Trailer tyres

Leo Walker

Leo Walker

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This is making my head hurt! I'm at work, trying to avoid doing anything work related, so I am trying to buy new tyres for my trailer. The current tyres say:

155/80??13 797 Radial 025035

I think the ?? is an A but could possibly be an 8

I have no idea if these are actually trailer tyres or not, but they are being replaced as its been stood a while.

I assume I'm looking for 155/80 13" tyres? I know nothing about tyres and would rather avoid the hassle of buying them, getting it wrong and having to send them back if at all possible. The trailers not in a towable condition at the minute so I cant take it anywhere, although i could at a push take a wheel off. But I'd rather avoid that if I can!
 
getting a tyre that fits the wheel rim is easy.The important thing is the ply rating . Two tyres can look absolutely identical but have a different ply rating.Trailer tyres MUST have the correct rating to cope with the weight.
 
The ones on there are rated for 600kgs which doesnt seem enough, unless they are working on the basis that 4 x 600 is 2400kgs. That would be fine for such a light trailer and my little cob, as its 700kgs give or take and hes about 500kgs. Or does each tyre have to be rated for the total weight?

I can see if a mobile fitter would come out, but if it comes to juggling that round work I'll just take a wheel off and go to the tyre place.
 
I had a quick look at Ifor Williams trailer tyres and they were rated at 715kg....so yes, it must be additive. Makes sense really.

What make and model is the trailer? It may be possible to find the right tyres from that.
 
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I'll have a look at mine tomorrow if that's not too late for you. I took my trailer to our local tyre place (who are great) and they sorted mine out. If I remember rightly the size tyre they had on there originally were very old and not available anymore so they put new sizes to fit the wheels for me.
 
Peregrine Falcon said:
I'll have a look at mine tomorrow if that's not too late for you. I took my trailer to our local tyre place (who are great) and they sorted mine out. If I remember rightly the size tyre they had on there originally were very old and not available anymore so they put new sizes to fit the wheels for me.
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theres no actual rush, other than I was bored at work and wanted to buy stuff :lol:
 
Tiddlypom said:
Trailers need van rated tyres, not car tyres, to cope with the extra load. It's best not to assume that the tyres fitted to an older trailer are appropriate, as they may be replacements fitted incorrectly.

FWIW, my Ifor 510 has 165R13C tyres.
Click to expand...

They ordered different ones for me, not car tyres.
 
Most horse trailers should have 8 ply tyres, and the size on my Rice depends on the weight it is plated to carry. I would guess that as long as you have an 8ply tyre the size will be ok if you take it from whats on there.
 
Its ok, I worked it out :biggrin3: The size is 155/80/13 which I can explain if anyone want to be bored to death! Then its just a case of making sure the tyres are rated for an appropriate weight. So in this case they were rated for 450kgs x 4 which is 1800kgs. Trailer is 700kgs ish, so was probably about right in this case. I'll probably go for higher rated ones though.

Stupid questions about electrics coming up next!
 
I used to have a bahill :)

Pretty sure you combine all the tyres to give maximum weight as I had to work along those lines for towing weights as mine wasn't plated. Fab trailer , and yes I ageee with you about the age , I think mine was nearly 30years old!

ETA- had to have the whole bl**dy thing rewired and braking system renewed as parts were no longer on the market! 1800kg sounds about right as I ended up selling mine as I couldn't tow it on a B license.
 
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I had a similar problem when I bought an old trailer with perished tyres. I just went to a place that did commercial tyres as well as regular ones.

As another poster said, If it's got "C" in the spec it's commercial/van and good for heavy loads. .
 
I would suggest getting 165/70/13 C as a replacement as they will be more stable on the road because of the lower aspect ratio.
Especially if the originals are crossply. Radial tyres have more sidewall movement than crossplies so a lower tyre doesnt move in the sidewall so much.
 
They are radial tyres, no C in the current ones. I'm getting trailer specific tyres for it though. I will have a look at 165/70/13s There does seem to be more of those. I think they are the standard Ifor ones.

The floor is coming up tonight so I can have a good look at the frame and get any welding done before I replace it. I'm going to rewire it myself while the floor is up and the panels are all out. Its a really simple DIY job, apparently anyway. Watch this space! :lol:

It may well need new brakes as well, but that is very definitely outside of my remit! I have a friendly trailer man lined up for that!

So long as it only ends up costing me the same as a similar second hand one would be I reckon I'm coming out on top, as everything will be new and done to the proper standard, which you just dont know with the older second hand trailers. So I've got a fair amount to play with, especially if I manage to do the simple stuff myself.

Mines very light. Its plated at under 750kgs. I can see why. When I've stripped it out its a very lightweight metal frame and walls. Most of the weight is in the floor. Doesnt matter really though. I've bought a big Discovery, so it will tow the trailer and probably the house as well! :lol:
 
As a few people have suggested - you must fit trailer tyres to a trailer. Sounds pretty obvious, I know, but you'd be amazed at the amount of trailers I've serviced where they've had car tyres fitted. As popsdosh said, trailer tyres are constructed differently and have a stiffer side wall, meaning they don't crush under the trailer weight and have a higher pressure rating. Here's a linky to a Bookface post I stuck up a while ago:

https://www.facebook.com/compasstra...4106199273108/478805092469882/?type=3&theater



I'd definitely recommend going for something like a 165/80R13C 8 ply tyre. These will have a weight rating of circa 625kg per tyre (giving a maximum load of 2500kg for all four) up to 725kg per tyre (giving a maximum load of 2900kg). I fitted three to a customer's HB505 the other day at £52 each, so they're not big money.

Good luck with the rebuild, I hope it all goes well for you.
 
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Thanks, I've managed to get 6 155/80R13C locally. Specific trailer 4 brand new and 2 barely used, so I've got a couple of spares now as well 6 spare rims.

The panelling is all out and the floor is up now. Just need to pressure wash it and then I can get in and check the frame is ok. For something so old that had a decidedly dodgy rotten floor, there seems to be very little rust. I suppose its a testament to how well made these old trailers are!
 
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