Thread: Tyres for the camper

Trobbo,

A tough minimum 8 ply LT tyre is a good starting point. Wide isn't necessarily best, the trailer takes a serious pounding behind a 4by offroad, at least in your vehicle you can avoid sharp rocks etc, but the trailer just gets dragged on through regardless

Trying to keep the same size as the vehicle isn't mandatory really, In fact if you are running standard Disco tyres then even going up to a 235/85/16 isn't a bad idea, as these are a more common size in the bush, they fit them to cruisers and patrols etc.

JC

Thanks JC, I was not planning on keeping tyre sizes the same as I run either 33's or 34's on the disco and the trailer is supposed to have a 215 X 80 x 16 (i.e. 29.5). It's an odd size and I was planning on 225 X 75 which I think is a bit more common. If I increase tyre size then the tent on the camper will have troubles reaching the ground and will never sit neat and that will annoy me more than different sized tyres.

Does tread pattern matter? I was thinking possibly of a cooper st

My Camper has 275/70-16 BFG AT's on it, Disco has 235/85-16 BFG MT's.

Originally Posted by trobbo

Does tread pattern matter? I was thinking possibly of a cooper st

My thoughts FWIW

Really "aggressive" tread patterns will affect ease of towing and fuel economy on the highway (like they do on the car)with more rolling resistance/friction. The camper wheels aren't driven so they won't be spinning in wet clay etc. Decent tread will be enough mostly to stop trailer sliding sideways into obstacles in the off road situation.

I'd be happy with ST's too.
Stevo

whats more important is width,,
should TRY to get the same wheel track as the tow car,,

when I replace my car tyres I will keep two (or 3) of the better ones to go on the camper,, should narrow the track by an inch or two. at the mo it has these bloody great BFG's that are 12 inches wide.

A while ago dad built our camper trailer and stuck some new firestone mt's on it, they have since traveled the simpson, kimberly, and many, many weekend off road trips including a couple of 2 week trips, all this is over around a 10 year period (maybe more) and havn't had 1 puncture, they still have abit of tread left to!!
I reckon your best off going a tough L/T mud tyre, the deep tread seems to reflect punctures

CHEERS TIM.

Ive got some Bridgy MTs in 235/85 on the boat trailer.
I totally agree with the above.

# Same track width as vehicle.
# 8 ply rating as trailer tyres cop a caning off track, and you can safely run lower pressures for a better trailer ride.
# Muddies seem good for me ut probably arnt necessary - they were cheap though!!!

Steve

My trailer runs the same rims and tyres as on the Disco,
saves on spares.
and part of my tyre rotation plan.

There are real advantages in having at least close to the same diameter tyre as the tow vehicle, But particularly on the highway, it will drag less with a road type tread. An unbraked trailer is by definition limited to 750kg which means compared to the typical Landrover it has about a third of the load per tyre. This means just about any tyre the same diameter as the tow vehicle will be plenty strong enough.

I am not sure it is necessary, but I probably would go to 8ply, and expect the tyres to last practically forever. (Once you put brakes on, the tread becomes more important, and both this and especially tandem or triple axles will greatly reduce tyre life.)