Trailer tire question??

[hunter29078]

I have a triple axle Birmingham trailer. It has the 8-14.5 centerless rim tire, and it is to the point of needing new tires. Would it be better to change the hub and put an 8 lug rim or to keep the current centerless set up? And with the centerless rims are some more heavy duty than others? I have heard several opinions about the rims strength. But I do not see many options for the rims.

And is a Birmingham trailer any good? I can't find much information on them. This one is all steel and seems to be built well. Tag say it will hold 21,000 lbs at 30mph. Which seems like a lot for a 6 tire trailer. But I only haul a bobcat and tractor on it.

 

[JDOFMEMI]

I haven't seen any options on the rims, but don't think it is an issue. The strength is in the cast hub. if the rim is properly centered, it is very strong due to the casting it rides on.

That said, tires that fit the 14.5 rims are usually bad to worse. I have an Econoline 3 axle and can't keep tires on it. When I first got my trailer, someone had welded a center ring to the rings and drilled it so they could just use bolts instead of the wedges. DON"T DO THAT!!!! the strength comes from the rim being wedged up tight against the hub, and the hub carries the load. The bolts only hold it up against the rim. The way mine was done, the bolts held the load, and 5 bolts are not up to it. My first heavy load I had the bolts on on axle shear while going around a slightr corner at road speed. Within a short distance, by the time I could get stopped, the other 2 axles on the same side sheared their bolts as well, since they were now overloaded.

If you can afford it, Galaxy trailer special is the tire to get. They run about $140 a piece, but will outlast several sets of the cheap tires on the market.

IMHO it would be cheaper to buy the good tires than to try to swap it over to an 8 lug. You may also run into interferance issues since the 8 lug tires will be a good 3 to 4 inches taller than the 8-14.5's

 

[tireman]

Well said, Jerry.I couldn't agree more.

 

[hunter29078]

Thanks Jerry. I was thinking the a new hub would run about $100 per hub and Than I would have more option but with the 15" tires the load range is not enough and the 16" tire as you said is probably to tall for my trailer. I may swap to the 9-14.5 though. It is really no bigger, no more expensive but has more load capacity.

Where are you find the galaxy tires for $140? I am finding them closer to $200.

 

[JDOFMEMI]

It has been a while since I bought any, but I just checked for you here: http://www.econolinetrailerparts.com/ Looks like $129 for 8", and $145 for 9"

I do not see it specifying Galaxy, so you probably better call first. That is what they have always used on their trailers though. I have a 2 axle 7 ton tilt that came with 8-14.5's when the first set wore down after about 4 years of heavy use, I upgraded to 9-14.5's, since I was regularly hauling way over the trailer rating. I had no problems with the Galaxy's in either size, and WAAAAY less flats than any other brand of trailer tire I have ever used.

 

[Shadow287B]

Just incase someone else decides to buy an old trailer that has been retrofitted with new axles, here is a piece of advise. I have a mid 80's Kaufman dove tail. Nice, well built, strong trailer. The previous owner had all axles replaced from 14.5" rims and tires (3 axles) with new 7k axles and 16" rims and tires. In order to make it work he had a 4"x4" tube welded on the frame then had all the hangers rewelded on the tube. Looks good, I though it was a good buy. When I got it home I figured out real quick why he was selling it.
A. The center of gravity is now about 6" higher. Doesn't sound like much until you put 15K on it.
B. The dove tail was designed for for a certain height. Not the new height, I have to keep cribbing on the trailer to put under the dove tail until I can have it rewelded.
C. The pendal ring is now at the lowest point it can go on the trailer, the weight of the trailer does not line up with the hitch, it pushes the truck around more than it should.
D. With the weight of the 4"x4" tubes and all axles being towards the rear of the trailer, when it is unloaded, it is tail heavy, no tongue weight.
With this being said, think about these things before you go modifying a trailer. It is designed by people smarter than me to cary what it is rated for.
Now my question, because of everything listed above, I am entertaining the idea of getting some 9-14.5" x 8 lug - 6.5 solid rims and tires. This will lower my current setup by 3". The load rating on a 9-14.5 is 3500 lbs per tire and rim, does any one see an issue or potential problem with this?
Thanks!

 

[Old Doug]

Will shorter tires lower it that much or will you also need to shorten the spring mounts. I replaced my axles from 14.5 to 225 70 16s and it worked great that was 30 years ago i steal use it alot. I have another home built trailer with 14.5 i realy like its low highth but i bought a set of hubs to switch it over i may have to do alot of work to keep the tires from rubbing .

 

[Shadow287B]

Will shorter tires lower it that much or will you also need to shorten the spring mounts. I replaced my axles from 14.5 to 225 70 16s and it worked great that was 30 years ago i steal use it alot. I have another home built trailer with 14.5 i realy like its low highth but i bought a set of hubs to switch it over i may have to do alot of work to keep the tires from rubbing .

Old Doug,
Thanks for your insight. I have been researching this and trying to find out the answer. Here is what I have concluded:
Scope of the project: I need to reduce the height of my trailer so (1)the dove tail works as intended, (2)so the pintle hook up aligns with the truck, and (3)so the center of gravity is lowered when trailer is loaded.
Obvious Quick Answers:
1. Use a drop bar or adjustable pintle hook. NEGATIVE Using a drop bar or adjustable pintle moves the center line of the trailer weight away from the trucks C.G. Using a small 2" or 3" drop bar or adjustable pintle probably would not affect the towing greatly, I am aware of that. How ever, When applied with compounding tolerances (Weight/speed/load/weather/temp/ETC.) It could start to play into the equation. I would rather fix the root cause.
2. Swap the hubs. NEGATIVE All the hubs I have found to switch to have a lower weight rating. When fully loaded, I am pulling about 18K. I have built in a 20% safety factor based on the trailer axle load limits.
So that leaves me with trying to lower the overall height with out modifying the axles. (At least that is what I have come up with, if anyone has another view point or idea, please let me know)
The solution:
I have found a solid 14.5" trailer tire rim ( https://econolinetrailers.com/8-lug-14-5-x-7-rim/ ) that has over a 3,300lb rating. It should be able to fit a 14.5"-9" trailer tire. I have found some of those tires with a single tire rating of 3,825 lb per tire. ( https://econolinetrailers.com/900-14-5-14-ply-galaxy-trailer-tire/ )
The over all height of the tire goes from 32" tall down to 28" tall. This is what I intend on doing to my trailer to rectify the situation.
My ignorance:
Ever heard the term, "looks good on paper"? That's where I am at. I am not a trailer expert by any means. I am simply going off of facts but real world knowledge trumps facts all day long. So if ANY ONE has knowledge about this set up, or the 14.5" solid rim and tire setup, PLEASE let me know. I always have an open mind to learn from others.

 

[hosspuller]

Shadow .."The over all height of the tire goes from 32" tall down to 28" tall" This only lowers your axle 2 inches, not 3 inches... unless the tires squat another inch under load the existing tires didn't.

 

[Old Doug]

It sounds like you have a plan. If you can get the rims. We used the 14.5s on spoke hubs for years my biggest deal was i didn t have any money to buy new ones and the used ones got harder to find while the short 16s got easyer to find. Good luck