Newby buying trailer tires

[muskrat808]

My 1972 18 ' Starcraft Holiday"s trailer came with P19575R14 auto tires . First dumb question - Can I use the existing wheels with trailer tires or are they too wide for that ? If so, what wheels and trailer tires should I be looking at ? Total Wt of fully loaded boat and trailer (single axle) is about 3100 Lbs. Thanks

 

[airshot]

You will need to look for a trailer tire that supports at least a 1700 lb load..x..2 tires =3400 max load cap to match your current trailer load. If the wheels are in good condition should not be a problem unless they are to wide for the tires you are going to buy. Tires have a max and a min wheel width according to the mfg so you will need to do some homework. You must carry a lot of weight in your boat as I have the 22' Islander with 3.0 I/O and my total weight is under 3500lbs but I have tires with a 1950 b load capacity each.

 

[Starcraft5834]

I have 14 in trailer tires 2020lb ea.. 20ft cuddy. 3000lb is...dont cut corners on something as important as this...sidewalls on trailer tires r thicker..designed for loads

 

[muskrat808]

So , I can use auto tire rims with trailer tires ? I carry a fair amount of stuff but some of that total weight is the old heavy steel ez loader that came with it .

 

[Ming15237]

So , I can use auto tire rims with trailer tires ? I carry a fair amount of stuff but some of that total weight is the old heavy steel ez loader that came with it .

Yes, as long as the Bolt pattern is the same. I would strongly recommend using Maxis brand trailer tires. I have a tire dealership, and they are the best made he tires on the market right now. They are also the only trailer tires not made in China. Another fun fact, they are the only trailer tire we have not received back for warranty reasons.

 

[Scott Danforth]

if it says Kenda or Carlisle, run, those are popular china made brands. I have had good luck with Badyear Marathons.

 

[four winns 214]

I have two sets of Maxxis tires on tandem axle trailers. Happy so far.

 

[MTboatguy]

I wouldn't put Carlisle tires on my worst enemies trailer, those things are dangerous, my Dad was inflating one and the steel inner wire in the lip where it mounts to the rim blew apart and traumatically amputated his hand, as I said, those tires are dangerous. My buddy who owns an RV shop has had to replace hundreds of them on the trailers he sells and now the manufactures he deals with, won't put them on their trailers anymore!

 

[bruceb58]

You need to see if your rims have zero offset. If they aren't, buy some new wheels.

http://www.discounttire.com/dtcs/infoWheelOffsets.do

 

[bigdee]

I wouldn't put Carlisle tires on my worst enemies trailer, those things are dangerous, my Dad was inflating one and the steel inner wire in the lip where it mounts to the rim blew apart and traumatically amputated his hand, as I said, those tires are dangerous. My buddy who owns an RV shop has had to replace hundreds of them on the trailers he sells and now the manufactures he deals with, won't put them on their trailers anymore!

Whew.....I kinda wish I had not read this post. I will be thinking of your Dad's experience every time I inflate a tire!

 

[Watermann]

To stay with your current wheels they are most likely 14" 5 bolt 4.5" with zero offset or they wouldn't fit under your fenders. You can use your old wheels with trailer tires but be careful when buying load rated trailer tires for towing an AL boat as they have little in the way of give in the sidewall and will bounce the wholly living you know what out of your boat and everything in it. There is no way your tin boat and it motor outweigh a passenger cars front end even with the trailer frame. I just got some Carlisle wheels for my Starcraft Chief and had a local tire shop put new Mastercraft tires on them that were P215 70 R14.

 

[MTboatguy]

I have not read about any problems with Carlisle wheels, it is their trailer tires I won't buy, there have been numerous problems with them.

 

[JASinIL2006]

I was looking for trailer tires last year, and I ultimately went with Kenda Loadstar radials. I've got about 4000 miles on them, and I really like them. Rides much better than my old Carlisle bias ply tires.

 

[Blind Date]

Yes your current rims will work just fine with trailer tires. I run passenger car tires on the trailer under my CVX18. BF Goodrich Radial TA's, 205/70 R14.

 

[UncleWillie]

The rims for a trailer need to be Zero Offset. The mounting surface is centered within the wheel.
Auto wheels often have offset giving them the popular Deep Dished look.
Unless there is a special reason you want to use the current wheels, Fancy Custom?, it is often cheaper to buy the new tires already mounted on a wheel.
The cost of the wheel is often less expensive than removing the old tires and remounting the new ones. (~$5?)

Auto tires are a poor choice for trailer use. Auto tires have soft sidewalls to assist in handling around corners.
Trailer tires are super stiff to support the heavy loads down the straight aways. There's no steering on trailers!
Trailer tires will commonly be inflated to 50psi and up. Auto tires seldom see even 40 psi.

Whatever tires you get, keep them out of the SUN when not actually on the road.
UV light form the sun will kill them in two years or less. Tire covers are way cheaper than tire.
Don't forget the spare tire. If uncovered, it may fail just when you need it most.

 

[bruceb58]

Kenda, Maxxis and TowMaster are the 3 I would pick.

I would not use automotive tires on a trailer let alone a 70s series tire!

 

[Redfred1]

My tire guy will not install automobile tires on a trailer According to him trailer tires are a bias tire that will give with road conditions. They also have a thicker sidewall. (6ply). Don't know if he is right; he has been in business with his Dad since '65.

 

[bruceb58]

My tire guy will not install automobile tires on a trailer According to him trailer tires are a bias tire that will give with road conditions. They also have a thicker sidewall. (6ply). Don't know if he is right; he has been in business with his Dad since '65.

Trailer tires come in either radial or bias construction and come in many ply ratings.

 

[H20Rat]

According to him trailer tires are a bias tire that will give with road conditions. They also have a thicker sidewall. (6ply). Don't know if he is right; he has been in business with his Dad since '65.

So i'm guessing he has a large supply of turn of the last century technology (bias ply) tires to get rid of! There are very, very few reasons to use bias ply tires, I'm running radials on every trailer that I can and am very happy with them. I have one trailer that I can't get radials for (snowmobile trailer with those tiny/short/fat tires), and they last 2-3 seasons before they are shot.

I've run passenger and LT tires on trailers before, no issues. As long as they are rated for the load, you wouldn't have problems. (keep in mind semi tires... Steer axle or trailer, they are all the same)

 

[bruceb58]

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tirete...jsp?techid=219

As far as the OP using passenger tires, may be hard finding a 14" passenger tire that has enough load capacity once you knock off 9%.