Radial versus bias ply on Teardrop trailer?
 

I recently picked up a lightweight Teardrop trailer that I haven't had the opportunity to weigh yet. The previous owner thinks it's 450 lb, and the title States about 575 lb. I appreciate the fact that that a spare tire and wheel are so easily and inexpensively available at Walmart or Harbor Freight Tools. I will be Towing this with a 89 Toyota Corolla wagon. Wanting to keep as much gas mileage as possible, but wondering if the difference in price and maybe only used several times a year will be worth the effort? I've already custom painted the wheels on it with tires on and do not want to Mar it up at the moment. Ps. I sold off my '55 Chevy and 57 Chevy wagon. The 55 was cammed and sounded really nice but the gas mileage was disgusting. The 57 wagon had the turbo Hydro 350 in it and so it was rather wasteful. The 70 Cuda project is also gone,as well as the Volvo 242 toying with the idea of a Saab Sonett 3 I'm obviously trying to turn a corner for Fleet mileage going up big time! Anybody else making some hard changes these days?

http://20220718_183013Will try to send photo

I'm down from seven 'vehicles' to two, but it took longer.

That's an interesting teardrop. Most of them have that hard edge. How does the door open? Kitchen?

I would think whichever runs cooler. Radials?

The door on each side is like a Gullwing there's struts on both sides of the door. The back opens up and there's enough room for maybe a small little rack near the sink to hang a few utensils there's a place for kind of a medium sized sink, and a big warning not to ever cook anything on here because the body is made of actually some kind of poly plastic, it's not common fiberglass. A little trivia about this trailer. It was made by a company in Wenatchee Washington only in the 1989 to 1990 time frame. I have done further reading, and it seems like only a hundred or so these were ever built. I've had a lot of fun trying to dress up the outside a little bit. When I bought it, everything was white and it was just a little too boring to me. I am happy to be down to seven cars, and two tow Suburban rigs at the moment! Cars are just my thing. I don't have a ski boat, I don't have an airplane, I don't have expensive hunting rifles. This is just my thing!

If it's a blown plastic clamshell, maybe you could add an accordian section in the middle so it pops up?

How long is it? I have a rooftop cargo pod that's not much smaller. Half the length, 1/8th the volume.

The body is about 9 ft long. I appreciate your thoughts but I'm not too keen on any kind of a pop-up. With three quarters of the year wet climate, I actually appreciate everything being as closed up. I actually would not plan to travel anywhere that's too hot. I simply don't take enough one or two nighters out somewhere. In the winter time, that could be going to Eastern Washington or Eastern Oregon just to find a little sunshine.

Back to the Radial vs Bias

Radial, easier to get because can use car tire

Bias, trailer use only

Radial may weigh less than a bias

Bias of the same size will carry more load because that is how they are designed

It all depends on the size and the ply rating of the tire, I usually can find most of the critical information on a site like tirerack.com

radial trailer tires
 

On my first trailer I rotary ground two HONDA 13" wheels, with 165/ 70 SR 13 steel radials, to fit a Harbor Freight 4-foot utility trailer.
I managed to create an upper body, but nothing else.
Towed behind my CRX, I dead-headed out to Los Angeles, California, picked up some Ni-Cads from a local hospital, and made the return trip, at the weight of a Ford Taurus, returning an average 50-mpg at 55-mph, versus 52-mpg 'naked.'
I've no idea what it would have done with the original 8" bias-ply tires.
http://https://ecomodder.com/forum/m...ets-50-mpg.jpg

One spare fit two vehicles? :thumbup:

I hope you didn't wait till gas was $5 a gallon before you sold your legendary car collection.

Bias ply are poop.
I put radial tires on my trailer and they are excellent compared to bias ply.
The only advantage bias ply gives is enhanced sidewall puncture protection and I think that they're cheaper, but that's because you get what you pay for.

Ah ...... Mmmmm ...... Not exactly.

I think you are confusing ST tires compared to regular car tires. ST tires carry more load because of the higher inflation pressures. But ST tires come in both bias and radial - at the same load carrying capacity!

To the OP:

Check to see if you have a vehicle tire placard. The tire placard will list the original tire size and the specified pressure for that size.

Since 2008, it's supposed to be on the driver's side front of the trailer. If your trailer is older than that, it could be anywhere, but usually on travel trailers it's behind or near a door - sometimes a cabinet door.

Oh and radials will have better fuel economy - all other things being equal.

A cousin who works selling and repairing tires said to me that bias-ply are not so cheaper anymore, because of the tubes, and finding a tubeless bias-ply is not so easy...


I don't remember seeing many trailers with 8" tires, which I have only seen on Vespas and those Indian-made Bajaj tricycles. Most trailers I see use tires with a more regular size, either something around 165/70 R13 and 175/70 R13 that are the few 13" radials still found quite easily here, or the 5.60-15 bias-ply still easily found because of the VW Beetle.

My Westfalia has 8" wheels. It's currently in pieces; I just got the wheels powder coated, the trailing arms are next.

Not mine:
https://ecomodder.com/forum/member-f...9-p1010027.jpg

Must be a regional thing. In the US, there are hardly any tubetype tires - even on trucks, where they were the last to convert.

8"
 

Harbor Freight's entry-level utility trailer, with 800-pound cargo capacity has the 4-lug, 8" diameter wheels.
Their 5-lug, 1,300-pound cargo capacity has 13" bias-ply, which I hope can accept the 13" radial-ply trailer tires when it's time.
That first trailer had actual 5.5"X 13" wheels and tires from the Honda. You could buy an entire set from Discount Tire, mounted and balanced for $ 134. 165 70 SR /13 all-season, 60,000-mile treadwear, made by Kelly Springfield, which is owned by Goodyear.

It's not a regional thing at all, even though I have seen people using tubes on radials which were actually tubeless. Some did it because one of the sidewalls was damaged, and so the tire would otherwise lose pressure, while others did it because they didn't understand how a tubeless tire works.


Even though tubeless tires were already available, in the early and mid '90s I was still more used to see tube-type tires. Nowadays I only see tube-type tires on motorcycles still fitted with wire wheels and some ancient cars and trucks. Odd enough, even though I remember seeing motorcycles with tubeless tires, I don't remember having ever seen radials being fitted to a motorcycle, yet for cars and light trucks the tubeless options are mostly radials.