Recommended tires: Radial or Bias Ply

[zoomjay]

One of the trailers we are pondering would need a new set of tires. I have looked around a bit and it seems that pretty much all manufacturers are going toward radial trailer/ST tires now. I do, though, remember a few people warning about not using radials on Avions (mentions of bad experiences??).

With that said - what is the current thought? We are looking at something in the 26' range. If we need to buy tires, I would prefer to buy something that is safe and will pull well. Any brands or specific tire recommendations are appreciated.

[KYAvion]

Some will disagree, but I’ll only buy LT tires. Right now I am running Cooper HT3’s.

[zoomjay]

would those be radials or bias ply?

[KYAvion]

Cooper HT3’s are a radial tire. I like Cooper tires and I was looking for something similar to Michelin Rib tires. Yokohama also makes a Rib tire—RY215. I wanted to upgraded to 16” rims so the Cooper HT3’s were a good fit for me. I went with a 225/75/16. I have had them for several years and have no complaints. I just came across this link today and it’s about the HT3’s as well. Looks like this person stuck with 15” tires and went with a 235. Personally I prefer having the 16’s though.

https://roadtraveler.net/cooper-discove ... -trailers/

[zoomjay]

What is the advantage of a 16" rim? From the article it looks like most of the 15's available now are not tall enough - which lowers the trailer. I am not trying to be cheap although if I can avoid buying another set of rims - am thinking that would be a good thing.

[KYAvion]

I don’t think there’s a huge advantage. There’s just fewer and fewer LT tires available in 15. If you’re on the road and need a replacement for your spare in a hurry, it may be tough to find a 15” in an LT. That said, they’d probably have a 15” ST so it’s likely a non issue.

[Rostam]

For what its worth, I got these 15" LT tires 4 years ago.

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.js ... mpare1=yes

We have a 26' Avion and these tires have enough load carrying capacity for our trailer. I have no complaints.

[Razorback]

For people who are contemplating whether to go with LT tires, can someone recite the rule of thumb about load capacity? Don't you discount the posted numbers by some percentage?

If I had a single or tandem-axle trailer as opposed to the tri-axle 34W we have, I would give a serious look at LT tires...... But I have chosen to stick with ST trailer tires..... I cannot imagine LT tires handling tight turns and the side sheer introduced with that while the tires are being drug through the turn..... but I'm no expert.

[KYAvion]

I believe P rated tires have to be derated, but not LT tires. Here is one link that talks some about LT and ST tires.

https://m.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/t ... techid=219

[Rostam]

The axles on our Avion are rated at 3500# each. The tires I cited have around 2000# weight carrying capacity, which gives us about %15 extra capacity. However, we never approach the 7000# capacity on our axles. With water tank full, the axles on our trailer weighed about 5800# and we almost always travel with empty water tanks. The tires I cited do not have enough load carrying capacity for a 34 Avion, but there maybe other LT tires with higher weight carrying capacity. I just have not looked. If I'm not mistaken, the original tires on our Avion, per the owner's manual were LT. LT tires are not de-rated when used in trailers.