Trailer Tire Replacement - LT Tire Recomendations

[jaxs]

"I was hoping for some specific experiences with a cheap LT tire on a trailer."
Any good experience you hear involving a cheap tire,be it trailer, passenger or LT,will be just that "A TIRE". It will be difficult to find someone that has run dozens of cheap tires along side more expensive tires that had equal service from cheap tires. It's the same thing as Harbor Freight tools. I hear people swearing by Harbor Freight tools but non are professionals or serious diyers. If anyone can tell me where there's a dealership mechanic with a Harbor Freight box full of HF tools,that might temper my opinion. Now that you can tell the age of tires, I'll give you one more plug for Michelin. As you go about daily life,look at weathering and date code on tires. You will soon realize when cheap tires have become chalky and developed cracks,Michelin almost retain's the gloss of new tires. My rigrimore about running used but recently manufactured tires is the best way I know of to have the best of both worlds. How many miles do you put on your trailers per year? If you put 10k miles on tires per year,they are earning enough to justify buying high quality new tires.

 

[Beltzington]

I'm going to eat crow on this post, I looked for a month for a good price/value on both used and new LT tires and most ended up being $100+ per wheel by the time they were mounted and balanced. If I used my trailer more maybe I could justify the greater cost but I rarely use it more than 6x/year and always within 50-miles of home. Ended up finding a well rated ST205/R15 8-ply import tire on sale at Walmart online for $38 each, mounted, high-speed balanced with high pressure stems I was still out the door with 4 new tires for $200.
Thanks for all your inputs.

 

[clemsonfor]

I have freestar trailer tires in 205 75 15 that I ordered from ebay. They are D rated tires. They were $38. I have 4 on my trailer. Last ones were more than that I bought them from amazon 2 years ago. There great tires and barely squat even when my 7000lb trailer has been grossly overloaded.

 

[ModMech]

" The DOT date stamp has been going on long before that, at least several years,"
You are correct. But back then it didn't use the same format and I almost talked about it,then considered highlighting the word always. I wond up saying to myself " Surly if anyone examine's a tire more than 17 years old they will pass on it because of weather checking."

DOT#s on tires date back to AT LEAST 1985, that is the earliest I have decoded myself.

The main difference between Trailer tires and all others is that for any given load rating, they have much stiffer sidewalls. In many cases, two plys stiffer than the same rated non trailer tire. "LT" or Light Truck tires are *acceptable* substitutes for Trailer Service tires in most states, including Texas, but "P" Passenger ARE NOT, NO MATTER THE WEIGHT RATINGS of the trailer or tire(s)!

 

[JIGBUILDER]

All ST tires have a speed rating which was limited to 65 mph per industry standards. The new generation ST tires like Provider/Carlisle HD/Goodyears new Endurance which replaces the problematic Marathon and others have L and M speed ratings......some brands are still stuck with 65 mph speed ratings.

All types of lighter weight trailers come OEM with P tires. However fed regs require its load rating to be reduced by dividing its capacity by 1.1 . Even Domani by Carriage had a 11500 GVWR tandem 5200 lb axle 5th wheel RV trailer came with a optional P275/50-20" Goodyears Fortera tires with beautiful American Racing 20" X 10" wide wheels.

ST tires have the same sidewall plies as a LT tire which is generally two plies....and they both have the same CFR 571 FMVSS BEAD UNSEATING RESISTANCE tests. At one time tire dealers had cutaway section of their different tire lines and types. St tire sections were very thin/soft/flexy compared to to the same size LT tire. Tire weight is another indicator ie; ST235/80-16 E at 35-38 lbs depending on brand vs a Michelin XPS Rib LT235/85-16 E at 58 lbs.

ST tires do have a higher load rating per comparable size LT........ST235/80-16 E at 3400-3500 lbs capacity vs LT235/85-16 E at 3042 lbs capacity.

A little late to help the OP but may help some 15" tire users but most major LT tire makers have a LT235/75-15 C load range at 1985 lbs.....and Goodyear Wrangler HT in a LT215/85-15 D at 2095 lbs capacity.
Goodyear also markets a Cargo G26 in a 185/70R15c load D tires at 1985 lbs.....and a 225/70R15c load D tie at 2470 lbs capacity. The c after the tire diameter designates a euro commercial tire used on vans/trailers/utility trucks/etc.
OP didn't give his trailers axles sizes so its hard to be specific.
JIM

 

[ultrarunner]

I have to go passenger to get the load rating in my 14" size... they are specific to the VW Bus specifications of yesteryear...

 

[Garandman]

We bought Kenda Karrier radials for a boat trailer. 1,000 mile highway trip, no problem.

Kenda Tires | Turf / Trailer / Specialty | Find a Tire

 

[clemsonfor]

I have been buying Freestar tires from amain st205 75 15. Think the last 2 were $38 shipped to my door.

 

[katoomed00]

Personally I will never go back to a LT tire on my trailers. Had a fairly new one and other 3 tires were older ST on a dump trailer loaded with asphalt, it blew going about 65 mph on the hwy. God was with me, I thought that I was going to loose the truck and trailer. After doing some research on trailer tire, LT tires are not designed for the side load stress during turning (especially on a tandem). I'm not saying that's the reason the tire blew, just for a piece of mind I won't use a LT tire, unless I'm in a bind. From what I read radials and bias ply are best suited for different uses. Also LTs are more expensive.

Radial vs. Bias Ply Trailer Tires (What's The Difference?) - Recstuff.com

 

[downsizingnow48]

I currently have a Load Trail dump trailer and a Big Tex equipment trailer. Before that I had a PJ equipment trailer. For all three, the owner's manual and tire safety booklet just says, ST tires are for trailers only, LT tires can be used on either light trucks or trailers. They do not make a recommendation of any kind on ST vs LT. My conclusion is that the choice has no significance from a safety or operational point of view. Otherwise, these three major trailer manufacturers would surely have something to say about it. By contrast, they have a lot to say on many other aspects of tire safety.