Trailer tires

Just bought a single axle trailer for hauling my Scirocco. Has 6 lug 15 inch Chevy rims and mismatched tires. What should I use for tires? LT? Trailer specific?

Unless you are planning to tow it a lot, I'd go with ST trailer tires. They will age better than truck tires. And on a single axle trailer they will probably bounce less as well. 

In reply to Toyman01 :

I have had good luck with goodyear marathon or endurance. The other off brand stuff may work...but personally i like to have good tires on there. I have seen too many buddies wuth trailer tire problems.. they also sit a bit too.

Greg

slantsix said:

In reply to Toyman01 :

I have had good luck with goodyear marathon or endurance. The other off brand stuff may work...but personally i like to have good tires on there. I have seen too many buddies wuth trailer tire problems.. they also sit a bit too.

 

Greg

Yeah, my set of Marathons lasted 6 years with no issues until I just blew one out last weekend (clipped a pothole when I had to swerve onto a shoulder on a narrow road). they've been fine. I don't think they make em any more - the Endurance is the new version.

That said, single-axle trailers scurrrrr me for car hauling. 

From what I hear on the RV forums, the Endurance is a much better tire than the Marathon. It's made in the US. Next year the OEM China Bombs (tm) on my travel trailer will age out, so I'll be putting a set of Endurances on it.

I'm also a firm believer in cheap tire covers. Anything that reduces the UV exposure of the tire is a Good Thing.

Tom_Spangler said:

From what I hear on the RV forums, the Endurance is a much better tire than the Marathon. It's made in the US. Next year the OEM China Bombs (tm) on my travel trailer will age out, so I'll be putting a set of Endurances on it.

I'm also a firm believer in cheap tire covers. Anything that reduces the UV exposure of the tire is a Good Thing.

On a related note, I'm pretty sure these WINDA tires are actually Goodyear Marathons, looking at the tread and the identical "scuff guard" (even the same font lettering on it). With Goodyear no longer making them, I'm guessing Winda was probably who was making them for Goodyear before and just took over the equipment/design. I just ordered one to replace my one blown-out Marathon, so we'll see. Certainly a lot less expensive than the Endurance. guess we'll see when it gets here how it looks next to my three remaining Marathons. .

Tires on the trailer of hate are P235/70r 15. Less than ideal and old too. Rims are American Racing Chevy 6 lug bolt pattern. What size tire do y'all suggest. 225? Smaller? Most I've seen max at 225. Looking at E load rating for sidewall strength. This will tow my Scirocco to local autocrosses and up to 4 hours away for an occasional track day. Thoughts?

And yes it looks kinda sketchy in the pics. I'm going completely through it however. 

Why all the hate on single axles? People been using them for decades.

vwcorvette said:

Tires on the trailer of hate are P235/70r 15. Less than ideal and old too. Rims are American Racing Chevy 6 lug bolt pattern. What size tire do y'all suggest. 225? Smaller? Most I've seen max at 225. Looking at E load rating for sidewall strength. This will tow my Scirocco to local autocrosses and up to 4 hours away for an occasional track day. Thoughts?

And yes it looks kinda sketchy in the pics. I'm going completely through it however. 

Why all the hate on single axles? People been using them for decades.

I've blown a tire in a curve on my much smaller single-axle 10' utility trailer while hauling some furniture, while going about 55 on a rural highway. It damn near dragged my 4Runner off the road.

Contrast last weekend I blew a tire on my dual-axle car hauler (with a car on it). I didn't even notice it was blown for about a mile (and then dragged it another mile or two before I could find a safe place to stop and change it. In a pinch, you can even strap up one axle (with the blown tire taken off) and drive a pretty good distance on just the one remaining. 

Other thing with single-axle is loading balance, if tongue weight is an issue. Depending on tires and weight of the car, you may be pretty close to the max weight rating. 

And, frankly, stability at higher speeds. Dual axle trailers hauling cars are simply much more stable at high speeds. We regularly pull at 80mph (with a Sequoia) with the racecar and all our gear. Stable as a rock. 

Not saying you can't tow with single-axle. It's not "hate," it's just saying there's less safety margin and I certianly would keep speeds a lot lower (which sucks if it's a long tow). My parents (and me) towed a 20-foot boat cross-country with an Audi 100 when I was a kid without major incident. but my dad recalls it being painfully slow doing so. But it was either that car or a Triumph GT6 lol....

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Nothing to say you couldn't add a second axle later if you find the single-axle to be sketchy. It woudln't be terribly expensive I wouldn't think. 

Last time I went to tow something big and far away, I was airing up the tires and inspected them.  Steel cord was showing on at least one.  I brought the trailer down to wally world and put 4 new trailer tires on.  I keep a cover on the tires when not in use.

My point:  Don't berk around, get the real thing.

vwcorvette said:

Tires on the trailer of hate are P235/70r 15. Less than ideal and old too. Rims are American Racing Chevy 6 lug bolt pattern. What size tire do y'all suggest. 225? Smaller? Most I've seen max at 225. Looking at E load rating for sidewall strength. This will tow my Scirocco to local autocrosses and up to 4 hours away for an occasional track day. Thoughts?

And yes it looks kinda sketchy in the pics. I'm going completely through it however. 

Why all the hate on single axles? People been using them for decades.

I prefer single axle trailers any time you can stay under the max tire capacity.  Yes you have to properly load the trailer so you aren’t tail heavy. And yes the trailer alignment needs to be checked to make sure the wheels are straight.  But that’s something that needs to be checked on every trailer. 

Single axle trailers tow easier and are easier to store and move about. 

vwcorvette said:

Why all the hate on single axles? People been using them for decades.

Single axle trailer work fine if they aren't over loaded and are properly loaded. I haul 3000 pounds on my single axle utility trailer several times a year without issue. 

Tongue weight is critical on a single axle trailer. If you hit it dead on, it will tow like a dream. If not, it will sway and buck continuously.

If you are building it for a specific car, get out the scales and put the car where the tongue weight is perfect. Then set up the trailer so the car ends up in the same place every time, even if a stranger is loading it. My dual axle trailer has stop blocks for the cars it hauls regularly. It takes the guess work out of loading. Car ends up in the same place every time. Straps hook the same way every time. I never have to stop and check things.

Like Irish said, a dual axle gives you some redundancy and spreads the load. Tires and bearings run cooler. Errors in loading aren't really noticeable unless they are extreme. And when something does go wrong it's not quite as much of a white knuckle ride. 

irish44j said:

vwcorvette said:

Tires on the trailer of hate are P235/70r 15. Less than ideal and old too. Rims are American Racing Chevy 6 lug bolt pattern. What size tire do y'all suggest. 225? Smaller? Most I've seen max at 225. Looking at E load rating for sidewall strength. This will tow my Scirocco to local autocrosses and up to 4 hours away for an occasional track day. Thoughts?

And yes it looks kinda sketchy in the pics. I'm going completely through it however. 

Why all the hate on single axles? People been using them for decades.

I've blown a tire in a curve on my much smaller single-axle 10' utility trailer while hauling some furniture, while going about 55 on a rural highway. It damn near dragged my 4Runner off the road.

Contrast last weekend I blew a tire on my dual-axle car hauler (with a car on it). I didn't even notice it was blown for about a mile (and then dragged it another mile or two before I could find a safe place to stop and change it. In a pinch, you can even strap up one axle (with the blown tire taken off) and drive a pretty good distance on just the one remaining. 

Other thing with single-axle is loading balance, if tongue weight is an issue. Depending on tires and weight of the car, you may be pretty close to the max weight rating. 

And, frankly, stability at higher speeds. Dual axle trailers hauling cars are simply much more stable at high speeds. We regularly pull at 80mph (with a Sequoia) with the racecar and all our gear. Stable as a rock. 

Not saying you can't tow with single-axle. It's not "hate," it's just saying there's less safety margin and I certianly would keep speeds a lot lower (which sucks if it's a long tow). My parents (and me) towed a 20-foot boat cross-country with an Audi 100 when I was a kid without major incident. but my dad recalls it being painfully slow doing so. But it was either that car or a Triumph GT6 lol....

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Nothing to say you couldn't add a second axle later if you find the single-axle to be sketchy. It woudln't be terribly expensive I wouldn't think. 

Back in the early 1970’s I towed my Jaguar race car all over the country on a single axle trailer with used, cheap recaps. Only one time did I have a problem.  I was on the highway right next to the Bonneville salt flats.  Heading towards Salt Lake city.  I’d been traveling at 80+ and the old Buick was just happy. Even loaded with all my spares and tools she liked the col air. 90 was so easy I went for 100 and then was headed towards 110  when one tire decided enough was enough.  

Blam!!!  

It let go,  I did use a little on the adjacent lane but that was the sum total of drama.  It took me a little time to unload the trunk and get the Buick’s spare on  

but luckily there was a shop in Salt Lake that straightened out my “mag” wheel on the trailer and mounted another cheap recap for me.  I think it cost me $15  back then.  (But gas was only about .40 a gallon)  

Now to be fair the speedometer was never calibrated and could have been several miles off actual speed.  

My point is single axle trailer are fine.  

I've used a single axle trailer for the last 30 years without issue. For those of us with limited space and lighter tow vehicles they are a very good solution. My trailer only weighs 700lbs, the heavier of my two races cars weighs 1600lbs and my camper van isn't over loaded.  It leaves me a 500lb margin that wouldn't be there with a dual axle trailer.