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Wed May 07, 2025 8:20 pm

anyone ever used trailer tires on the front of their buggy?
I’d figure with how their tread usually goes around the tire that theyd make a good steer tire and not having large gaps between tread wouldnt pick up large rocks either. Typically 10 ply so theyd be stout. But maybe a harder compound? Maybe built different than a normal tire? I dunno?

Thu May 08, 2025 4:33 am

I had that same question 3 years ago. I asked my local tire dealer and he said that as far as he knew the only difference was the load rating. They are rated for more weight.

At the time I was looking for a pair of 14" tires to put on my Bay window just to sell it. That was all he had in stock and they were cheaper than passenger car tires. The interesting thing is that in this part of the world it is not legal to run them on the street on a car but they are legal on a trailer.

You figure it out...

As for an advantage off road, maybe but I have 2 ply implement tires on the front of my sand rail that I run at 6 psi and have never felt the need for something heavier duty.

Thu May 08, 2025 5:53 am

2 ply? you sure? I could be wrong but I thought I saw the 3 rib implement tires on the front of yours and all of those ive seen are 6 ply?
and no, I wasn't looking to find something more heavy duty, just something that wasn't a street tire but also wasn't a " mud tire" with a lot of open lugs. I was looking for something similar to the old MT desert tires which seem harder to find now and what I could find were nearly $300 ea.
nothing wrong with the implements unless you plan to drive on road muchness highway speeds.

that law doesn't surprise me, id would be surprised if many cops would know the difference in the tires at first glance though

Thu May 08, 2025 7:55 am

My general grabers throw rocks like it is their job. I can see why you'd want to avoid them.

-Joe

Thu May 08, 2025 1:31 pm

That's interesting I guess because they have a million medium sized grooves? I guess with the tractor style tread i have for fronts its not that bad for little rocks but i've thrown some big ones and chunks of the front fenders have been removed.

Thu May 08, 2025 2:00 pm

Around these parts they are frowned on for passenger vehicles, most that I have ever seen come with an ST prefix making it an easy identifier to the casual observer and upon closer inspection have wording that states "for trailer use only" or something to that effect.

Guessing that off road use only wouldn't be an issue, depending on the specific area.

Thu May 08, 2025 8:07 pm

That's what I put on the front of my blue buggy.

Couldn't find anything else without a wide profile for a 15 around town here so went with a trailer tire.
3/5 rib tractor tires were going to cost more than I could justify.
No other thoughts or reasoning were applied 8)

And unfortunately, I don't have any ride time on them yet.
Probably a week or 2 away.

Thu May 08, 2025 8:13 pm

BFB wrote: 2 ply? you sure? I could be wrong but I thought I saw the 3 rib implement tires on the front of yours and all of those ive seen are 6 ply?
I just checked and they are actually 5 rib implement tires, 4 ply with a 6 ply rating.

The reason they are on there is like you say, to reduce crap thrown in my face when driving. Sand and fine gravel still do at higher speeds but way less than any car tire for sure.

Thu May 08, 2025 8:20 pm

U&I wrote: Around these parts they are frowned on for passenger vehicles, most that I have ever seen come with an ST prefix making it an easy identifier to the casual observer and upon closer inspection have wording that states "for trailer use only" or something to that effect.
Yes and no one to date has been able to explain the difference to me. A trailer tire rotates at the same speed as any other tire on the road, has weight on it, is expected to brake and corner just like any other tire on any other vehicle. So they are rated for a heavier load? How does that make them unsafe under a lighter load?

I just don't get it!

Thu May 08, 2025 9:11 pm

My mini mags and KR2s aren't road legal but I still love them. I've used trailer tires on a baja as rollers/mock up but never really had any experience using them on steer/drive wheels at speed.

Fri May 09, 2025 5:14 pm

oprn wrote: U&I wrote: Around these parts they are frowned on for passenger vehicles, most that I have ever seen come with an ST prefix making it an easy identifier to the casual observer and upon closer inspection have wording that states "for trailer use only" or something to that effect.
Yes and no one to date has been able to explain the difference to me. A trailer tire rotates at the same speed as any other tire on the road, has weight on it, is expected to brake and corner just like any other tire on any other vehicle. So they are rated for a heavier load? How does that make them unsafe under a lighter load?

I just don't get it!

Trailer tires will fail when used as drive tires that's why. They take side to side load only. You can use them as fronts.

Fri May 09, 2025 8:07 pm

Ok, so i have a buddy thats owned a tire shop for a couple decades and I holed at him about this.
He said biggest things are they are not designed for traction and also not designed to shed water so the chances of hydroplaning is fairly high.
He did say that he thought theyd be fine for offroad use as front tires though.

Sat May 10, 2025 8:15 am

oprn wrote: U&I wrote: Around these parts they are frowned on for passenger vehicles, most that I have ever seen come with an ST prefix making it an easy identifier to the casual observer and upon closer inspection have wording that states "for trailer use only" or something to that effect.
Yes and no one to date has been able to explain the difference to me. A trailer tire rotates at the same speed as any other tire on the road, has weight on it, is expected to brake and corner just like any other tire on any other vehicle. So they are rated for a heavier load? How does that make them unsafe under a lighter load?

I just don't get it!

Me neither, I just know that in my case, with my luck, I'd be the one that gets caught running them and they'd impound my rig, suspend my license, and toss me into the gulag for a year just in case, or some such nonsense.

Sun May 11, 2025 9:18 pm

Perhaps there is something to them not being designed to drive but the I am going to call BS on the hydroplaning thing! A hydroplaning trailer would be a total disaster! Just look at the tread design... sheading water is about all that tread is designed to do.

Mon May 12, 2025 6:11 am

not necessarily , trailer could hydroplane and still be drug in a straight line. just because something hydroplanes doesn't mean its flying off the road. they are obviously designed differently than standard commuter tire and if they were equal to a commuter tire then your people wouldn't have laws against using them. you get an answer about why trailer tires aren't used on commuter vehicles from a guy that's been in the tire business 30+ years and you call bullshit. that's just ignorant on your part, but hey maybe your an expert

Tue May 13, 2025 8:47 pm

I pulled trailers every day for a living for 20 years and I can tell you that when a trailer gets loose back there whether it is ice, snow or water things go bad fast! I can assure you that trailer tires are designed to shed water, your guy behind the counter spent 30 years selling tires not driving with them. There’s a big difference.

Tue May 13, 2025 9:20 pm

You guys are worried about nothing. You can rob kill smuggle anything and get a slap on the wrist. Police don't care about your tires they are young and dumb 99% don't even know what a recap is.

Wed May 14, 2025 7:37 pm

oprn wrote: I pulled trailers every day for a living for 20 years and I can tell you that when a trailer gets loose back there whether it is ice, snow or water things go bad fast! I can assure you that trailer tires are designed to shed water, your guy behind the counter spent 30 years selling tires not driving with them. There’s a big difference.

Yeh ok…. Guarantee my tire guy knows his shit, you believe whatever you want though, i dont give a shit.
But, I thought you were a body guy for 30 years? So which one is it or are you a vampire thats lived a few hundred years and lived several lives which gave you the ability to do multiple trades for 30 years each?

Thu May 15, 2025 7:26 am

Turned 58 this year,

45+ years wrenching on cars and trucks

30 years as a licensed plumber in three states

20 years as a gun builder

20 years as a hand engraver

There are quite a few of us that do not finish up with the day job and head home to get drunk eh.

Thu May 15, 2025 9:27 am

BFB wrote: oprn wrote: I pulled trailers every day for a living for 20 years and I can tell you that when a trailer gets loose back there whether it is ice, snow or water things go bad fast! I can assure you that trailer tires are designed to shed water, your guy behind the counter spent 30 years selling tires not driving with them. There’s a big difference.

Yeh ok…. Guarantee my tire guy knows his shit, you believe whatever you want though, i dont give a shit.
But, I thought you were a body guy for 30 years? So which one is it or are you a vampire thats lived a few hundred years and lived several lives which gave you the ability to do multiple trades for 30 years each?

Oh get a room you two!