I need to replace the tires on my Brenderup. The ones on it (factory…yep 11 years old) are passenger car tires–designated as “extra load”. Can you use trailer rated tires on a Brenderup? If I remember right, I had to fight tooth and nail to get the tire guys to believe me that they don’t need trailer tires on my last Brenderup. I can certainly fight that fight again but just wondering if trailer tires are a no-no on the European trailers?
TIA, Susan
just because its a tire does not mean it is equal… the Standards are different in Europe vs US
Tires, however, can be misunderstood due to labeling differences between Euro-style and North American tires. Sidewall markings can look similar, and tire size may be equivalent. However, it’s important to note load rating is calculated differently on P-, Euro- and LT-metric tires. There are a few standards set by either Tire and Rim Association Inc. or European Tyre and Rim Technical Organization. These two organizations use different calculations to define a tire’s maximum load capacity, but they use similar sidewall identification that can easily be mistaken when replacing tires. Specifically, the nomenclature looks similar but has different meanings. Nominal width, aspect ratio and rim size are identical. The subtle difference is knowing the type of tire that came from the OEM. The three main classifications for on-road tires are P-, Euro- and LT-metric tires.
The key factor is load index. P- and Euro-metric tires use different calculations to determine load and inflation values. Generally speaking, P-metric tires have a lower load capacity reserve than Euro-metric tires, so it’s important to note the required capacity when replacing tires. Be aware these tires may or may not meet/exceed OEM requirements.
I will look again for one of those designations. The trailer was built in the US but the tires are of European descent (Fulda–made in Slovenia or somewhere like that).
Thanks,
Susan
I also have an 11-yo B’up with original tires. Still going strong and the tires look good on the outside (lots of very easy miles), but, yes, should get new tires. Kyrabee, I’ll talk to a couple tire guys and horse trailer guys, and maybe you and I can see if we can come up with some options. I believe there is or was a Brenderup replacement parts facebook page, so I’ll see if I can find any information on that.
A website of brenderup info I saved from my brenderup days, maybe this will help
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/fs28ty3u4bsozjg/AADh-I2EPuapDARMXUOyeHq7a?dl=0
Here is a response from Traveled Lane Trailers, which used to sell, and still services a fair number, of Brenderups:
It’s good that you’re going to replace your tires. Tire experts say that tires should be replaced when they’re about 5 years old. Even with low mileage (which is the case with many horse trailers), their concern is degradation due to exposure to the sun’s ultraviolet, even if the tires show no cracking.
The quick answer is that you can get tires comparable to the originals from tirefactory.net, which provided tires to Brenderup Real Trailers, the U.S. distributor in Texas that closed in 2011.
Brenderup Real Trailers put extended load passenger car radials on the trailers. As mentioned above, they got their tires from tirefactory.net . We ordered a set from them a year or so ago and they were carrying Nokian extended load tires and there were folks on the staff who remembered providing tires to Brenderup. While tirefactory is not necessarily the only source for extended load tires, it seems many local tire shops do not offer extended load tires.
In the string identifying the tire size, the last few characters are the Load Index. I just checked the tire size on one of our German Böckmann trailers. The tire size is 195/70R14-96N. 195 is the width in millimeters. That works out to about 7.7” width. 70 is the aspect ratio, meaning the tire sidewall height is 70% of the width, so for this tire, the sidewall would be about 5.4” high. “R” means it’s a radial and the 14 indicates it fits on a 14” rim. I strikes me as a bit funny that most of the dimensions are metric, except for the rim size. Maybe the rim industry doesn’t want to give in to the metric system…
On our example tire, the 96N indicates Load Index of 96 and a Speed Rating of N. The 96 Load Index indicates that this tire can carry a maximum load of 1565 lbs., in this case, at a pressure of 50 PSI. The Speed Rating of N indicates that the tire is rated for a maximum speed of 87 MPH.
I don’t know at what Load Index a tire is considered an extended load tire, but it seems most passenger cars have tires with a Load Index in the 88-91 range. As mentioned above, our Böckmann tires have a Load Index of 96. If I recall correctly, I think I was seeing Load Indices in the 96-99 range on the Brenderups fresh out of Texas.
For our example tire size, if the tire had a Load Index of 88, as is common on cars, the tire would be rated for a maximum load of 1235 lbs., 330 lbs. less per tire than our Load Index 96 Tires.
There’s a class of tires that begin with “ST” in the tire designation string. “ST” stands for “Special Trailer” tire or “Specialty Trailer” tire, I forget the exact term, but it’s one of those. ST tires have a heavier sidewall construction than a passenger car tire, because I believe it’s assumed a trailer tire will be running at a higher percentage of its Load Index rating.
I expect that your Solo tires are 185 width, and it would likely be hard to find that size in an ST tire in the States. Here in the States, many shops might try to put an ST205/75R14 or ST205/75D14 on your trailer. (The “R14” is a 14” radial and the “D14” is a 14” bias bly, an older style of tire construction. Bias ply can work fine, but the auto industry went over to radials almost exclusively 40 years ago or so.) The ST 205/75R15 or D15 is a very popular tire size here in the States. I don’t think the ST 14” version is as readily available these days. If your trailer has 185 width tires, the 205 width tires would be nearly an inch wider, so they might not be appropriate for your rims. In addition, since the sidewall height is expressed as a percentage of tire width, the 205s will also be taller an might be subject to tire rub.
Several years ago, a few of our New Jersey customers said their tire shops insisted on installing the ST tires on their Brenderups because it was supposedly state law. I can’t say for sure if that’s true, but we heard that from only a few customers and haven’t heard this for several years, so I suspect it may have been one or two shops that were mistaken. One way around it would have been to take the wheels off the trailer and take just the wheels to the tire shop to have the Brenderup-specified tires mounted, but that’s not particularly convenient.
If there’s any uncertainty that the tires on the ground might not be the originals, it might be work checking the spare tire. I just mention this because I don’t know if you’re the original owner. If not and it turns out the tires had been changed at some point, not everyone knows to have the extended load tires mounted. If any tire is likely to still be the original, it would be the spare.
If there’s any doubt about the age of the tires, there’s a string of characters on the sidewall of the tire that begins “DOT” as in “Department of Transportation.” This string can be as short as about 4 characters, but most of the time, it’s about 12 characters. The last 4 characters indicate the week and year of manufacture. For instance, on your 2010 trailer, it’s a good chance the last 4 characters will be something like “2509” indicating the tire was made in the 25[SUP]th[/SUP] week of 2009. The DOT string will be on both sides of the tire, but for whatever reason, they only have to put the date on one side of the tire, so sometimes we need to check the hidden side of a tire to check the date. You’ll know you’re looking at the date character field because it’s surrounded by a little oval, which I believe is due to the die they change each week as they increment the week of manufacture.
Apologies that this became a bit of a book, but I hope you find it helpful.
Regards,
Jon Morlock
I have a Baron SL. Tires are 205/65R 15 99H. No doubt on the age of the tires. I bought the trailer new in 2009. They may even be 2008’s. I meant to look for the manufacture date the other day when I pulled the tire specs off but forgot.
Thanks for all the info Sharon. That is very helpful.
Susan
I just replaced the tires on the (new to me) Brenderup. The ones it had on it were car tires- 185/65/14. I replaced them with D rated trailer tires 205/75/14
I did tires on my 2011 Baron L SL last year. The tire store was able to order exactly what it had on it from Europe. They’re only sold here for Spinter delivery vans - i.e. high load needs. I felt most comfortable sticking with what it was intended to have.
I found some at tire rack.com…same specs with slightly higher load rating which is good. Thanks all for the info.
Susan
I could not find my size tires anywhere in the US, but it turns out they’re the same tires as used on some Bockmann trailers, so Maple Lane EquestrianTrailers in Ontario, Canada is able to ship me a set of tires. Fantastic customer service from Traveled Lane Trailers in Maryland, and from Bockmann and from Maple Lane in Canada!!
Thanks SBrentnall…that is one I have bookmarked. Since the virus showed up I don’t have much need to go anywhere so I haven’t pulled the trigger yet.
Susan
Finally got the new tires. I ordered from Tirerack.com…same measurement for tires w/extra load designation. I ordered Wednesday morning. They were delivered to the installer yesterday and he showed up AT MY DOOR this morning and installed them. Sweet. Local stores did not have that tire and I was hesitant to size up to the trailer tires they had to have clearance between the tires. Anyway…pretty seamless process and now I am ready to roll :D.
Susan
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