Tires for the original M416 trainer wheels?

[Calaski8123]

So I'm trying to decide what tires to buy for my M416 trailer project.

I have decided to stay with the original wheels. They were in good condition and I had them powder coated. I measured the wheel and it's 16 inches x 5.5 inches wide.

The closest tire size is 215/85/R16. This size will fit a rim that's 5.5 inches wide. (How are people running 235/85/16 tires on these rims? Those tires need a rim at least 6.5 inches wide)

Anyway, I went to the tire shop and the guy is trying to steer me away from passenger, AT and LT tires. He says I need a trailer tire like the Hercules H901 on a trailer because it needs the tough sidewall. He says the vehicle tires will not wear well and will become a problem. I asked about off road and he said the trailer tires are 14ply, very tough and very heavy and will do well off road. Is this true or will they bounce all over?

Not much selection for trailer tires in that size. I also don't like the look of any very plain.

Then I read that an E rated LT tire is 10 ply and will perform well on the trailer and also have some ability to air down a little.

Then I read other guys go for the 8 ply regular LT or AT tires for airing down. But are the ok for pulling a trailer? How are they on the highway?

So what is the truth?

215/85/16 seems a good size with different options. The LT tire with E rating seems a good middle compromise between the extra ply toughness and ability to off road.

What are people running?
How are they off road?
On highway?
Towing a load on/off road?
How do they wear and handle?

Sorry but there's so many conflicting posts and info out there.

I'm considering these (LT, E rated):
Cooper Discoverer AT3
Kuhmo Road Venture AT51
Hankook Dynapro AT2 RF11
Arturo Trail Blade AT

I need some help from people who are actually using these tires? I'm building a camping trailer and plan to do some moderate off roading (East Coast).

Jim

 

[Billiebob]

He says the vehicle tires will not wear well and will become a problem. I asked about off road and he said the trailer tires are 14ply, very tough and very heavy and will do well off road. Is this true or will they bounce all over?

BULLSHIT !!

Tires are all about application and load. Basically any tire that will carry the load..... ie... Load Rating, C. D, E.... will do the job. I'm betting single axle M416 will not overload Load Rating C....

Trailer ties are built to handle extreme side loading as a tandem or tri axle trailer turns a tight corner. No LT tire is built for that. But on a single axle you can run anything. There is ZERO side load.

Generally on an Expo trailer it is a good decision to run the same 6 tires all around. So the truck spare works on the trailer.... and if shit happens you have 3 sprers for the truck.

Load Rating is all about LOAD !!!! Yer tire guy is full of shit. Buy the tire which matches the load..... PERIOD.

I run all my tires at 26psi, they are Load Range D..... but they are overkill for what I do. PSI is the biggest variable you can play with. As PSI increaes you incrrease the load you can carry because you eliminate sidewall flex. If you are light, you can reduce PSI dramatically with Load Range D or E tirse built ro carry much more weight.

That said, a LR D is heavier than an LR c and as you increase unsprung weight you make the ride rougher adding stress to the teailer and its load. Buy the lightest tires which will carry yer load and yer truck, trailer, everything will ride smoother and last longer.

PS in 40 years I have had 4 flats..... all from hidden shit under the snow or sharp rocks.... and those 2 with sharp rocks punctured LR E tires on a Toyota 4 Runner.

Buy the tires which match yer spec and tell the nay sayers to screw off.

 

[smritte]

The main difference between P and LT is side wall and load. You can buy P rated off road tires that have the load rating you need for a small trailer but the sidewalls will be easier to damage. Stay with LT.

I understand what the tire guy said. In reality he is correct. If he advises you to run a vehicle tire on a trailer and the tire fails, he could be held accountable. So yes, you don't run vehicle tires on a trailer. It doesn't matter what everyone actually does. As was stated above, trailers move side to side going down the road, trailer tires have diffrent sidewalls and let's not even go into the speed rating aspect.

All of that and the fact the tire guy only knows stock. We do modified. Very few people understand modified. "If" your build has the typical amount of sway, you generate heat in the tire sidewall. The faster you go, the more heat you generate. The more load on the tire the more heat you generate. The lower the tire pressure, the more heat you generate. LT/P tires are not designed for this if you properly match the tire to the trailer weight. Too much heat and the tire fails spectacularly. Ever see a semi truck tire explode? Most people don't properly understand this which is why you see diffrent opinions. Just because you can doesn't mean you should. If you do, you need to understand the limitations so you can avoid issues.

How do we fix this? We run a much higher rated tire than needed. The higher the load rating, the better it handles heat. If your going fast on the freeway (I drive over 70 most of the time) you need to make sure your tire pressure is not low.

Road manners are more based on your trailer build more than anything.
I currently have two offroad trailers, my M-100 and my Teardrop. If you followed either you would notice I have virtually no sway going down the road. My trailers produce almost no sidewall heat because of this.

As to your question on the tires. I have owned the Coopers and those tires had horrable sidewalls.

The size your choosing is a good choice, that's about 30" tall, maybe 31 on the narrow rim.

My M-100, when I had the RTT on it fully loaded was 1600#. That trailer (without the RTT) has been dragged over almost every hard core trail on my side of the country. I have run BFG AT's and Falcon...cant remember AT's logging several thousand miles. Out here the rock is volcanic. We shred sidewalls on dirt roads if were not paying attention. My Teardrop is about 2500# loaded and i'm running Wildpeak AT's (they were on sale) in a 235/75 15. This trailer doesn't see brutal trails but has been dragged through rock a few times.

Here's my M-100. I took the tent off but dont have a picture like that.

 

[Calaski8123]

The main difference between P and LT is side wall and load. You can buy P rated off road tires that have the load rating you need for a small trailer but the sidewalls will be easier to damage. Stay with LT.

I understand what the tire guy said. In reality he is correct. If he advises you to run a vehicle tire on a trailer and the tire fails, he could be held accountable. So yes, you don't run vehicle tires on a trailer. It doesn't matter what everyone actually does. As was stated above, trailers move side to side going down the road, trailer tires have diffrent sidewalls and let's not even go into the speed rating aspect.

All of that and the fact the tire guy only knows stock. We do modified. Very few people understand modified. "If" your build has the typical amount of sway, you generate heat in the tire sidewall. The faster you go, the more heat you generate. The more load on the tire the more heat you generate. The lower the tire pressure, the more heat you generate. LT/P tires are not designed for this if you properly match the tire to the trailer weight. Too much heat and the tire fails spectacularly. Ever see a semi truck tire explode? Most people don't properly understand this which is why you see diffrent opinions. Just because you can doesn't mean you should. If you do, you need to understand the limitations so you can avoid issues.

How do we fix this? We run a much higher rated tire than needed. The higher the load rating, the better it handles heat. If your going fast on the freeway (I drive over 70 most of the time) you need to make sure your tire pressure is not low.

Road manners are more based on your trailer build more than anything.
I currently have two offroad trailers, my M-100 and my Teardrop. If you followed either you would notice I have virtually no sway going down the road. My trailers produce almost no sidewall heat because of this.

As to your question on the tires. I have owned the Coopers and those tires had horrable sidewalls.

The size your choosing is a good choice, that's about 30" tall, maybe 31 on the narrow rim.

My M-100, when I had the RTT on it fully loaded was 1600#. That trailer (without the RTT) has been dragged over almost every hard core trail on my side of the country. I have run BFG AT's and Falcon...cant remember AT's logging several thousand miles. Out here the rock is volcanic. We shred sidewalls on dirt roads if were not paying attention. My Teardrop is about 2500# loaded and i'm running Wildpeak AT's (they were on sale) in a 235/75 15. This trailer doesn't see brutal trails but has been dragged through rock a few times.

Here's my M-100. I took the tent off but dont have a picture like that.

View attachment 232050

Which model BFG?

 

[smritte]

Those are the older BFG AT's in a 11.5 X 33. It was something I had laying around. What replaced them would be KO2's (I think). Really anything with a good AT or mud pattern will work.

 

[bgenlvtex]

You need to buy some wheels and and ply ratings like D-8 E-10 F-12 are no indication of actual numbers of plies in the construction, and that rating is dependent on inflation pressure.

For instance if all tires are the same size a C,D,E ply rated tire all have the same actual ply count and all carry the exact same weight at the same pressure (for instance 45psi). Until you increase air pressure you gain effectively nothing. The air pressure carries the load, the tire (vessel) contains the air.


But yeah, just buy you some wheels or some 600-16 from Coker Tire

 

[Calaski8123]

I ordered two Falken Wildpeak AT3W in 215/85/16 today should be on tomorrow. Hopefully these work and I can put my project back together this weekend.

 

[Calaski8123]

Very happy. Size is perfect and they look great on the original wheels.

 

[smritte]

Nice.
Did you paint that rim or powder coat it?
When I got my M-100, it had the original 1940's rims. They were pretty torn up and I went with diffrent ones.

 

[Calaski8123]

They are powder coated. They cleaned up really nice I like the look. I couldn't find anything in a 5x5.5 that I liked. Definitely wanted black color. I didn't want to use wheel adapters or change the axel either. These look great and are visually similar to my Bronco wheels that they look good together

 

[Calaski8123]

Just an FYI, my wheels wouldn't seat on the hub with the powder coating. I had to sand off the inside rim to get them to seat. Sucks.