Basically the question above.
I dont understand the reasing behind this.
Especially in regard to the heavier weight of campers. Shouldnt it be the other way?
In: Engineering
Are you thinking of a towed trailer? Those tires don’t have to propel the object forward. They can be thinner, because they just have to hold the camper off the ground.
A car weighs over 3000 lbs.
A lightweight camper will weigh less than 2000 lbs. Your larger campers will weight more but they’ll also have normal sized wheels.
There are a few reasons. One is cost savings. On cheaper trailers, you’d have to upgrade the axles to handle the extra stress. Another issue is increased resistance. You want to conserve as much energy as possibly. Bigger tires can make your tow vehicle work much harder. A third reason is the extra height from the tires can change the entire geometry of the trailer. It isn’t as big of a deal now, because trucks come with massive tires, but hitch height used to be more standard and also lower.
1. The camper is much lighter than a car, so it can use “weaker” wheels.
2. The camper does not need to steer, so it does not need as much traction.
3. Thinner wheels/tires have less friction, so easier to pull at speed.
4. The camper does not get “driven” nearly as much as a vehicle, so you do not need the same duty level as a highway vehicle.
5. Most campers are simply not made to the same quality level as a passenger vehicle.
another reason is that big tires take up big space. the more space being taken up by (unnecessarily) large tires means less usable space inside the camper.
The heavy utility trailers or trailers for big boats will have more normal sized tires.
But campers tend to be much lighter. The smaller wheels mostly are just cheaper and weigh less which I think is really the main factor. You could get bigger wheels, and they will definitely be better. But campers try to cut costs many ways and using only the bare minimum needed for wheels is one way to do it. Since the wheels aren’t actually used for driving or traction, they can be smaller.
The bigger issue with trailer tires is that they tend to sit unusued for a long period of time, which leads to dry rot. You ought to be replacing them every 3-4 years, and in that case it’s nice that they are cheap.
1: Campers don’t need to look pretty.
2: They also are unpowered and don’t need the additional traction to put power to a road that a car needs.
3: weight carrying capacity and tire diameter aren’t 100% correlated.
4: tires that are smaller than the towing vehicle means that the frame geometry can be simpler and still allow for a level trailer when loaded.
5: smaller tires are cheaper
Lots of other reasons as well but those are the main 5 I can come up with.
Do not confuse size with strength.
My RV Travel trailer weighs in just under 8,000lbs “empty” meaning no food, clothes, gear, or water/sewage.
It’s tires size is 205/75R/15….but they are Special Trailer (ST) tires with a load rating of D which means each tire can hold 2,755 lbs of trailer weight per tire and there are 4 tires making the tires able to hold just over 11,000 lbs of load
These tires have several layers of steel belts layered within the rubber tire and have a max PSI of 60lbs.
Car tires are typically larger accommodate the fact that they are the controlling tires for the vehicle and a wider tire means more contact area to use and a larger diameter tires offer a more stable ride. Plus a larger diameter tire tends to have a bigger side wall which absorbs shocks better which smoothes out the ride more.
Camping trailers are surprisingly light. Partly this is so you don’t have to tow as much weight. They also don’t have to have the same crash ratings since you’re not supposed to be riding in one while it’s being towed. They’re basically a really lightweight fiberglass and aluminum box with paper thin walls. There no engine or powertrain. The tires are under minimal strain because they aren’t holding up much weight, no engine power is running through them, they don’t steer, and they do little to no braking. They literally just hold the thing off the ground. People also don’t commute daily on their camping trailer so you don’t need particularly durable tires.
Fuel efficiency. Weight closer to point of rotation requires less energy to rotate than weight further from point of rotation
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