Most People Don't Know This About Trailer Tires

I borrowed a friend's trailer for a long trip to the Southwest- my first experience with the trailer, a 700 lb load, towed with my small cargo van. It was a well built small utility trailer sold by Blaine's and better than the Harbor Freight brand- rated to 1500lbs gvw. My main concern was for stability on the highway before starting out, and the tires needed airing up (from from 25 to 75lbs--- a bit shy of their max of 90). It did well, even at 70mph. After 1,500 miles, I had the bearings lubed- the mechanic only 'filled' them, rather than flushing them with new grease as they should have been. After a fellow traveler emphasized the care of bearings (he would never travel about 60mph), I flushed them myself. All went well, but I was lucky to have not had either bearing or tire issues on the 6000 mile trip. I often ran around 70mph. In hindsight, a spare would have been a good insurance policy.

Seems to me with those tires so worn it might be a good idea to buy two new tires and a spare rather than just a spare. But then I also would not be buying my tires from harbor crap either!

I've never been able to bring myself to put 80 psi in any China tires. Call me old school, but the most I would ever put in China tires would be 40 - 45 psi. I have E rated 10 ply Michelin tires on my work trucks and even those I put about 65 - 70. I'm surprised you've made it as far as you have. Good luck with your travels.

Max tire pressure while a trailer is loaded with less than max weight just wears out your tires faster.

I use nitrogen gas in my tire's, heat DONT CHANGE NITROGEN TIRE PRESSURE.😊..
NASCAR PIT CREW.. 😮
LOOK AROUND THE PITS=GREEN TANK'S.. ???😮

It's most likely a 2000lb axle and the trailer probably weighs around 280 lbs which is where they get 1720lb load capacity totaling 2000lb

Good info. I never knew about 80 lbs of pressure but it would reduce flexing of the sidewall. I'm questioning such a tiny tire for long trips but it was successful for you.

Time to invest in a tread depth gauge

I have found that if you run at max air pressure and the trailer is empty it will bounce around like a gogo dancer you have to adjust air pressure as needed and some tires are speed rated also

I used to have a 1 ton truck with 10 ply 16 inch radial tires. Tire spec and wheel spec must be correct for safe operation. I got longer tire life and better handling at 55PSI on my pickup tires. Look at the sidewall, if the tire is rated for 60, go to 90% of the max rating. When I was in long haul, we had tires rated for 120 psi, HOWEVER, checking the rating of the wheels showed a max PSI for the wheel was 105PSI. we ran it at 105, so the wheel would not separate at speed. wheel welds can come apart, even if the tire is good, the wheel must not be over inflated. It sounds odd, but I saw a wheel explode in a cage inside a tire shop. damaged the cage to the point it almost had to be tossed out.

Spend the money and get 6 or 8 ply upgrade .

Look closely, they're probably made in China .

BTW Walmart carries tire & rims for trailers as well & may be open 24 hrs

Holy wow i've seen more tread on wheelbarrow tires.

I used to be an over the road truck driver. You went 7,000 miles without a spare?! Really? Not very smart, especially if you have a blow out in the middle of no where, or in a big city that you're not familiar with. Go down any highway anywhere, and count the blown out rubber on the side of the road. "Now what am I gonna do"? It should have been common sense to have gotten one when you bought the trailer. Spending $80.00 up front is a lot less headache.

I never even thought to look. Thankyou.

In cold climates the wheel nuts contract, but in Spring the nuts warm up making them slightly loose.
I had to log onto YouPorn, sit the wheels in front of the screen. The nuts righted quickly.

Just halfway through your video, here, and am hearing some solid advice. I went ahead and put better wheels-N-tires on my little trailer. Just be sure the tire you choose has a load rating that meets or exceeds the trailer's originals, or the matches the load rating of the tire spec'd on the trailer data plate as seen here. I'm using a 15" version of the 17" all-terrain radial I've fitted to my pickup.

If You can fix Trailer to Use Tires of a Light Truck, or The Vehicle You pull it with.

0:60 Tires Run Cooler, Last Longer.

My skate board has bigger tires than 12 inch.

Hello from Australia. The tyre and wheel on that trailer seem very narrow. My trailer here is rated at 750kg total (load + weight of trailer) and comes standard with a 14 x 5.5" rim on which is a 185 /14/C tyres. Each tyre is rated at 850kg load at 65psi. I guess the narrow tyres on your trailer will always offer less rolling resistance....good for long trips. Cheers from sunny Australia!!!

It can hold that much. Have to find entry weight

Rotate the tires every 2500 miles to achieve even wear.

Cross Lanes WV?

I had close to the correct pressure in my little 12" china bombs on my tent trailer ( maybe 75 psi). After three blow outs, one particularly damaging, I gave up and cut my wells to accept a 13" radial. Never had a problem after that. My advice is to ditch the 12" china bombs if possible. I will admit I abuse the trailer on gravel roads, etc.

Bicycle tires suffer sidewall damage if they aren't inflated to the proper pressure and checked every other week, too. I have been repairing bicycles for 40 years.
Skinny, high pressure tires are most vulnerable, and, additionally, a soft tire often leads to a dented, sometimes irreparable, wheel, especially in the rear of the bike, because it supports most of the rider's weight.

I have a trailer and i put chevy aveo wheels and tires on it. Ive loaded it to the max with firewood. 4x8 trailer. 4x8 stack. Ive been using it since 2017. I only run 35psi.

Load range b c d matters a lot. I find that stronger tires also track better,less sway.

2023-2019 is 4 years.
Please research and check the D.O.T. date code stamped on the tire.
regardless of the treadwear, I would replace those tires after 5 years, unless they are restricted to off-road use.

They are only 2-ply tires, and don't have much meat to deal with highway temperatures. 'Dry rot' can be a real problem.

Use common sense if you tyre is only wearing on the centre it’s over inflated, you adjust pressure accordingly as weight changes, you want tyre full pressure under fullload , less pressure under light load so it wears flat with full contact patch on the road . 80 psi is way too much with no load ect trailer will bounce and skip around too much

Don't buy tires that are only 3 ply. Should be running 6 ply

I understand that companies wont stay in business for long if the product they make last forever. So making a product that wears out over time is necessary to stay in business. What i dont get is how they formulte the rubber in the tires to deteriorate by solar radiation if you dont wear the tread its self by driving. Thats shady IMHO..

Trailer tires should be inflated per load weight. You don't run 80psi if you have half the weight that the trailer can handle. Harbor Freight tires are probably China Maypops 😂 If you have a name brand tire they normally have a chart to tell you what pressure you should be running for the weight. The reason these tires were low tread at 7000 miles is because like he said were at 80 psi and riding in the center..

I’d say 1000 lbs max weight for 80 psi I’d say u devide it how much psi per lbs so u load ur tire psi to equal ur weight 500 lbs load should be 40psi cuz 80 psi with max weight will deform ur tire enough to wear evenly flat

Why don't they build trailer tires better? More like car tires in other words.

Again another video I can't watch because of mind boggling stupid background noise nobody wants to hear it it doesn't improve videos it's just annoys people you want to listen to so-called music do at home

You're really should be doing the bearings races in new Greece.

Most of my trailer tires age out before they wear out, 5 years is about when I change tnem . If you value your trailer and the safety of those you share the road with, check the date code on the tires!

80 psi is for max load. If you are hauling less then you don't need 80 psi. You will just get a rougher ride and uneven tire wear. Tire weight ratings are based apon the load. Your car or truck are the same. Manufacturers base your cars tire pressures for the weight of the vehicle with a margin of error based on differt tire manufacturers. The entire reason for different tire pressures is to keep your tires contact surface evenly distributed. If i am hauling my can am x3 on my 20 ft car hauler i run 35 psi which is well within the tires rated capacity and if i am loading a 7k truck i air up to 80 psi for max weight. On empty trailer i will air down for ride quality. I carry ant air pump as everyone should. Lookup tire rating by psi and you will know what i am talking about

14,000 miles on a trailer tire? I have been trailering for 30 years and have rarely got more than 5,000 miles on a tire before they explode on the highway somewhere.

After my third scary blowout - two of which happened on crowded, multi-lane interstates in a big cities - I started using only Goodyear radial trailer tires. That started 15 years ago, and I have never regretted it. They were called Marathons, but now they have been replaced by the Endurance model, and I have used both without incident. Sure, they are much more expensive, but you really do get what you pay for. The Goodyears have never failed catastrophically, and they always wear evenly. They last at least twice as long as any Chinese tire too - radial or otherwise.

I only buy a quality 10 ply tire for my car trailer and I hardly ever get flats anymore

Actually it’s a 2000 lb trailer (rare weight plus load weight) and thus 1000lb per tire less the 10% in the hitch .

Trailer tires have thicker sidewalls than passenger car tires.

Tires not only have a wear gauge they have a " date ": of use. That is when the tire rubber has normal degradation of its makeup. Lots of tires on the road beyond the expiry date.

I purchased my 5x10 trailer 16 years ago and it still has the original tires. I guess I should get new ones, eh? Not much wear either.

Valuable information, thank you.

I run at least 50psi in mine ,usually hauling 500 to 1000 pounds ,No problems yet,but next time I haul anything I'll put more air in them! Thanks for sharing!

One of the first things I did with My HF trailer was put a good set of Carlisle tires on....spare too....