Dedicated Trailer Tyres

[otherclive]

I was mooching around tyre sites and for some unexplained reason decided to see what the prices were for GT Radials Kargomax ST6000 these days. Reason being was that I had those tyres fitted to my Bailey to replace the low budget OEM brand.

They are trailer specific tyres and that’s why I fitted them. I’d also had a similar tyre from Kenda. What surprised me is that on one website the GTRadial tyres were being advertised for car/Van/LT applications with no information showing that they are only for trailer use being FRT, Free Rolling Tyres.
Under present rules they can only be fitted to a non driven or non steering wheel.

The GTRadial tyres even have the sidewall markings stating FRT Trailer Use Only. Three tyre sales sites I looked at failed to give the necessary warnings to the buyers. Wonder how many more are unfamiliar with DVSAs rules which would lead to an MOT failure if fitted incorrectly. No problem on a caravan, but I suspect FRT tyres may well have been fitted incorrectly to light commercial vehicles.

As caravan tyres though I found them to be excellent, as were the Kenda equivalent.

Annual test change - Free Rolling Tyres (FRT)

As every competent transport operator knows a robust tyre management system is an essential part of any operator’s maintenance system. It is essential that in-service tyres which are appropriate for t

www.iota.org.uk

 

[RogerL]

I have wondered what technical feature(s) make a trailer tyre - especially as the rear tyres on a conventional front-wheel drive car function exactly the same as trailer tyres. My only conclusion was that they have an inferior restriction which prevents their safe use on a driven axle.

 

[Mr Plodd]

Doing a bit of digging it would appear According to this website that the issue of free rolling tyres (something I had never heard of) only applies to HGV and PSV tests.
Having said that they are clearly being produced in "car/van" sizes

 

[Mr Plodd]

Doing a bit of digging it would appear According to this website that the issue of free rolling tyres (something I had never heard of) only applies to HGV and PSV tests.
Having said that they are clearly being produced in "car/van" sizes

Personally I would have thought to forces involved when braking (close to 1G at times) to be vastly greater than those present when accelerating,
Steering? well that's a different matter of course! All the weight of a vehicle on one path being deflected onto another is going to impose some serious forces on a tyre wall, especially a 20+ tonne truck!

 

[otherclive]

Doing a bit of digging it would appear According to this website that the issue of free rolling tyres (something I had never heard of) only applies to HGV and PSV tests.
Having said that they are clearly being produced in "car/van" sizes

Personally I would have thought to forces involved when braking (close to 1G at times) to be vastly greater than those present when accelerating,
Steering? well that's a different matter of course! All the weight of a vehicle on one path being deflected onto another is going to impose some serious forces on a tyre wall, especially a 20+ tonne truck!

I had GT Radial ST6000s FRT around 2007 on my Bailey S5, and fitted the Kenda equivalent in 2017 when I bought a Trigano Silver 420DD pop top. So they are not a new feature of trailer life. What I did notice is that they were heavier than “normal” tyres of equivalent size and had pretty substantial side walls too.

 

[otherclive]

Doing a bit of digging it would appear According to this website that the issue of free rolling tyres (something I had never heard of) only applies to HGV and PSV tests.
Having said that they are clearly being produced in "car/van" sizes

Personally I would have thought to forces involved when braking (close to 1G at times) to be vastly greater than those present when accelerating,
Steering? well that's a different matter of course! All the weight of a vehicle on one path being deflected onto another is going to impose some serious forces on a tyre wall, especially a 20+ tonne truck!

Just thinking about this although the DVSA is concerned about HGV and PSV vehicles I wonder what a car/van mot tester might do if the driving/steering wheels had FRT tyres fitted. Would they be considered to be a failure ? There’s a possibility of this occurring as some tyre websites don’t advise their FRT characteristics or limitation on use.

 

[JTQ]

Then there is what the insurance assessor would make of it if the vehicle was one involved in a claim?

A "Get out of jail card"?

 

[IanB1485]

If I remember I'll ask my local MOT tester if he has ever heard of FRT tyres. I've never heard of them , but having serviced lots of caravans I have see the words " for trailer use only" on lots of caravan tyres often wondered about it , Every day is a school day!