??? about trailer tires

[leadsled01]

I have always wanted to build a car tow dolly. I do not want to cut my axle to accomadate the under slung designs. I do want to use small 8" tires. I think I should build a tandem axle dolly with straight axles and small 8" tires (because thats what I have). If my tires are rated for 800 pounds and I have 4 of them, would that make 3,200 pounds of weight that I can carry??? Or am I not thinking correctly???

 

[Junkman]

You are correct as to the weight carrying capabilities of the tires. Those figures are based on a specific inflation of the tire also. Personally, I don't like small tires like that because they tend to run hot, and hot tires blow out more often as a result. If you have owned them for a while, check the side walls for cracks. The general rule of thumb is to replace tires that are older than 6 years because of time degradation.

 

[GearHead_1]

Small tires destroy bearing also. Too many revolutions and too much heat. If I were going to the trouble of building it I would look at a 14" minimum.

 

[HOTFR8]

I've never like those Dolly things. Why not just get a decent car trailer.

 

[Ironcrow]

You could just talk to your local Timken rep about the application and get good bearings. The bearings that ship with trailer kits are probably ****. A high quality bearing could easily be selected that will stand up to the heat and speed.

For tires, low inflation pressure heats them more than anything. Four little tires at the right pressure; I don't see any problem.

 

[Poltax]

Having pulled snowmobile trailers with an open trailer with small tires and now a 27ft enclosed with 15" tires. I have to say ditch the small 8" tires. My open trailer had small tires on it. It never pulled very well and the sleds seem to ride harder then with bigger tires. I built a 12' trailer with tandem and put on 14" tires and they lasted alot longer. Of course my big enclosed does even better. If your pulling any distances and in the heat, IMHO your better off with bigger diameter tires.

 

[wilbilt]

If you go with larger tires, make sure they are trailer rated ("ST"). They make a huge difference in the way the trailer pulls and are much more resistant to abuse. I once pulled a very nice trailer, owned by a friend, for a significant distance. Tightwad friend had replaced the original tires with the cheapest P-rated radials he could find. What a waste of a nice trailer. I wore myself out trying to keep it on the road.

 

[leadsled01]

You could just talk to your local Timken rep about the application and get good bearings. The bearings that ship with trailer kits are probably ****. A high quality bearing could easily be selected that will stand up to the heat and speed.

For tires, low inflation pressure heats them more than anything. Four little tires at the right pressure; I don't see any problem.

I'm going to try this. Thanks for all the replies and comments. Like I said, I don't want to cut the axle for an underslung style dolly with large tires.