This thread got me interested in the Universal Whitewalls posted about earlier. I sent an email to Universal and got this reply:
"None of our tires are rated for use on a trailer. The ply ratings are not sufficient to be used. A 6 ply tire is required for safe operation as well as DOT compliance on virtually any trailer.
I do not know of any white wall tire that would be the correct ply rating for you. You may want to try some trailer dealers and see if they could supply you with any leads"
Others have used whitewalls on their AS. Are they really not suitable or is perhaps Universal covering it's legal buttocks.
Beginner, yes I am close to the edge. Love to live that way. Having tubes in mine may give me the tiniest bit of wiggle room. I've considered changing the wheels and may end up doing that. I may be able to keep whiitewalls but wouldn't get a tremendous weight rating increase because of my tire OD and X-section limitations.
Marshall, I'm not sure what to think of Universal's email response, They probably are trying to preculde themselves from liability like you say. My Lester's are 6 ply. Lester offers both 4 and 6 ply in wide whitewalls, so unless their published specs are wrong, they do offer 6 ply which I would presume would be OK for lighter weight trailers.
You know, if I had an early vintage Bambi or Safari that would solve my problem, just slap these puppies on and go.
No Scott, I'm not giving up my Tradewind. I haven't put a heavy rush on this issue since I'm probably not doing any camping in the next couple of months. Plus, plans this spring don't include boondocking and I can travel light. But I still would like to have my ducks in a row when the time comes. Right now it looks like options are:
Lose the whitewalls and get a higher rated 6-ply
Change the wheels and get a higher rated 6 ply whitewall
Change the wheels, lose the whitewalls and go to an 8 ply
Continue to comb through tire specs and make sure no option was missed
OR
Get an early Bambi or Safari Oh yeah, a Globetrotter would be nice too
Dacia ,give up your tradewind ?? I must have missed somthing cause Im
sure hoping your not gettin rid of it .I find the size of mine really suits
my family and our needs .I cannot see having anything smaller even when the
kids grow up .Im pretty happy hanging out in there somtimes just dreamin
about goin down the road to the next camping destination .As for the tire
situation ,buy some new wheels and D range bias 8 ply or 9 as mine are,
and not continue worrying about it .Put those vintage wheels in the garage
and store them .It will still be cool and vintage ,mine is you know .My tires
fit perfectly and my shocks are in the original location ,so no concerns there.
If your going to get new wheels ,get 8 ply D tires not 6 ply ,no need for those ,you'll want the higher load rating .thats been the whole issue.
Thought I'd solved this issue - I was planning on ST 225/75/R15 Maxxis tires in load range D.
We have what I presume are the original wheels on our 71. I've always trusted Inland Andy. Read his comments above about not going from load range C to D. The confusing part is my original owners manual says: "the recommended tire pressure if you use 6 ply tires is 45 psi and if you use 8 ply tires is 60 psi." It says nothing about changing the wheels...?
My my I thought I was really on top of this situation.I even removed my new ST,s that I put on and replaced w/Carlisles 7.00x15 D rated.My tread is 6 ply and side wall 4 ply 2040 @ 60 psi.Is this a 6 ply 10 ply and do I need new wheels even though they are not split rims.Also I put 3 oz. of equal balancing media in each.
Andy is talking about wheels that have been in service with the C range
tires for years and then the D range are installed on those same wheels
and inflation is increased to 60 from 45 ,adding strain to the wheels in addition to the heavier grade of tire placing higher loads on the wheel or
Rim .I might have said that it won't happen ,thinking at first glance ,that
wheels are tough and all ,yet It does as Andy has warned ,so thats whats
going on there .your manual gives both inflation pressures as you may have
C or D tires on your trailer .bertro ,sounds like you have 10 ply total there, mine have 9 ply and also are 700-15 D .so if you had C rated 6 ply
and that has been the tire used extensively ,you should replace the wheels
because the reasons here and Andys .Can they split and fail ,proven yes.
I installed new wheels with my D bias so Ive no troubles with them or
worries about the wheels.The ST sidewall is only 2 ply as well .
Thanks for the reply. So this A/S we purchased in July has Goodyear LT tires now - likely 6 or more years old - load range would be C. You and Andy are then saying it would not be wise to stress the wheels with range D and the higher resulting pressure now - even though they may have been built to handle that at one time?
Thanks much - have to admit this issue befuddles me more than any other.
I found this and might help some.Today,s load range/ply ratings do not count the actual number of ply layers found inside the tire,but indicate an equivalent strenth based on early bias ply tires.Most radial passenger tires have 1 or 2 body plies,and Lt tires even those with heavy duty ratings 10-12-or 14 ply rated actually have only 2 or 3 fabric body plies,or 1 steel ply. From what I was told today my D rated tires have 4 layers of full wrap and 2 layers of tread wrap thus giving them 6 tread 4 sidewall still 6 total w/8 ply D rating @ 2040 single axle,1820 dual axle.I was told that the lower rating w/dual axle is due to heat dissapation with the tires in such close proximaty to one another.Who knows,This all does not change the fact that I probably need new wheels now.I dont think my trailer was pulled much as I believe it had the original tires w/no tread wear to speak of just dry rot.Thanks everyone.Robert
Bertro
I did not try and figure out how the actual construction of the tire actually related to the number of plys belts etc. I just payed attention to the weight rating and the load range and calculated accordingly. You probally are not going to find ratings on new tires that accurately the number of belts, wraps and plys anyway and you are not going to change things.
So go with the manufacturers load range\ply rating and associated weight loading numbers. To do anything else will confuse you considerably.
I personally, logically cannot understand why wheels originally manufactured for (Load Range D) LRD tires that have been run for years with (Load Range C) LRC tires will split.
That being said, Andy has real world experience and if he says putting the
D rated tire on the D rated rim that has had C rated tires on it for years will split the rim, I think I'd believe him, besides, I dont think the weight rating of the rim is stamped on the rim.
So for piece of mind, get new D rated rims.
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Having tubes in mine may give me the tiniest bit of wiggle room. I've considered changing the wheels and may end up doing that. I may be able to keep whiitewalls but wouldn't get a tremendous weight rating increase because of my tire OD and X-section limitations.
Oh yeah, a Globetrotter would be nice too
Even if someone outright GAVE me an early smaller model I wouldn't give up the Tradewind. 
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