A Height Advantage

A low profile trailer is really describing what size wheel and tire are being used on a trailer.  A wheel dimension can be 24.5″ or 22.5″, to give two common examples, and the tire itself can have a conventional tire wall height or a low profile tire that has a shorter side wall height.  The shorter side wall tire on a lower profile wheel will reduce the “static loaded radius” or distance from the ground to center of the axle. This translates to a lower deck height.

A conventional wheel/tire size on a stepdeck for example would be 42″, where a trailer with a low profile setup could reduce the height to as much as 36″ deck height. This 6″ difference can make a big difference on what some stepdeck trailers can haul. A typical stepdeck can haul something with a max height of 10′ while the low profile alternative might take 10’6″ and still be at the legal 13’6″ max overall height.

It would be too much for the purpose of this article to talk about  specific tire sizes, but they are varied and take time to understand what the numbers actually mean.  I’ve added the diagram below to help.  Also, I will point out that I would not recommend switching a tractor from a 24.5″ wheel to 22.5″ low profile as this will change the gearing, rpm, etc.  Following are some differences and pro’s to having a conventional vs low pro set up.  We encourage comments!