Trailer Tires

[marcfj60]

Do you have to use special trailer tires (ST) on a utility trailer or would a load C or D 'LT' (Light Truck) tire be ok? I'm thinking about getting some new tires for my Chevy LUV Mikado converted into a trailer and I'd like to get an all-terrain tire for a little better traction off pavement. Plus, I like the size of a 235/75-15 and that seems to be an odd size for a specific ST trailer tire.

For now, I just got some used tires that weren't too old and hold air until I can beef up the suspension. I'm going to try to find some coil springs that I can put between the axle and frame to attempt to reduce the twisting oscillation I got out of it the last time I put some weight in it. I was thinking front coils from a 4-Runner or Taco might be a good fit. I know a stiffer tire would probably help as well.

 

[alia176]

Do you "have" to? Well, that's subject to interpretation. Should you? Now, that's a different story. If the trailer sits quite a bit of time between usage, it's a good idea to use trailer tires. I think the main reason is that trailer tires are made to withstand U.V. while just sitting in one spot for months. If you had tandem axles, trailer tires can withstand "scrubbing" around corners better than auto tires.

I usually just buy a set of used trailer tires for my utility trailer when I need a set.

 

[jemezcrusher]

TRailer tires have better sidewall strenght to carry the loads. Be sure to check capacity as many SUV tires areonly rated at 900 to 1000 lbs each. The trailer tires will generally run twice that

 

[marcfj60]

The tires I ended up getting were used ones. They didn't list a load rating but did have a max load of 2,000 lbs at 48 psi on the sidewall, which I'd say are roughly equivalent to a 'C' rated tire.

I had to weigh the trailer to get it titled and registered. The weight slip says 740 lbs. I'm going to mount a tongue jack and spare tire to the tongue to try to shift the weight forward. I'm also going to build a platform on the tongue to carry stuff like a cooler, toolbox or propane bottle. That will also give me some weight bias forward and hopefully help with stability. Lastly, I bought the following helper spring kit. It should be in today.

Superior 12-1500

I'm considering replacing the ball hitch with a lunette ring and using a pintle to tow it, so I can get a little articulation off-pavement. But that's currently near the bottom of the list of stuff to do.

 

[alia176]

Can't wait to see this trailer behind the Hundy banging and clanging (pintle hitch) it's way down the trail....

Good info on trailer tires from Discount Tires: Link

 

[marcfj60]

Trail? What's that?

 

[pappy]

Trail? What's that?

Right. You will need that pintle hitch in case you roll over a speed bump or curb at the mall.

 

[alia176]

Trail? What's that?

in that case, no point with a Pintle hitch and receiver.

 

[sl33p3]

ouch

 

[marcfj60]

Seriously though, how much articulation can a standard ball hitch handle? I know a pintle will make noise since it's not a tight fit. But I do plan to use the trailer on forest/BLM roads and trails to get to camping spots. I'd like the extra cargo space and want to be able to bring my trail bikes (2X '68 Honda CT90). I don't want the ball to pop out but don't know realistically how much articulation you can expect out of a ball hitch.

I know Ali has a Kamperoo. Steve has that Baja popup. Who else tows off-road? What kind of hitches do you guys use? I know Shawn has a pintle on his 40 trailer. But Shawn also wheels seriously crazy stuff with his trailer.

 

[Devil Frog]

Seriously though, how much articulation can a standard ball hitch handle? .

Its all geometry...since you are the ProE wiz, that would be the tool to find out

 

[marcfj60]

I'm lazy.

Plus I was looking for a more qualitative answer like: "I have a ball hitch on my Kamperoo and I've taken it on multiple forest roads around NM/CO/AZ/UT without any concern of popping off the ball"

The quick and dirty way to find out would be just to put a ball in the hitch and see how many degrees I can rotate it to either side.

I guess what I'm trying to figure out if I'm wasting my time thinking about using a lunette/pintle combo vs. just keeping the current ball hitch.

 

[cruiserdan]

I know Ali has a Kamperoo. Steve has that Baja popup. Who else tows off-road? What kind of hitches do you guys use? I know Shawn has a pintle on his 40 trailer. But Shawn also wheels seriously crazy stuff with his trailer.

My Kimberly has a Treg coupler. It's a huge rubber block that functions in a manner very similar to a universal joint.

Couplings - Off Road

 

[marcfj60]

I've never heard of or seen one of those before. Interesting.

 

[cruiserdan]

Here is a better link.

Treg's Poly Block Couplings

The "(2 Tonne) Hydraulic OverridePoly Block Coupling" is the setup that is on my Kimberly.

Here is the Kimberly. Mine is on the left and Ken Romer's is on the right. These were from the first small group that were brought over from Australia in 2002. These trailers have VINS that are 5 digits apart.

 

[alia176]

Why don't you actually take the thing camping and see for yourself rather than speculating? I doubt that it'll pop off given the type of driving that you'll be doing. Danise's neck pain will probably make sure that you're not doing anything so crazy as to pop the trailer ball off your receiver.

The TREG is a very nice and somewhat expensive for this application. They're very effective coupler for an offroad trailer. One down side is that the poly block (red in the picture) doesn't like U.V. so it needs to be covered up.

Here's a picture of the trailer side:

Here's a picture of the vehicle side:

Twisted up pics (I left the large pin out of the hole):

 

[cruiserdan]

The block on mine is not polly, it is a black rubber material (maybe there is a black polly?). I do keep it coverd however.

 

[alia176]

The block on mine is not polly, it is a black rubber material (maybe there is a black polly?). I do keep it coverd however.

Should be black polly. Mine is an '02 so maybe they changed it shortly after that?

 

[cruiserdan]

Mine is an 02 as well, as is Ken's. His has a black block just like mine.

 

[marcfj60]

Looks effective but I don't understand why they are so expensive. Must be made only in Australia. Get them made in China and they'd be $100.