Give me the low down on tires

[jeff...]

Way off topic I think but it seems like I'm constantly fighting with these round rubber things they call tires - whoever invented them should be taken out back and beaten. What's a good tire? I have several things that need them but it seems like I peel the rubber off of them. I mean a trailer tire should carry weight right? what's up with the rubber peeling of of them. Then I go and buy what I thought were good tractor tires guess what I peeled the tread right of them too. Who makes a good tire nowadays? What's good of trailer'ing / off road'ing and tracto'ring?

Thanks

[TracyP]

Jeff, based on my years of experience. I would say that you get what you pay for in tires. The more "plys" The stronger the tire, on trailer tires, the higher in ply, the more load you can carry. Brand specific ain't really that important as strength is. Look at the treadwear and load rating stamped on the tire and go as high as you can afford. In tractor tires go for more ply. Again the heavier the tire the stronger.mtcw

[jeff...]

Originally Posted by newtowood

Jeff, based on my years of experience. I would say that you get what you pay for in tires. The more "plys" The stronger the tire, on trailer tires, the higher in ply, the more load you can carry. Brand specific ain't really that important as strength is. Look at the treadwear and load rating stamped on the tire and go as high as you can afford. In tractor tires go for more ply. Again the heavier the tire the stronger.mtcw

Ok - thanks' - this is odd I seem to have better luck with bias ply rather than radials - what's the difference?

Here is a tire off the bobcat bought new last year - "7.00 15" - I tore the tread right off of it - I can pull the knob back with my fingers and stick my finger in the hole - the hole is way to big for a boot.



This is one of the ST235 75R15D (15" Load range D Radial) - of one of my trailers. Both tires bought not more than 6 months ago As you can see it's missing tread - the other one of the pair is the same way but didn't want to dig around in the back of my truck with muddy tires.



What am I doing wrong?

Thanks

[TracyP]

Originally Posted by jeff...

Ok - thanks' - this is odd I seem to have better luck with bias ply rather than radials - what's the difference?

Bias ply are better for heavy use in my opinion. Radials are designed for comfort and longevity and not necessarily designed for Strength under heavy load. Bias ply is more a criss cross pattern of ply in the construction, at 60 degrees, Radial plies go from bead to bead in a perpendicular "90 degree" manner to the direction of rotation of the tire.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radial_tire

There is more strength in the criss cross ply design of a bias ply tire as far as load handling.
hth

[TracyP]

The bobcat tire is too muddy to tell. The trailer tire looks like it has been overloaded. A good rule of thumb is to figure how much weight you will be hauling max. Choose a set of tires at least one ply rating over that. In other words, if you were hauling 10, 000 pounds, for round numbers , with a tandem axle trailer, four tires total. choose tires that are rated OVER 2500 lbs each max load. I would maybe even go two steps over the break even rating.

[jeff...]

Originally Posted by newtowood

The bobcat tire is too muddy to tell. The trailer tire looks like it has been overloaded. A good rule of thumb is to figure how much weight you will be hauling max. Choose a set of tires at least one ply rating over that. In other words, if you were hauling 10, 000 pounds, for round numbers , with a tandem axle trailer, four tires total. choose tires that are rated OVER 2500 lbs each max load. I would maybe even go two steps over the break even rating.

Overloaded? who me I figured I didn't have no more than 3 ton on the trailer when this happened - this pair is the front set on the tandem. I'm sticking with Bias Ply from here on out - I can take these back where I got them from - but sadly I don't want the same tire again even if they are name brand.

I have to rinse the mud off the 7.00 15 and I'll take a pick when it's cleaned up to show you.

Thanks

[TracyP]

Originally Posted by jeff...

Overloaded? who me I figured I didn't have no more than 3 ton on the trailer when this happened - this pair is the front set on the tandem. I'm sticking with Bias Ply from here on out - I can take these back where I got them from - but sadly I don't want the same tire again even if they are name brand.

I have to rinse the mud off the 7.00 15 and I'll take a pick when it's cleaned up to show you.

Thanks

Don't know if you can still find bias belted. They are stronger yet. Nylon belted vibrate like mad until they warm up but are pretty strong also. I have not seen them in a long time though.

[Glennbear]

One of my brothers manages a tire center and I remember him telling me once that the largest number of failures he has seen can be attributed to improper inflation. A lot of his customers have large RV trailers and during the summer with the long trips, underinflation and overloading the tires just disentegrate. With our hot temps below the Mason -Dixon and heavy wood loads we sometimes undertake I can see where he might have a point.

[JimmyC]

Jeff' I don't think the problem is the tires, maybe it;s the rigs fault. You should probably borrow Reggie's.

Jimmy

[TracyP]

Originally Posted by Glennbear

One of my brothers manages a tire center and I remember him telling me once that the largest number of failures he has seen can be attributed to improper inflation. A lot of his customers have large RV trailers and during the summer with the long trips, underinflation and overloading the tires just disentegrate. With our hot temps below the Mason -Dixon and heavy wood loads we sometimes undertake I can see where he might have a point.

Great point Glenn. I completely agree, but I am sure that Jeff always checks his air pressure before loading our wood on the trailer,

[FredP]

-

this pair is the front set on the tandem.

I'm sticking with Bias Ply from here on out - I can take these back where I got them from - but sadly I don't want the same tire again even if they are name brand.

I have to rinse the mud off the 7.00 15 and I'll take a pick when it's cleaned up to show you.

Thanks[/quote]


check the alignment of the axels and go to "E" rating RV tires. then watch the weight! I've had decent luck with michelin's

[James Davis]

For the Bob Cat just bite the bullet and buy solid tires. They may cost a little more now but not having to quit with that ravine log would have been priceless.

James Davis

[scsmith42]

Jeff, I've been fortunate in that I rarely have tire problems anymore. Typically I'll research the size / load rating that I need, and speak with a lot of folks to find out what tires tend to last the longest, and then buy accordingly.

I also do someting that is unusual, in that I insist that my trailer tires all be balanced. I have yet to find a tire shop that doesn't try to talk me out of this, but I figure that it can't help but increase the longevity of the tire as well as reduce wear and tear on the trailer suspension.

One trick that I also do is to replace my vehicle tires early, and then take the used tires and use them on my trailers. Since I've been buying primarily vehicles with Load Range E and above tires for the last 9 years, I end up with lots of capacity (and relatively new tires) on my trailers.

I tend to be brand conscious - Michelin, Bridgestone and Goodyear are the most common tires that I buy. The size and application will dictate which brand and model that I purchase.

Are you still running the trailer house axles? If so, that's part of your problem. Most tires made for those size rims are poor quality - made for a single trip. You need to search around and buy the ones for the industrial trailers that use the same size rim. Be warned though - they cost 2 - 3X more.

The most expensive tires that I had to buy were for my Dresser Scraper. At $2,500 apiece I took a big gulp before biting the bullet and going forward. The backhoe was almost as bad - about 3K for a set, but they should last for years.

Brand wise- I would suggest that you stay away from Carlyle - they are a cheap tire.

Scott

[jeff...]

Bobcat tire 7.00 x 15 Chevron 6 Ply - 3180lbs @ 5MPH / 2540lbs @ 10 MPH - almost ripped the knob right off of it - shoot the tire is less than 1 year old - cheaply made if you ask me - I won't be buying these again.





Thanks

[DaveO]

Another thing to check when getting new tires is the manufacture date. There was an expose' on Dateline (I think) recently about old tires being sold. Ones that had been manufactured years before the sale date. Rubber deteriorates over time. All tires should have a manufacturing date on them, and if you buy one that is already a few years old you can expect to get much less life out of them.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24390155/

I 100% agree with the solid tires for the skid steer and having the tires balanced for the trailer. In one of the pictures you showed it looks like very even wear on the trailer tire caused by not being balanced and "bouncing" down the road.

MTCW,
Dave