mobile home axles for non-mobile home trailers

anyone KNOW the laws on these?

I don't think that house trailer axles are illegal. From what I understand FET has not been paid on the tires. if you look on the side walls there is supposed to be a warning about this.


anyone know for sure?

The axles are ok, it's just the tires that are no good to use. They say "Mobile Home Use" on them.

I have built trls with mobile home axels and tires and never been bothered. Pulled them all over the N. East . Be sure to keep lots of air in the tires, like 60 lbs. I got one trl 9ft wide, No Problems with the POLICE, Yet!!! Phil

Down here you see it alot with guys using mobile home axles on home made trailers. The only thing the police throw a fit about is the tirese. Like doghead said. They consider them tires one time use and throw them away. The Cops always want you to get new tires. other then that they dont care, but im not sure how it is up in your area

Michigan Motor Vehicle Code

Basically, there is no specific exemption of Mobile Home Tires but it the tires are marked not for highway use then they are not to be used no the highway and can get you a ticket. There are other markings also. See below.

257.710 Tires; studs or other traction devices; rules; exceptions; use or sale of unsafe tires
prohibited.
Sec. 710. (a) A person shall not operate on a public highway of this state a vehicle or special mobile
equipment which has metal or plastic track or a tire which is equipped with metal that comes in contact with
the surface of the road or which has a partial contact of metal or plastic with the surface of the road, except as
provided in subsections (c), (d), and (e).
(b) A person shall not operate on a highway a vehicle which has a tire that has on its periphery a block,
stud, flange, cleat, spike, or other protuberance of a material other than rubber which projects beyond the
tread of the traction surface of the tire, except as provided in subsections (c), (d), and (e). A person may,
however, use farm machinery with a tire having a protuberance which will not injure a highway. A person
may also use a tire chain of reasonable proportion upon a vehicle when required for safety because of snow,
ice, or other condition tending to cause a vehicle to skid.
(c) A person may operate on a highway a vehicle which has a pneumatic tire in which wire of .075 inches
in diameter or less is embedded if the tire is constructed so that the percent of metal in contact with the
highway does not exceed 5% of the total tire area in contact with the roadway, except that during the first
1,000 miles of use or operation of the tire the metal in contact with the highway shall not exceed 20% of the
area.
(d) The department of state highways and transportation shall promulgate rules establishing acceptable
standards to permit the use of a tire with studs or other traction devices to be used on a street or highway after
April 1, 1975. The rules shall make separate provision for the extreme winter snow and ice conditions of the
Upper Peninsula and the northern Lower Peninsula. The rules shall include a restriction on the amount and
dimension of protrusions that may be allowed on a tire, the type of material that may be used in a stud,
traction device, or tire, and the amount of road wear that a tire with studs or other traction devices may cause
on a street or highway.
(e) A person may operate on a highway a vehicle which has a pneumatic tire in which are inserted ice grips
or tire studs if the person is a law enforcement officer operating a vehicle owned by a law enforcement
agency, a person operating an ambulance, or a United States postal service rural carrier driving a vehicle the
rural carrier owns and maintains as a prerequisite to employment in the postal service.
(f) A person shall not operate a vehicle on a highway when a tire in use on that vehicle is unsafe as
provided in subsection (h).
Rendered Tuesday, August 09, 2005 Page 223 Michigan Compiled Laws Complete Through PA 103 of 2005
Ó Legislative Council, State of Michigan Courtesy of www.legislature.mi.gov
(g) A person in the business of selling tires shall not sell or offer for sale for highway use a tire which is
unsafe as provided in subsection (h).
(h) A tire is unsafe if it is in any of the following conditions:
(i) Has a part of the belting material, tire cords, or plys exposed.
(ii) Has evidence of cord or tread separations.
(iii) Is worn to or below the minimum tread level in 2 or more adjacent major grooves at 3 or more
locations spaced around the circumference of the tire. Minimum allowable tread levels are as follows:
motorcycles and moped 1/32 inch front and rear
passenger cars and vehicles weighing less than 10,000 pounds 2/32 inch front and rear
vehicles weighing 10,000 pounds or more 4/32 inch front and 2/32 rear
Measurements shall not be made at locations of tread wear indicators or tie bars. A motor vehicle licensed
as an historic vehicle under section 803a is exempt from the tread depth requirements of this subsection.
(iv) Has a marking “not for highway use”, “for racing purposes only”, “for farm use only”, or “unsafe for
highway use”.
(v) Has been regrooved or recut below the original tread design depth except in the case of special purpose
designed tires having extra undertread rubber provided for this purpose and identified as those tires.

Retreads on anything but commercial truck tires are also prohibited.

Also, nothing mentioned about Mobile Home Axles.

I don't think that mobile home tires are going to be marked in such a way that they are not able to be used on the highway. The DOT determines safe tire construction and composition and if tires are made that do not comply with them they have to be marked as such like in the examples above. Mobile home tires are for transporting the tire from place to place on the highway so I do not think no matter what they have to be DOT compliant.

The tires ARE ILLEGAL to use. They're nearly all (if not all) marked "mobil home only" and nearly all (if not all) are also qualified as "one time use only". They're also very poor quality and very short lived anyway, pitching them is no loss.
The wheels are fine if you get a standard 14.5 trailer tire to throw on them.
The axles are fine to use any way you see fit.
Brakes are short lived, typically riveted in place, not always directly compatable with off the shelf replacements, but not illegal to use.

If it is marked Mobile home Only in Michigan it is not against state law and you will not get a ticket here. They only way that would change is if a fed was writing you a ticket for a federal infraction.

I thought the biggest reason they were marked as such, was to keep people from stealing them off mobile homes....

yep moblie home tires are illegal for any other purpose of moving a mobile home. It is alittle expensive for 14.5 lowboy tires . Just remeber if it says LOWBOY its ok , if it says MOBLIE HOME USE ONLY junk them but the lowboy tires will fit the rims,.

I have a trailer made with mobile home axles that my father had made when I was in high school (which was in the 70s). I ran mobile home tires on it for years without any problems. Several years ago I moved up to the tires they are using on the biggest houses. They do not have the Mobile Home Use Only on them. I got my tires from a man that services the mobile home moving industry around here. You can also buy new tires from a dealer if you can find one that will mount them on the rim.

Mobile home tires and rims have a bad reputation, but I have had good service out of my trailer. I have moved a duce on mine and had over 20,000 on it before. The key careful attention to the tires and rims. I always snug the lug bolts up while the tire is still on the jack. I then spin the tire to be sure it is not off center. If you don't get the wheel centered it will work loose and come off.

A few pictures.

Re: RE: mobile home axles for non-mobile home trailers

mangus580 said:

I thought the biggest reason they were marked as such, was to keep people from stealing them off mobile homes....

Click to expand...

I have to comment here. I live in a small, 30 trailer capacity, court. A few years ago a neighbor that was a slob that had garbage and stuff lying around her yard got evicted for not paying rent for 6 months. She came and went at different times and it was obvious she was living somewhere else. Well one day she is back checking on the trailer and leaves and the next day the manager is there with the moving crew taking the trailer out. The lady comes back a few days later and starts screaming and calls the cops yelling someone stole her house!

A few cops show up and are confused at first as to how someone steels your house. She is hyping herself up yelling how there is a thief and to go look for her house. I can just picture the APB on that one. Be on the look out for a 1977 single wide. Tan and white with no working lights and no plates. Traveling at a low rate of speed.

She was yelling for over an hour with the cops. She even went on to say the tries were new and that they had only been used a few times and someone was going to pay for them.

If I had been thinking quick, I should have told her that the thieves wanted her tires and axles to make a car trailer but it was easier to take the whole roach infested house to make one.

It all ended with the cops telling her there was nothing they could do and if she kept up the yelling they would arrest her for disturbing the peace. The neighbors still get a laugh out of her when they talk about it.

RE: Re: RE: mobile home axles for non-mobile home trailers

Guys,
I post the exact quote from the law because it is just way to easy to just say "it is illegal". Rizzo is from Michigan and in Michigan he would not have a problem as it is not against Michigan law to use mobile home tires for other uses if it is only marked "for mobile home use only". It may be a federal DOT violation but a fed would have the be the one writing the ticket and charging on it. Anyone with knowledge of the Federal law please post a link or cut and past the law so we can read it in black and white. I looked and could find nothing about even an FET violation. That does not mean there is not one but I tend to have to be shown. If someone has a link or a quote showing this would be an FET violatoin then please post so we can see it.

RE: Re: RE: mobile home axles for non-mobile home trailers

Even if it is legal in your state, don't do interstate speeds.
You don't see the mobile homes doing high speed for a reason.
Plus you need to takel notice of how many axles they use.

At best they are only good for slow speed and short distance.
But I know how it is.
I have seen those little trailerswith 10" tires from Harbor Freight with loads of stuff piled on them behind some tweaker with a cherokee on the interstate around here to many times to be funny.

I bought a farmer built dual trailer, had mobile home axles with upgraded tires and electric brakes.
It was even inspected and legally tagged by the WA state troopers.
When I was bringing 1/2 a load of 16.00x20s back from Ft. Hill Utah, she started fish tailing real bad and I lost a tire as I regained control of the fish tailing.
It was hosed.
I wound up having buying a new 10K trailer there in Burley (same place my 5 ton lost its fan blade).
Plus I had to swap the load and make a 2nd trip for the other half of the tires.
Why cut corners?
It just isn't worth it if it goes wrong, terribly wrong..........

RE: Re: RE: mobile home axles for non-mobile home trailers

I am a happy user of mobile home axles. I recently put one under a pioneer tool trailer. The axles are as good as any other. I suppose there could be a manufacturer out there that makes poor ones but the one I just rebuilt had brand name bearings in it. I also found I could buy new rims for $20 or so. I bought new tires and got the higher ply rating. The tires I bought are priced about the same as any other common trailer tire. There are lots of companies that make trailers with the 14.5" rim set up. I plan to use "mobile home style" axles on anything I make in the near future. I have 4 axles sitting around and with a tire and rim costing less than $100 that's a cheap way to go.

Re: RE: Re: RE: mobile home axles for non-mobile home traile

quarkz said:

Even if it is legal in your state, don't do interstate speeds.
You don't see the mobile homes doing high speed for a reason.
Plus you need to takel notice of how many axles they use.

At best they are only good for slow speed and short distance.
But I know how it is.
I have seen those little trailerswith 10" tires from Harbor Freight with loads of stuff piled on them behind some tweaker with a cherokee on the interstate around here to many times to be funny.

I bought a farmer built dual trailer, had mobile home axles with upgraded tires and electric brakes.
It was even inspected and legally tagged by the WA state troopers.
When I was bringing 1/2 a load of 16.00x20s back from Ft. Hill Utah, she started fish tailing real bad and I lost a tire as I regained control of the fish tailing.
It was hosed.
I wound up having buying a new 10K trailer there in Burley (same place my 5 ton lost its fan blade).
Plus I had to swap the load and make a 2nd trip for the other half of the tires.
Why cut corners?
It just isn't worth it if it goes wrong, terribly wrong..........

Click to expand...

the fish tailing was probly from mis loading the trailer. or bad design on the trailer. like axles to far forward so ther is not enough hitch weight. an yes a violently swerving trailer will peel tires of like nobodys bussiness! I have saw this even with the pup trailers here in Michigan. and they weigh 65,000 # and have 20 tires under them. rizzo, if you have the axles allready just check to see what they used for bearings and narrow them to suit your needs. if you want good tires for them let me know. i have a source for the 14.5's. cheap.

Mobile home axles in Texas

I own a bunch of scrap mobile homes.
I just checked, and yes, the tires are marked "For Mobile Home Use Only"
I never knew that! You learn something every day!
At some point in the near future, I had intended to convert one for road use.
Safety First. I will now put new legal tires on it and make sure that the electric brakes are 100% functional. I intend to transport telephone poles, structural I-beams and building sheet metal with the trailer.
Is there someone on the list who is conversant with Texas law who could tell me some restrictions that I will come up against?
I think that the max overall length (tractor and trailer) is 95 feet and the overall width is 102 inches. Please correct me if I'm wrong. Maximum weight?
I would like to register it as a farm trailer for tax purposes.
The trailers are now 75 feet long, but shortening them is no problem at all.
Thanks in advance!
-Sarge