QuestionI bought a 1981 Terry camper the tires on it are dry rotted F78*15st. I am having a hard time finding anyone that can tell me where I can find tires for it and what new size they take. What is placard and where do I locate it? I sincerely thank you!
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AnswerLinda,
An F78-15ST is 7.9" wide on a 5.5" rim, 27.3" in diameter and has an allowable rim width range of 5" to 7", with a load carrying capacity of 1390# @ 35 psi (Load Range B) or 1710# @ 50 psi (Load Range C)
An ST205/75R15 has a width of 8.0" on a 5.5" rim, a diameter of 27.1", an allowable rim width range of 5 to 6.5", with a load carrying capacity of 1480# @ 35 psi (Load Range B), or 1820# @ 50 psi (Load Range C, or 2150# @ 65 psi (Load Range D).
So that is an acceptable fit, but be sure to use at least the same Load Range as the original - and to be even safer, go up one load range.
These tires ought to be easy to find - but be sure you specify the letters in front of the size and the Load Range.
Placard? Until recently, the federal government wasn't enforcing the placard law, and it was not uncommon for trailers not to have one. Even when they did, the location was not specified so it could be anywhere. I would look for it on the door or behind a cabinet door - but I am going to recommend you get your trailer weighed. Many trailer manufacturers were really lax about the weight of their trailers, and the result was many overloaded tires - which tended to fail. That situation is better today, but not completely solved.
Because of this issue, I wrote up a web page to cover the subject. Bottom line: Weight the trailer in the worst case (fully loaded up) and get and get the individual tire loads. Add 15% to the worst tire load, then size your tires according to the worst tire load.
Here's the link:
http://www.barrystiretech.com/sttires.html
