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Radials, as most of us know, are vastly superior for tread wear. They also have advantages for carrying heavy loads. Bias ply tires have stiffer sidewalls, so if your rig tends to sway, they may help reduce this problem. The answer depends on your trailer’s handling. Most motorists believe radials are better (and they are for your auto). Bias ply tires have their plies running at 30° angles (like the stripes on a candy cane). Radial tires have plies that run perpendicularly across the tire and belts (often made of steel) running below the tread around the tire’s circumference.
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We sell both bias-ply and radial ST tires complete with wheels. Don’t eyeball it! Check your tire pressure with a quality gauge. Both tires looked perfectly normal, but our pressure gauge showed that one tire had only 15psi (instead of the rated 50psi), which would have quickly destroyed the tire. We recently pulled into a gas station with our 21' boat and checked our pressure. Under-inflation is the prime cause of tire problems, and an under-inflated trailer tire won’t sag like your car’s tires because of its stiff sidewall construction. UV radiation from sunlight and ozone from exhaust cause exterior damage to the sidewalls, and oxygen from pressurized air creates unseen damage deep inside. Mostly, a trailer tire sits in one spot for days or weeks at a time, and may travel only 10,000 miles (or sometimes a lot less) per year. Unlike your car’s tires, it isn’t miles of driving but oxidation of the rubber that wears out the tire. Oxidation, Not Tread WearĪccording to rubber industry research, trailer tires need to be replaced after 3–5 years of use, even though they usually appear to have plenty of tread left. They’re designed for trailer wheels, typically narrower than those on a car, and have shallower treads so they wiggle less to help improve your tow vehicle’s fuel economy and run cooler.
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Their heavy-duty load capacity is critical ST tires have 10% more load capacity than equivalent light truck (LT) tires and 40% more than passenger car (P) tires. Their stiff sidewalls help prevent your rig from swaying.
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Special Trailer (ST) tires are designed for your trailer’s requirements. Radial tires are available from West Marine to fit 12" to 16" wheels. Ultimately, using automobile tires on your trailer is a safety issue, which is why the experts at the tire companies do not advise their use. Car tires are mated to sophisticated suspension, steering and braking systems free-spinning trailer tires, on the other hand, sit underneath stiff suspensions while smaller trailers don’t have brakes at all. Automobile tires perform all of these functions, so they need flexible sidewalls to keep their tread anchored to the pavement. They don’t steer, transmit power from an engine to the road or swerve to avoid obstacles. Trailer tires aren’t like auto or light truck tires. But tires for the trailer? How boring! Take a moment to read this, and we’ll deflate some trailer tire myths, and perhaps help you avoid some of the roadside messes and blown-out tires we’ve experienced. We talk to our friends about the latest gear and scan catalogs and web sites to see what’s new. Like most boat owners, we take pride in our nautical knowledge. reports that the majority of the calls for help to their Trailer Assist division (41 percent) come from boaters having tire problems. We’re not the only folks who have paid the price for our ignorance. We’ve been towing boat trailers around for years and assumed that trailer tires were “just like car tires.” Boy, were we mistaken, and that’s why we’ve ended up changing tires too many times beside the interstate.