I'm a novice trailer dad with a new to us, 4 year old, 3 horse Featherlight. When we bought it, I was told that the trires would need replacing. Well the tread came off the two tires on the same side yesterday. Luckaly at 5 MPH. Seems they may have stood uninflated for a while.
So I'm in the market for tires and have a couple questions. The ones that are on the trailer are ST225/75R15. I see two types of that tire a C and a D. C is a 6 ply 2150 lbs spec and the D is a 8 ply 2540 lbs.
Should I get a C or a D? $15 more for a D is no big deal. Can I make a mistake buying a too high spec'ed tire?
Replace all 4 or 2?
How about manufacturer? Is the GoodYear Marathon the way to go?
Posted 2006-09-05 7:10 PM (#47913 - in reply to #47911) Subject: RE: Trailer tires
Member
Posts: 38 Location: Howard Cty, MD
For what it's worth...
I'd recommend that you go with the higher rated 'D' tires and replace all four. If that trailer has been sitting for a long time with the tires underinflated as you stated, the other two may not be far behind. Also, check your spare tire that it is at least properly inflated. Goodyear is as good as any other tire maker.
Posted 2006-09-05 8:45 PM (#47915 - in reply to #47914) Subject: RE: Trailer tires
Expert
Posts: 2689
Hi and Welcome to the Forum.
I would stay with the C rating for a softer ride, trailers typically have OE tires that are rated higher than their axles anyway, there is no need to go up yet another step in tire rating. Not that it is a big issue.
Whichever load rated tire you select, inflate it for the actual load that you will be carrying on it, NOT the "cold pressure at maximum rated load" as molded into the side wall.
Posted 2006-09-05 8:48 PM (#47916 - in reply to #47911) Subject: RE: Trailer tires
Extreme Veteran
Posts: 333
Also check that tires have weights to indicate they have been balanced. My friend blew a tire on her 96 Featherlite and when it was brought in, the tire guy noticed that not one of the other tires had weights on them. A Diamond D trailer I bought used didn't have them on the tires either.
I would recommend ALL trailer owners check their tires to see if the have been balanced before putting them on the trailers.
Posted 2006-09-06 11:38 AM (#47967 - in reply to #47916) Subject: RE: Trailer tires
Expert
Posts: 1416 Location: sc
Originally written by Jbsny on 2006-09-05 9:48 PM
Also check that tires have weights to indicate they have been balanced. My friend blew a tire on her 96 Featherlite and when it was brought in, the tire guy noticed that not one of the other tires had weights on them. A Diamond D trailer I bought used didn't have them on the tires either.I would recommend ALL trailer owners check their tires to see if the have been balanced before putting them on the trailers.Jbsny
we could all check, but i can pretty much answer that. very, very few trailer tires are balanced. youre going to have to ask for it to be done, and be prepared for a strange look when you say its a trailer tire..........of course theyll be glad to take your money.
Posted 2006-09-09 5:02 PM (#48192 - in reply to #47911) Subject: RE: Trailer tires
Extreme Veteran
Posts: 479 Location: central sierra nevada foothills
I know alot on this board won't agree but I have always used bias and never ever had a problem with them and get 4 years good use out of them. Just gotta do good up keep on storing them is all. and they are a 10 ply tire. I haul off road ALOT and radials won't work up here. If you go to my site you will understand why when u see the terrian I'm in all the time. We use bias on our cattle gooseneck too. They've been on 5 years now, and are still in good shape, no cracks whatsoever!!! I don't feel they bounce or make the trailer ride rough at all, but the horses are ranch and mountains horses too, so no show horses here, nothing against show horses at all, but our horses our use to tough things, LOL LOL!!! Just what I use........
Posted 2006-09-10 4:04 AM (#48210 - in reply to #47911) Subject: RE: Trailer tires
Location: Del Mar, CA
Carlisle tire info. A friend had a blowout on her trailer this weekend going 60 mph with two horses. Big chunks of tread left on the freeway, side of the trailer covered with black rubber marks, (horses handled it well). I bought Carlisle tires this year to replace the last set of Carlisles which I had no problems with, and thought I'd pass on the info to her. I looked up Carlisle Tires on the web (browser) and checked out the sites that came up. Several had forums discussing Carlisle tires and I was shocked to find so many people had blowouts and had nothing but complaints about this tire. Most of the people felt that Goodyear Marathon Radials had performed the best, some recommended Titan. One guy said that tires over 45 psi should have the rubber valve stems replaced with metal. Turned out my friend's tires were Carlisle that were about one year old. Just FYI :)
Trailer tires
