5 Year Old Trailer Tires

[bruceb58]

I have always been of the opinion that trailer tires should be replaced after 5 years. My recent trip up to Tahoe proves that theory.

As I always do, I do a walk around my trailer at every stop. When changing drivers I noticed a huge bulge forming in the tread area on one of my tires. I was able to find a tire store in the next town 6 miles down the road. I was lucky that it didn't blow out. Upon arriving home another tire had the same bulge.

My tires are completely covered from the sun at all times. They still look like brand new. They are 225/15 radials that are inflated to 60lbs for all trips. The load that are on the tires are no where near the max load capacity of the tires.

Moral of the story...replace your tires when they are 5 years old and always inspect them on a long trip.

 

[whiting-5]

Re: 5 Year Old Trailer Tires

i stick with 4 years old then there junk...thats the life of the tire anyways.
and once a year or 10,000 miles on wheelbearing packs
and never use bearing buddies.

 

[204 Escape]

Re: 5 Year Old Trailer Tires

What's your reason for NOT using buddy bearings ??

 

[boaterinsd]

Re: 5 Year Old Trailer Tires

i stick with 4 years old then there junk...thats the life of the tire anyways.
and once a year or 10,000 miles on wheelbearing packs
and never use bearing buddies.

Did you have a bad experience with them? Just wondering the reason, if it is to not pack the bearings but grease them & think all is well because you run them I understand then.

 

[whiting-5]

Re: 5 Year Old Trailer Tires

Did you have a bad experience with them? Just wondering the reason, if it is to not pack the bearings but grease them & think all is well because you run them I understand then.

worked in rv dealership for 7 years had own mobile rv lube and trailer repair biz for 10 years.worked in extreme heat of las vegas and mojave desert.probally replaced close to 50 axles in the shop but mostly on the side of the road due to bearing failure using bearing buddies. there fine for keeping the grease level up but if you install a new bearing buddie you do relize you have to fill that cavity of air between the outer and inner bearing.before the inner sees a drop of grease.most people dont they get tired of pumping and call it quits.so now you have a well lubed outer anda dry inner that fails and usaully destroys the spindle and have to replace axle.if you follow mnfg. guidlines they call for bearing pack yearly or every 10,000 miles probally stretch that out in cooler climates but its cheap insurance. seen to many ruined vacations over dead axles..just my 2 cents

 

[scooper77515]

Re: 5 Year Old Trailer Tires

Hmmm...good points on the bearing buddies...

 

[superbenk]

Re: 5 Year Old Trailer Tires

I'm not fond of my bearing buddies. Lots of extra grease that doesn't really get where it's needed. Really hard to release the grease gun without messing up the cap too. Next bearing service, I think I might go back to regular caps & just service yearly anyhow.

 

[JimS123]

Re: 5 Year Old Trailer Tires

After doing all 14 wheel bearings one day I just decided that this was too much of a PITA. I used to repack every fall at layup (fresh water).

Soooo, I bought a whole bunch of bearing buddies. Installed and greased them up per the manufacturer's recommendations, then drove a few hundred miles and refilled them to be sure there was no air bubble.

Over the years I had one rear seal blow out - probably too much grease.

This winter I replaced the tires and wheels on my tandem. Since I had to go thru all the trouble of pulling the wheels I figured I would repack the bearings. I was sorry I did! All 4 looked perfect, all were completely full of grease, no evidence of any water intrusion and the grease was still mostly green in color. The last tuime I repacked them was when I put the BBs on - that was 10 years ago!

No way will I ever own a trailer without them!

 

[dingbat]

Re: 5 Year Old Trailer Tires

Bulges are not age related failures. Typically road damage or manufacturer defects.

http://blog.tirerack.com/blog/make-driving-fun/what-is-the-bubble-on-my-tire-

A sidewall bubble is a bulge protruding from the sidewall of the tire. It is caused by air leaking from the inside of the tire into the carcass or body of the tire.

What causes a sidewall bubble?

The vast majority of bubbles are caused by impact damage. When a tire hits a sharp object in the road the force from the weight and speed of the vehicle is focused in the small area of contact. This compresses the tire enough that the inside of the sidewall is pinched and damaged causing a small hole in the inside tire liner layer. The impact can also damage the sidewall cords and significantly weaken the tire. The impact may not have been noticed by the driver.

Some common types of impact are:

?potholes
?railroad crossings
?speed bumps
?curbs
?heavily damaged roads
?road construction areas
?debris in the road
Occasionally a defect in the tire can cause the bubble. Determining the cause is fairly simple. Inspect the outside of the tire for obvious cuts or bruises.

When the tire is removed for replacement:
? Mark the area where the bubble is (it will deflate when the tire is deflated.)
?Inspect the bead area for cuts or abrasions
?Inspect the inner liner for cuts or bruises. The technician will need to press inwards on the area of the bubble to find any breaks in the inner liner.If no damage is found, a claim will need to be submitted by an authorized dealer to the tire manufacturer. The tire manufacturer may need to inspect the tire as well to make a warranty determination. Each tire manufacturer's procedures differ slightly.

 

[jigngrub]

Re: 5 Year Old Trailer Tires

After doing all 14 wheel bearings one day I just decided that this was too much of a PITA. I used to repack every fall at layup (fresh water).

Soooo, I bought a whole bunch of bearing buddies. Installed and greased them up per the manufacturer's recommendations, then drove a few hundred miles and refilled them to be sure there was no air bubble.

Over the years I had one rear seal blow out - probably too much grease.

This winter I replaced the tires and wheels on my tandem. Since I had to go thru all the trouble of pulling the wheels I figured I would repack the bearings. I was sorry I did! All 4 looked perfect, all were completely full of grease, no evidence of any water intrusion and the grease was still mostly green in color. The last tuime I repacked them was when I put the BBs on - that was 10 years ago!

No way will I ever own a trailer without them!

I don't have bearing buddies per say, but my axel has a zerk on each side that channels grease to the bearings. I never repacked my bearings just shot grease into them from the zerks 2 or 3 times a year, after 10 yrs. I started getting a little worried about them and took them in to buy some new ones. The guy behind the counter looked at them and said "these aren't bad at all, you can put these back in if you want". I told him "no, I'll just keep them for spares. I put 2 new complete hub assemblies on and kept the old hubs and bearings for spares that I take with me on long trips.

 

[LippCJ7]

Re: 5 Year Old Trailer Tires

I think the thing we forget when talking about bearing buddies is the general lack of maintenance taken by some, if you simply squeeze in new grease and figure the bearings are good to go you probably deserve sitting on the side of the road, it certainly doesn't hurt to visually inspect the bearings from time to time just to make sure as I'm sure most of us do but we all know those people that simply don't have time to make sure, the bearings on the boat trailer are the least of their problems. Better to make sure then to miss a day on the water.....

Bearing buddies are great for what they are intended for, the simple application of new grease to prevent water intrusion, I don't think anyone really thinks it will stop water from getting into the bearings, nor that they eliminate the need for proper bearing maintenance.

As to the lifespan of trailer tires, I think its hard to put a lifespan on them, different climates probably have something to do with it but I can't disagree with 5 years, it sounds reasonable, but sometimes there's nothing you can do, they are just gonna go....

 

[bruceb58]

Re: 5 Year Old Trailer Tires

Bulges are not age related failures. Typically road damage or manufacturer defects.

Your link and quote is for sidewall bulges. Bulges in both of the tires I have were not in the sidewall area. They were in the tread area as stated in my original post. Both tires did this after approximately 800 miles on this trip. Tires were opposite from eachother on the rear axle. I have had tires fail before from impacts but they were 90% of the time, the forward tire on the right side of the trailer.

 

[JimS123]

Re: 5 Year Old Trailer Tires

I don't think anyone really thinks it will stop water from getting into the bearings

If they don't keep water out of the bearings, why would you want to use them?

I packed bearings for 30 yrs and found it to be hit and miss. Maybe 50% of the time (after 1 years service) I found water. The rest of the time they were dry.

As i said in my previous post. after 10 years of maintaining the pressure - no water. That's good enough for me.

If "lack of maintenance" means not repacking them, then I'm guilty. If frequently checking the pressure and squirting a little grease in when necessary is "proper maintenance", then I'm OK.

 

[bruceb58]

Re: 5 Year Old Trailer Tires

Jeez...how did the thread get hijacked into a bearing buddy thread?

 

[Av8nBill]

Re: 5 Year Old Trailer Tires

Back on topic...

I had an older tire on my trailer that looked fine and had a slow leak, I figured it was a valve and had been putting off replacing it. Last spring I happened to notice during a rain that the treads looked white and upon closer inspection it was tiny air bubbles leaking out through minute cracks in the tread. So, from now on, tires get replaced at five years from the date stamp, regardless of the purchase date or how nice they look. It's cheap insurance.

 

[ufm82]

Re: 5 Year Old Trailer Tires

You mentioned the tires were always covered. Do you also take the load off the tires when the boat is parked? I firmly believe that sitting in one spot for months at a time causes the bulge issue- the belts take a set from sitting with pressure on them. They then flex during operation, build up heat and the tread separates. You're taking one step towards tire protection- go the extra and jack the trailer up when it's parked. My Marathons are 4 years old and look and run great.

UFM82

 

[bruceb58]

Re: 5 Year Old Trailer Tires

I did not jack up the tires. Would be an interesting theory if that is what caused it. I had heard it didn't matter.

Before this my tires looked like brand new.

 

[JimS123]

Re: 5 Year Old Trailer Tires

I used to use the boat at least twice a week. Repack annually, jack up in winter months because if I didn't the tires would go thump thump thump in the Spring. That was back in the 1960's. I believe tires have improved greatly since then.

Now, I own 5 boats and each gets considerably less usage. I don't bother with jacking up any more, nor do I replace in 5 years. I get a lot more than 5 years out of my tires, and I haven't heard a thump in 20 years!

However.......I DO religiously maintain the pressure, plus they are all garege kept out of the sun.

I replace when I see sidewall cracking. I had a tire go bad only once - that was a Chinese tire OEM and it went 3 months after I bought the trailer brand new. Even then it was a sidewall bulge, and it didn't cause a problem because I saw it and changed it before it did.

 

[jeffnick]

Re: 5 Year Old Trailer Tires

http://72land-n-sea.blogspot.com/2011/05/trailer-tires-brakes.html

 

[K9Deuce]

Re: 5 Year Old Trailer Tires

Little information I found,http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wc...1151&catalogId=10001&page=Trailer-Tire-Basics