Which trailer to buy?

JimR · Nov 17, 2019

aczlan said:
They MIGHT be. They make that style wheel and tire in a "trailer" non-mobile home trailer tire as well as in a mobile home rated tire.
Here is a Kenda Load Range G in that size for a "trailer tire" (ie: not a mobile home tire): Kenda 8-14.5LT Bias Trailer Tire - Load Range G Kenda Tires and Wheels AM1�289

Here is the same size and rating Kenda Load Range G "Mobile Home" tire: Kenda K391M Mobile Home Tire - 8-14.5MH - Load Range G Kenda Tires and Wheels AM1�327

Aaron Z

Thanks Aaron for those links. Anyone reading this and looking at the tire links will notice the MH after the tire size which means Mobil Home and the LT after the trailer size for Light Truck/Trailer. Here are some more pictures of the tires, axles and backing plates on my trailer. The backing plates are held on by five studs, I think. I wasn't laying down on the ground to make sure. The axles are sprung in the center for wheel camber. Aaron ?? for you. Are the 7-14.5 and 8-14.5 mounted on the same width rims? I have 7-14.5's on my rims. I found where the 8-14.5's are one inch taller. My guess is that the tires are the same width. I can't seem to find any information on rim sizes for these tires.. I'll keep looking though. My ramps have an added section 2 feet longer than standard. They are 6 feet long total. They will be getting the helper springs added to them for easier lifting.

fried1765 · Nov 17, 2019

aczlan said:
They MIGHT be. They make that style wheel and tire in a "trailer" non-mobile home trailer tire as well as in a mobile home rated tire.
Here is a Kenda Load Range G in that size for a "trailer tire" (ie: not a mobile home tire): Kenda 8-14.5LT Bias Trailer Tire - Load Range G Kenda Tires and Wheels AM1289

Here is the same size and rating Kenda Load Range G "Mobile Home" tire: Kenda K391M Mobile Home Tire - 8-14.5MH - Load Range G Kenda Tires and Wheels AM1327

Aaron Z

Seems like this discussion keeps going round and round about TIRES.
If the tires say "trailer only" or "LT", and are of proper size and weight rating, they are just fine.
My post#40 intent was to discuss the style/type of AXLES/WHEELS....ONLY!

aczlan · Nov 17, 2019

fried1765 said:
Seems like this discussion keeps going round and round about TIRES.
If the tires say "trailer only" or "LT", and are of proper size and weight rating, they are just fine.
My post#40 intent was to discuss the style/type of AXLES/WHEELS....ONLY!

They make that style of axle/wheel in both non-serviceable "mobile home grade" (cheap, undersized bearings, oddball spindle size, welded brake backing plate, straight axle tube, etc) which are intended to be used once or twice and serviceable "trailer grade" (full sized bearings, standard trailer spindle size, bolted backing plates, cambered axle tube, etc) which are intended to be used day in and day out.
Both are generally rated for around 6000# per axle, one is made to be used once, the other is made to be a heavy duty low profile axle.
One is junk, the other is not.

Aaron Z

JimR · Nov 17, 2019

fried1765 said:
Somehow/someway /someone suggested that the TIRES were mobile home tires?
Not me!
I mentioned nothing about tires, or brakes!

In my post #40, I only suggested only that the axles and wheels might be mobile home type.
From the picture, the wheels are mobile home type!

If you read some history on mobile home wheels you will find that due to the different (cheap) wheel construction style, the mobile home wheel itself will often fail, before you can stop after a high speed blowout.
On a tandem trailer, that failure is sometimes followed by a second tire/wheel failure on the same side.
Regular 8 hole steel wheels are much safer!

Perhaps the $6000 new trailer cost you reference, is for a gold plated 10K-18' equipment trailer?
I have a nice new 14K-20', PT deck, equipment trailer that I bought from a dealer, for $4,400.

The $6K price I quoted was from what I found on the internet for the same trailer that I bought. I almost drove to PA to buy a brand new PJ 20 foot with the beavertail for $4K out the door. They didn't have that particular one at their Northeast store. I have seen new trailers like I wanted for as low as $3195. The shipping on it would kill that deal. When I read some of the reviews on other brands I crossed them right off my list. The prices are all over the place on trailers. One local dealer wanted $860 more for the same PJ trailer in PA. I liked the way the Hudson is built. The single side rails cut down on the overall weight of the trailer. Plus I didn't have to spend $4K plus on a trailer that I am rarely going to use. I may use this once or twice a year if I am lucky. I can very easily do a swap out of the hubs if I wanted to go over to six lug wheels. Used trailer tires and wheels around here are cheap.