Trailer tires - 15 vs. 16

[Jeff Teuton]

If you have 6 hole wheels on your trailer, then you have 5000# axles each. 6 hole 16 rims are available. You can get cheapies, steel painted from lots of sources, or aluminum wheels which in that pattern there are some reasonable wheels out there. You will have no problem with back spacing. I assume you are going to use a 16 x 6 wheel which is the standard. I assume you have a 2 axle trailer which I would use a 10 ply (load range e), and a good brand. I use Firestone Transports on my 2 axle, but there are good brands available. Never use any ST (special trailer) tires as they are junk. The reason they are for trailers only is they cannot be certified as a steering axle tire. After that investment, you should be good till you wear them out or they get real old and crack. Nobody makes a good 15 tire for a race car trailer that I know of. If you have 4.5 spacing 5 hole wheels, then you have 3500# each axle, and the best you can hope for is a probably a light truck rated pickup truck tire probably 6 ply (load range C). That axle is famous for knocking out the outer bearing because it is small and heats up and then welds itself to the axle. The 5000# axle has larger bearings and larger brakes. Hope this helps.