Trailer Tires

[donbrown]

Getting a new set of tires for the Floe aluminum 2 place open trailer with bearing resevoirs.

Presently have 18.5x8.5-8 tires on 5 lug.

Was thinking on using 20.5x8.0-10.

The questions are:

Which is better Tow-Master,they are 6 ply ,load range C 1105 lbs ($60 each)or should I purchase 20.5 X 8.0 -10 Innove Driver Trailer Tire Load Range F 1553 lbs (84 each) ?

Will the higher load rated tire be too stiff?

What is a great source for tires?

 

[Snorider]

the taller tire will help going through the snow, you might notice the trailer riding a little rougher but it also depends how how much driving you do with it on what kind of roads.

i travel stupid amounts of gravel and other types of roads that aren't kind to trailer tires so i run load rating F bias plys. They are more expensive but they hold up to more abuse and i never get trailer flats, which is sweet and worth the extra money for me. But if your doing almost all your towing on pavement and good radial will be a good way to go and save a little money.

but do a rough guessamet on how much the trailer weighs, your sleds weight and anything else you might put on there and see how much ppsi are going to be on your tires. I went with taller tires last time just to reduce down on dragging the trailer and made it follow better in the deep snow to get where we unload at and just plain getting around the terrian in the summer.

 

[NWGooser]

This may sound basic, but if you are changing tire sizes, don't forget to change your spare tire also.

 

[donbrown]

This may sound basic, but if you are changing tire sizes, don't forget to change your spare tire also.

Good point. I'm gonna use both of the older smaller tires as spares.

 

[4GR8X]

Greetings Don Brown,

Q = Which is better Tow-Master,they are 6 ply ,load range C 1105 lbs ($60 each)or should I purchase 20.5 X 8.0 -10 Innove Driver Trailer Tire Load Range F 1553 lbs (84 each) ?
R = Man law got'ta go with the "F" rating.

Q = Will the higher load rated tire be too stiff?
R = Stiffer, yes but you'll enjoy the ability to vary your tire pressure to match the load on your trailer, minimizing the stiffness of the side wall and tread. The stock tires on my trailer I found I, pressured the tires to the maximum pressure shown on the side wall and lived with it.

Q = What is a great source for tires?
R = I've got nothing.

Random thoughts….Will you have adequate clearance with the new rubber?

With your original tires on and your trailer loaded verify the space between the top of your tire and the bottom side of your trailer, your "gross" measurement. As you travel your trailer suspension will compress from time to time and the distance you just measured will be less this would be your "net" measurement, tough to estimate...
You propose to go with a tire that is two (2) inches taller, so that means you've added one (1) inch in tire height from your hub to the outside edge of your tire

Will you have adequate space available to avoid rubbing your new tires on the bottom side of your trailer under compression?

You may need to re-evaluate the drop on your bumper hitch as well to assist in keeping your trailer sitting level and enjoying optimal tow ability.

Happy Shopping!

 

[donbrown]

Random thoughts….Will you have adequate clearance with the new rubber?

With the 8 inch tire there is 6 inches from the bed (top) and 4 inches of side clearance.

Since the 10 inch adds only an inch in height then I think it is still good with 5 inch clearance.

The width of each tire at 20.5 has not changed BUT the 10 inch should be slightly wider because of the way rim to hiegth to width id calculated.

Yeah right now the maximum psi on the load range C is 35 psi !!!
The load range F is much higher but don't know the number.

Does anyone know where to get channel clamps for a FLOE trailer?

 

[go high fast]

i was in the exact same boat with the 18.5 x 8.5 - 8. I went to the bigger 20.5 x 8 - 10 from Carlisle and perfer the bigger tire.

1.) a bit more rubber on the road.
2.) a bit more load capacity.
3.) a bit slower wheel speed on the highway.

I think the bigger wheel is the way to go.

 

[mad1818]

you can get clamps at most automotive parts stores. they have many sizes if your talking about the u-bolt that hold the axel assembly to the frame.

 

[hilinerider]

changed my 8's to 12 carlyle radials, got longer u bolts and put blocks on the axle to maintain bed clearance, then turned over my receiver to get the trailer to pull level, made the ramp a little steeper but most times i back into the snow at the parking lot so i don't have to use it anyways, still pulls nice as always

 

[whitefish]

I don't know about you guys but I have had nothing but troubles with the Carlyle's (sp). Blown tire after blown tire for no reason. One guy said they are crap so i went to the Good Year version, same size and have not had one go bad.

 

[donbrown]

I don't know about you guys but I have had nothing but troubles with the Carlyle's (sp). Blown tire after blown tire for no reason. One guy said they are crap so i went to the Good Year version, same size and have not had one go bad.

I have heard this from both sides ,,, people using Goodyear and people using Carlyle.

 

[the_machinist]

Don,

I don't know if it's an option but with all the towing we have to do to get to snow down here, I went up to a larger wheel diameter as well as my tire size.
I don't recall off hand exactly what I did but I can check if it's important.