Trailer tires...

[rancherlee]

I've had good luck with Load Star tires from Northern Tool, but you may not have one of those stores near you. As far as "Trail America", I think they are from "Carlisle". Even if they are not, they seem to have a fairly poor track record, just like Carlisle tires, which I HAVE had quite a few blowout with that brand! Going to a 14" C rated tire will bump it up to ~1750# per tire but they are 2" bigger so you will need to have at least 1" more clearance in the fenders and it will also raise your trailer up 1" which shouldn't effect much. I went the other way with my trailer, dropped down to smaller tires, but now have 4 instead of 2! I went to 4 - 18.5x8x8 with a pair of 2000# axles instead of 2 -13" with a 2500# axle. Dropped my trailer almost 6" and the reduced ground pressure helps a lot at shallow and unimproved boat landings.

[dockholiday]

Pretty much try to keep a floor jack in the vehicle I am in. I would purchase an aluminum one if I did not already have the steel one. Probably don't need a real high capacity lb wise cause you will mostly be lifting half or less the total weight, plus most jacks have a safety factor (lbs) designed in. After my blow out a few years ago with out a spare, I looked at some trailer tires here www.easternmarine.com. In comparing I noticed the higher number of plies the higher the psi rating. I always try to make sure whatever jack I carry will be able to get under the point of lift with the rim sitting on the groundplus have enough travel to raise the trailer high enough for the fully inflated spare. Sounds simple but I have been in both situation where either the jack was too tall or the travel was not high enough.
doc

[ROLAND]

hey guys, thanks for all the advice... I talked to a tire store here in town.. been using them for years... friends with the manager who has never led me in the wrong direction... but... the more I read up on this the more questions I keep coming up with... for instance Radial or bias ply? Tire store guy said he uses radials, but that they do cost a little more... also in most of the tires ive read about, most of the 13" tires that are bias ply are a 6 ply tire.. I thought I'd go up to an 8 or 10 ply tire for more durability, but havent been able to find one in a 13" size.... The tire store guy told me they carry 2 brands; One is Carlisle... I told him I had read a ton of "negative " reviews on carlisle... he agreed that they had some issues with them but he also said he they carried a brand called d-stone, which he said he liked better.... also talked to him about going up to a 14 inch tire, but he wasn't too sure there would be enough clearance on the fender.... I know one thing, whatever I end up buying this weekend, the tires will be filled with Nitrogen... have nitrogen filled tires on both my and my wifes vehicles and never have to worry about a big change in air pressure because of weather changes..... so ok boys, shoot em at me... radial, bias ply, brands you like.... I feel alot better about getting advice from guys like you who have been there and done that.... oh one other brand I read some good things on: Load star...

[BobG]

I know one thing, whatever I end up buying this weekend, the tires will be filled with Nitrogen... have nitrogen filled tires on both my and my wifes vehicles and never have to worry about a big change in air pressure because of weather changes.....

Interesting! I have to be aware of pressure change just because of the 3600 foot elevation change I go through to, and from work.

[RonKMiller]

Just a few observations:

1. Composition of air: 78% nitrogen.

I really don't think adding 22% more nitrogen is going to have any noticeable effect on tire pressure with miniscule elevation changes. In the real world about the best you can hope for is 95% pure nitrogen in your tires, so then you are only talking about a 15% increase. If you're going to 30,000 feet above sea level, sure - maybe a little. The main advantage of nitrogen is that your tires will stay inflated at the proper pressure for a longer time since the molecule is slightly larger and doesn't "leak" as easily. There also may be some corrosion resistance benefits for the wheel itself since you are displacing ALL water in the tire. It may also run a little bit cooler, but certainly not enough to make a difference. There is some anecdotal evidence that nitrogen preserves the interior of the tire better. Unless you are getting your nitrogen for free I think it's a waste of money. Then there's the issue of STILL having to check you inflation on a regular basis AND top it off with pure Nitrogen - not easy to find. As soon as you top it off with air you've contaminated the mixture and are back to square one. I would buy a quality tire gauge instead.

2. ALL trailer tires are made in China. There used to be an American Company named Denman that had them made in Mexico, and they were darned good tires. They went out of business in 2010 - after being in business for 90 years. Sad.

3. About the only way to prevent catastrophic failure is to buy the largest, most beefy wheel tire combination you can run - even if it means buying a new axle, hubs, etc. and getting E rated trailer tires - which are hard to find. E usually has a 10 ply "rating" which simply make them stronger. They typically run 80 psi.

4. Keep tire pressure at max permissible inflation when towing, they will run cooler.

5. During off season keep full weight off the tires by jacking up and blocking the trailer. Tires - especially bias but even radials - take a "set" when they have not been moved in a long time, and this causes the belts to rupture prematurely since they are unevenly stressed.

6. Keep them covered - even a small amount of UV radiation can start to degrade not only the rubber but also penetrate to the carcass itself.

7. Keep them inflated during the off season by checking the pressure every 2 months. You don't want to roll your trailer any distance with 50% inflation after a long storage. It WILL damage the tires.

8. Radials run cooler than bias ply.

9. One way to EASILY check how happy your tires are while towing is to buy an infrared thermometer - and check the temperature on the inside (out of direct sunlight) at pit stops. This way you'll get a base line temperature that will be pretty much the same all the time. If you notice a big spike in temperature it usually means you've got a problem that is going to get worse quickly. Harbor Freight typically has them on sale for $14.99.

http://www.harborfreight.com/infrared-t ... 93984.html

10. Towing sucks. ...but not nearly as much as the bill you'll get from the towing company caused by ignoring your tires.

[GregF]

have nitrogen filled tires on both my and my wifes vehicles and never have to worry about a big change in air pressure because of weather changes..

Huh?
Boyles law and Charles' law apply to nitrogen the same as they do to oxygen (the other 21% of "air").

Do they totally evacuate the tire before they shoot in the nitrogen? How do they do that?

I think "nitrogen" is a scam sold to us by the Get Nitrogen Institute. but just like golf clubs, fishing lures and marital aids, if you think it works better, it works better.

[RonKMiller]

have nitrogen filled tires on both my and my wifes vehicles and never have to worry about a big change in air pressure because of weather changes..

Huh?
Boyles law and Charles' law apply to nitrogen the same as they do to oxygen (the other 21% of "air").

Do they totally evacuate the tire before they shoot in the nitrogen? How do they do that?

I think "nitrogen" is a scam sold to us by the Get Nitrogen Institute. but just like golf clubs, fishing lures and marital aids, if you think it works better, it works better.

Yep, the laws of physics don't change....

To properly fill a tire with nitrogen requires several cycles of purging and filling, and, as I mentioned you are still only going to get to 95% pure nitrogen under the BEST of circumstances, probably MUCH less.

I think a better idea would be to fill them with helium to lighten the load.

[Bamaman]

Ron: You're right on the money about all of your points on trailer tires.

But, E rated ST tires are what they put on 5th wheel trailers, and they're usually 16" tires. D rated tires usually start @ 15" diameter.

We seldom see such large diameter/heavy ply tires on a pontoon boats as they're trying to keep the trailer frame as close to the ground to keep the center of gravity as low as possible. Most pontoon trailers are also difficult to load and unload with taller tires.

But, 20.5 x 8 x 10" low profile tires are E rated and good for 1650 lbs. each--if the fenders and hubs will accept the short, squatty tires. Otherwise, most pontoons are stuck with C rated 13" tires.

Tires are somewhat of a dilemma to a pontoon boat owner. Just be sure you're carrying a spare tire and a jack that will lift your axle.

[BobG]

We seldom see such large diameter/heavy ply tires on a pontoon boats as they're trying to keep the trailer frame as close to the ground to keep the center of gravity as low as possible. Most pontoon trailers are also difficult to load and unload with taller tires.

Tires are somewhat of a dilemma to a pontoon boat owner. Just be sure you're carrying a spare tire and a jack that will lift your axle.

All of this is strong argument for having dual axles. Losing one tire won't put your trailer on the rim.

[blackberg]

this is who I bought my tires from, but I have those low profile tires and they are the only ones that carried the wheels too.
http://www.trailerandtruckparts.com/13- ... c_169.html

they do have some D rated 13"

-bb

[Rhinohio]

I just bought a pair of Trail America tires... they are made by Carlisle and they are inexpensive (cheap). Mounted, balanced and out the door with disposal fees was $171 and change... and they were radials to boot. I normally have an eight mile round trip to the ramp but we're preparing for an eight hour round trip to Lake Cumberland so I needed to replace the stock tires on my 2006 rig.

The tires on my 20' Suntracker are 205/75-14 and it only has two. Seemed a bit anemic to me when I first bought the boat but it tows fine. We'll see how it does on a long haul.

10. Towing sucks. ...but not nearly as much as the bill you'll get from the towing company caused by ignoring your tires.

RonKMiller, your observations are spot on but you missed one that needs mentioning, UV. The tires on my RV are trashed and only have ~100 miles on them. I bought it, moved it to my acreage and it hasn't moved since. They still have all of their tread, but are completed dried out and wouldn't be suitable to roll across the lawn. The spare, which spent the last five years under the protection of its' vinyl cover, still appears new and will be traveling with me as my spare for the Cumberland trip.

I caught some of those tire covers on sale at a big box store for 25 bucks and cover the boat trailer tires each time I park it. Our trailer tires spend more time baking in the sun than they do rolling down the highway (unfortunately) and that is more destructive than than most road hazards. I've had blowouts from debris in the road but have never worn the tread out on any trailer tire I have ever owned... the sun always gets them first.

Mike

[BobG]

10. Towing sucks. ...but not nearly as much as the bill you'll get from the towing company caused by ignoring your tires.

There's a REASON I have the RV option on my AAA Plus.
At least I won't have to pay for THAT!

[Bamaman]

Many people seldom use their trailers--some at the end of the season and at the start of the season (Oct./Apr.)

If your tires dry rot due to non-use, it never hurts to put the trailer up on blocks, remove the tires and place the tires in dry, dark storage until they're used next time.

With a compressor and impact wrench, that's a 5 minute job.

[RonKMiller]

RonKMiller, your observations are spot on but you missed one that needs mentioning, UV. The tires on my RV are trashed and only have ~100 miles on them. I bought it, moved it to my acreage and it hasn't moved since. They still have all of their tread, but are completed dried out and wouldn't be suitable to roll across the lawn. The spare, which spent the last five years under the protection of its' vinyl cover, still appears new and will be traveling with me as my spare for the Cumberland trip.

I caught some of those tire covers on sale at a big box store for 25 bucks and cover the boat trailer tires each time I park it. Our trailer tires spend more time baking in the sun than they do rolling down the highway (unfortunately) and that is more destructive than than most road hazards. I've had blowouts from debris in the road but have never worn the tread out on any trailer tire I have ever owned... the sun always gets them first.

Mike

Um, yep, I did indeed cover that in number 6: Keep them covered - even a small amount of UV radiation can start to degrade not only the rubber but also penetrate to the carcass itself.

Living in Tucson - the skin cancer capital of the world - I really understand how important that is. Man, I don't even see the sun (except looking out the windows) for the next several months. I hibernate in my air conditioned man cave!

108F on Friday...

[RonKMiller]

Many people seldom use their trailers--some at the end of the season and at the start of the season (Oct./Apr.)

If your tires dry rot due to non-use, it never hurts to put the trailer up on blocks, remove the tires and place the tires in dry, dark storage until they're used next time.

With a compressor and impact wrench, that's a 5 minute job.

That's really good advice - but for my rig (that sits for the better part of a year sometimes) that's a total of (gulp) - 15 tires!

6 on my dually plus 1 spare, 4 on the toon trailer plus 1 spare, then 2 on my rv trailer plus 1 spare.

Note to self: buy a rubber plantation tomorrow morning.