Any Consensus on Trailer Tire Brands???

[Mahana79]

FWIW i run G load bias ply tires (various brands most of which are probably chinese) on all my trailers. i am probably one of very few that still perfer bias ply tires on trailers. they may wear faster but i have found that they are less expensive than radials. i think with any trailer tire it isnt a matter of if you have a blowout it is when. a radial will tear all sorts of stuff up. a bias ply tire will rip to shreds and not do nearly as much damage to fenders and undersides. Also, you dont see the belt seperation caused by tire scrub in bias ply tires like you do with radials. Those are the 3 main reasons I still use Bias trailer tires.

 

[Skyco]

Dang it! Made a run to the dump with a few hundred pounds of junk in my 14K dump trailer today. Noticed a severe vibration on the way back...sure enough another Chinese made Load Boss G rated 235x16 tire has developed a huge bulge, out of round about 1/2 inch That makes 2 out of 5. I really didn't want to spend the next few days hunting down trailer tires and emptying my wallet....

 

[em14]

This Chinese Garbage has got to stop ... did you all see where the Aussies found toys imported from China which contained traces of "date rape" drug!
It's a daily occurrence with their goods being found with something bad and seemingly nothing being done about it.
Leo

 

[WTA]

I've got a big three horse, all steel, horse trailer that weighs about 12,000 pounds loaded. I run the same tires I have on my truck on it. Same size too. They are michelins. It's the only brand I trust next to BFG but BFG doesn't have my size and tread that I like.
Trailer tires go bad a lot from sitting in the sun. It does do harm to the sidewalls. I have an old set of firestone radials on my disc plow out back and I keep them aired up but last week when I was walking by it one of them just exploded while it was sitting there. It only had 32 PSI in it. Age and the sun do take their toll on tires.

For trailers get something like canvas covers made to keep the sun off. It's amazing what good it will do. If you haul animals replace them regardless every 5 years at least. Judging from what I learned as a mechanic for several years and from personal experience 5 years is a long time on horse trailer tires. My neighbor blew all 4 of his on a trip to california this summer and they were only 4 years old. 3 times he had to call AAA to come get him.

That is why on my horse trailer I have the same tires and wheels as on my truck. I have two spares at all times that I can use on either.

The most important thing with tires is to check the inflation pressures often. Probably more than 80% of tire failures are due to underinflation. I'd bet another 10% is overinflation and the other 10% is road hazards.
Too little air is the worst thing you can do to a tire. The door sticker on your car tells the correct air pressure. It's on most new trailers somewhere too. NEVER inflate tires to the pressure marked on the sidewall. That is maximum and that's all. Not the recommended inflation pressure. That's what your door sticker is for.

 

[Skyco]

Problem is AFAIK nobody makes a G rated truck tire I could use on the trailer and darn few people make a trailer tire at that spec. The trailer can gross 14,400 lbs and runs tires rated at 3750 lbs each. BTW the recommended inflation on those tires and the maximum sidewall rating are the same - 110PSI
The tires and the trailer in this case are only about 2 years old, so aging isn't a factor.

 

[Skyco]

Well I just dropped off 4 rims to get Michelin XPS Rib tires put on for my dump trailer. I'll lose a ton of capacity thoeretically but I've had it with the Chinese Trailer tires. I was even considering the Goodyear G614s but read where they even come from China now The Michelins aren't inexpensive, a little over a $1K for 4 eek which kinda stinks on a trailer worth maybe $4k now but what ya gonna do

 

[JDeereman]

I believe those expensive Goodyears are still US made. Who is saying they are made in China?

Theo

 

[Skyco]

Have turned up the China thing on several RV boards in a search. May or may not be true but I had my fill of Goodyear a few years back with their Wrangler tires on my pickup. At the time Goodyear couldn't make a round one, went through a bunch before Sears swapped them for Michelins, vibration problem solved.

 

[Skyco]

Went to pick up my Michelin XPS Ribs and found the dealer hadn't balanced them. Asked why and they said they don't balance trailer tires, it isn't necessary
I asked them to anyway and found one of them took 4 ounces to balance, one 3 ounces and all took some
Anyway went for a test spin after getting them home and WOW was the trailer ever smooth
BTW the XPS Ribs were made in the United Kingdom, kinda funny to me since Michelin has a number of tire plants in SC, one just a few miles from my home and the tires came from the UK. I have a Goodyear Marathon spare for one of my other trailers and it is from Austria!

 

[Renze]

Wow!!! That is one interesting tire!!! An "LT" tire specifically made for trailers that runs at 110 psi... Hmmmm.

All I can say is that I'll ask about it first thing tomorrow! Thanks!

Dougster

Before you put these tires on your rims tomorrow, please check the load rating, and max. approved inflation of your RIMS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Even if a certain tire size can take the higher inflation, your rims must be suited to take the pressure....