17.5" Trailer Tires

[JWashburn]

I was calculating in round numbers the other day while considering a slightly used 24' steel stock trailer. The trailer weighs in at a conservative (I went light for purpsoes of this calculation) 5K lbs. If I load a dozen 1,200 lb cows, then the gross on the trailer is 19,400 lbs. Ignoring the 7K lb axles, the best Load Range E tires have a carrying capacity of roughly 3700 lbs. Four times 3700 is 14,800 lbs. If there is 4,600 lbs on the goose neck hitch, then the tires are at capacity and probably over. I get about the same amount of rear spring compression by loading 2,500 lbs of hay on the flat bed of the truck.



My question from that point is anybody running 17. 5" trailer tires that have a load capacity of something like 6K lbs a tire. I imagine some of you guys with loaded 5ers must have had some tire problems.



I didn't buy the steel stock trailer. Why buy a a trailer designed to carry the volume of 12 (or 14) cows, and be way over the weight capacity?

 

[JWashburn]

I guess nobody is running these tires. I understand Rickson sells 'em.

With all the problems trailer tires give its surprising to me that nobody has tried them. Or maybe nobody that frequents this category of the forum has tried it.

Has anybody tried the Goodyear 235/85R-16 Load G tires?

 

[NIsaacs]

Sounds like you need a trailer with duals, the 16 inch tires will match the capacity of the 7k lbs axles. Can you buy a 17. 5" wheel that will match the capacity of the 17. 5" tire in a standard 8 bolt pattern? I have only seen that tire in commercial dually use w/ 10 bolts. You will have a hard time finding "any" trailer that ya can't overload. Same thing goes for the tow truck.





"NICK"

 

[EricBu12]

Best thing to do is get the Rickson 19. 5" rim which is the 8 lug. then get a 14 or 16 ply tire. A 245/70 R 19. 5 is like a 285 -16 tire but skinnier. about 33" diameter. . those tires will have a 4800 # or more rating at 95 psi.



My . 02 c. ... . this trailer sounds like it should have been a 3 axle. . my 36' 5th is 3 axle and the whole trailer weighs 15K... so go from there. .

 

[CBari]

I Am Running The Goodyear 14 Ply's On My Lq Horse Trailer And It Made A World Of Difference In How The Trailer Pulls Plus I Have Had No Flat Problems. I Have A Friend Who Has A Lot Larger Trailer Has To Use A Mini Freightliner To Pull It. His Trailer Came From The Factory With The 16 In Goodyears But He Would Blow A Tire After Running About 250 Miles Every Trip They Just Weren't Designed For His Weight He Went To 17. 5's And They Solved His Problems. Now His Axles Are 10k I Think. They Are Not The Weak Link For Sure. Good Luck

 

[CNeubauer]

For what it's worth a couple years ago we borrowed a 24' steel stock trailer with tandem 7,000lb axles and I came to the same conclusion as you about not being able to load it full after hauling a couple of illegal loads with it. I suppose maybe with hogs or sheep it would have handled a full load, I hauled a load of 1,300lb cattle weighting an average of 1,200lbs and there would have been room for at least one more. For hauling cattle and a 14,000lb GVWR I think a 20' long trailer would be just about the right length.

 

[JJW_ND]

17.5" a great wheel tire combo

We used to have 7K axles and run 16" tires. Had lots of tire blowouts and tire issues. Six years ago we upgraded the trailers and went with 8K axles. To take full advantage of the extra carring capacity we went to 17. 5" tires. You only have one rim choice - a 3/8" solid plate center with a 6K rating per wheel. The tires we run are 215/75R 17. 5 which has a 4800 rating. It is about the same overall diameter as a 235-16". The heavier tires eleminated the tire problems we previsouly had with 16"... . expecially in hot weather running interstate speeds. The tires are not cheap and that is why you do not often see these wheel combos on dealer ordered trailers.



Goodyear, Toyo, and Kumo all make 17. 5 tires.



If hauling heavy on a 7K axle or running 8Ks this is a great tire to run.



Next to hydraulic disk brakes, these 17. 5" tires are one of the best changes we made.



jjw

ND

 

[DPike]

Almost all cattle haulers in our area run these tires, and have very good luck with them. One guy who hauls farm supplies had regular 235/85/16 10 pr tires on his enclosed trailer, and was constantly having problems-he went to the 12 pr with the same rims, and never had another problem, but those tires cost around $300 each, I think.

 

[JWashburn]

We used to have 7K axles and run 16" tires. Had lots of tire blowouts and tire issues. Six years ago we upgraded the trailers and went with 8K axles.

jjw

ND

Does that mean you replaced axles on existing trailers or did you trade trailers?



If you replaced axles, did you go with Dexter 8Ks or something else.



I bought a 20' all aluminum 4 or 5 years ago with 8Ks, but I haven't upgraded the tires yet, and its about time.

 

[JJW_ND]

New trailers

We replaced the trailers. The old trailers were steel the new are aluminum. When we switched to hydraulic disk brakes we did the kodiak kits. Uses the same axle just new hubs. You can order the rotors to use what ever studs are needed. We run the 5/8" with the 17. 5. You can also run 9/16" with 17. 5 and that way a 16" will work also.



jjw

ND

 

[Cattletrkr]

I run the 17. 5" trailer tires. The 235's are rated for 6005lb each. The 215' are a little ove 4800lb each. I've never had a blowout from overloading. I did have one blowout a couple months ago because the tires had highway tread that wasn't ejecting stones and they wore thru. I replaced the other 3 as soon as I could. I've got over 300K miles with 17. 5 tires and other than that one the only probs I've had are with re-caps. Re-caps on 17. 5's are garbage.

You can get them at any tire shop that carries truck tires. I've had Bridgestone, Kuhmo, Continental, Kelley, and now Hankook. All good tires. My current trailer came with Hercules tires and I won't touch them again... that's what blew out.

I try to run right up to the max pressure of 125psi. I'll usually get 80K plus out of a set.

I run over what my axles are rated for and it costs me tires. Spring axles can handle the overloading, but torsions can't. My tires were leaning inward within a couple months of getting the trailer, causing the tires to wear a LOT faster on the inside rib.

An easy way to figure how much room you need is 16 sqft per animal or two feet of trailer length in an 8' wide trailer. That's fats, 1200-1300lb cows take less room but I won't crowd them any tighter. Monday night I hauled 16 head of mostly holstein fats that weighed in a little over 24,000. Plenty room.

 

[JWashburn]

Thanks for all the responses. I figured there had to be somebody around here that had experience running 17. 5s.

I'm gonna switch over to 17. 5s. My experience has been that safer is always more efficient. I have a cow calf operation, so I don't haul as much as Cattletrkr. The cattle are hauled to and from summer pasture in pots. I'm guessing that the 6klb tires will easily fit the bill. Around here nobody uses 17. 5s or 19. 5s on their pickups (except me). Most stock trailers and tandem dual flat beds have two or more different tires (whatever used tires the two tire stores had on hand). I know I'll be bucking the trend just like I did when I went to low stress herding 6 years ago. But folks do look at what I do and what I'm using, and I see a change here and there.

If I ever get tired of feeding at 30 below I'm sure I'll insist that a fifth wheel has 17. 5s when I fly south to warmer winters, and flock with the other snowbirds.