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M101A2 Trailer tire change to modern tires?

Seyumi

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Edit: False alarm all. The trailer shop gave me bad info saying they couldn't install my tires when it's just as easy as any normal modern vehicle. Easily installed at DiscountTire. More info below.

New owner of an M101A2. I did a ton of searches on this forum but still can’t find a solid answer.

Trailer was in great shape but has 14-year-old tires. I bought the exact spec of tires being called out which are LT235/85R-16 and “E” wall rated tires:

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=BFGoodrich&tireModel=All-Terrain+T/A+KO2&partnum=385SR6KO2RWL&vehicleSearch=false&fromCompare1=yes

Coincidently, my Jeep Wrangler Rubicon tire make/model comes in this exact size, so I pulled the trigger to have matching tires all around.

I did a ton of research on this trailer and the maintenance needed, but apparently not enough. The trailer shop I brought this to said they can’t just change out the tire like on a normal vehicle, and they would need more specialized equipment. I even had the entire official TM 9-2330-202-14&P manual printed out in a booklet incase the shop ran into any issues. Looking into the manual, I believe its because you have to swap out the entire wheel assembly if you ever have to replace the tire? The same thing happens in the airline industry that I work in where we don’t change tires on the flightline, and we just send the entire wheel assembly into specialized vendor repair shops.

I’m in a pickle and need to know what my options are. The tires I bought only have a few weeks left in the return period. Did I buy the wrong type of tire even though the size is correct? From more research I did, apparently, I need to buy consumer grade rims if I ever want to easily change the tires? (apparently the lug patterns are pretty rare to find or something since they're not standard?) Are there any other options than this? Can anyone point me to some exact make & models of rims I can get off fleabay or something? Can anyone provide some direct links maybe? Thank you!
 

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Mullaney

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New owner of an M101A2. I did a ton of searches on this forum but still can’t find a solid answer.

Trailer was in great shape but has 14-year-old tires. I bought the exact spec of tires being called out which are LT235/85R-16 and “E” wall rated tires:

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=BFGoodrich&tireModel=All-Terrain+T/A+KO2&partnum=385SR6KO2RWL&vehicleSearch=false&fromCompare1=yes

Coincidently, my Jeep Wrangler Rubicon tire make/model comes in this exact size, so I pulled the trigger to have matching tires all around.

I did a ton of research on this trailer and the maintenance needed, but apparently not enough. The trailer shop I brought this to said they can’t just change out the tire like on a normal vehicle, and they would need more specialized equipment. I even had the entire official TM 9-2330-202-14&P manual printed out in a booklet incase the shop ran into any issues. Looking into the manual, I believe its because you have to swap out the entire wheel assembly if you ever have to replace the tire? The same thing happens in the airline industry that I work in where we don’t change tires on the flightline, and we just send the entire wheel assembly into specialized vendor repair shops.

I’m in a pickle and need to know what my options are. The tires I bought only have a few weeks left in the return period. Did I buy the wrong type of tire even though the size is correct? From more research I did, apparently, I need to buy consumer grade rims if I ever want to easily change the tires? (apparently the lug patterns are pretty rare to find or something since they're not standard?) Are there any other options than this? Can anyone point me to some exact make & models of rims I can get off fleabay or something? Can anyone provide some direct links maybe? Thank you!
.
It's not possible to see the tires on your trailer in the picture you attached. Maybe snap another so we can read the lettering on the tire?

Those rims don't appear "special" from this angle.

Unless I miss my guess, no special equipment is required to mount 235/85R-16 tires other than a normal tire machine.

PICTURES of what you have on the trailer NOW will be important.
 

NDT

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That same rim is used on every 3/4 ton pickup truck ever made in the US. What a load of crap you were told.
 

Seyumi

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Las Vegas, NV
Yeah I just picked it up. Apparently the trailer shop said their equipment wasn’t small enough to balance small tires since they mostly work on big rigs, so I guess this thread might have been a false alarm. At a Discount Tire right now for the tire change…will update.
 

MarkM

CODE BROWN...It's all going to sh~t !
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On my M101A2 I went with the Kenda Klever A/T Tires 265/75R16 LRE 10PR. I like the look and they are a tad wider than the 235/85/16.

Mark

s-l400 - 2023-06-02T190826.527.jpg

Resized_20190726_113839(1)_resized.jpeg
 

Tinstar

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Looks good!
Great tire on a fantastic trailer.
Brand new camo cover to boot.

Love those trailers.

Do you have pics of data plate?
Looks like an A3 to me.
 

juanprado

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That is one of the last a2 made before they switched to a3 with lifting loops and reinforcement ribs.

The a3 bed has wider wheel fenders.

I have one in my fleet and like it more than the older a2.

This article will explain differences on lt vs trailer tires.

Just depends on how you plan to use trailer and weight carried.

I have lt tires on mine oe from military and still in great shape.
Ymmv
 
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