Trailer Tires for a 17,000 Pound, 45 Foot Horse Trailer with Living Quarters

Question:

Have a 45 ft. horse trailer/LQ combo. Weighs +- 17,000#, 3 - 8,000# Dexter axles. What load rating tire should I be using? Also, I noted somewhere in your QandA that Karrier and Kenda Karrier are one in the same, or are they exactly the same tire? If not, what is the difference? Been looking at tires in the FR-F and G ratings, and can sometimes travel better than 70 mph just to keep from getting run over in the hills of Al. and Tn. Would like a recommendation from an expert. Is Kenda the best tire for me, or Marathon, Provider, etc. Thanks.

asked by: Jim R

Expert Reply:

If the trailer has three 8K Dexter axles on it then you will want to have tires that combined meet the 24,000 pound capacity.

You didn't mention the size tires you have now but you were looking at # AM10501 which is a 235/85-16 rated for 3,960 pounds at 110 psi. Six of these tires would have a capacity of 23,760 pounds which is very close to that 24,000 pound combined axle capacity and would work fine if the trailer weighs 17,000 pounds.

Kenda and Karrier are the same. Provider is a Taskmaster tire and the Taskmaster tires tend to have a higher speed rating than the Kenda/Karrier tires which are rated for 65 miles per hour (we do not have a Taskmaster in a 235/85-16). The Goodyear Marathon isn't a tire we carry but I do hear about them a lot, which in my line of work isn't a good thing! Not to say it is a bad tire but usually when someone mentions the brand of tire they are having issues with the majority of the time it is a Marathon.

expert reply by: Michael H