Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Air bag helpers, equilizer hitch or both?

Those hydraulic surge trailer brakes used on U-hauls and many boat trailers can kill you. They only work when the trailer pushes forward on the hitch ball. There's no way to brake manually.

I had air bags and a weight distribution hitch on my f-150 but I was pulling a 30ft trailer.. When I pulled my son's 5k trailer around with the same truck, I never used or needed the equilizer hitch bars.. It towed just fine without it... Never used sway bar with either.

I think trailer tires are more about load rating than anything.

The sell "trailer" tires but as a old tire guy I know said, "the tire don't know what it's on."

The only thing I can think of is that trailer tires are not designed to take the stresses applied from turning or driving wheels. (Torsion or sheer stress?).

American made tire made for a trailer, plus the spare.

Cheap tires is not what you want on that trip.

Trailer tires have a stiffer sidewall than car tires. LT tires are commonly used but car tires are too flexible and let the trailer wag too much. Radial trailer tires are designed to handle the stress of a trailer and work great.
I have a 4 horse trailer that I use to haul llamas. I found rims for it the same size as my pickup so when I replace my pickup tires, the old ones go to the trailer. The former trailer tires get dumped even if the tread is decent. They're getting pretty old and weathered by that time. They're E rated LT's.

I would go with the hitch. It will raise the rear end of the truck so no need for the bags. I run Carlisle trailer tires on mine, the heaviest ones they make. I'll get the specs later if you need them. Air pressure in your tires is also important and especially on the trailer. Low pressure = heat and blow outs. Been there done that. Loaded up your probably still going to be less than 6000 lbs and should have to look in the mirror to see if it's there, even with a half ton if it's set up right.

I dont have any recommendations on tires.

I just buy the heaviest I can find.

Personally....I would never trust a manufacturer installed tire for a trip to Alaska!


The tires on my stock trailer are 14 ply radials.

negative

The best trailer tires (for a trailer of your size and weight) are LT C rated light truck tires in a C weight rating. LT tires are built to much higher specifications than trailer tires because they are built to passenger safety standards and built to take aggressive turning, braking, and acceleration.

I have never seen a trailer rated tire (except those built and sized for commercial use) last like an LT tire put on a trailer.

I have some Toyo M 55 tires which I took off of a 84 Chevy K5 Blazer back in '97 when they were worn to minimum legal tread depth which still serve well on a trailer for short trips a couple times a year.

My camp trailer needed the tires replaced a couple summers ago. The "trailer tires" all looked new, with deep tread. But they started separating. One actually exploded right in the driveway while I was nearby checking the oil on a tractor. It scared the holy crap out of me.

So, any way, my daily commuter is a 92 Toyota PU with Toyo LT 225-75-15 C rated tires on it. The tire were about two years old with about 20K of usage. You can probably guess what happened next. Yes, right. The Toyota got a new set of Toyos and the camp trailer got the 1/2 used set. They are plenty strong enough for the weight of the trailer without being so rigid that they shake it to pieces.

ETA: Okay, I missed the "all the way to Alaska" part. Definitely LT light truck tires. The best you can find, like top of the line Toyo M 55. Possibly D rated to protect the sidewalls and tread from puncture due to sharp rocks on crude gravel roads. But D rated tires will be harder on the trailer. They will transmit more shock and vibration to the trailer. I see the Toyo LT M 55 235-75-15 D listed at Walmart for $200 each. That is cheap insurance.

Toyo used to make a top tier non traction model called the M 54 which would be better suited for trailer use. But I can no longer find it listed anywhere. Talk to a reputable tire dealer.

My sincere advice would be discuss the matter with someone experienced with the road conditions. I am not.

Thanks for all the advice, fellas...Keep it coming! Especially in reference to the tires at this point.

Very good information from Rock Chuck and Idaho Shooter.

Thank you guys.


I thought about the matching wheel size trick ( have a second set of wheels plus a few, but I would have had to mill out the centerholes to clear the bearing caps.

X2 on getting info on conditions.
In April you know you will see Frostheaves, snow, frozen mud, and mud over frozen what have you.

Both

I have 17" wheels on both my pickup and trailer. However, the ones on the pickup are 8 hole while the trailer is 6 hole. That doesn't matter as long as the diameter and width will match. Of course the spares aren't interchangeable.

The Alaska highway is just a long paved road although there may be sections of construction; just as there may be on any long paved road. Having said this, it wont hurt to use a decent load leveling hitch. I would not hesitate to carry some weight in the back of the pick-up as well. In truth, a trailer that light should be no problem.
It doesn't hurt to stop along the way and check your bearings and brakes. Especially on a new trailer, bearings will loosen off in a couple thousand miles. Also, trailer manufacturers have a tendency to use just enough axle to be legal and bending of the axle is not uncommon. This is why you want your trailer to sit level, with equal weight on each axle, before you start travelling.
Every highway I have travelled is bad when pulling a trailer. It is, apparently, impossible to build an overpass or bridge without putting a ski jump at each end. If you add in the frost heaves and collapsing substrate on the rest of the road, it can be rough going. GD

Like many things automotive, tires are much better made than in the past. Can’t remember the last flat tire I had. In 14 or so Alcan trips, many with trailers, I believe I had 1 flat. That one happened 25 years ago. Then again, strange things can happen.

Just put good quality tires, of recent manufacture, with good tread, on truck and trailer.

Standard caveats of checking pressure and lug nut torque apply.

Go with the Equalizer Hitch . Check out Etrailer.com. They have the best prices I found and terrific help getting you setup with correct weight rating.
Did the truck come with a receiver hitch or do you have to add one? Does it have towing package?

So you are looking at less than a 4,000 mile trip one way, on decent to excellent pavement nearly all the way. That's an oil change. No big deal.

Other than short gravel stretches (usually well maintained), the roughest section will be Canadian border or so to Tok - lotsa frost heaves thru there last time I went two years ago, with a Ram 3500, 3,000 lb pick-up camper. Piece of cake. Canadians make good roads. Those rock-throwing oil-field rigs in WY did a number on my windshield tho..... and so will the lumber trucks in Canada if you don't watch it. Be sure to have a rock guard on your hood - it helps.

Not having towed anything but a light boat trailer or U-haul I can't give much advise there, so listen to those who have done it. Don't let "Road trip to Alaska" spook you beyond normal driving as per above. This ain't 30 years ago, even. We are getting almost civilized.

Carlisle Radial Trail HD Trailer Tires are my choice.There tuff for a trailer tire and I've never had or seen a blowout with them...

I hope you're just being sarcastic. Carlisle trailer tires are so bad that Carlise only warrantees them for 2 years and Discount Tire quit selling them.

Maxxis M8008, Goodyear Endurance and the Carlise Radial Trail HD are all high quality ST type tires. Any of those tires would be fine. I run the Maxxis on a 7900# 29' travel trailer. Get the load rang E and set air pressure to your weight needs +20% I run at 70psi.