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lite campers with small wheels

19 years ago

I am taking delivery of a neww 2005 Jay feather 23ft. with 13 inch tires. Has anyone got a trailer with the same size tires and have you had any trouble they just seem small. The Jay feather weights around 4100 lbs dry and has a double axel so what do you think?

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Comments (3)

dalew
19 years ago
Pennreel - for sure, they seem almost inadequate, but let me assure you, they are tough little tires. There have been so many changes in tires in the last few years, in their construction and design, and I'm sure there will a bunch more in the next few!

First off, they are designated "ST" tires, which stands for "special trailer"; sidewalls are a lot more stiff, helps minimize sway. If you were to use a designated "P" tire, which stands for "passenger", the trailer would fish tail all over the place because of the soft sidewall. Overall, the trailer tire is made tougher because the trailer does not have the complex shock absorbing suspensions of an automobile or truck, so the tire has to be able to take some tough knocks. A friend of mine has a son-in-law who works for a large tire distributor and they handle all kinds of brands and types of tires; he tells me the narrow trailer tires wear better than if they were wider ... and that they actually track better. One more thing the SIL says, when you go around a corner or a curve with a trailer, it's better that it slides sideways just a tad; got something to do with this tracking again. Anyway, the narrow tires do that better than the wider ones. Oh, and they are cheaper when you go to replace them.

I run 13" tires on a large (single axle) popup camper for four years and they did a fine job. Just watch the tire pressure. Make sure you keep the amount in the tire that's listed on the sidewall, i.e., if it says 55psi or 65psi, run that exact amount, no less. The only problems I've ever heard about these sized trailer tires, is not keeping the air pressure where it's supposed to be. Oh, don't store (or park) the trailer on bare ground for long periods of time; keep something under them, between the tire and the ground, or they will dry rot.

There is an article by Champion trailers about tires (hope this is still good) -

http://www.championtrailers.com/tire_art.html

Dale
pennreel
Original Author
19 years ago
Thanks Dale for the information it will help me when traveling to my next camp site.
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