ChrisW
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| posted on 13/2/11 at 10:45 PM |
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Tyres for my trailer
I need to get a new pair of tyres for my trailer. It's only a small one - say 6x4ft at a guess - but the tyres have been on their way out for
ages. One has a puncture, but as the usual journey it does is only 25 miles each way I get plenty of time as long as I pump it up before heading
back. But, last week, I had to go to Brighton and back and figured I'd pump it up a bit harder to try and avoid having to pump it up again on
the side of the road. That was a mistake, as the extra pressure caused the tyre promptly split around the centre of the treat. Great.
So, the upshot is I need at least one new tyre, and might as well do them both as they've been on there since I had the trailer (about 6 years)
and probably a lot more years before that.
Now, I've never had to do this before, so asking for the LB wisdom on how best to proceed. 
It seems the done thing to buy complete wheels rather than just the tyres. Is this correct?
My wheels are 10" diameter, and the tyre is about 130mm wide. PCD is 100mm. So, do I buy something like this: eBay Item
There's not a huge amount of clearance between the inner edge of the tyre and the trailer body, so I wouldn't want to go any wider on the
tyre without an appropriate change in offset, but none of the weels I see seem to specify an offset. What's the best advice here?
What's the significance of the 4-ply and 6-ply tyre? I assume 6-ply is stronger, so why is it cheaper?
I do tend to cruise a little bit quicker than I suspect I'm allowed to - usually 70-75mph, depending on how heavy the trailer is. Do I need to
consider anything special with the tyres to allow this to not be a problem?
Is it worth upgrading the wheel size?
Any other advice gratefully recieved! 
Thanks all!
Chris
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Myke 2463
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| posted on 13/2/11 at 11:10 PM |
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As long as the centre hole is ok, thats a good price. The 100mm pcd are not the same as 4" as stud sizes are different.
Could always use 145 x 10 mini tyres.
On a 6x4 trailer i would prefer 12 - 13 rims check out s/h caravan wheels on the bay.
P S Got any Tee shirts left ?
Be Lucky Mike.
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dhutch
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| posted on 13/2/11 at 11:18 PM |
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Ive just editing my ruddy post instead of posting a new one. ARSE AGAIN.
[Edited on 14/2/2011 by dhutch]
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pewe
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| posted on 13/2/11 at 11:30 PM |
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IIRC Speed limit for trailers is 50 on ordinary roads, 60 on motorways and bannable offence for using lane three/outer lane when 3 lanes or more.
Tyres should be changed regardless at 5 years old.
Bigger wheel/tyre diam will potentially alter hitch height relative to towing vehicle and/or stabilty of trailer. This is not so important on single
axle trailer but worth bearing in mind.
Also if trailer not fitted with brakes linked to an emergency braking system I.e. break-away cable which locks the brakes, it must be substantially
attached to towing vehicle.
I use the heavy, anti-theft chain and padlock from my motorbike.
HTH.
Cheers, Pewe 
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ChrisW
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| posted on 14/2/11 at 12:32 AM |
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Interesting about the lane 3 thing... didn't know that! I've used lane 3 even with a car transporter on the back. Will think twice about
doing that in the future.
Also on the height thing, a bit more height would help level the trailer out, actually. The Audi's tow bar is quite high so it tilts the
trailer back a bit.
I have a length of thick rope that loops over the towing hitch. I'm sure it would take the weight, but it could slip off reasonably easily so I
should really look into something better.
Thanks for the tip about 4" not being the same as 100mm. The trailer is quite old so I'd suspect imperial rather than metric.
A quick Google suggests that the original mini had 4" PCD wheels. Does that mean I could use a pair of 13" mini wheels? (assuming I
checked the tyre width vs offset of course)
Cheers, Chris
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steve m
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| posted on 14/2/11 at 01:09 AM |
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Chris
if you do a brighton run again, were in Crawley sussex, and have a compressor !
Steve
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Mr Whippy
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| posted on 14/2/11 at 10:08 AM |
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quote:
Originally posted by pewe
IIRC Speed limit for trailers is 50 on ordinary roads, 60 on motorways and bannable offence for using lane three/outer lane when 3 lanes or more.
Cheers, Pewe
60 MPH on dual carrageways too
Fame is when your old car is plastered all over the internet
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ChrisW
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| posted on 14/2/11 at 10:08 AM |
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Hi Steve
I'd have stopped in if I'd known - went right past Crawley. Doh!
But, the compressor wouldn't have helped. I took a pump with me, and as soon as I got over a certain (low) pressure the crack opened up enough
that the air just came straight back out. It got me home, but the tyre wasn't in a good state.
Chris
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Peteff
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| posted on 14/2/11 at 10:29 AM |
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I bought a wheel and tyre from the spares shop my wife drives for on Saturdays and it cost £39 something so that sounds dead on for a pair delivered
as well. I pull a trailer and we also have a trailer tent, never venture into outside lane with it on and don't very often exceed the limit for
trailers only to get past lorries. We saw a clamp down on them a couple of years ago and caravan pullers were being stopped and checked and done for
lane use and speeding on the motorway
[Edited on 14/2/11 by Peteff]
yours, Pete
I went into the RSPCA office the other day. It was so small you could hardly swing a cat in there.
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adithorp
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| posted on 14/2/11 at 10:31 AM |
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Might be worth trying Northern tools
Good service and cheap for this sort of stuff.
adrian
"A witty saying proves nothing" Voltaire
http://jpsc.org.uk/forum/
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pewe
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| posted on 14/2/11 at 10:42 AM |
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Chris, if the trailer is old have the wheel bearings been re-newed / re-packed?
Trailers tend to be neglected, unloved and generally abused.
In fact there's some statistic that there are more breakdowns with trailers than the cars that are towing them and/or the loads that are on
them.
Ask me how I know?
Last year akaKeith and I were en route to Sheffiled with his MK on the back.
At Northants Services I remarked someone had left their handbrake on (hot metallic smell on the wind) only to find that what we then first suspected
to be a flat tyre was in fact the tyre, wheel and hub running on the stub axle!!! This was caused by the wheel bearing totally collapsing and it was
just fortunate the whole issue hadn't flown off at 60mph (exceeding the speed limit with a trailer on the back hofficer - not me). Fortunately
it's a 4 wheel trailer so no major issues with it going out of control (another reason for using chain to attach it to the towing vehicle though
as a single axle digging into the road surface could be quite disaterous).
You have been warned.
BTW 13" wheels were also used on things like Morris/Austin 1100/1300 which IIRC were the same PCDs as Minis but I stand to be corrected on that
one.
Cheers, Pewe
[Edited on 14/2/11 by pewe]
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ChrisW
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| posted on 14/2/11 at 11:13 AM |
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I've not done any maintenance on it since I've had it, other than pump the tyres up every now and again. I guess part of that was being
scared of the unknown having never dismantled one before, but I guess it'll be pretty self explanatory for someone familiar with car
mechanicals.
I'm thinking this is probably a good opportunity to check things like the bearings, suspension units, etc. Replace the wheels/tyres, fit a
proper safety chain, etc. Might even give it a coat of paint too!
Chris
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dhutch
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| posted on 14/2/11 at 08:48 PM |
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Nothing scary about trailer wheel beerings, well worth having a look inside from time to time, although im not good at getting around to it myself.
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