Pontoon Boat & Deck Boat Forum

I decided to just change out two of the 7 year old tires (date from tire) on our 5 year old trailer. We only expect to make mile round trip slow cruise to the ramp this summer. On the way back yesterday afternoon, as Joy rounded a curve and was passed by an approaching very old truck, we heard what sounded like a pistol shot. She asked "What was that"! I said it could be a tire or the old truck back firing. She said she did not feel anything different but we stopped at the next spot to inspect. All looked ok. Felt still pressured up.

When I got the boat in the driveway, I looked real good and found this...



It still has 50psi or 55psi in bright sunlight.

I would have never driven the trailer on any road other than the country road to the ramp. Discount Tire has ordered me two more Goodyear Marathons. If you look close at the image, you'll see cracks even between the treads. They lasted nearly 7 years with constant exposure to the sun. The 2 spares that had been in the barn look new.

great post....

tires that look 'new', aren't necessarily safe. when we had our motor home, it was new tires every 3 years, needed or not. it was tough, watching the tire store take off tires that had lots of tread remaining, and tougher when the cash register rang up the total...

seeing that tire reminds me as to why i like trailers with 2 axels.... at least there's another tire on same side, in case of blowout...

i plan on doing the same with my boat trailer..... replacing when 3 years old...

here's where i'm not sure though..... *when* do you replace the spare, at same age, or do you all give it more years... theoretically, it'll never be used, and when used, only to limp home....

That's a great question. The four original tires on our trailer were 2006 Goodyear Marathons made in New Zealand. They had been on the ground exposed to daylight since we picked up the boat in Feb. '08. I always parked the boat on lumber not bare ground and I tried to keep the tires sidewalls treated with 303 Aerospace Proctectant. They may have about 4000 miles on them. All four show clear signs of age - numerous sidewall hairline cracks and even small cracks between the treads. Dry rot in the treads since there is never any real sun exposure there?? The spares were not exposed to sunlight or near the ground and they still look new - no dry rot or cracks of any kind. I'm replacing the four on the ground but not the spares which I only carry on road trip.

I have often wondered if different brands of trailer tires have varying resistance to UV. I'm thinking, at least with the Marathons, five years from the date on the tire or slightly longer if well protected from the sun could be a good replacement age. It might be vastly different with a different brand. My spare Marathons are made in China not New Zealand as the originals. They are dated 2007 and 2008 - bought at different times.

Close inspection every few months is the ticket in my opinion. I knew the two older tires were running on extended time but since I was only making the very short trip to the ramp, I thought I would chance it.

Yea, I need to replace my tires as well, and add a spare rim and tire. To my knowledge, they are original tires, and they do have some weather checks between the tread, and sidewall, but nothing between the treads yet. Put them on the list I guess.