Crummy tires

[ahicks]

It's about the little "wiggle" soft(er) sidewalls can start, which under some circumstances, can elevate in severity and frequency to the point where it's difficult to control. A gust of wind or a passing car can start it.

There's a good reason you don't see heavily loaded radials on trailers very often....

 

[JASinIL2006]

The lousy quality of trailer tires is one of the shameful things about any trailer. There just aren't any home run quality tires available.

I don't know... I've been running Goodyear Endurance trailer tires on my rig for a couple of years and they are really nice. The replace some Kenda radials that were OK (but didn't really last), and some crappy Carlisles, on of which grew a grapefruit-sized bubble on an innner sidewall.

 

[matt167]

The GY Endurance and Carlisle Radial Trail HD are both good trailer tires, with the Endurance being the best of the best

 

[H20Rat]

Roscoe is right about that size tire. You may be tempted to lower the air pressure in those tires...DON'T!

Many manufacturers, Carlisle included, publish load inflation charts for tires where you simply cross reference your tire and weight, and they give you the PSI. Because of Ford, most manufacturers will say they do not warranty anything less than max PSI though.

Truth is that overinflated tires for the load can be just as bad as underinflated. Bias tires are balloons, their footprint changes based on load and PSI. If you have a very lightly loaded bias ply, your contact patch on the ground is TINY. It is operating well outside the intended envelope of performance and lateral grip is going to suffer.

Outside of a pickup at max capacity, how many people run full sidewall pressure in their daily driver car? Or do you ignore the tire and look at what the manufacturer printed in the doorjam instead? (which is basically a tire inflation chart with 1 or 2 lines on it)

 

[bigdee]

I have always "set it and forget it" max pressure. 50 years of towing all types of trailers w/o any issues. Why take a chance experimenting with inflation? Do that on the tow vehicle not the trailer. Lower pressure can cause heat,sway and blowouts.

 

[ahicks]

Agree low pressure can (will) cause heat. But it's SO easy to check to see if that's happening! All you have to do is put your hand on it after driving for a couple of miles.

To avoid a trailer bouncing around rattling my brains out? In a heart beat here.

That said, if you're going to worry about it, or don't have the time/patience to figure out what the tires really need, run them at max rated psi.

Same story, thousands of miles, many years, including a 20 year stint running the back end of a large RV dealership. -Al

 

[bigdee]

If your really serious about a softer ride the only sure fire method is to install shocks shocks on trailer. https://www.********.com/Trailer-Lea.../LC281281.html Adjusting air pressure will only have a minimal affect.

 

[bigdee]

[No message]

 

[guy48065]

Awesome. Point me to a 4" long shock.
:laugh:

 

[GA_Boater]

Who says a shock has to be mounted vertically. :lol:

This thread has gone nutz. Have you agreed with anything posted except trailer tires suck?

 

[bigdee]

This trailer kit is around $100 on Amazon...and yes, they are not mounted vertical.

 

[Prophammer]

The ride home was a lot more bouncy & noisy than I'm used to

I don't know if this will address the issue , but I have had to avoid one of the interstate Hwy's to coast here in Georgia because the cement slabs don't synchronize with the spacing of the trailer axles (it reminds me of seeing someone riding a mechanical bull on TV) I had to ditch the Hwy and take back roads