Looking for Tire Brand Recommendation

[Capebuild]

Hello,

I was all set to buy my tires with rims from one of the online e-tailers and the combo I had my eye on not only went up in price by $50 per set but they are also out of stock now.

The tire/wheel combo was a Karrier ST215/75R14 6 ply Radial Trailer Tire with an Aluminum wheel.

I can buy the wheels separately but am looking for recommendations for a 14 inch 215/75R14 6 ply Radial Trailer Tire.

I know some tire manufacturer's tires can be a bit "iffy" as far as quality so can member's recommend
a good tire brand?

Thank you.

John

[gudmund]

My 'vote' goes for using 'regular' car tires - I have found trailer tires usually $$ about twice the cost and just seem to be too 'stiff' side-walled for a teardrop. I have been using 205/75-14 that I get from W-M for $53 each for years now = Made in USA by Goodyear for W-M, "Douglas" name brand which are marketed and warranted by W-M which makes them common & available all across the US if another is ever needed in the future. Have used this same tire on my daily 'driver' (smaller size) for years getting the 45000++ miles they are tread-wear rated for out of each with never having had a problem ever yet too speak of. (when working I was averaging 25-30thou++ miles per year back/forth to work driving Geo Metro's using them - that's over 30 years, putting almost 1 mil-miles on 7 metro's -retired now and still driving #7) Car tires 'ride' so much better than trailer tires that are just 'TOO STIFF' side-walled for a teardrop. Trailer tires are made for 'them' oversized "top-heavy" trailers. And if 'off-roading' is in the plan = I would be looking at using 'LT' (light truck) tires for the tear.............. just my opinion Take care
PS what ever you decide on = when buying, always make sure you get them "balanced"

[TimC]

If you plan to put on 10k+ miles per year I would go with Gudmond's recommendation.

I use ST (Special Trailer) radial tires because of a different consideration. I maybe put 2k miles on in a year. Usually less. A couple thousand mile trips each season plus a few short trips is about max for me. The STs give me good performance for less cost and at six years I will consider replacing them anyway. So I get 12k miles out of them and yes they may look like they have a lot of tread life left, but, the age is what I am considering. I could get many more miles if my travel plans change and still get good performance.

The last two sets of tires I've bought were from a place called recstuff.com. They have a good selection and fast service. You will probably have someone closer to you for similar deals. Just someone to compare to. These are what I bought (13")...

https://recstuff.com/trailer-tires-wheels/trailer-tires/13-trailer-tires/st175-80r13-load-range-d-radial-trailer-tire-kenda-loadstar/

Tim

[Juneaudave]

I've been running car tires and can't say as if I've ever had issues in 12 years pulling from Alaska to Texas and from one coast to another. I am replacing my tires this year due to age.

[gudmund]

just returned from my local W-M after buying 2 more of the 205x75/14 Douglas All-season tires I have been using. They had 2 'really fresh' ones in stock (manufacture dates of 0321 & 0921) The ones on the trailer are only 2 years old BUT being the trailer is getting 2 "NEW" mag/aluminum wheels = this also means 2 fresh "NEW" tires to go with them (will sell the old mag aluminum wheels/tire set later) The 2 "NEW"Douglas 205x75-14 tires ended up $$'ing $53ea x 2 = $117 with Wash sales tax and their extra fees. More will be added for balancing once the wheels get here + valve stems $$...... this is a radial tire - 4ply tread with a 2 ply side wall and has a speed rating of 'S' (110 mph) along with a '95' Load Index rating (1310 lbs at 35psi) My 5x8 tear weighs 1650 fully loaded.... take care

[halfdome, Danny]

I run Good Year made in USA ST 205/75 R15 trailer tires with Durawall Technology.
They replace the Carlisle made in China that had a tire separation.
Danny

[swoody126]

the above suggestions to run auto tires is quite sound

auto tires have a serviceable life of 10 years and "ST" branded trailer tires have a realistic life expectency of 5 years(no matter how many miles or how deep the tread) they just come apart

i have learned THE HARD WAY that failure to repace ST branded tires before they reach their 5th birthday is asking for trouble(many will argue and they were d... lucky)

i have been caught ordering tires over the interweb butt they come w/ virtually no/ZERO warranty since you would have to dismount them and mail them back to the vendor 'cause aint nobody carryin' the brand anywherez near when the tire fails

buy near home from an established dealer that will stand behind their product

save now or save later

just me relating my personal experiences

sw

[Sparksalot]

Rose just got a pair of Hankook tires, plus a wheel upgrade. She had 30,000 on two sets of trailer tires without incident, but I was weary of the speed limitations and wary of the ratings for those. These are a recommended tire for the Ranger they are obviously on.