Tires - "Grip" or Weight?

joethefordguy

New member
I'm doing research for my own trailer build, and I've been wondering about tires - i see something i don't understand.
every tire i have seen on an off-road trailer has an off-road, "grip" pattern, instead of a (smoother) tread pattern that might be more suitable for greater weight capacity; lowering the ground pressure of the trailer. Given that the trailer axle is unpowered, i don't see the how any "grip" from the trailer tires is of much help, except perhaps on very slippery trails or some such and even then I don't see a big benefit.
why is that? if it's just to keep from carrying two spares, i get that, but given the difference in ground pressure, i think I'd rather carry two spares.
thanks for your time.
jg
 

Titanpat57

Expedition Leader
Hi Joe,

A couple trains of thought here...

Some used a more aggresive tread pattern because thats whats on the TV, or it could just be a matter of "looks'. The guys towing in different, sloppy conditions do rely on the traction of an aggressive tread, and swear by it.

As far as a weight carrying tire, I think the safety and secutity of at least a LT is required. Of course this can differ a bit by trailer weights, for example.....my trailer weighs in at a whopping 2500#....certainly not trail worthy, but under extreme conditions, I'm glad I have the extra safety of an LT, for sidewall and tread protection.

Most guys have trailers in the 1500# or so range, and althought he LT might be a bit overkill...any cheap insurance you can buy that will spare you the headache of changing the tire on the trail, or road for that matter, is well worth it.

and c'mon Joe, let's face it....aggresive tread tires just look cool...:ylsmoke:

Welcome to ExPo, Good luck with your build....Pat
 

xracer9

Observer
The mt tires are great for side slippery conditions.........and, of course they looks great !!
 
I have been spending a lot of time in Australia lately and it seems to be the world capital of camping trailers. There are 2 types: camping trailers with fold-out tents, and what we would call "house trailers", with a hard top, with 2 or 4 wheels. There is an "offroad" variant to the latter.
They all have one thing in common: the tires and wheels are identical to the towing vehicle, and they all carry 1 or frequently 2 spares. So the whole combination can have 2 or even 3 (or 4 if the towing vehicle has 2 spares, which isn't rare) spare tire/wheels.
No itty-bitty tires on 8, 10 or 12" wheels like you see in the US. Those would be laughed out of a campground in Australia.
To me, most important criteria for trailer tires is to have the same size, tread pattern and bolt pattern and wheel offset as the towing vehicle.
Obviously it isn't the end of the world to run on a spare with a different tread pattern. But the bolt pattern, offset and diameter are critical.
I am of course referring to a situation where trips of thousands of miles from home (Expo situations!!) are common.

Charlie
 
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rxinhed

Dirt Guy
PercTrailer.jpg


This is not an Expo trailer, but should convey your point. I have had several iterations of percolation test trailers to haul my 110-gallon water tank around, tools, and gear for off-road assignments. My work has been at the beginning stages of land development for residential and commercial uses. My expo-type use was overland transport in order to conduct soil perc tests for septic system design, classification studies and storm water retention/detention basins.

This trailer is my most recent of 4, has a low CG and a wide stance. For me, the choice of tires has been what is on hand. In the picture above, I'd been assigned a few jobs with very poor soil to traverse and the 32x11.5 all terrains made good floatation. I have also used 33x9.5 muds for a job going over cactus and through boulder strewn washes; however, in general use this trailer proved too heavy for my tow rig.

raider56.jpg


My experience is that the tires for the trailer will depend upon the use of the trailer. Many LT tires have similar load capacity as the ST trailer tires, and many have greater sidewall thickness or plies. I have a car trailer with street tires, but it sees little dirt travel save my driveway. I use all terrain or muds on all my off-highway trailers...as they see various terrains and often sidehill conditions.
 

Chili

Explorer
I'm doing research for my own trailer build, and I've been wondering about tires - i see something i don't understand.
every tire i have seen on an off-road trailer has an off-road, "grip" pattern, instead of a (smoother) tread pattern that might be more suitable for greater weight capacity; lowering the ground pressure of the trailer. Given that the trailer axle is unpowered, i don't see the how any "grip" from the trailer tires is of much help, except perhaps on very slippery trails or some such and even then I don't see a big benefit.
why is that? if it's just to keep from carrying two spares, i get that, but given the difference in ground pressure, i think I'd rather carry two spares.
thanks for your time.
jg

So for those people that drive FWD cars, I guess they should just run slicks on the back. Given that the rear axle is unpowered and all. :p

It will help if you intend to pull your trailer offroad, to help keep it from sliding when you are on an angle, going over rock which could be slick, etc.
 

lcsodiver

Adventurer
I'd hate to have my trailer slide sideways on a sidehill and possibly start puling the truck with it. That said, I run tall skinny (pizza cutters) in a light truck all-terrain pattern on my trailer. My current truck tires are a little wider (soon to be pizza cutters too) but roughly the same 32 inch diameter, so in a pinch I could run my trailer tires on the truck to get out.

I would not want slicks or highway tread tires on my trailer.... with my trailer only weighing 1600 lbs I doubt I'll have to replace tires on it often enough to care about tread life.
 

JPK

Explorer
I'm doing research for my own trailer build, and I've been wondering about tires - i see something i don't understand.
every tire i have seen on an off-road trailer has an off-road, "grip" pattern, instead of a (smoother) tread pattern that might be more suitable for greater weight capacity; lowering the ground pressure of the trailer. Given that the trailer axle is unpowered, i don't see the how any "grip" from the trailer tires is of much help, except perhaps on very slippery trails or some such and even then I don't see a big benefit.
why is that? if it's just to keep from carrying two spares, i get that, but given the difference in ground pressure, i think I'd rather carry two spares.
thanks for your time.
jg

The "ground pressure" of a trailer, which I take to mean the psi in the tread patch, or contact area of the tire, is lower with the typically wider off road tires on off road trailers.

As far as weight, only the heaviest of typical US off road trailers approach half of the weight of most TV's. Since (ideally) the tires are the same on the TV and truck, they have the same weight rating. Most off road tires carry plenty of weight rating. For instance, the BFG tires on my Jeep and trailer are rated for 3525lbs@50psi each. My teardrop dosn't weigh near that much, even stuffed to the gills, so with a combined 7,050lb capacity between the two trailer tires there is more than plenty to spare, enough to run the tires well below maximum pressure for maximum load. Running the tires low creates and even greater tread patch, to lower psi. The tires are 12.5" wide, so lots of tread patch for low psi.

JPK
 

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