Trailer Tires

[Rich Biebel]

Most brands of common 15" STR trailer tires are made in either China or Taiwan.......Gooyear Marathons and Titans included. Maxxis are made in Taiwan.....Carlysles and Denmans and Towmasters I would bet are all made somewhere other than the USA. Some tires were made in either Mexico or Canada but I am not sure about some of these brands anymore.

I had old Michelins on my first box trailer and never blew one out. I did lose one due to a cracked rim and an air leak. Tire blew on the way home from E-Town..... Michelin stopped making 15" trailer service tires. I bought 4 Carlysles to replace them.......Total junk.....One blowout and the others had tread seperation. I was hitting most of the Division races at the time I had those Carlysles. They didn't make 2 seasons....... Replaced them with Towmasters...sold that trailer

Bought a nice used Classic and it had load range E Titans......One blew out on a COOL evening on the way home from my local track. Trailer is not overloaded and I rarely run over 70 mph....I check the pressures regularly so it was not low when it blew. Tread came off and was no fun trying to get off Rt 80 to find a decent place to change it......drove 5 miles or more at low speeds to get off the highway.....ruined the other tire on that side.....I would change them all anyway so I didn't care......wasn't going to change a tire on the highway side,at night on Rt 80.......

Replaced them with GoodYear Marathons from Tire Rack......They say made in China right on them and so did the Titans but you had to look closely to find that. I would not have bought them if I could buy the Maxxis tires somewhere at a decent price.

I did find the Goodyear info about upping the air pressure to run over 65mph. I have been setting my tires at nearly 70psi cold and so far they have held up fine.....but I have ZERO confidence in them from past experiences of my own and other racers I have spoken to....

Hankook does have some nice tires but I have not been able to find a 15" trailer servcie radial from them.

If I was on the road a lot going to races.......I would defiantely go to 16" rims and LT tires.....

[Kenny Wigington]

Pete, I have another vote for the 16" swap. I blew out 3 15's and went to SW wheel and got 16" wheels for under 180 for 4. 215/16"LT truck tires fit great and have lasted , 2 1/2 yrs now. I do wipe them down with tire/belt dressing too, but usually about 3 times a yr... I have been trying to remember to buy tire covers , because mine sits outside all the time. Sunlight kills the tire almost as fast as low pressure. I run 80 psi in mine, on a 28 ft. They have shown very little wear so far. I even did the Dawn dishwashing liquid in them, figured, it couldnt hurt. I rarely have to add any air to them, honestly. Jimmy Parker told me about SW Wheel.

[Greg Barsamian]

Sunlight kills the tire almost as fast as low pressure.
Kenny is "Dead-On" with his answer.

Marvin Rifchin from M& H Tire (RIP) told us to never leave tires exposed out in sunlight for long periods of time, it's rays attack the natural oil in the rubber, which has a direct effect on it's performance, the sidewall.
(thats Y Pro's cover they're tires in the lanes)

Look at tires after they've failed, if you see no real damage to the tread, it's usually due to the delamination of the sidewall, and belt failure!

We now cover the tires!

[Pistol Pete]

Kenny

What is SW wheel ?????

Thx for all the help on my question from all. I will be buying tires shortly.

[Jeff Teuton]

Get the E rated 16 inch tires. Trailer tires, trailer special etc usually means they don't have the spec to go on a motor car. Really bad stuff. I think many of us have been through what you are expereincing. Dexter makes inexpensive steel wheels (16 in 6 hole) or the aluminums aren't that bad in the older truck and trailer wheels.

[Rich Biebel]

Originally Posted by Pistol Pete

Kenny

What is SW wheel ?????

Thx for all the help on my question from all. I will be buying tires shortly.

http://www.southwestwheel.com/?gclid...FSI55QodNkzmyg

[FED 387]

just checked with SW wheel ----lowest price the guy gave me was $125 PER WHEEL---- thats $500 for 4 steel rims then you need tires at about another $125-150 each so now you are up to about A THOUSAND dollars for the changeover---who did u talk to at SW ??--the guy I spoke to thought I was nuts when I told him 4/$180!!!! ----Comp 387

[Eddies66]

http://www.trailertires.com/

[Ed Wright]

I took Jeff's advice last year after a blow out. Already has 6 lug wheels, so I bought wheels and ten ply radials with a 110+ MPH speed rating. Uses 80 psi air pressure, and it tows better than ever. Big trucks no longer upset it. I used to really pucker up when passing or getting passed by 18 wheelers. Not anymore.

[Kenny Wigington]

Right here......http://www.southwestwheel.com/store/...w128700ms.aspx

I bought mine from here, and they had very good run out. We mounted them up, and rotated 2 so it didnt have 2 lb's of weight on a wheel.... Switched tire on one, now they have minimal weights on ea. Like I said the difference was huge. 10 ply 215/16 on those wheels, and , I dont sweat the fast *** rigs coming by anymore. Usually I run about 65-70, and shoot the tires and hubs with a temp gun at every fuel stop, to keep an eye on them. They keep good air pressure, and stay at 80 almost all the time.