PerryB

The OP did. -- Regardless, pulling even a 25-3500 lb trailer at that speed carries a hugely increased potential for a disastrous outcome should sudden/abrupt maneuvering be required.

G-Force

Personally I would not tow a 8,000 lb trailer with a F-150. I would use my F-350 or F-250 at minimum and I would not be traveling anywhere near 80 mph.

My remark was based on the perception by some that trailer tires are limited to 65 mph, which some of them are and some of them are not, I don't know what the OP's trailer tires are rated at. Maybe he can reply with their speed rating.

Personally I have a trailer that I tow with my F-150 and the trailer tires on it are rated for 81 mph. The trailer is a light trailer and has a payload rating of 2,000 lbs. I load it to around 750-800 lbs. When the speed limit is 75 mph I go 75 mph. When the speed limit is 80 mph I still go 75 mph. That is based on good weather and good road conditions and low traffic of course.

Which is why I said it depends on the trailer and the tires. I was not condoning going 80 mph with a 8,000 lb trailer.

acdii

The majority of trailer tires are only rated at 65 MPH. If there is no speed rating shown on the tire, assume it is 65 MPH rated. There are some tires rated at 81 MPH, but they are not cheap either. They do show their speed rating. Two brands I know of are Carlilse and Taskmaster.

G-Force

Kenda also makes some rated for 81 mph. I looked up the ones I have online and saw them on recstuff.com for $48 a tire.

I also have a spare rated for 75 mph. It is a different brand than those mentioned (don't recall offhand).

acdii

Just be mindful of the Chinese made tires. Way too many complaints of failures on the RV forums.

G-Force

The vast majority of trailer tires are made in China. Even the two brands you listed. Carlisle makes their trailer tires in China, except for "USA Trail" which is a bias ply tire. All of their radial trailer tires are made in China. Taskmaster makes trailer tires in China. Goodyear Marathon trailer tires used to be the only ones that Goodyear made in USA, now they are made in China. The list goes on and on.

Edit: Goodyear does make a new brand of trailer tires in USA again now in limited sizes, called Endurance.

Stu Cazzo

Also be mindful of the wheel bearings which most people ignore and fail to service regularly.
Many peoples trailers sit idle not moving for many months at a time - then away they go on the highway at full speed.

I make a point of servicing the wheel bearings beginning of season or every time before I go on a long trip.
Thats why you won't see me on the side of the road with a wheel missing!

mikeinatlanta

Yea I knew a few crybabies would come on here and preach and that's fine. My post was meant to inform real world how the truck did. Asking for anyone's blessing was not a concern.

The 65mph speed rating comment is pure speculative BS. The truck is towing at about 75% rated capacity, doing speeds that simply flow with traffic, and using a trailer loaded under full capacity. The trailer has two 7,000lb axles.

Agree on the bearings. At every stop I do a walk around and put a hand on each hub. A warm hub will tell you well in advance when a bearing is on its last leg.

Like the sign on the door says: Golf, baseball, soccer, tennis, football and volleyball are all fine, but this trailer hauls toys that require two ***** to play.

Stu Cazzo

The threads on this forum are like watching the 6 oclock news...always starts off nice and then veers into the abyss of negativity and bad news!

Glad you keep an eye on the wheel bearings.
I have three boats/trailers, a flat deck utility trailer and an enclosed 24 foot V-nose enclosed trailer.
7000# axles are significant!

The highway to my lake is pretty remote and I always see trailers on the side of road with wheel missing and flat tires.

Funniest thing I ever saw was a (at least) 26' cabin cruiser being towed by a Hyundai Santa Fe!

mikeinatlanta

What would be nice is if someone would sell a true quality trailer bearing. Seems like they are all junk these days. I'd gladly pay more for a hub with quality sealed bearings.