Tires??

[Signman]

Howdy, What's everybody using for tires? Someone told me that I need bias ply tires because radials will make the trailer bounce. I'm building the 4'x8' trailer, and I'm using 15" tires. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks, Darrel

[Sierrajack]

Signman,
Actually the choice is up to you. Many trailer manufacturers use bias-ply tires today. Bias-ply tires are an older technology and have a greater load carrying capacity than a radial.
Radials won't "follow" road scars and ruts like a bias-ply and offer a smoother "ride".
Radials became the standard design tire for automobiles in 1973 and are a litle bit heavier than a bias-ply. Radials are more the accepted tire because of the wide choice of designs and lower profiles.
Tires are part of the suspension system and act as springs. Bouncing can be caused by too much spring, too much tire air pressure, too many cord plies (harder tire) and no shocks.
No - radials will not make your trailer bounce.

[emiller]

I went with radials. I had a old car with bis ply and they will stay the shape when sitting a long time and will tend to bounce until the outta roundness goes away.

[doug hodder]

Signman...another consideration is whether to use trailer rated tires or car tires...trailers typically have more ply in them ( 6 as opposed to 4) and will tend to run harder than a car tire, if inflated as required, maybe that's where the bounce theory is from. I've done 2 with trailer tires, but went with car tires on this one...but it hasn't been out on the road yet...but has about 3 miles going in and out of the garage...I haven't really noticed any excessive bounce with the trailer types...Doug

[asianflava]

Check out this thread:
http://tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?t=8482
or this:
http://tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?p=89942

Most people use auto tires. Trailer tires carry more load, which is good for a utility trailer, you don't know how much you are going to put on the trailer. With a teardrop the weight will fall within a couple hundred pounds.

[madjack]

...we use 205-70-R15 car tires, running around 28-30#s of air in them...work great, track straight, no bounce..........

[Signman]

Thanks everybody. I guess I'll just get regular car tires.