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Elite Veteran
Posts: 1018
Location: Central, Texas | I need suggestions for new trailer tires for a 3 horse trailer with an 8 foot shortwall LQ. The old tires say 235 85 16R. They are some wierd brand and have not held up well. Any suggestions? |
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Member
Posts: 20
Location: Penrose , Colorado | All they we ever put on a trailer is Michleins and we do not have very many tire problems with the summer heat, our trailer is a 4 horse with a 15' shortwall. |
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Expert
Posts: 1956
 
Location: Ky | Can't go wrong with Goodyear. But all tires have to meet US conformity standards so the proper load range is more important than the brand.
I would never go below a D on a trailer but I would recommend an E for your trailer.
I do have some expertise in this. I built tires for 18 years for a major tire company. Probably can't tell which one?
Edited by jd&ez 2014-04-27 8:10 AM
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Blessed 
Location: Here | jd&ez - 2014-04-26 4:50 PM Can't go wrong with Goodyear. But all tires have to meet US conformity standards so the proper load range is more important than the brand.
I would never go below a D on a trailer but I would recommend an E for your trailer.
I do have some expertise in this. I built tire for 18 years for a major tire company. Probably can't tell which one?
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Sock Snob
Posts: 3021
| Need at least 12 ply would be more than and E range. How often do you use your trailer. |
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  A Lady with Fight
Posts: 2701
Location: NC | 10 ply should be fine. You can always run higher load rating tires. Just depends on personal preference really.
I will be getting brand new tires for ours this year and I'll be investing in Mastercrafts. American made, American owned. I run them on my car and my Jeep. (Hubby got a steal on some lightly used BFGs, so those are on the truck or else it would be running Mastercrafts too).
Mastercraft Courser R/Ds are good trailer tires. We always run 'truck' tires. They're a whole lot easier to find a replacement for in a bind and they have more tread on them, so they last longer. Mastercraft is like the economy line of Cooper, in price, NOT in quality. You'll get a good deal on a good tire.
And this is coming from a guy literally born into the tire business. Hubby's family ran a tire shop for years and he spent a good bit of his life changing tires on cars, trucks, semis, trailers, tractors, etc. So he's very OCD about what we run. VERY. |
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 Extreme Veteran
Posts: 475
Location: Alabama | The age of the tires are just as important as other factors. Tires are only good for 5 years from the date they were manufactured (always check the date before you allow them to be mounted). I always have to change mine due to age long before they are worn out. |
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Expert
Posts: 1477
Location: In the land of peanuts and cotton | We have a 3h with 14ft short wall. We use Firestones. We use them on the truck and trailer. No idea about the ply and all that stuff but change every 2 years regardless of whether there worn or not. We do check the date to make sure there new before putting them on. We started using Firestones about 5yrs ago. Never have had a blow out since we started using them.
Edited by TessBelle 2014-04-27 1:28 AM
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Sock Snob
Posts: 3021
| I run a car shop and the 12 ply tires where only like 115.00 each while load range e could be fine depenging on the trailer and gross weight. A friend i replaced here E Tires with E and they wore well she has 3 horse with 8 foot sw. It only cost 10.00 a tire or 40.00 for all 4 tires to be 12 ply. Yes master craft is a private branded cooper tire i sell the he!! Out of them. light truck tires are made different than trailer tires i think that trailer tires are made to handle more heat. I have 14ply on my 3 horse but it has a 14sw and oversize stalls. |
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Expert
Posts: 1956
Location: Ky | hlynn - 2014-04-26 9:15 PM 10 ply should be fine. You can always run higher load rating tires. Just depends on personal preference really. I will be getting brand new tires for ours this year and I'll be investing in Mastercrafts. American made, American owned. I run them on my car and my Jeep. (Hubby got a steal on some lightly used BFGs, so those are on the truck or else it would be running Mastercrafts too). Mastercraft Courser R/Ds are good trailer tires. We always run 'truck' tires. They're a whole lot easier to find a replacement for in a bind and they have more tread on them, so they last longer. Mastercraft is like the economy line of Cooper, in price, NOT in quality. You'll get a good deal on a good tire. And this is coming from a guy literally born into the tire business. Hubby's family ran a tire shop for years and he spent a good bit of his life changing tires on cars, trucks, semis, trailers, tractors, etc. So he's very OCD about what we run. VERY.
Mastercrafts are Cooper. While agree that Cooper's are fine tires and fine company, they are no longer American owned. They were the last fully American owned tire company but just shoe companies and just about everything else, that's history. |
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Expert
Posts: 1956
Location: Ky | daisycake123 - 2014-04-26 9:08 PM Need at least 12 ply would be more than and E range. How often do you use your trailer.
Not necessarily. The load range is the most important thing. An E would be fine for that trailer. Adding more plies can be a good thing but adding plys also adds heat. The heavier the tire and the stiffer the sidewalls the more heat buildup you will have.
That is the death of tires, heat.
The reason radila tire became popular is because they wear longer. Why do they wear longer? Radial fabrication vs bias fabrication has less rolling resistance. Less rolling resistance means less heat buildup inside the tire.
Trailer manufacturers should really come up with a way to ventilate the fenderwells better. Not only do trailer tires get heat buildup just from the load they are carrying, they don't get good exposure to air inside those small fenderwells. |
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 More bootie than waist!
Posts: 18425
Location: Riding Crackhead. | I won't use anything but 14 ply on my trailer. 4 horse, 14' shortwall with a 10' slide. I also fill with Nitrogen. |
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Expert
Posts: 1956
Location: Ky | CYA Ranch - 2014-04-27 10:29 AM I won't use anything but 14 ply on my trailer. 4 horse, 14' shortwall with a 10' slide. I also fill with Nitrogen. On a trailer that size you are correct to use that sturdy of a tire. The nitrogen thing is fine but it's really just a marketing gimmick.
Edited by jd&ez 2014-04-27 1:02 PM
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More bootie than waist!
Posts: 18425
Location: Riding Crackhead. | jd&ez - 2014-04-27 1:00 PM CYA Ranch - 2014-04-27 10:29 AM I won't use anything but 14 ply on my trailer. 4 horse, 14' shortwall with a 10' slide. I also fill with Nitrogen. On a trailer that size you are correct to use that sturdy of a tire. The nitrogen thing is fine but it's really just a marketing gimmick.
IMO its not a gimmick. I had better luck this last year using nitrogen then I did all the years prior using air. |
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 Reaching for the stars....
Posts: 12708
| I went through 3 or 4 sets of tires on my little trailer (3 H old Sundowner, no lq) in 5 or 6 years. FINALLY went to the Michelin with steel sidewalls and stopped having baby and blowout issues.
http://www.michelinman.com/tire-selector/category/light-truck/xps-rib/tire-details
Edited by lonely va barrelxr 2014-04-27 2:12 PM
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Expert
Posts: 1956
Location: Ky | CYA Ranch - 2014-04-27 1:10 PM jd&ez - 2014-04-27 1:00 PM CYA Ranch - 2014-04-27 10:29 AM I won't use anything but 14 ply on my trailer. 4 horse, 14' shortwall with a 10' slide. I also fill with Nitrogen. On a trailer that size you are correct to use that sturdy of a tire. The nitrogen thing is fine but it's really just a marketing gimmick.
If you feel it's worth paying to have 20% more nitrogen in your tires than you would get from a regular air fill then it is worth it.
It will maintain the air pressure a little better and if you are one to not normally keep a check on tire pressures then that's a plus. I checked the air pressure every week when I was hauling.
The other thing about maintaining the air pressue is that most trailer tires need to be kept at 75-80 PSI. Most gas station pumps will not put out that much pressure. Or, if they do, it's difficult to get the trailer to the pump. I carried my own air compressor that would put out 120 lbs of pressure. Just start up the trailer's generator and plug in. I also carried my air power tools on the road so I could use air tools to change a tire when I had to.
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More bootie than waist!
Posts: 18425
Location: Riding Crackhead. | jd&ez - 2014-04-27 1:48 PM CYA Ranch - 2014-04-27 1:10 PM jd&ez - 2014-04-27 1:00 PM CYA Ranch - 2014-04-27 10:29 AM I won't use anything but 14 ply on my trailer. 4 horse, 14' shortwall with a 10' slide. I also fill with Nitrogen. On a trailer that size you are correct to use that sturdy of a tire. The nitrogen thing is fine but it's really just a marketing gimmick.
It will maintain the air pressure a little better and if you are one to not normally keep a check on tire pressures then that's a plus. I checked the air pressure every week when I was hauling.
The other thing about maintaining the air pressue is that most trailer tires need to be kept at 75-80 PSI. Most gas station pumps will not put out that much pressure. Or, if they do, it's difficult to get the trailer to the pump. I carried my own air compressor that would put out 120 lbs of pressure. Just start up the trailer's generator and plug in. I also carried my air power tools on the road so I could use air tools to change a tire when I had to.
If I need to add air for some reason I use the air tanks on my semi. I monitor the trailer tire pressure before I leave each weekend as every person should do and I also bring my own air power tools along that I hook up to my semi if I need to change a tire.
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| fasterhorses - 2014-04-26 1:15 PM
I need suggestions for new trailer tires for a 3 horse trailer with an 8 foot shortwall LQ. The old tires say 235 85 16R. They are some wierd brand and have not held up well. Any suggestions?
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Apparently you are running light truck tires on your trailer and they do not hold up well at all. Less load capacity, flexible sidewalls and less air pressure so tire and side walls are softer and more flexible ..... Turning any type of curve or into a driveway or turning around your trailer wheels drag sideways and if you will have someone turn your trailer around normally while you walk along the inside circle and watch your trailer tires you will see them fold up like banana peels during the circle. Especially if they are truck tires or under inflated trailer tires.
I thought it was unusual for no one to mention that to be a trailer tire it MUST HAVE .... ST ... in the number sequence like your tires they should read ... ST235 85 16 or ST235 85r16 .....
Trailer tires will have a straight line tread pattern to make them pull straighter behind your trailer and slide side ways easier when making any kind of turn ..... where truck tires the tread design hangs over the side of the tire and creates a drag which makes the tire fold up and become damaged very easily.
Running your trailer tires at full air pressure that is stated on the sidewalls of your trailer tires is required to get the best use of the tire. Stiffer side walls, less heat (under inflated tires will get so hot they will glow in the dark)
Most trailer tires showing a load range E or F will show 3,000 to 4,000 load weight for each tire ... truck tires are about a 1000 lbs less per tire .... so multiply whatever number you find on your tires by 4 and that is the maximum weight the tires can handle .... and that does not mean at hiway speed ... you want to have at least 25% more tire load capacity than the weight you are carrying in your trailer and be aware ... 65MPH IS THE MAX SPEED FOR MOST TRAILER TIRES!!
LQ owners are the worlds worst at piling stuff in the trailer till the stuff weighs more than the trailer and makes the trailer even more unbalanced from front to rear than ever . The only thing you can do is try to have your trailer level from front to rear when fully loaded so all 4 tires can share the load equally... Look at your horse trailer w/wo/LQ .. trailer wheels all the way at the back door ... look at an RV trailer ... they are sitting almost centered to balance the trailer load and have less tongue weight on the pulling vehicle.
I did a quick google to find load ranges E and F with the maximum weight range stated on each tire. I would highly recommend you buy the wheel and the tire for that extra $20 more than just a tire since we all know trailer mfgrs put the cheapest thing they can on the ground. Your steel wheels must be able to handle the 85-95 lbs of pressure you are going to be putting in your tires ... and make sure the wheel has the same number of lugs as your current wheels do ... and most horse trailers have Dexter axles ...
LOAD RANGE E AND F COMPARISONS ...
go to link to find more information and pricing ..
LOAD RANGE E ...........................
Product Summary:
Tires and Wheels
Tire Only
Radial Tire
235/85-16
Product Specs:
16 Inch
Load Range
Feature-rich, radial, special trailer tire provides excellent traction for a safe, smooth ride in both wet and dry conditions. Fits 16" wheels and has a maximum load capacity of 3,640 lbs at 95 psi.
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LOAD RANGE F ...
Code: AM10501
Price: $208.95
Product Summary:
Tires and Wheels
Tire Only
Radial Tire
235/85-16
Product Specs:
16 Inch
Load Range F
Feature-rich, radial, special trailer tire provides excellent traction for a safe, smooth ride in both wet and dry conditions. Fits 16" wheels and has a maximum load capacity of 3,960 lbs at 110 psi
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These numbers vary with different tire mfgrs .... I was totally disappointed with Michelin information on line ... they are into sales pitches instead of factual information on their tires. To my knowledge Michelin does not make an ST tire for trailers ...
GOOD LUCK ... HOPE THIS HELPS IN YOUR TIRE SEARCH .... THERE ARE A LOT OF CHINESE TIRES OUT THERE THAT HAVE AMERICAN SOUNDING NAMES ... lol ..
Here is the link to look at just tires or tires with wheels per the ones I listed above and FREE SHIPPING ... order 5 so your spare will be the same as those on the ground ...
http://www.etrailer.com/dept-pg-Tires_and_Wheels-pc-16_Inch.aspx
http://www.etrailer.com/dept-pg-Tires_and_Wheels-pc-16_Inch.aspx
Edited by BARRELHORSE USA 2014-04-28 1:45 AM
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