jbell.louisburg wrote:woodywrkng wrote:JBell. It's considered a bit risky using car tires on a trailer. I'm no expert on this, and I assume the car tires will indeed work, but those in the know say there's a reason trailer tires are built differently, and can cost more than car tires. Maybe do a little research on the subject before pulling the trigger at Walmart.
I've done a bit of research on this --
yes trailer tires typically have a higher load range, stiffer sidewall, lower speed rating.
yes car tires typically have a lower load range, more flexible sidewall, higher speed rating.
Stiffer sidewalls are typically credited to less trailer "wallow" however, most wallow comes from wrong wheel/weight placement and not enough tongue weight.
I'm going to make sure on my trailer design, that the wheels will be far enough back, to eliminate any wallow and/or trailer wiggle/sway.
The walmart tires have a load rating of 88, which is 1235lbs per tire, which is higher than my max load of 1000lbs per tire
(2000lbs max trailer weight on axle, springs, etc...)
So, because these particular tires have plenty of load capacity, and they are speed rated, then I have no concerns towing at 75mph.
- For years, on this forum, and on others, I professed the merits of ST trailer tires, always stating that they were the only good choice. I had lots of experience using ST tires on tandem axle trailers, but little or no experience on single-axle (8" tires excluded). But, after changing my opinion about using ST tires on my squareback TTT (in preparation for light off-road use), I bought LT all-terrain tires, as a substitute for the ST tires I used before.
- LT (light truck) tires have slightly less sidewall stiffness than the ST tires, but with only 2000 lbs (I know, it's very heavy for a 4x8 trailer) on them, they shouldn't "wallow" much, if at all, especially with a weight distribution hitch set-up controlling the trailer. With LT tires, I'm also gaining more traction/grip over loose material, and I feel more secure using them (and their deeper tread depth) through standing water on roads. I lost confidence using cheap Chinese ST tires (though, I'm just about to order a set of bias-plies for my car-hauler, Chinese again), partially because of my preference for bias-ply ST tires, and the DRASTICALLY LOWER PRICE than LT tires would cost.
- I need the trailer back on the road, to haul some things locally, so it's a quick solution to a short-term problem; I have no doubt the Chinese tires will eventually fail me, as have their predecessors. But, I never considered P-series radial (passenger) tires for either application. On the little squareback TTT, I wanted to keep some sidewall stiffness, and gain the better grip of LT tires, and the all terrain aspect, too. I have known many users of P radials, hauling their expensive race-cars on the cheapest tires they could find...but most eventually got ST tires, later. I may regret the cheap ST tires I'm going to get, but it is the best I can do at this time (having to quickly get a new house), and I'm not expecting miracles.
- In your particular case, without having any deep-seated preference for proper ST tires (IMHO, I like stiff sidewalls on all trailers), you make a good case for trying P-radials. Many others here use them, too, so at that price.....