New Tires Radial or Ply

[Russ]

It's time to replace trailer tires.

What say you hive mind, what's the best trailer tire? Radials? Bias? Why?

I'm thinking it's easier to just buy mounted tires on wheels.
Also, is a standard 15" wheel with 5-4.5 mount what fits the aluminum trailer?

Another question: I see load ratings in letters and numbers. eg: Load D or 107 What's the deal on that? Is it just the way of rating them?

[NiceAft]

This may help with the load range question.

https://trailer-fenders.com/trailer-par ... gLbOvD_BwE

[Russ]

This may help with the load range question.

https://trailer-fenders.com/trailer-par ... gLbOvD_BwE

This is helpful.

Interesting point I didn't know
"It is recommended you run your trailer tires at the maximum pressure for best performance, as indicated on the tire’s sidewall "

I'm not running mine at full pressure. They are rated at 65PSI and I think I'm running 50psi

The date code is something I was interested in learning to determine the age of the tires.

At this point I'm thinking of buying 4 mounted radials on wheels. I can change them myself without a shop and the old wheels are showing some signs of rust anyway.

[Be Free]

The way I do it (you can do it differently)

I start with the axles. I have 3500 lb axles on my trailer so each tire should see a maximum of 1750 lbs by design so I'm going to use a tire that can carry at least 1750 pounds, preferably a bit more. The load range designation differs by tire size (you need a higher "letter" for a 13" tire than a 15" for example). Choose a load range that is at least as high as the single tire weight design. If you move up a step it adds a bit of safety margin and it certainly can't hurt anything but your wallet.

When it comes to radial or bias it's pretty much up to you as long as you don't mix them. All radial or all bias is the way to go. I've always used bias ply tires but the last time I changed them I could not find any locally and I'm currently running radials. I can't tell any difference in they way the trailer feels when I'm on the road.

Bias: usually less expensive and will tolerate abuse better. They tend to take a set (get a flat spot) if left in one position for a long time. This will go away after you've been on the road a while but you may notice a slight "thump" until it does. If you are driving on rough roads these may be a better choice. They usually run 50-80 psi. If you "pick up" a nail you are more likely to be able to plug a puncture in a bias ply tire.

Radial: give a smoother ride with less rolling resistance resulting in better gas mileage. This may be important to you if you trailer long distance. They are very sensitive to under-inflation and can fail catastrophically if they are overloaded and/or under-inflated. If you take care of them they are great tires. These range 35-50 psi as a rule. It is more difficult to plug a radial. Patches installed from the inside are safer (and more expensive).

I recommend you always run your tires at their maximum rated pressure. There is no advantage to not doing so. You will get better gas mileage, better tread wear, and you are less likely to overheat the tire. The only reason you run your tires on your car at less than the maximum is for a smoother ride. Your boat does not care about a smooth ride.

[Be Free]

I see that Russ posted while I was typing.

If you can't mount the wheels yourself, particularly if you are seeing rust on the old wheels, getting them pre-mounted is a good idea. A couple of times I've actually found pre-mounted sets cheaper than the exact same tire without the wheel. I hope you get lucky if you go that way.

To everyone: the date code on your tire is usually the determining factor as to when you replace it. Waiting until you start to see signs of cracking (dry rot) in the sidewalls is (in my opinion) a very dangerous gamble. If you manage to wear out the tread on your trailer tires before they "age out" (absent abuse) I envy you and the time you are able to spend boating in exotic places.

The "official" recommended replacement age is 3-5 years. I lean more toward 5 but I don't often trailer long distances. This is a literal case of YMMV.

[dlandersson]

What I do

I'm thinking it's easier to just buy mounted tires on wheels.

[Russ]

A couple of times I've actually found pre-mounted sets cheaper than the exact same tire without the wheel. I hope you get lucky if you go that way.

I ordered 4 mounted wheels. I went with radials because they seem to be better for highway and that's most of what this trailer sees.
This way, I can swap them out myself. It's easier than removing them, blocking the boat/trailer and taking them to a shop to mount. Plus, I get new wheels, as these are starting to rust.

[Be Free]

I took a slightly unusual path with my tire process. I bought a manual tire changer and (after a bit of a learning curve) I'm getting pretty good at mounting my own tires. I figure I've already paid for the tool after three tires and replacing one broken valve stem.

[Highlander]

If u r doing alot of hiway trailering I went with comercial rated radials away more weight rating than needed with a much stronger tread & wall belt rating allowing for much higher speed rating & helps cut down on swaying with the stronger belted sidewalls & will never likely have a blow out even after striking an object on the hiway they take away much more abuse plus they,ll last two to three times longer if ur boat is loaded heavy
my reason was I was hauling from east to west coast & when I tow I haul a$$ peddal to the metal pluss boat is heavy loaded & driving 12-14 hrs a day
J

[Be Free]

What he said^

No question that a properly sized (including reasonably overspeced) radial is the best choice if you are doing a lot of highway driving.

[Russ]

I bought 4 "Class D" radials. MUCH more capacity than needed (2450 per tire). That should theoretically have 9800 lbs load capacity and I'm thinking the boat is about half that weight.