Regular tires on a boat trailer

[NathanY]

Why cant you put regular tires on a boat trailer? I posted about a tire size, and everyone said to make sure that they are ST tires. Why? I called my dad on that, he has a 1988 Ranger 17ft single axle, and he told me that it is not that big of a deal to have the ST tires on my because my boat does not weight that much. He said that he has had regular tires on his Ranger every since it was new. He frequently pulls his boat 80+ miles to go fishing without problems. So what would happen if I put regular tires on my boat trailer?<br /><br />Boat is a 1990 Smokercraft 16'4" with a 60hp Evinrude, Shoreland'r trailer. <br /><br />

 

[ZmOz]

Re: Regular tires on a boat trailer

Well, I know everyone here is going to freak out when I say this...<br /><br />My ~1800lb boat has car tires, and I wouldn't think twice about replacing them with the same. For a small boat, I really don't think it's much of an issue, but for a larger boat I wouldn't do it. I know a guy who has low profile tires on his ski boat, I wouldn't recommend doing that, but he hasn't had any problems with it and has towed it probably 5000 miles with those tires.

 

[CTD]

Re: Regular tires on a boat trailer

my 2 cents, if the tires are not loaded to max capacity you can get away with auto tires just fine. My boat and trailer weigh less than 4000lbs and it has a tandem axle so each tire is carrying less than 1000lbs, each tire is capable of carrying about 1500lbs so they are not working hard at all.

 

[Winger Ed.]

Re: Regular tires on a boat trailer

Its all about the weight, speed they'll run, and what space they'll have to fit in. Every tire has its max. weight carrying ability written on it.<br /><br />If your rig weighs 10,000lb. and its on a tandem axle trailer--- car tires will blow out. In that application, you'll need tires that are rated to carry at least about 3,000-3500 pounds each to handle impact loadings when you go over a big bump. Car tires won't handel it.<br /><br /><br />I've pulled 2000-3000lb rigs on tandems for over 20 years with pull off car tires I got off the junk pile for free at the tire shop. They do charge about $5. to mount them though. I never had a problem because I never stressed the max. weight--- or speed, of what those tires could carry.<br /><br /><br />When someone needs new car tires, the tire shop has to pay a buck or two to make the pull offs dissappear. These tires are a couple years old, have about 50% tread left--- they're perfect for what I need them to do..... and my fenders have the clearance to be able to use them. Rather than paying the disposal fee--- which they collected when they sold the new tires--- they'll pretty much give away the old ones. <br /><br /><br />Tires are all about the weight they have to carry at what max. speed, and the clearance under your fenders.<br /><br /><br />Make a judgement call on what you need the tires to do, and go from there.<br /><br />But;<br />From what I see in the picture, your complete rig- trailer and all shouldn't weigh over a ton. I've seen those tires like what you're running at Sam's or Wal-Mart for twenty something dollars each. That's mounted on the rim with air in them. Get 3 of them, replace the 2 one the road every 2nd or 3rd year, and you should be able to live happily ever after, if you keep your towing speed under 70, and don't let the wheel bearings go to, ahhhhh,,,, "poop" shall we say. <br /><br /><br />Ed.

 

[datawire]

Re: Regular tires on a boat trailer

It is my understanding that trailer tires do not have the same road adhesion that automotive tires do. I wouldn't think it would be a problem on a single axle trailer - but a tandem trailer would put a whole lot more sidewall stress (when turning tight) on the tires.<br /><br />This is just my understanding of what I have read elsewhere.

 

[JasonJ]

Re: Regular tires on a boat trailer

I run car tires, but I don't tow very far, less than 20 miles at the farthest. If a person is towing all the time, they should get the proper tires. If, like me, they are only towing a few times in a year, short distances, at 55mph or less, the car ties are fine as long as the load is with their limit.

 

[jlinder]

Re: Regular tires on a boat trailer

How do the car tires affect handling? With trailer tires you run them with a lot higher air pressure than car tires (60 or so psi vs. 35 psi.)<br /><br />I would wonder if that makes the trailer handle differently.

 

[Realgun]

Re: Regular tires on a boat trailer

I wanna join in on this too! I am going to get 14" 185 60 HR tire for my boat as it has 12 inchers now.<br /><br />The load rating for the tires now is C about 1045 lbs max each.<br /> <br />The new tire is rated at 82 And that means at 41 PSI it will handle 1045 Lbs.<br /><br />The 12 inchers have a diameter of 20.5 inches and the 14 have 22.7 "<br />The 13 inch radial trailer tires are 22.7 inches.<br /><br />If this was a dual axle trailer I would go with ST tires as there is a tremedous side wall load on those tires when turning.

 

[Elk Chaser]

Re: Regular tires on a boat trailer

THE CONSTRUCTION AND REQUIREMENTS OF TRAILER TIRES DIFFER GREATLY FROM AUTOMOTIVE TIRES. AUTOMOTIVE TIRES ( P OR LT ) ARE DESIGNED TO MAINTAIN TRACTION WHEN CORNERING, TURNING OR SWERVING. THEY ACCOMPLISH THIS BY CONSTRUCTING THE TIRES WITH EXTREMELY FLEXIBLE SIDEWALLS. THIS DESIGN WORKS WELL ON AUTOMOBILES AND LIGHT TRUCKS WITH SHOCK ABSORBERS AND SOPHISTICATED SUSPENSIONS. TRAILERS USUALLY LACK SHOCK ABSORBERS AND TEND TO BOUNCE AND PITCH AS THEY PASS OVER RAILROAD TRACKS, POTHOLES, ETC.. THIS BOUNCING EFFECT REQUIRES TOUGHER TIRES, BUILT WITH MORE MATERIAL AND MUCH STIFFER SIDEWALLS. THE TIRE INDUSTRY RECOGNIZES THIS FACT AND PRODUCES ST ( SPECIAL TRAILER ) TIRES SPECIFICALLY FOR TRAILER USE. EVERY TIRE MEANT FOR TRAILER USE WILL HAVE THE ST INITIALS MOLDED INTO THE TIRE. USE OF P ( PASSENGER CAR ) OR LT ( LIGHT TRUCK ) TIRES ON TRAILERS WILL USUALLY RESULT IN EXAGGERATED TRAILER SWAY WHILE TOWING AND PREMATURE SIDEWALL BLOWOUT. SEVERAL CUSTOMERS HAVE REPORTED SUCCESSFULLY USING P OR LT TIRES FOR SOME TIME WITH LOCAL USE. HOWEVER, ON THEIR FIRST TRIP OUT OF TOWN THEY EXPERIENCED TIRE FAILURE. IT SEEMS THAT TRAILER BOUNCE LEADS TO SIDEWALL OVERHEATING, WHICH RESULTS IN SIDEWALL BLOWOUTS. SPECIAL TRAILER ( ST ) TIRES ARE DESIGNED TO HELP ELIMINATE TRAILER SWAY AND TO GIVE LONG LIFE WITH HEAVY LOADS UNDER SEVERE SERVICE REQUIREMENTS.

 

[Elk Chaser]

Re: Regular tires on a boat trailer

To me the safety of my passengers, others on the road and my boat are priority over saving a few bucks on tires. Yes, you can go cheap and they will work but you are running a risk of premature failure under circumstances that cannot be predicted. <br /><br />If you have a sidewall blowout at 60 MPH on a rain slick highway in heavy traffic what's going to happen? <br /><br />Too many factors are involved in this (IE: weight, distance, speed, traffic, single/dual axle, tow vehicle stability and the level of risk you are willing to take) You have to make the decision based upon those facts and live with it.<br /><br />As an example;<br />I live in the country and drive one lane highways over an hour one way to the ramp. The roads are bumpy and have many turns and hills and there are not many places to stop without going into a ditch when there is trouble. <br /><br />When I purchased my jet boat it had 50K passenger tires (on a dual axle) and they were only a Month old and in great shape. The past owner drove maybe 20 minutes one way in city traffic with them to the ramp about 6 times. After I bought the boat and with just a few trips (1.5 hours one way) to the ramp all of the tires had begun to have problems with side wall blisters and tread separation. It was a good thing that I paid attention to the tires and caught them before a major failure occurred.<br /><br />After that experience I will not buy passenger tires or light truck tires for my boat trailers, ever. Not even if it were a single axle (not worth the risk IMO).

 

[Ralph 123]

Re: Regular tires on a boat trailer

I'm with Elk. How much are you really going to save? If the worst does happen how much would that cost? Is it really worth it? Never leave yourself open to be declared negligent. An accident people forgive, negligence is another matter.

 

[jlinder]

Re: Regular tires on a boat trailer

I second that. If you have an accident due to a blowout, will your insurance company deny the claim due to improper tires

 

[jimmbo]

Re: Regular tires on a boat trailer

I too ran car tires on my old trailer. They didn't last more than 2 seasons and even though they were rated to carry more than did, they always looked flat. Come to think of it they did blow from sidewall failure. My last two trailers came with and will continue to have Marithons. Great Tire, probably the only Good tire Goodyear ever made.

 

[John Carpenter]

Re: Regular tires on a boat trailer

I seldom tow over 30 miles either, but the point is, that is far enough to have a problem. I bought a 24' Stamas on a tandem trailer & was towing it to the lake when I had a blow-out running down the interstate at 65 mph. Trust me, this will get your attention. I was lucky...nothing got too crazy & I was only 10 miles from home. However, the tread wrapped around the trailers fender and bent it in enough that the tire could not be removed...or the trailer moved. What now? I had to disconnect the boat/trailer, drive to town and borrow a Port a Power to bend the fender out of the way...then back to town to replace tire (what, me carry a spare?) Took almost 4 hours under pretty good circumstances...day was shot.<br /><br />I have no idea what kind of tires were on that boat. They didn't look great, but hey...I was only going 30 miles. I now buy and run the correct tires and make sure they are ok. I was lucky that time...may not be the next. When all was said and done, I was just glad no one was hurt.

 

[BR549]

Re: Regular tires on a boat trailer

As long as you stay within the load limits of the tire you should be fine. I ran my old tin boat trailer on car tires for as long as I can remember with no problems. While trailer tires are much better suited for towing, in a light load situation you should not notice a difference. My biggest problem was sidewall failure from abuse ( miscalculating a curb, ramp edge, etc). The trailer tires have thicker sidewalls that can take that punishment better that passenger rated tires.

 

[beezee28]

Re: Regular tires on a boat trailer

Does this tire spec. apply to all trailer? I have a low boy trailer and it has 'normal' passenger tires on it and have been towing for distance of 200 miles (sometimes). Granted the weight that I tow is not very heavy, maybe 1000 to 1500lbs, does this means it would be better for me to use the ST tires? Thanks

 

[cc lancer]

Re: Regular tires on a boat trailer

It my understanding that the side wall of all trailer tires are constructed in a different pattern as apposed to a car tire. <br /><br />Your boat, your life, but I know guys that are running heavy duty truck tires on trailers, boat, race car, construction equipment, with no problem.<br /><br />If you are going to use tires other than approved trailer tires, IMHO use truck tires with 6 ply side walls, with a weight rating exceeding what you are carrying. This is not a good time to be cheap.<br />Look how many times you see trailers swaying going down the road, they are heating the side walls, and the tire is going to fail.

 

[milltyd]

Re: Regular tires on a boat trailer

my boat trailer has 13 inch tires that need replaced this spring. what is a good tire brand.?

 

[Titanium48]

Re: Regular tires on a boat trailer

The tire manufacturers say that P-type tires must have their load rating reduced by 10% for trailer service. This gives P-type tires a lower load rating than load range B ST- or LT- type tires. Unless the trailer is running oversized tires and wheels or is loaded well below its GVWR this will be insufficient.

 

[Bondo]

Re: Regular tires on a boat trailer

Dudes,......

This thread is FIVE years old......

Milltyd,...
The archives are for readin',+ learnin',.... Not posting too....

Start your Own thread about Your question....