Need new tires - What to buy

[wheelman]

19 minutes ago, macdaddy said:

Update....went with carlisle radial trail load e range.  So far boat rides tons better and really a heavy duty tire

You must get people looking at you funny 

[lukehartwig]

Picking up an old thread here.

When is a good time to replace trailer tires? The obvious answer is when the tread becomes too low or visible side wall damage. But my tires are 5 years old. I trailer my boat and store it every weekend But it's a10 mile round trip to and from the lake. Tires look great but just wondering if I should change them before a blow out?

[RyanB]

2 hours ago, lukehartwig said:

Picking up an old thread here.

When is a good time to replace trailer tires? The obvious answer is when the tread becomes too low or visible side wall damage. But my tires are 5 years old. I trailer my boat and store it every weekend But it's a10 mile round trip to and from the lake. Tires look great but just wondering if I should change them before a blow out?

I won’t run mine for any longer than five years. But I probably tow nearly 10,000 miles/year. Tread still looks good but I’m tired of changing out a tire that separated and doing it on the side of the Interstate. 

If I towed as little as you do i would do it at 7-10 years. 

[1HELLUVALIFE]

yea i would watch for dryrot but at 10  mile commute would run them much longer. They dont get a chance to heat up and help is close by.  i wish my commute was that close.

[Sparky450]

19 hours ago, lukehartwig said:

Picking up an old thread here.

When is a good time to replace trailer tires? The obvious answer is when the tread becomes too low or visible side wall damage. But my tires are 5 years old. I trailer my boat and store it every weekend But it's a10 mile round trip to and from the lake. Tires look great but just wondering if I should change them before a blow out?

I trailer approx 100 miles round trip. I try not to run my tires more than 4 years. When the tire goes, quite often it will take a fender with it. That gets expensive quick. However you are only ten miles. At what speeds? 

[lukehartwig]

It's a direct highway shot to the lake for us, so highway speeds.

Also, do you guys rotate trailer tires? 

[efjeld]

Jumping on the old topic here.  Anyone use the Towmaster brand tires from Costco?  Experience?  I'm going on at least 7+ years on my current tires and I need to start seriously thinking about replacing them. I normally trailer 5 to 45 miles depending on the lake I go to.  City streets on the short trip, half city/half interstate on the longer trip.  Costco tires are under $70 plus install.  Any better options?  I'd order tirerack as well and do install at Costco if I could find a better tire at the same or a little higher price.

[jjackkrash]

Sitting, time and heat usually kill trailer tires long before the tread wears out.  Blowouts are from the sidewalls failing.  The tread depth is mostly irrelevant.  5 years is the longest I would go without replacing them, especially if they are just sitting there without much use.  Also, get the heaviest load range you can fit on the rim to avoid blowouts.  

Edited February 2, 2019 by jjackkrash

[wdr]

I have been going  on line through Tire Buyer for a number of vehicles and getting them sent to Firestone to get them mounted. Got 5 Falken load range D tires P245 55 18s for @ $800 and change out the door.

Edited February 2, 2019 by wdr

[jwl019]

Here's a pic of my 5 yr old tire from this summer and happened on the way to the lake.

Ended up buying the Kenda's from Simple Tire and replacing all of the tires.

 

[RyanB]

Still a fan of the new Goodyear Endurance.  They really improved the way my trailer handles.

[KDCr7]

I'm between the Endurance and Maxxis. Looks like the Goodyear is only available in load E for my tire size. Think that is overkill for a RLxi. Was going to go with load D. Maxxis M8008 is much cheaper as well. 

[jjackkrash]

1 hour ago, KDCr7 said:

Looks like the Goodyear is only available in load E for my tire size.

Load range E will reduce the risk of blowouts over D and will be a better built tire that runs on higher air pressure.  Not overkill, in my humble opinion.    

[oldjeep]

2 minutes ago, jjackkrash said:

Load range E will reduce the risk of blowouts over D and will be a better built tire that runs on higher air pressure.  Not overkill, in my humble opinion.    

Yup.  They will ride harder, but your tires shouldn't be your suspension anyways. 

 

My original 2012 tires will be due for replacement this year.  Thinking of maybe going to a 15 wheel so that i can use a non st tire fore better quality and longevity.  Need to figure out what fits. 

[KDCr7]

 

5 hours ago, oldjeep said:

Thinking of maybe going to a 15 wheel so that i can use a non st tire fore better quality and longevity. 

Would you run an LT tire in that case?

 

[oldjeep]

13 hours ago, KDCr7 said:

 

Would you run an LT tire in that case?

 

Depends on what I can find.  Haven't given it a whole lot of thought, but at a minimum I want to go up a load rating.  My tires are all C except for the spare which is D

[Bird]

Lost the front tire last year with minimal fender damage as the rotation of debris hits the inside of fender. Get a flat on the rear and the tread can catch the edge of fender and fold it up and over. Fender repair if fender is welded to steps $$$. Does any one use TPMS for their trailer tires? Been looking on line for water proof TPS and only find water resistant. I figure TPMS in the cab of truck is only 1 tank of fuel, cheap insurance.  For every one try your lug wrench and make sure you can loosen lugs at home, before the flat happens on the side of highway with vehicles going by at 70mph

[KDCr7]

On 2/3/2019 at 11:58 AM, jjackkrash said:

Load range E will reduce the risk of blowouts over D and will be a better built tire that runs on higher air pressure.  Not overkill, in my humble opinion.

Ended up ordering Maxxis load range E.  As a bonus, it turned out they were on sale cheaper than the D.

[KDCr7]

On 8/25/2017 at 5:48 AM, oldjeep said:

Is that a picture illusion or are the tires really far towards the back of fenders?  If they are it indicates your leaf springs are sagging.

Ive been wondering about this. My tires are sitting slightly towards rear of the fender. About 1/2 to 3/4 inch off center. Trailer has torsion bar suspension. Something to worry about?

[oldjeep]

4 hours ago, KDCr7 said:

Ive been wondering about this. My tires are sitting slightly towards rear of the fender. About 1/2 to 3/4 inch off center. Trailer has torsion bar suspension. Something to worry about?

Might indicate that your torsion spring is worn or the axles are overloaded.  Could also mean that is how it was built.  Id just pay attention to if there are marks where tires are rubbing any part of the fenders

[Nitrousbird]

I think how the tires are stored is a big factor.  A boat that is garaged isn't getting the tires beat by the sun every day.  That really breaks down a tire over the years.  I believe that's probably a bigger factor than mileage/use (assuming tires are always fully inflated - heat is the #1 tire killer).  

[dalt1]

2 minutes ago, Nitrousbird said:

I think how the tires are stored is a big factor.  A boat that is garaged isn't getting the tires beat by the sun every day.  That really breaks down a tire over the years.  I believe that's probably a bigger factor than mileage/use (assuming tires are always fully inflated - heat is the #1 tire killer).  

My boats are always garaged except for the time we are on the lake every weekend through summer. Have not had a set make it past 4 years since the early 2000 year. Goodyear, Carlisle, High run, I have tried multiple makers all the same junk. I think these boats and trailers are so close to capacity that it over taxes the C rating. That being said, I am hoping the D rating on my new 18 LS fair better.

[oldjeep]

19 minutes ago, dalt1 said:

My boats are always garaged except for the time we are on the lake every weekend through summer. Have not had a set make it past 4 years since the early 2000 year. Goodyear, Carlisle, High run, I have tried multiple makers all the same junk. I think these boats and trailers are so close to capacity that it over taxes the C rating. That being said, I am hoping the D rating on my new 18 LS fair better.

C rating isnt enough for my vtx. 

[KDCr7]

1 hour ago, dalt1 said:

Have not had a set make it past 4 years since the early 2000 year.

Same here. Had 2 blowouts with the the old boat on single axle trailer. Both times i was trying to stretch one more season out of the tires.  Learned my lesson. 

[Nitrousbird]

2 hours ago, dalt1 said:

My boats are always garaged except for the time we are on the lake every weekend through summer. Have not had a set make it past 4 years since the early 2000 year. Goodyear, Carlisle, High run, I have tried multiple makers all the same junk. I think these boats and trailers are so close to capacity that it over taxes the C rating. That being said, I am hoping the D rating on my new 18 LS fair better.

I find trailer tires to not be as durable as automotive/truck tires.  Obviously running them at/over the limit will result in a loss of life sooner. 

Mine are rated at ~2500 more than the boat/trailer combo (and that's not even considering weight on the tongue), so that is a large safety margin.