Need tire info

[Oregon Brew]

I'm building my trailer using the chassis from a homebuilt ATV trailer I bought used. The trailer hubs have a standard six-lug GM bolt pattern. The wheels that are on it are shot. I bought a set of 16" x 6" Carlisle wheels used that I want to install.

I believe I should use bias ply tires - I'm told that radials will skip around too much, especially on a light trailer. I'd like to keep the tires as small as possible, since the wheels are already pretty large. Any suggestions on appropriate size tires? I'm not finding much on the web.

Thanks very much.

[48Rob]

Radial tires will ride much better.
Bias ply tend to have a stiffer sidewall, sometimes helping to reduce sway on a heavy/ill balanced trailer.
A light trailer will fare better with a more cushioned ride.
If a trailer "skips" around, I would suspect too high a spring rating for the weight and or too much air pressure in the tires (regardless of the type).

Rob

[Shadow Catcher]

I have Michelin Harmony passenger car radial tires on our tear and quite frankly could not feel any difference between them and the Goodyear Marathon tires. My bet is that placement of the axle, spring rate and shock absorption is as or more Important in how much 'bounce' there is. We encountered some washboard roads on our trip with no problems and no bounce that I noticed and I was looking for it.

[bdosborn]

I went from Goodyear Marathons to truck tires and didn't notice a bit of difference. I don't think it matters much on a single axle trailer whether it's a bias ply, radial, trailer, truck or car tires. However, all bets are off on a tandem axle. There's a lot of side forces acting on the tires in a turn and I wouldn't use car tires.

There's a ton of discussion on the evils of trailer tires on the internet. However, most of our members don't have many issues with tires, probably due to how light a teardrop is in comparison to a traditional RV and the single axle.

IMHO,
Bruce

[Kody]

I'm using Light Truck steel belted 8 ply radial tires on my TD. I have the same on my boat trailer and they are extremely stable on the road. The size of my tires is 14-185-75 and they don't rock around on the side walls. If you have rocking with your trailer, you may need a tire with a greater number of plies in the walls. The main thing is to have your springs and shockies set up correctly making sure that the springs are not too stiff for the load of the trailer. Another error is to have the suspension bolts adjusted too tightly. These are the bolts that hold the springs and shackles together. These may need to be loosened slightly to allow the springs and shackles to move as they should. Cross ply tires are no longer used in Australia and are not available anywhere. These tires disappeared from the market many years ago. My wheel rims are 14" x 6.5". You say your wheels are shot, I recommend that you replace them with the best quality wheel you can find. Some wheels that I have seen are very "sus" and I would never buy such a wheel. The well-being of your trailer and also your own life may depend on the quality of the wheels you use. This is why I bought new wheels and new tires.

Kody

[H.A.]

Kxk

[Oregon Brew]

The trailer I am building on is "overbuilt" for my use, since it was built to haul ATVs. I'm almost worried it won't have enough weight on it. Given the axle that came on it, I'm limited to the wheels I can use, and therefore the size of tire. To lower the trailer a bit, I'm moving the axle to the inside of the leaf springs. Otherwise the galley will be too high to use. Once I get the wheels on and the platform on the trailer, I'll post a picture. Here's a picture with the wheels that came with it and the axle in its original position. The front of the floor begins about where the crossmember on the tongue is, and continues back for ten feet, putting 40% of the weight behind the wheels. The dog's name is Atticus, and he wants to be wherever I am.[img]

[Oregon Brew]

It doesn't have shocks, just leaf springs. I'll post a picture when I get it put together tomorrow. I don't know how I would even begin to retrofit shocks on it.