Trailer Tire Question
 

I have a 24' Superboat on tandem axle trailer. Total rig weight would be around 3500 lbs I'm guessing. The stock wheels are 13". I am considering upsizing the tires as it seems to me that a taller tire may give a little more contact patch area and give a little better stability.

If I change, what will the detrimental factors be for the brakes and bearings? Will a straight swap be just fine affecting noting else? Obviously the ball mount will have to be changed out to one with a little less drop.

Thanks!

Jay, Your not going to have a lot of options in a 13 inch,, I think a 185/80R13 is the biggest "ST" Tire you can get,, and that should be plenty for what your towing, the load rating is 1480lbs per tire, 6ply, overall dia. is 24.7 inches, width is 7.2 inches
a ST175/80R13 is 1360lbs per tire, 6ply, 24.0inches-O.D., and 7.0 inches wide.
Hope this helps!!

FYI,, to give you an idea on cost, we sell the GY Marathon 185/80R13 for 55bucks, so don't let your local dealer try to "Break it off" if you know what I mean!! :D

Mitch

I was actually thinking about moving up to a 14" or 15" wheel. The tires I have now are the ST185/80R13.

Any thoughts on that?

As long as you have fender clearance, I don't think you will have any issues going to 14". I am not familiar with the bearings in a hub behind a factory 13" wheel. What are the individual axle load ratings?

www.championtrailerparts.com can sell you entire wheel/tire packages. However, stay away from Carlisle Trailer Tires. Marathon trailer tires are the way to go. Cooper also makes ST tires, but I have no experience with them.

Axles
 

How close are the axles/tires?

If you put 14 inch wheels tires will they rub tire to tire? Measure the space between the tires now. If less than 2 inches I would not bother.

You probably have 2500 lb axles, maybe 4 bolts holding each wheel on?

You are probably ok with current set up, just stay at 65 mph or lower.

Wannabe

Here's some numbers for ya to check your clearances

205/75R14 Width - 8.0 inches , O.D. - 26.1 inches
215/75R14 Width - 8.5 inches , O.D. - 26.7 inches
205/75R15 Width - 8.0 inches , O.D. - 27.1 inches

Thanks for the info. I will check out the numbers and see what I can do. In my situation, am I going to see a benefit from going to the larger tires/wheels, or will it be a waste?

My thoughts are, less revolutions per mile means longer tire life, less heat build-up which is the major cause of tire failure, and a higher load carring capacity.

It has 5 on 4.5 bolt pattern now. I can't remember the trailer manufacturer name right now though. I have no idea what axle rating they are.