Trailer Tires Only???

[Chuck_Lind]

Why do they make tires for "Trailer use only"?

What is different about their design, if any?

 

[Diamondpilot]

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

 

[Jimbrown]

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.

 

[Chuck_Lind]

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.

 

[jbrumberg]

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

 

[Skyco]

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."

 

[Mahana79]

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

 

[Skyco]

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...

 

[travis potter]

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 .

 

[Mahana79]

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...

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 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

 

[john_bud]

There are a lot of opinions on this! I am one that goes with the P on small trailers and LT's on big trailers and not the ST's. If you think about the abuse a front wheel drive car puts on a tire with scrub going into corners, acceleration, deceleration, pot-holes,etc and they just don't fail. They wear out and sometimes go flat, but they last and last.

Trailer tires on the other hand seem to fall apart at a far greater rate and to fail in a catastrophic manor.

As they say, to each his own.

 

[Skyco]

Goodyear did have bad run of Marathons a few years back. I understand they were pretty good about replacing them and paying for damage from them. To answer Mahana79's question my toy hauler is kept under a shed, so not completely in or out My big fear right now is my all aluminum Featherlite enclosed trailer- it came with Carlisles which have a horrible reputation. I mentioned in another thread that I was at a huge trailer parts distributor and asked what tire they had the least complaints on- the guy stated they ALL have been crap off and on lately!
I sure wish Michelin made trailer tires- they are my preferred brand on everything else with 4 wheels, run Metzlers on my bike

 

[Dougster]

Why do they make tires for "Trailer use only"? What is different about their design, if any?

Lord knows I don't have all the answers... but I think a lot of this P vs. LT vs. ST tire preference among trailer owners depends an awful lot on what we're talking about for a trailer. I don't think there is any way you can compare a light equipment or landscape trailer to one hauling around 10,000, 12,000, 14,000 lbs of tractor or gravel at a time. Biggest problem I see with trailer tires these days is that they are almost all made in China. I'm also confused about why some trailer-only tires (such as the famous Goodyear G614 RST) carry an "LT" designation. In any case, there are plenty of horror stories to be found out there with every brand and type. Plus I ran into that puzzling situation recently where my local tire dealers would only mount ST-designated tires on my two 10K trailers. Liability issues I guessed.

Dougster

 

[redlinefever]

This is interesting. We have a car hauler we use for our racing, tractor hauling and of course when one of our vehicles break down.

I just replaced the tires with ST Towhandlers and I noticed that they deflect alot on the sidewalls. For a 6-ply radial they should not have that much outward bow when carrying a tractor or a car, should they? Or am I just worrying for nothing? I'll be very upset if I have another blow-out.

After reading this, I knew I should have went with LT tires instead of ST! But alas, all that reading up on the tires and heat ranges and load capabilities was a waste I am afraid. I guess time will tell how well the ST radials last.

 

[TX48]

Hi Guys, This is my first post, but I have been lurking for months. I purchased a TC-30 w/FEL, box blade, and brushhog and I enjoy this tractor immensly. anyway, about trailer tires, I have an 18ft with MH axles and bought replacement tires on the internet. I also have a 2 horse trailer that I put marathons on from Walmart. They told me they are not allowed to mount truck tires on trailers anymore. He said that they had lots of problems with the tires tearing up and they will no longer mount them on trailers. Later, John

P.S. This is a huge site to learn many, many things from. I have learned tons of stuff very quickly and just wanted to say you guys know your stuff and I for 1 appreciate yall and your site.

 

[Chuck_Lind]

Hi Guys, This is my first post, but I have been lurking for months. I purchased a TC-30 w/FEL, box blade, and brushhog and I enjoy this tractor immensly. anyway, about trailer tires, I have an 18ft with MH axles and bought replacement tires on the internet. I also have a 2 horse trailer that I put marathons on from Walmart. They told me they are not allowed to mount truck tires on trailers anymore. He said that they had lots of problems with the tires tearing up and they will no longer mount them on trailers. Later, John

P.S. This is a huge site to learn many, many things from. I have learned tons of stuff very quickly and just wanted to say you guys know your stuff and I for 1 appreciate yall and your site.

This has turned out to be a very informative and interesting thread. One has to wonder why a car or truck tire - specifically radial tires - are not interchangeable. It would seem logical that a light radial truck tire would be subject to more abuse than a trailer tire. The trailer tire "just goes along for the ride, supporting its weight".

I really doubt that ANY of the tire manufacturers would give us an honest answer; simply because they want to sell trailer tires for trailers and car/truck tires for the rest of motorized vehicles.

Let's see if any tire manufacturer employees could chime in.

 

[jayhaitch]

I really doubt that ANY of the tire manufacturers would give us an honest answer; simply because they want to sell trailer tires for trailers and car/truck tires for the rest of motorized vehicles.

Yet, wouldn't they prefer selling larger numbers of more expensive tires? I'm assuming a more expensive tire has more profit margin built in. If so, you'd think major tire manufacturers would love for most people to install high quality LT tires on all trailers, and leave the Chinese junk (truly, no pun intended....) to those few who want to buy cheap, junk. Is there an enormous profit margin on ST tires? Is it another "scared of the lawyers" thing?

Maybe we TBN'ers are the minority, actually wanting to pay more for high quality. Sad commentary on the state of the world methinks..........

 

[Dougster]

Yet, wouldn't they prefer selling larger numbers of more expensive tires? I'm assuming a more expensive tire has more profit margin built in. If so, you'd think major tire manufacturers would love for most people to install high quality LT tires on all trailers, and leave the Chinese junk (truly, no pun intended....) to those few who want to buy cheap, junk. Is there an enormous profit margin on ST tires? Is it another "scared of the lawyers" thing? Maybe we TBN'ers are the minority, actually wanting to pay more for high quality. Sad commentary on the state of the world methinks..........

I think you are forgetting that the way the tire companies make the most money is by having their tires made overseas in China... but then still charging full American tire prices.

Dougster

 

[Ductape]

Hi Guys, This is my first post, but I have been lurking for months. I purchased a TC-30 w/FEL, box blade, and brushhog and I enjoy this tractor immensly. anyway, about trailer tires, I have an 18ft with MH axles and bought replacement tires on the internet. I also have a 2 horse trailer that I put marathons on from Walmart. They told me they are not allowed to mount truck tires on trailers anymore. He said that they had lots of problems with the tires tearing up and they will no longer mount them on trailers. Later, John

I have run into BS like this lately also. I've had several tire stores.... or should i say, stores that sell tires(?) ..... tell me lately that if the vin tag in my door jamb did not list the exact size tire i was attempting to purchase, they would not sell me, nor install the tire on my pickup. Can you believe the market they are giving up? How many people out there want a larger rim with a lower profile tire?? I guess i'm just fortunate that i buy whatever i want and bring them to my friends garage and use his tire machine and balancer to mount & balance the wrong tires for my truck. I switched from a 235/85R16 on my F-350 to a 285/75R16.

 

[TwinWillows]

I have a 16ft 2 axle utility trailer that came w/P tires. On a trip this past weekend one blew out after hitting a chunk of metal about 300 miles from home I could not swerve to miss. I put the spare on the ground & went off in search of a new tire for the blown one.

We went to Sears Auto & they refused to put a P tire on my rim since it was for trailer use. Then they told me it'd be 3 days till they could get a ST tire in. Not at all helpful. Ended up going to Sams & believing they'd have the same position took the rim/tire in with me. After a lot of messing around they finally agreed that since they did not know what I'd put the wheel onto they could go ahead & install a P tire.

I'm not sure what the message in all that was other than possibly I need to carry 2 spares? We were far from home & I had no idea what places nearby carried ST tires & did not want to continue on w/o a spare. Fortunately the remaining 900 miles went by fine w/no more blowouts or metal chunks.

Since then I've been told that the Box stores have all kinds of "legal" rules regarding P tires for vehicles only & ST for trailers. The part that's not helpful is neither place stocked any ST tires. Go figure!!