Trailer Tires

[Dipsey]

Time for new tires. Any recommendations? Size on the trailer are ST 215/75R14. Read good reviews on Maxis, Kumho and Loadstar Kenda.

[Kuba]

I will be replacing mine.very.soon, probably this week. I will be going with Goodyear Marathons

[CaptSpike]

I bought new last yr and went with Maxis. From all the reviews I read (boat and RV) they seemed to get the nod. I did have marathons on prior to that and they were fine up till last yr. (2007 - 2012). So i can't knock them. One thing I did notice was that some yrs one brand performed great and other yrs not so good. i went with what seemed to have minimal issues posted about them.

 

Spike

[Adk1]

get radials

[Kuba]

How long did the marathons last?

[Sk8man]

I had my Marathons for 11 1/2 seasons

[CaptSpike]

How long did the marathons last?

2007-2012 is how long my marathons lasted, well one of them anyway. Had complete blow out on the highway which took out the plastic fender and its mount on the trailer. In the morning while towing I thought it felt "different" I should have looked closer as it probably had a sidewall break or something like that. I know better now. As for miles it  is hard to say. A couple trips a yr to NY would put about 750 miles per trip and every weekend I put about 180 miles on it. Rough estimate about 7k +/- miles trailering a season. So under 35k before the one failed. Boat was bought new leftover in 2008 so the first yr of the tires was sitting in the marina parking lot. I didn't get the whole 2012 yr out of them as the tire blew last week of June. Like I said probably a bubble sidewall issue that I didn't see.

 

Spike

[Dipsey]

I have GY Marathons on mine now, they were on it when I bought the boat 3 years ago, not sure how long the previous owner had them. . Seems like they held up well, tread is good but I noticed separation between the sidewalls and tread while doing the wheel bearings Saturday. First dealer my wife called today had Maxis so Maxis it is this time. Thanks for the feedback guys.

[Richard]

My nod is for the Goodyear marathons. I have them on two trailers and one camper. The camper is going on ten years, one trailer was eight years before I had them changed for my own safety thinking because I trailered it 500 miles one way to Lake Ontario. The last trailer is going on three years (240 Thompson 6,000 lb pluss loaded) This May an axil broke free from the trailer under the Thompson, locking up both tires on one size. Those tires skidded at least 300 feet down the NY throughway. Tore off the tread down to the cables. The work crew had to take one tire off of the trailer on that side to unlock the tires. Got the trailer up on the flatbed with the truck and strapped it down. That one tire( which is not rated for the hole load) bulged, but to my surprise did not give under the load from the trailer and the extra force from strapping it down.

 

Good luck and tight lines for all.

[Kuba]

Well guys, i opted for Radial tires. Went to a GoodYear place that is close to my work and spoke to the guy(i have dealt with him few times already) for a few minutes over a coffee and a smoke:) He showed me tires that he had that were identical size to the 5.3-12 Carlisle ones i had on my trailer. They are Goodyear Club tires, size is 155/80/r12. Load rating is 908lbs each so i dont think i will have any issues. My tin boat could ride on one of those:)

I just didn't want to go with the Bias tires anymore.

Will see how they hold up

Cheers!

[Adk1]

I just threw 4 radials on mine. talk about quiet and sweet ot pull

[Tim Bromund]

The big problem with trailer tires, particularly for folks like me that slip our boats, is that they sit, unmoving in the sun all summer and the sidewalls dry rot and crack long before a fraction of the tread is worn off.  I seem to replace my tires every 4 years or so with almost no wear on them, but the side walls are all full of spiderweb cracks to the point that I wouldn't trust them to hold up on the 60 mile tow from my house to Olcott.

 

Tim

[Adk1]

Tim, why dont you do one of two things...1. get some tire covers white, like you see on RV's,. will protect from the sun.. or #2. Pull the tires off your empty trailer altogether