14.5" G Rated Trailer Tires

[Kalashnikov]

I bought a New Holland 28' fifth wheel flat bed trailer back in the summer. I think it's an 89ish. Anyways, it's got brand new tires but one of the beads got bent badly on the Dayton wheels. While I was hammering on it I noticed the tires are "G" rated but only have a capacity of 3030lbs. The GVWR of the trailer is 17klbs. Aren't these tires underrated or is it because 20-25% of the weight will be on the tongue?

 

[w4dsb]

"G" is a pretty heavy tire!

 

[Kalashnikov]

That's what I'd think and that's why I don't understand why they are rated the same capacity as "E" rated tires.

 

[spg]

Because they are only 14.5" tires. Sideswalls can only handle so much weight.

 

[Matrix37495]

Because they are only 14.5" tires. Sideswalls can only handle so much weight.

What he said.

From what i understand the more volume and pressure of the air in a tire, the more weight it can carry. For example, a 235/85R16 E can carry ~3000#, but a 265/75R16 E, which has more volume though the same number of plies, can carry ~3400# despite them both being the same height...

 

[jaluhn83]

Yep. Load rating is not absolute, but it related to the size of the tire - a smaller load range 'E' tire may be rated less than a larger load range 'D'.


What PR are the tires you have now? I know I've seen 14 ply 14.5 tires, but can't remember the load rating.

Triple axle? Seems like it'd have to be. You know what the axles are rated at?

Are you sure it's a properly built trailer? 14.5 dayton rims are what 95% of mobile home axles used, and I've seen a large number of trailer built on those axles.... which means the GVW may or may not be correct. Could be someone swapped new axles in as well.

If it's a triple axle you're probably ok - 3 6k axles is ~18k, plus tongue weight, minus a bit for the uneven axle weight distribution. I personally would prefer to see tires rated a bit over the axle rating, ie 3500 lb tires just cause tires are usually the weakest link, but that may not be possible.