Upgrading Tires on Malone MegaSport Trailer

Updated 07/05/2017 | Published 07/03/2017

Question:

12 x 5 tires come on the megasport....could the trailer handle 15 in tires?

asked by: Beth

Expert Reply:

Changing a trailer's tire size does not necessarily equal an upgrade. The most useful way to add safety margin to a trailer is to change the Load Range rating of the existing tire size. I will explain why.

Heat is a trailer tire's worst enemy. Heat is what causes most tire failures apart from outright punctures from road debris. The causes for excess heat in a tire are driving it too fast, overloading it beyond its weight rating or by incorrect inflation pressure, either too low or too high.

A truly useful upgrade to a trailer's tires is increasing the load range rating to a higher weight capacity. This tends to reduce the tires' operating temperature and this can give you benefits in terms of reliability. This does not necessarily give the overall trailer any higher capacity but it can mean a useful increase in the tires' safety margin. Only if the tire's rating was the trailer's limiting factor would changing them mean more trailer capacity. Typically trailers are designed so that their various components are comparably rated.

Larger tires mean reduced clearance within the wheel wells/fenders. You need at least 3 or 4 inches of clearance above the top tire tread surface to allow for suspension travel.

expert reply by: Adam R