Merty

Not a really a truck question but a trailer/towing question. I have a 7 x 14 Wells Cargo 2 axle trailer and the tire/rim size it 205/75R15. I found a new rim and tire combo that is 215/75R14(came off a 16ft Hallmark Trailer). New tires and the rims look alot better than mine on craiglist for 395. New 15 inch replacement tires will cost about 300 bucks.
Is it worth it to change tire size? How much of a difference will it be? I know the 14s will probably be slightly smaller. I think the big thing will be if the rim clears all the stuff on the trailer.
Thanks for you time!

-Apologize if this is in the wrong place.

willieboy

Look at the load rating of 14" tires. My experience is they will be much lower in load capacity.

FYI, the new tires for my travel trailer cost $1000.00 (225/75R15)! $300.00 is cheap for trailer tires.

smokeywren

ST205/75R15C = 27.1" diameter, 8.0' wide, 1820 weight capacity.

ST215/74R14C = 26.1 diameter, 8.5" wide, 1870 weight capacity.

The 14" tires have more weight capacity, so that's a good. They are slighter shorter, so no problem there. But they are 0.5" wider. That's probably no problem either, but you need to feel inside your wheel wells with the 15" tires on it and see if you have at least a quarter-inch of clearance on both sides.

If you can get your fingers between the side of the wheel wells and the 15" tires, then you have the clearance for the slightly wider tires, and there's no reason not to go for it.

On my 7x14 cargo trailer, I went the other way. I replaced the 205R15C tires on 5.5" wide rims with ST225/75R15E tires on 6" wide rims. Rims available for a good price from http://www.southwestwheel.com/store/p-406-128696.aspx, and the tires are Maxxis trailer tires from Discount Tire. That pumped up my tire capacity to way over the 7,000 pounds GVWR of the trailer.

Merty

Didn't really think about checking the load rating, thanks for the intel. I checked out Tire Rack and surfed around the web. My size run from about 70 bucks and up depending on the load rating. Was it 1000 bucks with mounting and everything? Or did you need to get a special load rating?

Merty

Thanks Smokeywren! I am starting to think about just buying replacement tires. Any thoughts on Carlisle tires?

brulaz

The higher ply rating on ST tires (C=6ply, D=8, E=10) not only increases the weight rating at higher air pressures but IMHO gives you some additional road hazard protection, like against pothole blow-outs.

I'm pretty sensitive to that as I've only a single axle on my 4000# trailer. My current tires are ST225/75R15D GoodYear Marathons. My next will probably be the same size in an E rated Maxxis.

I've found Loadstar radials (from EasternMarine), Power King Towmax (TireRack), Carlisle Radial Trail (Discount Tire) and Maxxis M8008 ST Radial (Discount Tire).

Think all these tires come from China, but Maxxis seems to have the best rep on the RV forum I go to. They're often the most expensive too.

EDIT: Make sure the wheels are balanced too.

A7B2FX4

I've given up on ST tires on my 16" trailer rims. I like the higher speed rating of LT tires and have had a lot of bad luck with ST tires. That said for the 15" rims I couldn't get a high enough load rating unless I went with ST tires.

brulaz

This is a very good point. If you can fit LT tires, go for it, as you'll generally find a bigger selection of mainstream, quality manufacturers.

But I too have not been able to find LT tires for my 15" rims.

willieboy

I had to go back and look. It was my truck tires that were $1000.00+

The trailer tires were $140.00/each+mounting. I have D Range Maxxis trailer radials, ST225/75r15 so that is part of the cost. As mentioned, the higher load rating give a little better resistance to road hazard, and were just a few dollars more than the C rated tires (maybe $10/each). If your tires are only $70/each, I am guessing you have B rated tieres on there. You can find those at most any tractor supply, a lot of sporting goods and boat stores, and even Walmart. Most use Carlisle, which are awful tires. Kendra tires are pretty much carp as well. The greenball tires (loadmasters, tow master, etc) are decent. Most tire shops can get Maxxis, and in y experience, they are about the best trailer tire you will find under 16".

smokeywren

I've had a few. And I've had blowouts on a few. Right now I would buy Maxxis ST trailer tires if I needed trailer tires. They cost a bit more, but for me they've been worth it.

My new TT has Marathon ST205/75R14C tires. I've had horrible luck with Marathons in the past, so I planned to replace all 5 of these with Maxxis ST215/75R14 on wider wheels as soon as the first one blows out. But so far with a bit over 5,000 miles on them, no blowouts yet. So maybe Goodyear has finally figured out how to build a trailer tire that will last.