strange tire situation

[revrusty]

Hi All,
Have an odd situation with trailer tires. First, this is not my travel trailer but rather a covered trailer I use to haul various things. (Think uhaul style.) A friend that uses my trailer occasionally decided to surprise me by putting new tires on it. Honestly I don't even know what was on it in the first place. Had this trailer long before I got educated on this site about the quality of various tires.
So, I now have a trailer that has two maxxis, one carlisle, and one trailer king tire. How's that for a set? I am of course going to replace the trailer king but should I have any concern about the mismatch of the others. I checked and the other three all call for the same tire pressure of 50 psi. (Trailer king calls for 65psi, by the way.)
I do load this trailer close to max load sometimes and make hauls for several hundred miles. Thanks for any help or suggestions. I also appreciate your indulgence for a slightly of topic post.

[JRTJH]

You have three tires that "call for 50 PSI" which means they are "6 ply or Load Range C" tires and one that "calls for 65 PSI" which is a "8 ply or Load Range D" tire.

From the "mixed heritage of tires" on your trailer, I'd suspect that you also have a variety of tire manufacture dates. Age is just as important as brand, load rating, recommended tire pressure and tire condition.

I'd recommend that you first determine the correct size tire (especially the load rating) that is on the tire placard placed on the forward roadside corner of the trailer by the trailer manufacturer. On some trailers, that information placard is located on the tongue A frame member.

If that placard is "missing", then I'd resort to trailer GVWR, axle rating, wheel rating, number of lugs on each hub/wheel and get a good feel for what weight each component is rated to carry.

It sounds like you probably have either 14" 5 lug or 15" 5 lug wheels, which typically are used on a 3500 pound axle and are typically equipped with Load Range C (6 ply) tires that carry 50 PSI.

You can verify the tire age by locating the "4 digit code" molded into the tire sidewall. It will be 4 numbers, like 4207 or 2619 or 1114. The first two numbers are the "WEEK OF MANUFACTURE" (01 through 52) and the second two numbers are the "YEAR OF MANUFACTURE" (70 through 22) indicating 1970 through 2022).

Most tire manufacturers recommend that tires "age out" and need to be replaced somewhere between 3 and 5 years from date of manufacture. I'd recommend starting with 5 tires, (include the spare) all of the same brand, sized properly to carry the trailer GVWR with a "combined tire rating" that provides about a 15% reserve capacity.

Yes, it's pretty easy to do is you can find the tire placard on the trailer, but if you can't locate that information, then it's quite a bit of "calculating and researching" to do before buying a new set of tires, but is "work worth doing to get the correct tires".

If you're "overwhelmed at this point", then provide the forum with more information about the trailer and someone will give you their perspective on the correct tires. You'll need to provide the trailer GVWR, axle ratings, number of lug nuts on each wheel and wheel size/weight rating to get started.

[CWtheMan]

Originally Posted by revrusty

Hi All,
Have an odd situation with trailer tires. First, this is not my travel trailer but rather a covered trailer I use to haul various things. (Think uhaul style.) A friend that uses my trailer occasionally decided to surprise me by putting new tires on it. Honestly I don't even know what was on it in the first place. Had this trailer long before I got educated on this site about the quality of various tires.
So, I now have a trailer that has two maxxis, one carlisle, and one trailer king tire. How's that for a set? I am of course going to replace the trailer king but should I have any concern about the mismatch of the others. I checked and the other three all call for the same tire pressure of 50 psi. (Trailer king calls for 65psi, by the way.)
I do load this trailer close to max load sometimes and make hauls for several hundred miles. Thanks for any help or suggestions. I also appreciate your indulgence for a slightly of topic post.

You have opened a "can of worms" on a number of different tire industry standards. Let's consider the speed ratings. I have never found a Maxxis trailer tire with a speed rating. Therefore, without a speed letter or printing of some sort on the individual tire of a speed rating, all Maxxis trailer tires default to the TRA established 65 MPH, for all trailer tires without manufacturer approved speed letters molded onto the tire sidewalls.

This is a tire designated size; ST205/75R14, nothing more or less. Brands have no bearing on load capacity.

Here is an excerpt from a USTMA standards manual;

"Replacement tires should be the same as the OE size
designation, or approved options, as recommended by the
vehicle or tire manufacturer. Never choose a replacement
tire of a smaller size or with less load-carrying capacity than
the OE tire size at the specified vehicle tire placard pressure.
Under certain circumstances, a vehicle manufacturer
may recommend or permit a specific substitute tire size,
inflation pressure, maximum speed, maximum load, etc. It is
recommended that all four tires be of the same size, speed
rating, and construction (radial, non-radial)".

As said in the previous post, you need to verify the Original Equipment tire size that is displayed on the vehicle federal certification label, tire load and inflation placard and explained in the vehicle owner's manual.

Trailer tires - all sorts of trailers - are fitted to the vehicle's certified GAWRs. That's the GVWR minus the vehicle manufacturer's published tongue weight.

Note: There is no restriction for using that Trailer King tire with the other three providing that it is the same designated size and inflated to 50 PSI.

[travelin texans]

QUOTE: CWtheMan
Note: There is no restriction for using that Trailer King tire with the other three providing that it is the same designated size and inflated to 50 PSI.
QUOTE

Other than it's a known China Bomb with a VERY POOR reputation, may blow at any moment, even while parked or on the spare tire mount.

[wiredgeorge]

All the info gathered here has been great. If it were me and I would suppose the tires have different, perhaps vastly different, manufacture dates, I would purchase four Carlisle Radial Trail HD tires in the correct size and be done with it. I would use the best, non Trailer King tire with the latest manufacture date for a spare. The tire mess you have is going to be hard to diagnose so new tires are likely the answer.

[sourdough]

You said your friend put a "new" set of tires on the trailer but with that combo of tires I think you mean a "different" set of tires on the trailer.

Here is a comment from your first post: "I do load this trailer close to max load sometimes and make hauls for several hundred miles." That comment in and of itself, for me, says you need some good tires on that trailer.

Some comments have been made about how to date the tires etc. are good guides to see what you have. I can't imagine that the friend went out and bought 4 new, various brand tires but maybe he did. Determine the weights and what load range you need and then, if the tires are just mismatched used tires, replace them with 4 new good tires (not TK) and use the best of what you have for the spare (I believe that has been suggested). I have a friend that owns a tire store and has/sells LOTS of used tires (if that is what was put on there) and I can say I would personally never buy a used tire because no one has any idea what that tire has been through or what to expect from it.

[jasin1]

while your at it have the bearings ,brakes( if it has them) and axles/hubs looked over and maintenance done to whichever may need it

[revrusty]

First, thanks for all the input . Just to clarify things a little, he did put 4 new tires on. These were the 4 they had available in our small town tire shop that would fit. The info I was seeking has been answered to my satisfaction, which means I will start over with a new matched set and keep a good spare . I didn't make it clear but he actually did this a couple years ago. I just got around to paying attention to the brands a little while ago. Anyway, thanks again. Sorry about the can of worms .

[wiredgeorge]

We had a timeshare at Massanutten quite a few years ago and that is pretty country. There is a Walmart about 20 miles south in Danville. Suggest you check their online tire prices... not sure if they will put tires on a trailer so you may have to pull the old tires/rims off the trailer and drag them to be installed. Their online prices are about as good as you will find.

[revrusty]

Ha, would you like to have another timeshare at massanutten? I been trying to get rid of one for quite a while. Appreciate the advice. Danville is the big city for us. I actually have some good options for getting tires at some local places now that I have a better idea what to order. Thanks again everyone.

[wiredgeorge]

Originally Posted by revrusty

Ha, would you like to have another timeshare at massanutten? I been trying to get rid of one for quite a while. Appreciate the advice. Danville is the big city for us. I actually have some good options for getting tires at some local places now that I have a better idea what to order. Thanks again everyone.

I sold it back to the Massanutten at a loss to get rid of it. We originally bought in the 90s I guess and enjoyed the timeshare every year and the unit was a "resort of distinction" unit. After many years it got shabby and although I was paying for upkeep and updates the resort didn't do a great job. We had a double unit for us upstairs and kids down below.

Then I got hooked into a presentation and traded the old for a new and fancier double unit. We used that unit a few years but the kids had grandkids and they were harder and harder to coordinate for a holiday together and found that the maintenance fees became outrageous. Tried to sell the units but found no one wants to buy (except for a sucker like me) and ended up selling back to the resort as I mentioned. I still get MANY calls from companies trying to help me sell and it has been over 10 years now since we owned.

To anyone thinking of buying a timeshare, TAKE A COLD SHOWER and wait for the urge to pass.

[Tireman9]

As an actual tire design engineer, I like what JRTJH said and agree with his suggestions.



CWThe mag is generally correct but the rules that apply to vehicle and RV manufacturers do not apply to the owner. You can change tires to tires with higher load capacity and that would normally improve overall safety.

[dutchmensport]

Just curious? With your mix of different tires, are you having any issues going on? Or are all the tires wearing evenly? Does the trailer track straight. I may get scolded for saying this, but.... if you are not have issues, then why change anything? Figure out which is the lowest load capacity tire and which is the lowest speed rated tire and don't exceed that. Just my 2 cents.

[revrusty]

I have had no issues. Never exceed 65mph and usually maintain 62 to 63 on highway. Just happened to notice the mixed set when checking the air pressure a while back.