trailer tires

[dotnmarty]

I just noticed that my trailer tires are rated for a maximum load just shy of 1200 lbs. at 35 psi max. My spare of the same size is rated at 1500 lbs at 50psi max.The tires on the trailer have lots of tread, the spare is brand new. The boat weighs 925 and the trailer itself weighs 440. The motors (main and kicker) put me over the top. What should I do?
A. Nothing
B. Put on the spare and buy one tire to match it, or
C. Buy two new even higher rated tires.
Thanks.

[oldgrowth]

Marty – that rating is 1200 lbs per tier. You have two, so that gives you 2400 lbs. minus the boat 925 lbs and 400 for the trailer leaves 1075. Unless you have over 1075 lbs in engines, gas, gear and anything else you carry in the boat, you are OK.

[dotnmarty]

That's good new. Thanks again Dave

[thataway]

It is extremely rare to wear out trailer tires--but the life limit is due to detiorration of the side walls. 6 years is the comonly accepted life span. There should be a DOT code on each tire which gives the date of manufacture. If the tires are over 6 years old, or have side wall cracking, consider replacement. That is cheaper than repairing damage if you have a blow out.

[dotnmarty]

Thanks again for the good advice 'where the rubber meets the road'. I do appreciate it.

[SeaSpray]

I had to replace the factory non-radial tires on my tandem cd22 trailer after less than 10k miles and 2 years. Part of the reason was uneven where and I am hoping the new Marathon radials will last much longer.

It would be interesting to hear from some who have done extensive trailering how long the tires last. I agree that with light boats and single axle trailers that are not pulled that far the tires usually rot before they wear.

Steve

[Salty Dog]

Steve,
I too did the same thing on my trailer tires. Had used the trailer for only about 1.5 years, and one of the bias-ply tires started throwing tread. Now granted, in that time frame I had made two different trips of 1,000 miles round trip pulling the boat plus I typically pull it 250 miles round trip every time I took the boat out (and we were going every other weekend).

Anyway, I went to the Goodyear Marathon radials, and I haven't had any problems with them thus far. Have had them on the trailer for about 1.5 years now. So far, the furthest trip I've gone has been about 400 miles round trip with the trailer, but the Marathons have worked much better. I also had them balanced, which I think has helped a lot as the wheels roll smoother.

[Casey]

Steve,

Something to consider.

In 2003 our double axle King trailer came with bias-ply tires (non-radial). In 2004, and with about 5000 miles I noticed the outside shoulders of the rear tires had worn down past the tread (front tires were fine). Since we were on our way to Prince Rupert (2600miles) I opted to swap the rear tires to the front, and front to rear...and continue the trip.

After that AK trip we returned via Seattle and I visited the folks at King trailer. By now, the rear tires were also showing an alarming rate-of-wear. Here's what I learned:

King recommends radial tires for longer wear, but according to them the major factor in my case was that the trailer hitch was about 1.5" too high (thus overloading the rear tires...) when hitched to the truck. THEY RECOMMEND LEVELING TO WITHIN .5" OF LEVEL to properly load both axles. We made some measurements, then I bought the appropriate coupler (our setup required about a 3-4" drop coupler as I recall), installed a new coupler and things seem to be fine.

We also replaced all four tires (+spare) with Marathon Radials, and now have about 10,000 more miles on the new setup, and no perceptible wear.

To determine uncoupled hitch height, put your trailer (with boat) on a flat surface and adjust the tongue jack so the frame rail measures the same level at the front and BACK of the trailer. Now hook-up the trailer to your tow vehicle. There will be some "squatting" of the tow vehicle due to tongue weight. Remeasure things, and adjust as necessary for the height of your trailer ball. From these measurements you can determine how much higher/lower your trailer hitch needs to be to make the whole outfit level when loaded. Armed with that data, go shopping for the appropriate coupler (the gizmo that slides in to the receiver).

Rereading my 'instructions' this whole process seems more complex than it was; it's really not that bad. The main object is to have the front end of the trailer and the back end of the trailer at the same height when hitched to your tow vehicle.

...I never claimed to be a technical writer!

Casey
C-Dory Naknek
(...headed for Key West in a few weeks)

[dotnmarty]

Jeez, you sure can learn a lot just by asking a question. Thanks so much everybody