Hot Rods There’s trailer tires on my project

No, I have no intention to use them for anything other than burnouts.

My question is; has anyone used them for actual driving around and what was your experience?

 

Trailer tires are meant for an axle that is pulled around, not steered or driven, so I don't think they would be safe for use on a vehicle.

 

They don’t have the flex of a passenger tire, that said, probably no different than bias ply tires from days past?

Does the tire show “STxxxxx” on it, or are you just going by the size on the tire?

 

You may not have any trouble with them. But if they are ST spec tires and you do have trouble that involves the authorities, then you will have big trouble.

The Crosley guys have trouble getting bias passenger tires for the 12” original wheels on their cars so some of them run trailer tires.

 

Jeebus, ElC is still around!?

 

I drive around on bias ply trailer tires a lot, I ain't scared. Fronts wear out pretty fast.

 

Indeed, my enforced absence has kept me from here, not jail, but starting a business has been time consuming to say the least.

 

The last trailer tires I bought for one of my old Fords, the brand name is "Free Country". Hard to pass that up.

 

It's a great question that I have also wondered about.
Since lots of trailers have trailer brakes, the tires can obviously take deceleration (which is the same as acceleration) forces.
Heavily loaded trailers go around corners so the tires experience cornering stresses.

It would be great for "Myth Busters" type programs to try out a set of trailer tires on an old car at a slalom course and see what happens.
Would they fail and make the car fly into the air and explode, or would they just behave like mediocre tires?

I've never come across actual technical descriptions of the differences with trailer tires. What I've found is comments like "They are specially made for trailers".

 

Trailer tires have heavier side wall construction so they don't flex as easily. This can create less contact patch on the road when cornering as the sidewalls don't flex as much and allow the contact portion of the tire to remain in contact with the road.

 

A little stiff...look good, work great....for me anyway, running low psi, on the rear of my modified!

 

Well I mentioned/asked before about the ST on the tire. I was talking to the service manager at Big O when paying for two for my little camp trailer and said that “heck, those are cheaper to run than tires for my car”. He told me they were not DOT approved for passenger vehicles.

What’s that mean in the long run? I don’t know.

 

Used them a lot in my younger days. Marine salvage supply places had 'em complete (rim and tire ) for 20 bucks. Might have wore out quick, but at that price I really didn't give a shit. Can't remember any blow outs. Back then, all bias plys handled and rode like shit anyway.

 

For what it's worth, the last few I had were radials.

The best thing about them is that they seem to be in demand among the boating crowd, I picked three up for free but was able to sell the lot for $140 (new on rims).
If I hadn't gotten my money, I would have been tempted to run them.

 

Had a 53 Ford that came with them...i didn't notice till one of the Port a walls came apart and i saw on the side wall...max speed 45 mph...i'd just driven at 70 mph. They were gone the next day.

 

Designed for 60 lbs air pressure , usually 6 ply sidewalls , and your insurance will let you know what the dot means should something happen.

 

Yes I have. How well would non ST tires hold up?

I don’t run them anymore on my trailers, hell old radials last as long Cheaper too. Not like I pull a trailer daily

 

45 mph! Lol , any trailer I have ever towed was usually rolling along at 70 if not more! Larry

 

I think the stiff sidewalls will present an issue with turning, the sidewalls won't let the tires flex enough to maintain control on tight curves with limited traction.

What trailer tires do when there is a load on them and they are forced around a corner at slow speeds is not a good example of what they will do on a car (especially a light car) on a curvy highway at speed, or worst yet, dealing with a big city driving.

Trailer tires are designed to haul heavy weights pretty much going straight down a road. The few times they get forced to make sharp turns, or do hard breaking probably doesn't account for a very high percentage of their use, where those requirements of passenger tires probably accounts for a very high percentage of their use.
Low grade performance on the rear might work out OK, but I think I'd pass on higher performance on front tires. They might be great tires for burnouts, but I wonder how well they would smoke. Gene

 

I was just thinking the same thing. That's a name I haven't seen in a looong time.

 

Most of them do stand up to UV better.

 

How many things do we use that aren't DOT approved on our cars? I'd say probably a lot!

When I got married in 1978, my Pa in law had his Pa in law's 68 C10 pickup, it had mobile home tires on the steering! Most if not all of those are 14.5", I still don't know how they got them on 15" wheels. Must have been a struggle! I borrowed the old truck a few times before I got my own pickup, it drove fine at 55-60 mph, but best I remember it rode stiff, probably from those rock hard tires. It wasn't used much, just as a hauler, so I can't say how they lasted. I think they were still on it in the mid 80's when he sold it.

 

I wonder if the violation ticket would be any worse than a simple bald tire citation.

Basically, an improperly equipped motor vehicle.

 

Where I live I've seen shit like people driving around with two of those little weenie spares on the back of some old heap.

 

They do make great "rollers" for project-cars-in-waiting.
Marcus...

 

Good point, it seems crazy that the automakers ever convinced the authorities to allow a temporary spare to be used on a car driven on a public road. Years ago a friend drove around a few weeks with one on the front, it would lock up in modest braking, and cornering was rather badly affected.
Consider that some people who know nothing about cars, handling etc. will drive around with one on the car just like usual.

 

I didn’t ask anything else, but I was thinking if a blowout and not a passenger car tire DOT approved, maybe liability would be on me? I really don’t know. Odd though. You can run a 50 year old tire and no liability (that I know of). But even a better trailer tire brand new....who knows

 

I suspect a non DOT rated anything wouldn't be a problem until somebody got a lawyer and started a law suite after an accident. Then things could go down hill pretty fast.

We have people in our area that use those mini spares as tires. The local junk yard sells them complete for $20. Most will run them until they blow out, then put on another one. Just last week, someone had replaced a blown out mini spare, I know this because they left their old tire and wheel in my front yard. Gene

 

14.5 tires on 14 rims=bad idea. Guy I know tried to inflate 14 inch on 15 inch rim. Bead blew apart and broke hell out of his arm. He didn't figure out the size difference until after the fact. Should have been obvious when he mounted on wheel but he wasn't the sharpest tool in the box. Not as bad as the guy who tried to reinflate flat outer dual semi-truck split rim on the truck. Lock ring blew off and took him in the head. Now one step away from a vegetable.