Trailer tires

[Mace]

Are there no more good trailer tires out there any more?
greenball
Carlisle
Goodyear marathons are all getting bad reviews..

My 18ft flatbed currently has 205 15's on it. And I cannot keep the tread from peeling off tires that are les than 2 years old.

I'm thinking of going to a 225 75 15 load range e tire to see if that helps. the tire I am looking at is the hercules power str. The only reviews I have found are favorable. But there are not many to choose from.

Anyone have experience with these tires?

Or is there another brand that is actually worth a damn?

 

[cruiserjohn]

the best tires for trailer are truck tires. I have not had ant good luck with trailer tires on my 32ft goose neck but, had good luck with lt truck tires.

 

[Mace]

205 and 225 x 15 truck tires are a bitch to find as I am learning.

 

[woody]

Denman....15" rim, D range...it's what I have on my 14'er...

Hank recommended...don't run that trailer much, but VA and back last Jan was fine

Denman Tire Corporation has introduced a new Trailer Tire for 2009. The Denman Radial ST Trailer Tire has been released as the new trailer tire that offers great quality, and a remarkable price. Eight different sizes are available, making the Radial ST Trailer Tire conveniently available for most trailers.

 

[Michael Hanson]

Ill look at mine tomorrow. They are 6 ply heavy sidewall. They have been excellent. They were around 130.00 each. MIke

 

[Mace]

Denman....15" rim, D range...it's what I have on my 14'er...

Hank recommended...don't run that trailer much, but VA and back last Jan was fine

Yeah, I talked to him today a bit. Apparently, Denman has gone belly up..

Hank wants me to try out a set of the Hercules to see how they hold up lol

 

[ntsqd]

One of the more important points about trailer tires is sidewall stiffness. The stiffer they are, the better the trailer behaves. One of the more important variables in the equation for max stable towing speed with a trailer is a coefficient for the trailer tire's sidewall stiffness. The sidewall stiffness for the tow rig's tire's aren't even mentioned.
Seems to me that Load Range E's (do they make an "F"?) would be the best bet absent any good trailer specific tires.

 

[Mace]

They actually make g rated tires, but those are only available in 16 in rims.. And are very pricy but awesome tires..

 

[1973barnfind]

we have goodyear's trailer tires on our boat. its only 21 ft, but its a heavy seaswirl. tandem axle trailer.
the tires suck. they've feathered pretty bad. to the point its time for new tires. we've had it since 07, and put about 200hrs on the boat. imagine all the trailering. 12 miles to the water, back and forth for 5 years.

 

[Elbert]

I have a dual axle trailer 10.4K rated ... I'll look to see what tires are on it. They came with the trailer from local shop that builds trailers and carries full line of parts..etc. I may have 4 to 5K miles on the tires now and so far they are ok. I'll post up later this evening as to what they are. I do recall they are trailer specific tires...I don't think I would run anything else, espcially if hauling any kind of weight as I suspect "normal" tires cannot handle the flex on tight low speed turns. I don't do a good job of tracking the miles on the trailer but I do generally chcek the tires and look at the tread condition.

 

[Mace]

chances are you are running six or 8 lug on your 10K trailer. So 16" rims.

That gets you into some decent tires. I am not ready to pay the money for 6 new rims and tires plus spindles lol

 

[Elbert]

chances are you are running six or 8 lug on your 10K trailer. So 16" rims.

That gets you into some decent tires. I am not ready to pay the money for 6 new rims and tires plus spindles lol

here is what is on the trailer.... I can't say how good the tires are long term because I don't have enough milage on them but so far they have held up well.

6 lug wheel

PowerKing TowMax ST 225-75R-15

I've just been running what came with the trailer....I could not find the load range (but its hell to read at night anyway).. These may be crap tires for all I know....but I guess they will be what I run until #$%^ happens.

Edit....Web site says they are load range D.... not sure why the trailer does not have e rated tires... I may need to look into that as don't want the tires to "explode" I haul my sixty around...and I estimate that trailer plus 60 is around 8.5 to 9K in weight. One day I'll get it weighed.

 

[rusty_tlc]

chances are you are running six or 8 lug on your 10K trailer. So 16" rims.

That gets you into some decent tires. I am not ready to pay the money for 6 new rims and tires plus spindles lol

So do you think tires for 15" rims are going to become more available?

Sounds like a pay now or pay later situation to me.

 

[cary00silve]

I am running the Maxxis trailer tires on my 6500# travel trailer and have had good luck thus far. I think I paid around $100 each installed for 15" load range D tires.

 

[Mace]

So do you think tires for 15" rims are going to become more available?

Sounds like a pay now or pay later situation to me.

Never said that, but 15" rims (and 13 and 14" in rims) are still very common for trailers. The increasing rim size war has not affected trailer that much (yet). The 16" rim options tend to start at 235 80 16, which is significantly larger than the current tires I have. I'm even cautious about putting the 225's on there.

 

[TRAIL TAILOR]

Tires

Mace,

When looking for a "trailer tire" be sure to look for ST tires or Special Trailer/ Trailer Service... they are usually a higher load range with a stiffer sidewall. LT and P tires are designed for light truck and passenger vehicles..

I have an older set of Marathons on one trailer and Carlisles on the other.. Both have been through **** and back. Trailer tires hate the sun and stagnant weight left on them as any tire does over time.

I don't recommend a LT or P tire on any trailer because overtime they cannot hold up to the "loading up" on the sidewall that trailer turning creates. A ST tire is designed to be drug sideways.

Also, with a little patience, driving technique, and wider turning radius they will last a bit better for you as well. This isn't always possible off road but does help when you can do it.

 

[fj40charles]

Mace, have you considered some 700 tires for your trailer. Bias ply. That is what I used to run in my old trailer.

 

[ntsqd]

Mace,

When looking for a "trailer tire" be sure to look for ST tires or Special Trailer/ Trailer Service... they are usually a higher load range with a stiffer sidewall. LT and P tires are designed for light truck and passenger vehicles..

I have an older set of Marathons on one trailer and Carlisles on the other.. Both have been through **** and back. Trailer tires hate the sun and stagnant weight left on them as any tire does over time.

I don't recommend a LT or P tire on any trailer because overtime they cannot hold up to the "loading up" on the sidewall that trailer turning creates. A ST tire is designed to be drug sideways.

Also, with a little patience, driving technique, and wider turning radius they will last a bit better for you as well. This isn't always possible off road but does help when you can do it.

Can you recommend a good make or model? As I understood the thread those that used to be good are no longer and Mace was looking for non-ST alternatives. Seems to me that a tire with more load rating than the trailer really needs would have the sidewall stiffness needed for good handling on the road and also be resistant to the sliding/scuffing sideways that trailer tires are subject to.

FWIW about 20 years ago a friend of mine put low aspect ratio P rated tires on his drag race car's flatbed trailer. This in an effort to keep the headers from hanging up on the back edge of the bed when loading/unloading. Those tires lasted the life of his interest in the drag car (several years) and were still on the trailer the last time that I saw it. Granted, the car weighed 2050lbs, but the trailer was your typical Big Tex flatbed.

 

[Mace]

and Carlisles on the other.. Both have been through **** and back. Trailer tires hate the sun and stagnant weight left on them as any tire does over time.

Carlisle tires are garbage. This year alone I have had three of them separate the tread from the carcass.


The tires I am probably going to test out are these ST225/75R15 LR E/10 HERCULES POWER STR Radial Trailer Tire. I am not against the LT tires, even more so if they actually hold up. But 205 is not a good LT tire.

Charles, the trailer came with Bias ply tires. They did not hold up any better than the radials I have been trying out. But I am sure that the tires it came with are the cheapest available.

 

[TRAIL TAILOR]

When mine give up, I will look at the PowerKing TowMax ST 225-75R-15 or the Maxxis M8008 in the same size at that time.