I have four trailers that often get used on long gravel road trips.

One trailer needs new tires and I was going to put radials on it
but two guys have told me to never put radials on a trailer but
neither could tell me why....

This is just 15" tires on an ATV hauler......

Why not radials?

I use radials, and like them, I also carry two trailer spare tires, and rims.

Radials have thin sidewalls and are prone to punctures. On pavement they're alright.

I have a 6X10 trailer to haul my toys and it has radial 15"ers on them. If you are going to be hauling heavy loads, the dealer recommended that we go to LT type tires with the stiff sidewalls. I have had this trailer for five years now and the radials have been fine.

There ya go, read and know the ratings for the tire, and what your gonna use it for.

ST tires have heavier sidewalls?

I have 5 trailers, radials on all of them, no problems at all.

I have quite a bit of experience towing and just driving on dirt and gravel roads, I would get some LT tires for sure. You need sidewalls that are resistant to punctures.

Trailer radials are the only way to go. Trailer tire sidewalls are much tougher than car tires and not nearly as squirmy. They're more equivalent to LT tires. Car radials won't last at all but real trailer radials are great. On one trailer I have that I use on every kind of road imaginable, trailer radials give me 3x the life of bias.

Well vernAK, does all of the above clear it up?

I drive mostly highway with our big pickup but do have to drive on gravel roads and also drive it a bit off road. I run radials at Load Range E (and F when I can get them). Have learned that ome strange stuff will puncture the sidewalls of otherwise very good radials - most recently it was a less than 2 inch stub on a discarded small branch of a tree I was cutting for firewood. The best sidewall patch would not make that tire dependable. Just that news - no reccommendation - not an expert.

If someone tells you that radials on trailers are bad, find out what kind they ran that were bad. I'm betting that they used car tires. If they used LT's or trailer radials, their experience would be different.

If car tires work well on a car, what would be different about a trailer to make them unsuitable for it?

They work fine on mine. I did finally buy a new set because the used tires didn't seem to last long before they became rotten.

Regardless of whether the tires are radials or bias-ply, covering them when not in use will prolong their life considerably. UV rays will dry rot a trailer tire in no time. DAMHIKT.

I have radials on a 14' trailer.

One of them blew out. I took it to a tire shop and while waiting on them to put on a new one, I asked why it blew out. He asked how fast I was going. Told him 75 which was the speed limit.

He said that was probably why. Most radial traler tires have speed ratings of 65mph or under.

Bought a cattle trailer and put new tires on it. I remembered what was told me, and the radial tires for it had a 65mph speed rating. The biased ply tires was like 85. I bought the bias ply tires. Guy at the tire shop said "Wise Choice."

Read the fine print. Ask them. They have to tell you.

Because car tires don't get drug sideways on a regular basis. They're more plausible for single axle trailers.

Ok... I'll bite. Why would you drag them sideways?

When you back a tandem axle trailer one of the axles will turn and one will be drug sideways on the tight turns.

Sure can tell some of you guys never towed a trailer.......
Just get Maxxis ST's and look no further.
Car tires belong on a car.

In my experience, trailer tires are a royal pain. New tires are the best, till they are not new anymore. As I said, I carry two spares, and a jack the works well with the trailer.

"Sho got that right."

OT but a Jiffy Jack is the schit for a tandem axle flat tire.

I have sold all my trailers and trailerables. The next ones I get will still have bias ply tires and not radials..

Well then, there are trailers, and, there are trailers. Most everything is hauled on a trailer, big truck trailer. It's the light trailers that give the grief.

Another advantage to trailer tires is they are made from compounds that resist dry rot/cracking from extended exposure. Most trailer tires spend more time sitting exposed to the elements and UV than they do on the road. Use trailer tires on trailers. Buy the best quality radial trailer tires you can find.

Yes...I have 8 ply radials on my trailer and shall be replacing them with light truck tyres when they are done.

Truck tires on trailers suck. If you need a heavier tire for your trailer, get a heavier trailer tire. In your case go to an E rated radial tire from your current D rated radial.

Road work isn't the problem, and I am more concerned with staking a sidewall.

I run Maxxis radial trailer tires on my 20 ft (14,000 lbs) twin axle PJ trailer.My friend owns a tire shop and told me to make sure to balance my trailer tires when I had them installed.Big difference in the way it rides/pulls now.

I run the same wheels and tires on my trailer as my truck
Makes a lot of sense, makes logistics easier, a spare for each and I never get any trouble with the BFGs I always run anyhow

My tire guy laughed at me when I told him I wanted a set of trailer tires balanced. I've since called him with requests to balance wheelbarrow tires, backhoe tires, manure spreader tires, etc. Initially he was speechless. Anymore, I get a hearty GFY, followed by a click.

Nice truck!

I've heard this for a long time. But I can't see how it could be true... every time a car turns the front tires are subjected to some pretty substantial sideways forces. Dragged, pushed, however you want to describe it, its surprising they don't roll off the rim. Daily.

44henry

Turn a tandem axle trailer around on gravel and it will leave marks on the gravel. Pavement would be harder on the tire because of added Gription.

Tire places charge for mount and balance. I get horse trailer tires balanced.

With tandem axles, the less forward distance you travel during the turn, the more sideways stress on the tire. Turning sharp in a small space really drags the tires sideways. Car tire sidewalls aren't made for that kind of stress. It's also a good part of the reason that you can't get 50k miles out of a set of trailer tires. On corners, you're dragging rubber off the tread.

Tow a tandem or triple wheel trailer for a while and get back to us again.........

I've seen dual wheels on tandem axle trailers pop the tires off the rims on concrete or asphalt.

Take a troll through your local RV park, especially one with paved streets , and look at the tire tracks made by folks backing in their big 5th wheels..

Which troll would you take through an RV park?


Jeffo? Starman?

Even more when the trailer has triples, like my Raptor toy hauler... And I carry two spares and wheels every time I pull it and invariably use one on every trip.

Carry two good spares, the right tools, and hope for nice weather when you have to change a blowout.
Sort of like Bob Uker on catching a nuckleball, "wait till it stops rolling, and pick it up."

Stay away from Goodyear Marathons. Dad's travel trailer had them, and he lost two. One to blow out, and one to seperation.

I run Maxxis Tires on my boat. They are 14". Great tire.

One thing about 15" trailer tires, I think the highest load rating you can get is "E". (80 PSI max) Pay attention also to the speed rating on trailer tires. Speed limits are higher than some speed ratings on tires.

LT would work in most cases, but a true radial trailer tire is where it's at.

And I balanced the trailer tires on my boat. Logic dictates you should. An out of balance tire wears terribly, regardless of its location.


Clyde

Cars have steering axles. Trailers don't. When you turn a car, the wheels turn and keep rolling. When you turn a tandem axle trailer, you drag it sideways.

just make sure you dont put on the same tires that came with your trailer.

There should be a law against those tires.


I run 14 ply bias tires on some of my trailers, and some 14 ply radials.

No doubt..


As long as you match the wheel ratings with the tire ratings you should be good to go..


Yep.. But there's actually a (very) few that are beginning to install semi-steerable axles - but those would ONLY be found on the extreme high-end stuff and/or for AG use.


Yep.. The pos tires that came with the Raptor are "E" rated and 65 mph max.. Even if I could go faster, I will NOT.. 65 mph with a trailer this size is fast enough, thank you..



THAT... The majority of trailer tires/wheels are not balanced. When (not if) I change a trailer tire I always specify that they be balanced..

If you are constantly carrying more than 50% load capacity of your tires you either need larger tires, or more axles....

Phil

Nah, run it right up to the limit.....or just a bit over.

Not sure what they have available for smaller rims. Those 14 ply tires I mentioned were all 16 inch.

I have a Tire guy Kinda a friend of the family.

He told me years ago that trailer tires are designed for a 3 year life span and need to roll if you let them sit they start breaking down

Truck tires are designed for a 5 year life span and need to roll.

I use to run Maxxis.

Now I run the highest rated truck tires I can get for the size tires I am using. 10 ply or higher.

Of course I live in Commy California so when I need tires I have to take them off and take them in my self because do to what my tire guy told me if I bring my trailer to him he is required to only put trailer tires on the trailer.

If I take the tires to him . He does not know what they go on so he can put the truck tires on the rims.

Been going to this guy for 20 years and I joke about putting his daughter threw college with all the tires I have purchased from him.

I have a 6x10 utility trailer that I built 8 or 9 years ago. I wanted it to track with my pickup but I didn't want inside wheel wells. Plus, I wanted to keep it as low as possible. So, to get all of that, I went with 2000lb tandem axles and 12" tires instead of a single 3500lb axle. I've had 3k on it quite a few times and 2k lots of times. At first, I had nothing but headaches with the bias tires that came with the axles. After quickly going through about 3 sets of 6 ply bias tires, I switched to 6 ply radials and they've been great. This 1 set has outlasted all 3 sets of bias and they still have well over 50% tread left. They're rated at 1100lb each so with the 2k axles & springs, minus trailer weight, I can put 3k on it. It's seldom that heavy but I've had gravel or dirt on it and the tires have held up just fine so far.

this is an old pic when it had bias tires

That "50% load capacity" thing does NOT apply to campers - since they all run about 75-80% of total load right outta the box.. The GVWR on my trailer is 18,000. Empty weight is a bit over 14,400. The three axles are 7,000# each but it's the tires that every camper manufacturer (save a couple) skimps on.. And since they're tucked under the sidewalls of the camper ya can't go 'bigger' to any real degree w/o altering the other towing factors, such as overall height, pin angle and hitch dimensions.

Thankfully, over the last couple years or so, the higher-end makers are realizing that those who purchase these things are not the usual 'entry-level' buyers and are very educated re: towing and camper requirements and buyers are not worried about an extra $1,000 or so to ensure the wheels/tires are fully up to the task, especially since those units can run upwards of $150,000 for a 5er and weigh well over 20,000#.. The DRV Full House LX455 is 44 feet long with a GVWR of 24,000#.. Comes with three 8,000# axles and automotive-style disc brakes.. Plus - "H" rated tires/wheels.. Same here for most places.. Not sure if it's some law or if it's just store policy though, but I do what you do - take the wheel/tire in and nobody knows what it's going on..

What manufacturers do, does not make it safe or right! Hell brakes weren't required on some trailers until just recently... common sense on the other hand dictates more towards safety...

Heck it wasn't so long ago that it was found out that tire manufacturers were so over producing tires and warehousing them to the point of them not even being sold until they were near or past their expiration dates.

Phil

Radials can roll .....but I use them all the time .....go to giant tire by Greer and get a set of load range e studded take offs ! Pull the old studs with a flat bladed screwdriver.... A cheap and easy fix! I have 3trailers and two boat trailers from the haul road/Paxton to cantwell...never a problem , u can put your hands on them an check out that side wall stiffeness on 1000's of tires !

I just read 15" ....I have a set of 15 " Cooper's m&s with studs , kind of a waste tho as they are 99% ! ...but then again I sold off my old 15" wearing truck !

I'm about ready to replace the tires on my pickup. The existing ones have 30% left but they don't have any winter traction to speak of. I have 4 trailers sitting out here and none of them wear 17's. I'll just have to run them until just before it snows and throw them away.

Wouldn't put a truck tire on a serious trailer on a bet. The last time I blew a tire, I threw on G rated tires.... A bit stiff, but never, ever a problem.