may not even be intentional, many people don't know any better and don't always go to tire shops to get tire mounted.

Tire shops won't sell anything but trailer tires for trailers. Also, the MTO. Does regular inspections, and the OPP are diligent in pulling trailers over to inspect them. If you do it, you truly have more money than brains, as you will be csught and fined. Also, if you have a commercial sticker on your trailer, it WILL NOT pass inspection with out trailer tires.


Bottom line...IGNORANCE is no excuse.

 

[oldyellr]

Tire shops won't sell anything but trailer tires for trailers. Also, the MTO. Does regular inspections, and the OPP are diligent in pulling trailers over to inspect them. If you do it, you truly have more money than brains, as you will be csught and fined. Also, if you have a commercial sticker on your trailer, it WILL NOT pass inspection with out trailer tires.


Bottom line...IGNORANCE is no excuse.

Call me ignorant, I guess. While my last home-made utility trailer had trailer tires (it was a converted small boat trailer), they were very old and cracked. Fortunately, I never found out they were no good the hard way because loading a yard of gravel into it broke its rusted-out back. However, I have a boat on a home-made trailer I haven't used in over 10 years that has car tires on it, one 14" and one 15" even! Also, I see home-made utility trailers every day with car tires hauling push mowers, snow blowers or furniture. Okay, not many of these trailers venture on major freeways for more than one exit and I don't see the MTO going to troll back roads to make a bust.

 

[mikehaugen]

around here the state police are the only ones that seem to know anything about trailer. My BIL is a county sheriff and I was talking to him and he didn't even know what the different classes of trailer plates meant. Even a state trooper is really only going to go through the effort of inspecting a trailer for commercial guys. I once was pulling a 28' enclosed car trailer that I know was overloaded- you could tell the tires were almost rubbing the fenders. I got on the tollway for about 15 miles and got a flat about 3 miles into it (wonder why). A d.o.t. truck pulled up behind me and escorted me to an exit on 3 wheels just so I would be off the interstate. Never once mentioned anything about weight or condition of anything- didn't even get out of his truck. I walked up to him when he pulled up behind me and he turned on his lights to caution others.

 

[clemsonfor]

Is that a question or a statement?

Here is a piece explaining the pros and cons of radial trailer tires. There are more pros and it contradicts what another poster said about radials being prone to sway.

It was a statement with inflection in my voice repeating you with a tone like, what?

They make radial tires, if i bought trailer tires for things they would be radials, there made. I dont have anything against biased though i have a set on my other boat trailer.

To make my point, my small 4x8 utility trailer has RADIAL ST trailer tires on it that came new on it. They are also i think the same 13" tire size the op has.

 

[Diamondpilot]

Most people love the bias tires over radials, less sway and longer tread life.
Sometimes "new and improved" isn't always better.

Brian

Who are these people? You could not give me a bias tire. I am in the trailer business, part time, and take care of them or a living, part time. About 75 trailers a year. My experience has been overall the Radials out perform the bias.

Chris

 

[Diamondpilot]

That might depend on the number of plies.

I guess most people here were not born when bias ply tires were standard in North America and only sports car owners sought out radials. Radials were superior because of their better road-holding, precise steering, better fuel economy and they weren't squirrelly over streetcar tracks. Nowadays you mostly see bias ply tires on trailers. Since you can't feel a trailer tire going down right away like you can a tire on the vehicle you're driving, trailer tires take a lot of abuse. They need to be of much tougher construction, more plies. I have do doubt a radial tire made for trailer use would be superior, but it would cost a lot more. Bias trailer tires cost more than car tires as it is, so there wouldn't be much of a market for radial trailer tires.

This must be a regional thing. For example a 225 Bias 8 ply is about $65 around here when a Radial is $90. I am in the trailer business and I would say 80% of the trailers I see have either 205R. 225R. or 235R (R=raidial) tires on them new from the factory. Bias is much less desirable and I will not deal in them anymore. They do not hold up to the highway towing we do. Maybe a bias might be better for off road or gravel and dirt operations but they are by no way more popular by a long shot.

Chris

 

[clemsonfor]

Yep DP, my bias boat trialer tires flat size and blump blump blump down the raod till they warm up. The radials, turn smooth like the second they were first mounted.