Trailer Tires

J

journey on

New member
OK, I've come to a decision. I'm going to start buying truck tyres for the trailer. This comes after I had two blowouts on the way to Lake Powell, with tyres that were less that 3 years old. One was in the middle of an interchange, with minimum shoulder. The other was in the middle of the desert with the semis going by. If they can't make good trailer tyres, then I'll get good truck tyres.

Some thoughts. Will have to replace one side at a time, 2 tyres. Present tyres are 225-75-15, load range D. The outer diameter is 28.8 in. An good truck tyre is 235-75-15 which I have on my Chevvy truck. It has an outer dia of 28.9 in.

Any comments?

Boris
 
Blowouts. A real PIA.

We've had three in the 6+ yrs we've owned the boat. One on an elevated tressle with no shoulder. I had to baby it onto I-5 to find a gore point to pull over onto. I just replaced all four last season and now cover them when the trailer is parked. Will hit help? Who knows. You'd think we could make a tire that doesn't explode so easily. The tire shop said it's because trailers sit for extended periods of time; rolling a tire moved UV inhibitors to the surface. I don't know the science, just what I've read.
 
Should work. Are the current tires radial? I assume that the truck tire is radial. Far better to replace all at the same time. But probably no problems. The old tires had a rating of 2500 lbs each, so should be good to close to 10k, boat and trailer weight...
 
Seems like if you want something real good you have to pay for it. These tires require high pressure rims also. I think you inflate them to 110 PSI. http://www.amazon.com/Goodyear-Unisteel ... B004ZW6NYG
I think our friend might swing for these high pressure models listed above. He is heading from near Ft. Meyers Florida to Bellingham Washington this spring towing his R27 (10,000 pounds + or there bouts.) Too pricey for me.
I guess they would also have them in your size. I think the Michelins will sway a little more on the trailer. Not bad but a little more then bias ply models. You get used to it plus you can drive. I still have radials that came with my trailer but I just switched over from the Bridgestones that came with the truck since new to Michelins and they do handle a little different. Not a bad thing.
D.D.
 
You know that I've read all the stuff about running them under-inflated, not using them enough, not running the right tyres, etc. I buy the best tyres I can get, I protect them, I check the inflation, everything I can think of. The tyres are loaded to about 75% of their rating. And of the last two blowouts, the sidewalls didn't go, but the whole tyre exploded. That goes to show how cheap China can build them. And, again, they're the best I can get.

So, I've been comparing the trailer with the Ford pickup that I use to tow the boat. I t sits for extended periods, just as much as the trailer, because I only use it for towing. I don't protect it from the sun, I run the pressure according to the load and I buy cheap tyres (have you priced truck tyres?) Yet, those tyres don't blow. And on the Chevvy truck, which I use regularly, the tyres are over 10 years, with NO trouble.

So, I've come to the conclusion that when I buy real trailer tyres, I'm getting a cheap Chinese product which will not last. So I'll buy truck tyres.

Boris
 
A good question to have answered on this forum would be, What is your typical cross country cruise speed when you are towing?

Mine is 60 mph when towing my bigger boats. In 35 years of towing bigger boats I've never had a blow out. I do watch the age stamp on the tires when I buy them and replace in 4 years regardless of wear.

I don't treat the trailer tires special. They sit in a covered but not sealed storage and I don't put the trailer up on jacks. I do always check tire temperatures every hour along with bearing temperatures. You can tell pretty quickly if you have a tire losing inflation or lamination by checking the tire heat with an infrared thermometer. Ether of those conditions will stand out like a sore thumb if you compare one side to the other of a single axle or one out of 4 in the case of a dual axle.

I also buy the heaviest load rating tire that my rims and fender clearances will allow. I like also like the actual load to be no greater than 75% of actual rating of the tire.

I have found a bad tire ahead of time doing the IR check and slowed down and until I could put on the spare and get a replacement. I had one tire atarting to delaminate on my 5th wheel and when I inspected the other 3, they all showed signs of pending delamination.

I'm not sure about replacing one side of the trailer tires at a time. I wouldn't do it myself, but I don't have a good argument if the tires are the same in size and load rating.

Bottom line is that I'm still betting that there are more tire problems caused by the owner than the tires themselves. Also, a tire that has a good reputation now, can become a poor tire depending on the manufacturing batch. Speed and heat kills trailer tires.
 
Had 2 blowouts on my way to Florida, my fault for not realizing they were 5 yrs old. Change in temperature from winter to Florida weather . I will always replace before they can dry rot. Bought a enclosed trailer single axle for this summers trips behind truck camper,going to change these tires before taking it on the road ,there close to 5 years. Nice to have dual wheels on boat trailer
 
Potter Water:
Well, Utah isn't the hottest place and you drive slower than I. I think I drive a reasonable pace, 65-70, and I do drive through the desert where you take what you get. In addition the last tires that blew had a load rating way over the actual load. I'm sure that there's always a reason for the blowouts, I just think that the reason is bad tyres.

I never had a trailer tyre blowout either until I got overseas tyres. I don't know what the reason for the string of blowouts is, but I'm trying to cure it. I did notice that the last tyre, bought in St George, Utah was even cheaper than the price of 2 years ago. I can only assume they found a cheaper way to make them.

The original question: has anybody tried truck tyres?

Boris
 
I have a set of 10 pressure / temperature sensors which screw onto the tire valve stem. There is a receiver, which plugs into the cigarette lighter plug. It shows the tire, position, temperature and pressure. This set can be moved from my RV to my truck and any trailer I tow, including the truck. The trailer pressure and temperature sensors give accurate readings at 100 feet or more. The cost was about $300. Sure gives you peace of mind!

I never run more that 55 MPH in Calif. I did that about 65 years ago, and got a ticket for going 60 mph. Calif. speed limit is 55 mph when towing a trailer...no faster. Out sid elf Calif. I rarely go faster than 62 mph.

Many trailer tires are only rated for 60 mph. What does that mean? I am not sure, but The design does take into account the centrifugal force, the cords rubbing together, the temperature and pressure of the tire, etc. The last letter after the tire size determines the speed rating.

Boris, you say Utah is not the "hottest place"...I have seen a lot of days over 95 in Salt Lake City and areas during the summer. High temps get well over 100 degrees on occasion.

I am getting over 40,000 miles driving, and over 20,000 miles being towed (behind the rV) before I changed out my truck tires...On the trailer tires on the 22, I am about 10,000 miles, in the last 2 years, and they are ready to be replaced. I would not do another cross country trip with them. I probably will do truck tires, radials, with 50 PSI rating (as my current truck tires are).
 
Boris,
I feel your pain. I had a Carlisle trailer tire bulge to the point that the rear PVC guide-on shook so hard it broke off, towing the empty trailer. My tire guy, who intalled all 5 new under 3 years before, found all 5 delaminating interal and just commented that "they all must have been drinking that day." I had another Chinese tire explode, < 3yrs from DOT mfg date. We've had 3 other explosion blowouts for no good reason on I-10 at 60-62 MPH. My wireless trailer tire monitoring system recorded perfect temp and pressure until the explosion, when it simultaneously alarmed with a BEEP-BEEP-BEEP!
The new Wefings Float-On trailer includes Maxxis tires with a very unusual weather cracking 4-year warranty, but I plan on replacing all 5 with USA made truck LT tires then since Marc Grove advocates it now. For towed rigs over 10-11K lbs, when one tire blows BOTH on that side must be replaced, since no LR 'e' tires are rated for over 5,000#.
As you know, no trailer tires (ST) are rated for over 65 MPH, but your 65-70MPH is not the root cause of this issue. I agree that the root cause is higher USA manufacturing quality than for overseas, and NO trailer tires are made in the USA. Bottom line, I've stuck to the 'proper' and leaglly-required ST tires for trailers my entire 40+ year boat trailering life, but I will be changing when these age out at 3-4 years from DOT mfg stamp date (Brats towing under 10,000# have a lot more safe leeway, and my only opinion, though I am an Opinionated Guy, is that you should do whatever you think is safe for your circumstances).
I'll say it yet again...trailer tires and boat batteries have been responsible for over 50% of our 'ruined' boating days over the past 30 years, but are only 5% of overall expense....what to do? what to do? what to do? Buy Quality the First Time.
Happy hunting for Quality!
John
 
I just put another 300 miles on my new trailer tires today, and I'm starting to think that trailer tires are a scam. If I had bought tires for my car and they showed wear this early, I'd get my money back. These have a three year warrantee of some sort, but it's for replacement. No thanks.

I've been using the IR thermometer on the tires and bearings. Tires were 134 degrees with today's temps in the mid 80s. That was only 10 degrees hotter than my car tires. In fact, the side of my black car that was facing the sun was 120.

And I don't see inflation as an issue. Running my hand over the tread, I can feel a wear pattern. A little more wear on the outside tread, indicating not enough air. They were close to max, but I put in more air. The individual tread blocks also have a "fore and aft" wear pattern indicating it is probably time to rotate the tires. I'm thinking that these tires may be good for 4 to 5K miles.

Mark
 
Mark, If one side of the tire is wearing, it is an alignment problem. My local body shop has an alignment rack and it's money well spent to have someone check the alignment specs on the trailer while loaded. Alignment is adjusted by bending the axles.

Having switched to the Dark Side (RVing) in 2013, I frequent several RV owners web sites. As you would imagine, trailer tire woes are as big a topic as the "Twins vs Single Outboard" debate. The consensus I've found is, if it says made in China, you're asking for trouble. After my first blowout of a Goodyear Marathon, I switched to Michelin XPS Ribs. Light truck tires with steel tread belts and steel sidewall belt. 10,000 miles later, no sign of tread wear. Trailer is about 13,000 lbs. You can see the customer reviews on the Michelin web site.
 
I'm not Roger, and likely he will have more to add, but basically it's just as he said: If the axles/wheels need alignment, they accomplish it by bending the axles until they are right (or possibly, depending on what's wrong, the axles could be adjusted where they attach to the frame).
 
I don't have a solution to these problems. Even with the issues I have had with a trailer frame, (single axle tongue breaking) several years ago, I have not had a tire explode on a boat trailer. Maybe just luck. (I had A Michelin, which was had been on my truck only 3 months, and was under a year from date of manufacture, explode. I had checked the pressure that AM...--so I swore off Michelin tires for a few years--I am back using them on my RV--because they seem the best choice currently...)

Here is how to demystify the tire numbers

tire application, size and DOT

How-to-Read-DOT-Number.png


The plant code by country and city

I did not add the speed code, since all trailer (ST) tires are for less than 65.
The reality is that C Brats, as a group probably do a lot more long distance trailering than the average recreational boater. We see folks from Wisconsin in Florida, and folks in Calif. PNW from Florida. Because these boats are "trailerable trawlers" and "Boater Homes" Many of us go long distances, and are harder on tires.

WE check the air pressure of all tires in the AM (easier if you have the tire pressure sensors. WE check the hub temps every 2 hours (tire temps and pressure are always monitored in real time). Accidents can happen to tires, which we don't know about: road gators (shredded tread off 18 wheeler's trailers, small stones in the road, scuffing side walls, hitting curbs etc. They take a lot of abuse. Add in the issue of inferior quality control, and perhaps inferior materials--we have a problem. Best we can do is be careful--run at slower speeds, and watch the tires more carefully.

Also prudence is to change the tires every 3 years instead of every 5...gets expensive, but if there are blow outs, then that is more expensive....but bad stuff can happen--like my Michelin cited above.
 
I used to think trailer tires were really well made as I used to beat them to death and they just kept on going. I don't have that view any longer as I have had lots of trouble with them over the last decade. I had a lightly used (2 months old) one last summer blow up sitting in 70 degree weather in the driveway on my really light river boat. It wasn't inflated too much or anything and had maybe 250 miles on it. I don't know what to do about it, but a truck 235/85/16 E holds a lot weight and are stiff as heck when inflated to 80 PSI. I have pondered putting those on CD 22 trailer for years. The DOT would probably hate me.....
 
One last bit that is in the tire equation is that the tire is also part of the suspension system of the trailer. Really stiff tires my wear better, I'm not sure of that, but they transmit more loads to the springs and to the trailer frame and thus into the hull of the boat.

Trailer designs, done properly, will specify a tire type and load range and inflation, with the total suspension calculations driving the tire size and type. I think that should be strongly considered when re-tiring.

If you can find your boat trailer manufacturer, a consultation with them on tires could be very useful. They also will have some handle on the bad tire manufacturers and the good.

I have a local boutique trailer builder in my town that knows design and specification and he has been my go-to guy when I think about getting creative with my trailers or tires.
 
potter water":1cc36vet said:
One last bit that is in the tire equation is that the tire is also part of the suspension system of the trailer. Really stiff tires my wear better, I'm not sure of that, but they transmit more loads to the springs and to the trailer frame and thus into the hull of the boat.

Trailer designs, done properly, will specify a tire type and load range and inflation, with the total suspension calculations driving the tire size and type. I think that should be strongly considered when re-tiring.

If you can find your boat trailer manufacturer, a consultation with them on tires could be very useful. They also will have some handle on the bad tire manufacturers and the good.

I have a local boutique trailer builder in my town that knows design and specification and he has been my go-to guy when I think about getting creative with my trailers or tires.
Click to expand...

Certainly an excellent suggestion. There are some major builders--such as Pacific, EzLoader, Float on, Sport Trail and many others,, which I suspect do some engineering on the trailers. However, in our part of the world there a many boat trailer "builders"--often cheaper than the name brands--who buy the parts and put them together, with little if any consideration to the consequences.
 
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