3 axle trailers at 5,000 lb
What load range do you need on a 5,000 lb 3 axle trailer?
Trailer tires are the part of an RV most likely to end a trip, and they almost never fail from wear. They fail from heat, and the heat comes from being underinflated or overloaded, usually both.
The load the tires carry is not the trailer weight. The tongue or pin weight is carried by the tow vehicle, so the axle load is the loaded trailer weight minus the tongue weight. On a 5,000 lb trailer at 12 percent tongue weight that is 4,400 lb across 6 tires, or 733 lb each.
Then add reserve. A trailer does not load evenly side to side, and a tandem axle on a crowned road or in a turn puts more than its share on one corner. Roughly 15 to 20 percent over the calculated figure is the conventional target, which takes the working number to 843 lb per tire here.
On this page
The load per tire
The working
Published standardaxle load = loaded trailer weight - tongue weight = 5,000 - 600 = 4,400 lb per tire = axle load / (axles x 2) = 4,400 / 6 = 733 lb with 15% reserve = 843 lb
Tongue weight here is taken at 12 percent, the middle of the conventional band. Weigh your own rig if you are close to a load index boundary, because the boundaries are only a few dozen pounds apart.
Which load index covers it?
Load index is a published standard and the table below is not an approximation. Find the first index at or above 843 lb per tire.
At 733 lb per tire plus reserve, load index 75 at 853 lb per tire is the smallest that covers this trailer comfortably.
Published standard A published, traceable figure: a standards body, a federal regulation or a manufacturer specification states it.
| Load index | Max load per tire | Total across 6 tires | Against this trailer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 95 | 1,521 lb | 9,126 lb | Covers this trailer with reserve |
| 97 | 1,609 lb | 9,654 lb | Covers this trailer with reserve |
| 99 | 1,709 lb | 10,254 lb | Covers this trailer with reserve |
| 101 | 1,819 lb | 10,914 lb | Covers this trailer with reserve |
| 103 | 1,929 lb | 11,574 lb | Covers this trailer with reserve |
| 105 | 2,039 lb | 12,234 lb | Covers this trailer with reserve |
| 107 | 2,149 lb | 12,894 lb | Covers this trailer with reserve |
| 109 | 2,271 lb | 13,626 lb | Covers this trailer with reserve |
| 111 | 2,403 lb | 14,418 lb | Covers this trailer with reserve |
| 113 | 2,535 lb | 15,210 lb | Covers this trailer with reserve |
| 115 | 2,679 lb | 16,074 lb | Covers this trailer with reserve |
| 117 | 2,833 lb | 16,998 lb | Covers this trailer with reserve |
| 119 | 2,998 lb | 17,988 lb | Covers this trailer with reserve |
| 121 | 3,197 lb | 19,182 lb | Covers this trailer with reserve |
| 123 | 3,417 lb | 20,502 lb | Covers this trailer with reserve |
| 125 | 3,638 lb | 21,828 lb | Covers this trailer with reserve |
Load index figures come from the published tire load index table and are printed on the sidewall of every tire sold. The index on your own tire is the authority.
Load range and inflation
Load range tells you the tire construction and, critically, the maximum cold inflation pressure. Here is the rule that catches car owners out: an ST tire carries its rated load only at its maximum cold pressure. This is not a car tire, and there is no door jamb placard telling you to run it softer.
A Load Range E ST tire runs at 80 psi cold and a Load Range D at 65 psi. Most car tire gauges stop at 60 psi and cannot read either one.
Published standard A published, traceable figure: a standards body, a federal regulation or a manufacturer specification states it.
| Load range | Ply rating | Maximum cold inflation |
|---|---|---|
| Load Range B | 4 | 35 psi |
| Load Range C | 6 | 50 psi |
| Load Range D | 8 | 65 psi |
| Load Range E | 10 | 80 psi |
| Load Range F | 12 | 95 psi |
| Load Range G | 14 | 110 psi |
Cold means before the trailer has moved, not after a fuel stop. Pressure rises as a tire heats and you do not bleed it back down: that hot pressure is the tire doing its job.
The three things that kill trailer tires
Underinflation. The most common cause by a wide margin. A soft sidewall flexes, flexing generates heat, and heat separates the tread from the casing. It fails at highway speed, at a corner nobody is watching, and the first warning is usually the noise. Set every tire cold, before you move, every trip.
Speed. Most ST tires are built to an industry speed rating of 65 mph unless the sidewall says otherwise, and some newer ones are rated to 75 or 81. Exceeding it is a documented cause of tread separation, and it is a published limit rather than a rule of thumb.
Age. Trailers sit, so a trailer tire ages out long before it wears out. The widely published guidance is to replace at five to six years regardless of tread depth. Read the DOT date code on the sidewall: the last four digits are the week and the year it was made, so 2822 is the 28th week of 2022.
Tires and monitoring for a 5,000 lb 3 axle trailer
Chosen against the numbers on this page rather than from a general list, so the recommendation cannot contradict the arithmetic above. Every rating quoted is the manufacturer figure, and the rating on the part you receive is what governs.
Goodyear Endurance Trailer Tire, ST205/75R15 107N
$182.35 Published ratingsThe 205/75R15 size, load index 107, which is 2,149 lb per tire.
Best for: A lighter tandem axle trailer on 15 inch wheels.
Check price on Amazon
Goodyear Endurance Trailer Tire, ST205/75R14 105N Load Range D
The 14 inch size in load range D, load index 105, which is 2,039 lb per tire.
Best for: A trailer on 14 inch wheels.
Check price on Amazon Goodyear Endurance Trailer Tire, ST215/75R14 108N
The wider 14 inch size, load index 108, which is 2,205 lb per tire.
Best for: A 14 inch trailer that needs more capacity per tire.
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Carlisle Radial Trail HD Trailer Tire, ST225/75R15 113M
$123.06 Published ratingsCarlisle has made trailer tires for decades and the Radial Trail HD is the value pick against the Endurance. Load index 113 is 2,535 lb per tire at a maximum 65 psi.
Best for: Replacing all four tires at once without the Goodyear price.
Check price on Amazon Carlisle Radial Trail HD Trailer Tire, ST205/75R15 107M, 8 ply
$104.08 Published ratingsThe 205/75R15 in an 8 ply rating, load index 107, which is 2,149 lb per tire.
Best for: A lighter trailer where the budget matters more than the badge.
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Tymate TM7 RV Tire Pressure Monitoring System, 4 sensors
$44.99Four sensors and a solar charged display, which covers a tandem axle trailer. The cheapest credible entry into monitoring, and monitoring at all beats monitoring perfectly.
Best for: A tandem axle travel trailer.
Check price on AmazonHow we chose
We did not test this hardware in person and we never claim to. Picks are researched from manufacturer specification sheets, published towing standards, and the recurring themes in verified owner reviews. Every pick is matched to a real gross trailer weight rating, a real tongue or pin weight rating, a real receiver size or a real load index rather than to a price bracket, and it is placed in the tier where its published capability actually belongs. We rejected the unbranded flood that dominates the search results in several of these categories, because a weight distribution hitch, a brake controller, a trailer tire and a set of safety chains are all parts whose failure puts a loose trailer on a public road. Where a figure is towing convention rather than a published standard we label it that way, and where a manufacturer does not publish a figure we leave it out instead of estimating it.
Frequently asked questions
What load range do I need for a 5,000 lb trailer?
On 3 axles it works out to about 733 lb per tire, and with a sensible reserve you want load index 75 or higher, which is 853 lb per tire. Match that to the load range printed on the sidewall, and remember an ST tire only reaches its rating at its maximum cold inflation pressure.
Do the trailer tires carry the tongue weight?
No, the tow vehicle does. That is why the axle load is the loaded trailer weight minus the tongue or pin weight. On this trailer it is 5,000 lb minus about 600 lb, which is 4,400 lb across 6 tires. Using the full trailer weight overstates the tire load and will send you to a heavier and more expensive tire than you need.
What pressure should I run in trailer tires?
The maximum cold inflation pressure printed on the sidewall, unless the trailer maker publishes something different. An ST tire carries its rated load only at that pressure, which is completely unlike a passenger car where the door placard sets a pressure below the sidewall maximum. Cold means before the trailer has moved that day.
How fast can I tow on ST trailer tires?
Most ST tires are built to an industry speed rating of 65 mph unless the sidewall states otherwise, and some newer ST tires are rated to 75 or 81 mph. This is a published limit rather than a convention, and exceeding it is a documented cause of tread separation. The sidewall and the maker specification are the authority for your tires.
When should I replace trailer tires?
At five to six years from the date code, regardless of tread depth. Trailers sit for months at a time, so the rubber ages out long before the tread wears out, and ultraviolet exposure while parked accelerates it. The date code is the last four digits of the DOT number on the sidewall, giving the week and year of manufacture.
Can I fit LT truck tires instead of ST tires?
Some people do, and it is a real trade rather than a free upgrade. ST tires have stiffer sidewalls specifically to resist the lateral loads a trailer axle sees, while an LT tire of the same size usually carries less load at the same pressure and has a softer sidewall. If you go that route the load capacity at your actual inflation pressure has to be checked properly rather than assumed.
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Researched, not professional advice. This page is compiled from published standards, manufacturer towing guides and product specifications, and owner-review consensus, not hands-on testing. Figures described as a rule of thumb are towing convention rather than published standards, and they are labelled that way wherever they appear. Nothing here overrides your own ratings. Work your payload sum before your tow rating, because payload is the limit that actually binds on most half ton trucks and nearly every SUV. Load a conventional trailer to 10 to 15 percent tongue weight and a fifth wheel to 15 to 25 percent pin weight, and never lighter: a tail heavy trailer is what starts sway. Weigh the rig loaded rather than trusting a brochure dry weight. A weight distribution hitch and a set of air bags both restore ride height and control, and neither one raises a single rating. Trailer brakes are required by state law above a threshold that varies by state, and a breakaway battery that has quietly gone flat is the normal condition of most trailers on the road.