do i really need "Trailer" tires...

[beerjet]

Nice looking trailer did you refab the old one or is it brand spanking new?
Yup ... It sure is brand spanking new . And so was the first tire that blew out on the way home from the AVI . I mean it did have a million miles on it since I picked it up on friday and drove to the AVI and on that sunday one tire decided it wasnt worth living any longer.
Oh yeah , today I decided to drive down to Lake Hodges and when I got to the ramp to back it in , another fukin tire was flat Swapped it and it was all good . Again . Both of my spares are shit now . I'm just glad kustom trailer told me I was getting "heavy duty trailer tires" . Oh wait , I went to Americas tire co. like Competative told me to and they said that those were car tires
Its gonna be a shitty monday at competative . I guarrantee it !
-beerjet-

[SmokinLowriderSS]

When I bought tires for my trailer the guy told me the difference between trailer tires and passenger car tires is weight rating. Yea 6 plies and will hold 2000lbs a tire is great, but not needed on a 18' boat. Whats your boat and trailer weigh? If car tires will get the job done dont worry. If your that worried about and do as the books say, you should change your trailer tires every three years. In which case you will want the less expensive car tires. :idea:
Wow, and my car tires under Lowrider are only rated at 1900+ pounds each.
Well hotrod, I hope that plan works for you, but it has one major problem.
Reducing tire pressure INCREASES tire sidewall flex, which increases the temperature of the rubber tire body. Tires are basically melted into one single solid object, and when they near the temperature at which they were melted together, they melt back apart, usually throwing the tread off.
Buy one of the fairly inexpensive IR thermometers that will read up to about 300* and stop every so often. See what the tires are heating up to. The vulcanizing temp is low, only arround 270*F.
I tow regularly here on the highway in temps as high as 105 in normal July's and Augusts (being cool so far this year), and NOT slowing down to 55mph either. My car radials have never given trouble, even at 5+ hours of continuous highway speeds in the mid-day sun. I do not buy the cheapest ones available tho. Buy a temperature grade of at least "B", "A" would be best. That is the indicator of how well the tire fights heat build-up.
I AM only towing arround 2500 pounds max, on a single axle trailer, and have been for almost 30 years.

[78Southwind]

Its gonna be a shitty monday at competative . I guarrantee it !
-beerjet-
Sucks about the tires but that trailer does look bad ass. I like the theme you got going there. btw..Our Hallett needs some buffing, why don't you bring your Hallett down to Topock and we'll have a buffing party at Jeremies.
http://www.***boat.com/image_center/...t_V_Drive3.jpg

[hotrod56cars]

...
Well hotrod, I hope that plan works for you, but it has one major problem.
Reducing tire pressure INCREASES tire sidewall flex, which increases the temperature of the rubber tire body. Tires are basically melted into one single solid object, and when they near the temperature at which they were melted together, they melt back apart, usually throwing the tread off.
Buy one of the fairly inexpensive IR thermometers that will read up to about 300* and stop every so often. See what the tires are heating up to. The vulcanizing temp is low, only arround 270*F.
...
All right, so you're saying the only way to properly inflate the tire when traveling through extreme heat is with a thermometer, or?

[GunninGopher]

I have tire pressure monitors in my new truck and it showed a 5psi increase on the 285-65-18 BFG's while driving to the river last week. I don't know what the difference would be with the smaller trailer tires but if it is greater that is significant.
I plan on running my trailer a few PSI lower now in the summer. I check the pressure before every trip and have always run right on the sidewall spec.
I had enough blowouts as a youth to learn me really good about having the tires done right. Since I have done the pressure checking every trip and carrying a spare, I have had no problems. I call a spare my good luck charm.
I also replace all the tires when 1 is showing stress. Yes it costs about $300 every time, but changing tires in the middle of the desert day is much crappier than spending the $, and I'm not one of you big money guys.

[billet racing 1]

I run the BF Goodrich Radial TA's on my trailer. low and wide 60 series. Has made the trip to Havasu and Bakersfield at least a dozen times per year in the heat. Never a problem.
something to consider, if you have perpetual problems with tire wear, heat or blow outs, CHECK THE ALIGNMENT. And i cant tell you how many times I've seen trailers cut the corner and drag the tires across the curb or rouph edge of pavement. Hell on Sidewalls.
Jerry

[SmokinLowriderSS]

All right, so you're saying the only way to properly inflate the tire when traveling through extreme heat is with a thermometer, or?
Tires are only at their maximum carrying capacity when AT their maximum COLD tire pressure.
What is the load on each of the tires? I don't know.
Are the tires shedding tread from pressure, or temperature? I don't know.
I have my doubts as to pressure shred.
I don't know the definition of "extreme" heat. how much different is 105/107 on asphalt or concrete from 120 on the same surface? I do not know.
What I am saying is this, "Think about this, then, get a thermometer so you are not just "flying blind" and doing what someone who MAY OR MAY NOT have any idea what he is talking about."
On a tripple axle trailer, I might think more than once about LT tires as the scrubbing action can be very hard on the sidewalls, IF the weight justifies the mess of tires.
Just last Friday, my wife called me, with a flat, on my F-150 truck, Pass. Front, which was properly inflated, been on the truck the 1 year we owned it (used vehicle), been driven, 75 to 80 MPH for the seccond summer for 45 miles each way to and from work nearly daily, and what it did was throw off every inch of tread, and both steel belts (radial). The liner was still intact, and inflated. (tore up other stuff under the hood)
Why? I have no idea.
She said it had recently taken up a "driving on washboards" feeling slow, which cleared up at higher speeds. She hadn't mentioned it to me, yet.
It was folding/loosening belts. Why? Who knows.
It had not been rotated/switched sides, it HAD come from back to front 8 or 9 months ago, no heavy load, just like the other front tire, which is perfect. No "extreme" heat (about 90*), same 75MPH freeway it had driven 400 times before, no foul weather, no road debris.