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Trailor Tires


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so i have had a boat for a while now. our first boat we pulled for ten years and had two blow outs. have had my Bu for now the second summer and i think we have had four blow outs. All of them on the front axle of the trailor (tandem). our trailor is manufactured by dorsey. any body having the same trouble?

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so i have had a boat for a while now. our first boat we pulled for ten years and had two blow outs. have had my Bu for now the second summer and i think we have had four blow outs. All of them on the front axle of the trailor (tandem). our trailor is manufactured by dorsey. any body having the same trouble?

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What do you mean by blow outs? Are your treads comming off? Are your tires going flat?

Check tire preasure.

Are you running trailer tires, and not car tires.

Are you turning the trailer to tight in turns.

Were they dry rotted.

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I have had a few blowouts on trailers over the years. They were more frequent when the building boom was in full swing and there was construction debris spread throughout my valley. I used to pick nails out of my tires regularly. Another major cause of trailer tires blowing out is over inflation or under inflation. You might also check to see that you are putting the proper tires on your trailer.

# All tires must be identical in size for the tires to properly manage the weight of the trailer.

# The combined capacity of the tires must equal or exceed the Gross Vehicle Weight (GVW) of the axle.

# The combined capacity of all of the tires should exceed the loaded trailer weight by 20 percent.

# If the actual weight is not available, use the trailer GVW. If a tire fails on a tandem axle trailer, you should replace both tires on that side. The remaining tire is likely to have been subjected to excessive loading.

Hope this helps

AW

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I almost forgot. The trailer tires need to be ST rated. Putting light truck tires (LT) on a trailer is a bad idea even if they meet the load rating. One thing that I have also noticed on my trailer is that the axle is slightly bent on my right rear causing that tire to wear unevenly and more quickly. I just have to keep an I on it. You might want to check the wear on yours.

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Is your trailer sitting relatively level while hitched to the vehicle?? If your ball is too low (especially on a torsion axle trailer) the front tires will take quite a bit more load and abuse than the rears. (Put a level on the long tube from the tongue to the fender.)

Look at your valve stems. I'm still on 2004 tires and they look good but my valve stems are in rough shape-all cracked. Mine is garaged and tires are checked almost each trip out the door.

Do you use wheel cleaner on yours? That stuff can eat rubber. I've had valve stems go bad before and they told me it could be my wheel cleaner.. I don't use it anymore.

Good luck.

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the trailor's nose does sit a little bit down and i have thought about turning my hitch around. my tahoe does it alot worse than my brothers truck. we thought we might have received bad tires when we purchased the boat. it came from california and i am in nashville. one tire the tread came off (assumed a retread) another one just blew out. one tire was a LT tire because i needed a spare quickly to get on the road and no one in town had a ST tire in stock and yes that one blew. the trailor came with 235/60r 14s tires which i have found are a rare tire. we maybe had a bad set of tires and just need to replace all of them. we are not pulling it any different than our old boat and it was the same size.

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What speed are you towing at. If you tow on asphalt roads at speeds above 70 it "could" decrease the life of the tire. Make sure you are checking your tire pressure cold (in the morning). If your tires are Bias ply try getting a radial trailer tire on the next set.

Carlisle Tire Info

I run the Carlisle Radial Trials. It is a radial belted ST (Special Trailer) tire.

Edited by Ramman17
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I lost a tire after about 1000 total miles on my boat trailer with almost brand new looking tires. I have been running about 40 psi in them. When I first bought the boat there was only 30 psi. Not sure if running at that pressure had anything to do with it. The tires say they are rated to 50 psi. I noticed when I back in a tight curve it looks like the tire really lays over, almost like it want to jump off the rim. I store my boat in an outside storage facility that has a concrete bottom so it seems to put a lot of stress on the tire when I back in a curve to get it in it's spot. In short, just wondering if I may have caused the problem (pressure too high/low, backing to tight, etc...)

As an aside, the tire itself was a GY 215/75 14 and the guy at the tire store told me I had the last one that their company had in stock anywhere in the US. Apparently there is a new import tarrif on chinese-made tires and instead of paying the tarriff GoodYear is shipping all the molds back to the US. Meanwhile, not a lot of these tires to be had till the molds get back.

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I lost a tire after about 1000 total miles on my boat trailer with almost brand new looking tires. I have been running about 40 psi in them. When I first bought the boat there was only 30 psi. Not sure if running at that pressure had anything to do with it. The tires say they are rated to 50 psi. I noticed when I back in a tight curve it looks like the tire really lays over, almost like it want to jump off the rim. I store my boat in an outside storage facility that has a concrete bottom so it seems to put a lot of stress on the tire when I back in a curve to get it in it's spot. In short, just wondering if I may have caused the problem (pressure too high/low, backing to tight, etc...)

As an aside, the tire itself was a GY 215/75 14 and the guy at the tire store told me I had the last one that their company had in stock anywhere in the US. Apparently there is a new import tarrif on chinese-made tires and instead of paying the tarriff GoodYear is shipping all the molds back to the US. Meanwhile, not a lot of these tires to be had till the molds get back.

Low tire pressure is the worst thing you could do for a tire..

For a trailer if it says max 50PSI then run 50 psi! It will help with the twisting in tight turns too..

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Low tire pressure is the worst thing you could do for a tire..

For a trailer if it says max 50PSI then run 50 psi! It will help with the twisting in tight turns too..

I didn't realize max pressure meant recommended pressure. The tire shop puts ~70% of max pressure rating of my yukon tires.

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I prefer Overkill on tires. Go up a size or two on tires and only use a "C" load rated or better yet a "D" rated tire. Keep that tire inflated to the max pressure listed on the sidewall either 50# for C or 65# for D. I raised my fender 1.5" to accomodate the larger wheel and tire. The load capacity of my tires is about 165% of the actual load on the tires as measured on the Oregon state truck scales.

I do not carry a spare for my trailer. I have never had a bearing or tire malfunction since my first boat a brand new 1972 Sea Ray in 1972. I tow over 1800 miles a year.

Preventative measures have kept me out of trouble such as frequent repacking of the trailer hubs. I take 3 long distance trips with my trailer each year.

I went up an inch diameter on my trailer and bought the typical white painted spoke wheels . Went to tire rack and found out the heaviest duty tire I could find. This keeps me from being a roadside casualty and nobody wants to steal my white wheels.

For a trailer narrower is better. Such as 215/75 R 14 Load Range C is better than 235/60 R 14 "C".

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Taken from the Carlisle tire info sheet for trailer tires:

- Summary Maintenance Tips -

· Keep your tires air pressure at the Maximum PSI recommended on the sidewall of the tire

· Keep a cap on your valve stem to prevent contamination of the internal rubber valve

· Always travel with a spare and check your spare tires air pressure along with the other tires

· If you experience a blowout, slowly move over to the right off the road to change your tire and check the other tires for

possible damage

· Don’t overload your Trailer Tires. The maximum load is listed on the sidewall of your Trailer Tires

· Give your Trailer Tires a visual check before each trip

· Keep your Trailer Tires in a cool dry place and out of direct sunlight during storage

· Replace your Trailer Tires every 3 to 5 years

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Hey I'm new to this site as of tonight. But with the problems I've had with my 08 V-Ride and EZ-loader Trailer I thought I might bring it to other peoples attention. On our first outing of the year we lost all four tires at once due to our tire valve rotting out. There was a big recall on a lot of vales in 07 and 08... so keep an eye on them! They may look good... but check them twice and bend them over really hard and check for any cracks.

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Finally got some decent weather so I hook the boat up after work yesterday... one flat tire (nail) and another has developed some cracks on the sidewall. (age I assume)

The boat doesn't see direct sunlight and I 303 the tires every so often. I assume them to be the originals (boat / trailer is an '04) so maybe that's all I should expect out of them even though there's plenty of tread.

Will need to confirm size and locate a set of tires for the boat.

Is it customary to replace the valve stems when you get new tires? I never did that with any of my boats.

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Finally got some decent weather so I hook the boat up after work yesterday... one flat tire (nail) and another has developed some cracks on the sidewall. (age I assume)

The boat doesn't see direct sunlight and I 303 the tires every so often. I assume them to be the originals (boat / trailer is an '04) so maybe that's all I should expect out of them even though there's plenty of tread.

Will need to confirm size and locate a set of tires for the boat.

Is it customary to replace the valve stems when you get new tires? I never did that with any of my boats.

Every time I have bought new tires on a car truck and the boat trailer I got new valve stems.

My boat is an 04 is always parked under a cover and had sidewall cracks on the trailer tires( Carlisle bias ply,) I think it was in 2008. Les Schwab mounted their brand of trailer radials at that time.

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For the bigger boats, we should be considering a load range D tire. Unfortunately, there are a lot of trailer manufacturers that put 14 inch rims on a 247. There are very few load range D tires in that rim size.

I did find the Kumho 857 to be the only 14 inch tire that is a load range D. They are sold at Sears. I don't know if they are good quality, but they should be better able to withstand the load of a 247.

Anyone riding tires more than 5 years old is bound to have blowouts, it just depends on your tolerance for preventitive maintenance.

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For the bigger boats, we should be considering a load range D tire. Unfortunately, there are a lot of trailer manufacturers that put 14 inch rims on a 247. There are very few load range D tires in that rim size.

I did find the Kumho 857 to be the only 14 inch tire that is a load range D. They are sold at Sears. I don't know if they are good quality, but they should be better able to withstand the load of a 247.

Anyone riding tires more than 5 years old is bound to have blowouts, it just depends on your tolerance for preventitive maintenance.

Well, it's like the Michelin man says "you have a lot riding on your tires". It makes me have visions of my boat trailer tires giving up the ghost and depositing my boat onto the interstate

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Found a set of 4 Carlisle radials for $450 out the door to be installed tomorrow morning (after I limp to the ramp for a quick morning set)

You guys were right, includes new stems.

Doesn't seem like a great deal but given the circumstances and the weather, close enough...can't wait...

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It was mentioned in one post before but, I will bring it up again. ST tires are NOT rated for more than 65 mph. When you drive over that speed the tire will heat up rapidly. At that point if the tire is underinflated or overloaded, it will pop. If you want to tow at freeway speeds, as mentioned before you have to get higher rated tire, or do what I have done on every trailer ( 16 in my fleet right now ). I put LT tires on. They handle the weight better and can handle highway speeds.

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When they say keep them at maximum pressure, is that cold? Or do you under fill so that they heat up to maximum pressure when towing?

Just curious.

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When they say keep them at maximum pressure, is that cold? Or do you under fill so that they heat up to maximum pressure when towing?

Just curious.

That is a cold pressure. Not uncommon to see them higher if they have been sitting in the sun.

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Found a set of 4 Carlisle radials for $450 out the door to be installed tomorrow morning (after I limp to the ramp for a quick morning set)

You guys were right, includes new stems.

Doesn't seem like a great deal but given the circumstances and the weather, close enough...can't wait...

I'm in the Seattle area also and need to replace two tires. Where did you find that deal on the Carlisles?

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Read up on trailer tires.. it's totally different than car/truck tires. Don't want to lose your boat in the freeway and get anyone injured because you failed to inform yourself

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When they say keep them at maximum pressure, is that cold? Or do you under fill so that they heat up to maximum pressure when towing?

Just curious.

max pressure when cold.

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