Car Hauler Trailer / Towing Thread

[Elbert]

I got the 16inch trailer tires and got the new tires mounted... but...they did not have the right valve stems so I get to swap those out Friday if everything works out as planned. Hope to get my LC back from my friend in about a week as he has my trailer at his place and I can't swap the tires out until I get that back too. Hopefully the tire swap gamble will play out for the best....I'll post up if I encounter any problems.

next I'm looking for some 17 inch wheels to mount some 35's or metric approx size on the LC. I'll be selling the 33's MT KO's on 15*8 rock crawler wheels. I'll probally go with the Cooper SST MT if I can find a fair price and local source, still unclear on what black steel wheel would work in 8 or 9 inch width at 17inch size.

 

[jynx]

Trailer purchase is pending. Anyone got any recommendations on brake controllers?

I am thinking proportional for sure, looking at the Tekonsha P3 controller. Any others I should consider?

 

[TeddyBoy]

Really??!! I bought one at Northern Tool for about $70, not saying it's top of the line or anything but for the amount of hauling it's plenty gud nuf!

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200624997_200624997

 

[radioridge]

Ive got the same one as Ted. It worked just fine with that million pound load i pulled to GSMTR.

 

[jynx]

Cool, thanks guys. That was just one several guys on yotatech and t4r.org were using.

Well after a craigslist ninja strike I brought home this little jewel tonight.

18' flat deck, pair of 5200# axles, single brake axle, bulldog coupler, 16" 6 lug wheels, came with 10 ply tires but I am gonna get a new set of tires. Plan is to get some new tires and go thru the wiring, repack the bearings and check the brakes and go. I gotta build a set of ramps, but it does have a tray for them to hide-away.

I recently picked up a new wiring harness for the 4runner, but must add the above mentioned controller and a 7-pin plug. I also got like a dozen cans of army green paint from the squirt, might try to give the Ole girl a new paint job.

 

[jynx]

Ok, so the trailer has 7.5-16 tires on it. Those look like they measure about 32" tall. I am thinking of putting some 235/85R16 E rated tires on there, theyes will be a little shorter, or maybe some 245/75R16s. Seems like the options are wider for standard truck tires then in trailer tire sizes. Any disadvantage to going with the metric truck tires?

 

[Elbert]

Ok, so the trailer has 7.5-16 tires on it. Those look like they measure about 32" tall. I am thinking of putting some 235/85R16 E rated tires on there, theyes will be a little shorter, or maybe some 245/75R16s. Seems like the options are wider for standard truck tires then in trailer tire sizes. Any disadvantage to going with the metric truck tires?

Not that I know of. I swapped from an 15 inch ST tire on mine to a 225/235 16 E rated tire (I forgot the exact size but its in this thread up above)...

My observed pluses to going to e rated truck tire on the trailer (1st)depending on the size your load rating on the tire could be improved a good bit which equals a safety factor, (2nd) your safe travel speed is increased coming from a ST tire (3rd) most any tire shop will stock some form of 16 inch e rated tire that is common to the sizes that are OEM stock on GM or other pickup trucks. And (4th) there are a good number of different tire style available.

I bought a all season type 16 inch e rated tire. I've not had any issues so far going this route...I did have to buy different wheels going from 15 to 16inch.

I like the "85" tire you mentioned....next time I will be running something like that...the load capacity for each tire vs what I have is like +400 as I recall. SO I think the "85" is a good choice for a trailer or even a truck.

 

[jynx]

Thanks @Elbert I think I am going to go for a set of Cooper AT3's. E rated 235/85R16 show a 3,042 lb rating, speed rated R so overall I think these will be good. Got some new LED brake and marker light on order, so now just need to get a couple spools of various colored wire to get started on a new harness for it.

 

[Elbert]

do yourself a favor and get a spare tire and wheel or two....in same size.

 

[DSLTOY]

If you are going to use truck tires You are better off using a steering tread rather than an AT. There are reasons why all trailer tires are a straight minimal tread , think some of it has todo with heating.
The best tires I have found are the Goodyear G614 in a 235/85-r16. A little pricey but excellent tires.

 

[Elbert]

these were what I bought...I noticed I never clearly said...or at least never clearly said here.

Bridgestone® DURAVIS R500 LT225/75R16 E Rated

I don't have enough time with these tires to say good or bad...but they have good reviews and are basically an all season tire.

Next time I'll do something in the 235-85-16 E range as those seem to be about the perfect size and max load capability. Initially I was concerned about tire width and clearance on my fenders etc..and I bought the tires before I could really look (like a dumb @$$). Lesson learned I guess. I have enough room between the axles and between the fender to run a little larger tire next time.

I would agree that you want a hwy tire not a mud or all terrain tire on your trailer. I guess we will see if the all season type tire plays out well or not, at least for me. Here is a link to the tire below...I bought mine at Costco for the convenience factor.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires...tireModel=Duravis+R500+HD&partnum=275R6R500HD


Roger, those tires you mentioned are $$.

 

[jynx]

So am I setting myself for a problem if I go with something like the AT3? Would something like the HT3 be better? I don't mean to sound cheap, but we are trying to be very budget conscious to get this trailer up and going. Perhaps I should just go down to the co-op and pick up a set of 7.5-16 tires to go back on it. Then we can go for something heavier in a few years when we have a little $$ saved back up.

And I looked up those goodyears..... I had to look twice to make sure that was the price for a single tire.... definitely not in my budget right now.

EDIT: Ok, so I foung a Goodyear Wrangler HT commercial tire. 245/75R16 The price is in my wheelhous and they seem to fit with Roger's suggestion. Going to call my local shop tomorrow, or maybe the Co-Op, then I could just drag it over and save myself the trouble of having to un-bolt all those tires.

 

[Elbert]

I'm sure you can find a number of tires in the size mentioned..... I can't afford to run those goodyears either. I thought the Michelin rib tires were crazy $$. I believe those tires are generally for heavier weights than the type of trailer we have and what we haul. I like having a safety factor.

Personally and I'm not the tire guy....I think a hwy/all season type tire is fine, but thats my view. really the trailer needs traction on the pavement.... even the HD tires like on the bigger goose necks and backhoe type trailers are generally a road tire...

 

[FJCRAWLER]

Have you checked with Discount Tire ?

 

[jynx]

I called my local shop and they have some in stock. Can't remember the brand but he said most trailer tires were imported and that the names really weren't that important because they were all about the same. He said even most of the goodyear trailer tires were imported these days.

235/80R16 is the size which should be just slightly smaller than the 7.6-16 that are on it now. He said that was a common trailer tire size.

Figure I will just pull them off and take them down since I am going to have to break them down to check the brakes and pack the bearings anyway.

 

[Elbert]

Most Trailer tires...these are tires coded (ST) or otherwise for "official" use as a trailer tire...they are also limited to 65mph according to their spec.

The tires I'm talking about using are LT E rated tires.... LT vs. ST. LT is what you find on (light trucks)...1tons and down. I don't care for the ST tires...most of them are imported from China and Taiwan. You can find a number of threads on this board and across the web about using ST tires and potentially looking at LT tires. Anyway I'm out on the Chinese ST tires, and in on the LT E rated stuff...hell it may be made in China too.

I got rid of my Chinese ST tires and went with the LT in the size mentioned above.

 

[jynx]

Didn't ask about the speed rating, but I bet if they are trailer tires then they are ST. Looks like I am back on the hunt. The Cooper Discoverer H/T looks like a good tire, might talk to them about those.

 

[Elbert]

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Firestone&tireModel=Transforce HT

see post # 10 for another recommendation....I posted a link to the tire. I think you would be fine with a all season type tread tire in the size mentioned LT E. Guys over in MS said they had good service out of the firestone model. The tire I bought and the firestone model have similar tread (so called all season radial)...which is a good all around tire for pavement.

The cooper looks similar...all season radial.

 

[jynx]

I called back to the tire shop today. The guy recommended a Mastercraft trailer tire. Q speed rating(99mph), load rated to 3,400 # @ 80 psi, 235/80R16. And the price was right at $115 mounted. I think Cooper owns Mastercraft as well. As the budget is tight and I still have to check the brakes and bearings, for now this looks like a good option.

Moving to another question, do you guys run breakaways on your trailers? They don't look too expensive, might be cheap insurance. Thoughts?

My new lights should be here on Wednesday so I hope to get the tires and the wiring knocked out in time to haul Squirt up to OTMT in a couple weeks.

 

[FJCRAWLER]

Mine came with a break away but to be honest if the trailer comes loose it's not really going to matter much . I figured my junk going to be all over the highway either with or without one .

I really think yall are putting way to much thought into trailer tires . If you are buying from a reparable tire shop and you are giving them the correct information ( weight of trailer and load on trailer ) then they can recommend the correct tire . Also if you are buying from Discount Tire be sure to get the road hazard , it's like a sore peter you can't beat it .

Good luck