[Hook'em_Horns!]

Pros and Cons on all three.

Generally, you should stick with the radial over the bias if your primary use is on the highway at highway speeds that the typical D-Max owner drives. The Bias tire will run hotter under load than the Radial, increasing more so with higher speeds, which will increase wear and the probability of a sidewall failure. Of which can destroy your fender wells on RVs, costing thousands to repair. I've seen 'em so hot that steam would pour off in the rain and you couldn't rest the back of your hand on the sidewall, they were that hot.

The most common problem people have with trailer tires is the sidewall failure, under load and at highway speeds. Many times the tires have hardly any wear at all. These factors tend to steer people to using truck tires instead. The problem with using truck tires is the reduced weight capacity available. Many RVs run nowhere near the weight capacity of the axles, so they can get away with this and swear to the world that this is the only way to go. Add to this that many owners only pull the RV out a few times a year and drive hundreds of miles when they do. ST tires don’t hold up well just sitting outside and not being used compared to the truck tires, and many times they never air ‘em up properly before heading out. Under those conditions, the truck tire will hold up better…if they can handle the weight.

The rest of us fall into the category of pushing the limits, repeatedly. Here, your only choice is the Radial ST, which has a greater capacity than a bias and far greater than a truck tire, and will run cooler at highway speeds, which in turn will reduce the wear and likelihood of separation.

Now, different styles of trailers will have limitations with size issues. Many livestock trailers and small car haulers have narrow fenders, which limit you to the narrower bias ply tires. Your stuck with only one choice. Further limiting your choice of tires is if you’re running 15” instead of 16”.

For years, when manufacturers designed their trailers for 16” wheels, the standard used was an 85 series tire. Nowadays, most RVs and an increasing number of utility trailers utilize an 80 series tire, which is not as tall and resists the tendency to roll the sidewalls during sharp turns. This is another reason why some people will favor bias over radial, less sidewall roll and the presumption of a stronger sidewall, when it actually moves less because of being narrower.

Since you’re just running around local and most people don’t haul-ass when their livestock is on board, you’ll probably be fine with the cheaper Bias, and you may very well have limited space and can use no other. Otherwise, I always favor the Radial.

Now, brand wars will be another thing!

Originally Posted by new guy

Also what is the proper setting for a trailer brake, never had a trailer that the brakes actually worked on.

This is an area of concern that few trailer owners EVER address, in fact, they’ll run for years and thousands of miles and never give it a thought. Many times, the only clue that they have a problem is when their truck brakes are toast with only 60k miles on it. They’ll also run for years and never repack the bearings, which should be done every 5k miles. Have you ever seen a trailer with the tires kicked out at the bottom? No grease left in the bearings.

Servicing your trailer brakes is an inexpensive task far, far cheaper than replacing burnt and cracked rotors on your HD.

Here’s a tutorial for review: Brake Job-Electric Trailer Brakes

Setting your controller can differ depending on the style of unit you have. With the Prodigy style, set the full manual control to just before the wheels lock up at 25 mph. Others will be different. Generally, If you pull away from a stop and you hear/feel the clunk of the slack in your ball mount, then you don’t have ‘em set high enough as the trailer was pushing against the truck. When you come to a stop and you feel the clunk from the slack releasing, then you have them set to high as the trailer was pulling too hard against your truck.

Hope this helps!