tire selection for an expedition trailer

[seashore]

Forgive me if this is a re-hashed topic. A quick search was not fruitful.

I am in the process of sourcing new tires for my trailer, and wondering which way to go. The options, as I see them, are to stick with trailer tires in close to the same diameter as my truck's tires, or to simply use the same tires.

I run MTs, and it seems silly to me to pull a trailer on MTs, as it must increase the rolling resistance at least somewhat, and of course the trailer tires do not need such aggressive tread since they are not driven.

The reasons for eschewing that common sense are interchangeability-the trailer and truck have the same wheels, so commonality for spares is sensible.

I run 255/85 r16, or about 33x10 inch MT tires on the truck. The trailer currently sits on old 29" military trailer tires and performs fine with minimal load. I have spare matching wheels, and the stock trailer wheels to work with...

What have folks with trailers found to be the best options, and pitfalls of various configurations?

Thanks!

Carl

 

[WFTW]

I've got the exact same wheels and tires on my trailer that are on my Jeep. This way I only have to carry one spare...and that gets loaded on the trailer so that I can actually see out my rear window (a 40" tire is quite the blindfold when it's mounted on the back of a vehicle).

 

[ntsqd]

While I appreciate the utility of same size tires mounted on same bolt pattern wheels for use on a trailer, at some point the truck's tire size is no longer appropriate for use on a trailer. For me personally I think that the 33-12.50's on my TrailBlazer trailer (left over from Rod's towing it with a T-100 on that size) are both too wide and too large. A 31-10.50 tire would be my own upper limit and I'd rather have something like a 7.50-15 on the trailer.

 

[seashore]

While I appreciate the utility of same size tires mounted on same bolt pattern wheels for use on a trailer, at some point the truck's tire size is no longer appropriate for use on a trailer. For me personally I think that the 33-12.50's on my TrailBlazer trailer (left over from Rod's towing it with a T-100 on that size) are both too wide and too large. A 31-10.50 tire would be my own upper limit and I'd rather have something like a 7.50-15 on the trailer.

I've been leaning towards at least a skinnier tire for my trailer with that in mind; wish I could find a tire with the same diameter, but skinnier. The only solution that matches is the 9.00-16 on the trailer, and new 35's for the truck. But that is too much outlay when I really need only 2 new tires...

have folks with MTs noted drag, wear, or other issues? I'm not worried that a 33" tire is too large for the trailer.

 

[TheMike]

I matched evertything with my Jeep. I moved the new tires from the trailer to the Jeep and put two of the used tires back on the trailer. I can get better use out of full treaded tires on the Jeep. So 2 of the sed are on the trailer, the other 2 used ones are in the garage as spares. I don't expect to ever buy tires again for the trailer.

Just another thought if you are buying new for the trailer.

"Needed" trailer tire sizes are completely up to personal desires, intended uses, and sometimes just for "WOW" factor. For what I use mine for, I would never consider anything but the same as my tow rig. There's a reason I have 35's all the way around!

 

[Robert Bills]

Although the "common wisdom" is to run the same wheels and tires on the trailer as the tow vehicle so that one spare can be used on both, there are other considerations. Among these are:

1. Do you have more than one tow rig? If so, and unless both tow rigs use the same wheels/tires, you will not have 100% spare interchangability with your trailer.

2. How likely is it that you will change/add tow rigs in the future? Will the new tow rig's lug pattern match the trailer? Same issue.

3. Tires 33" and larger will require some modification of a military trailer to fit properly. (MBT, T3, M100. etc. will need a lift and/or fender modification, adapters, new hubs or axle, etc.) Modifications involve time and money, even when done on the cheap, not to mention the cost of the wheels and tires themselves.

I have used several different wheel/tire combinations on my Bantam T3-C through the years. Matching tires on the trailer to my Jeep wasn't much of a problem "back in the day" when 31's were considered big tires, although there was some occasional fender rubbing. However, now that I am running 35's on my CJ-7 the only way to match tires on the jeep and trailer would involve a lift and new/modified fenders which would destroy the originality of my trailer and jack it up so high as to make the center of gravity a serious concern on the trail. Also, I sometimes tow my trailer with my Grand Cherokee, which has a different lug pattern, or with my Ford pickup, which has yet another lug pattern.

Although I use a 33x9.50 BFG AT as a spare for the jeep (smaller than the 35x12.50 BFG MTs, but workable when my Safety Seal kit can't repair the larger tires), that size spare is still too large for my Bantam. (Believe me, I tried to make them work, and in the process determined that a 31" tire no wider than 9 inches is the largest tire that will fit properly on a stock height MBT, T3, T3-C or M100. An M416 will accept a larger tire without lift due to the different shaped fenders, but I have not experimented with one of these.)

After considering all the options, I elected to use OEM Kelsey Hayes 16" wheels with 7:00-16 military NDCC tires. They fit properly, don't add to the rolling resistance of the trailer, keep it looking original, work well, and are relatively inexpensive. I carry tire repair tools and extra tubes, which don't take up much room. The single occasion when I had to replace a tube took slightly less than 30 minutes, which in my opinion was not excessive when compared to the few minutes I would have saved by installing a spare instead, especially when one considers how much time and money it would have taken to modify the trailer to use the jeep's spare. Some day I will fabricate a mount for a dedicated trailer spare, but based upon my experiences with the NDCC tires so far, it is not high on my list of priorities.