Trailer tires.

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Pmt133

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Last set I put on the boat trailer was hercules which are made by Cooper out in Ohio. My guy reccomended them and they're popular in the over the road and commercial application. See them on a lot of the trucks that come through with chemical so that's good.

I've used the goodyears, Kenda load stars were what came on the trailer and they went about 15 years. Replaced them when the tread was delaminating. Only tires that ever gave me an issue or blew out were relatively new goodyears and in multiple applications more than once. Goodyear doesn't get my money anymore. If they were running near max load ir were under inflated I'd get it but never really figured out what happened with them.

My suggestion is whatever you get, make sure there is a lot of overhead on the tire weight rating. I know some people like to run LT tires on trailers too but I have yet to find one that both fits and has the load carrying capacity of a small size ST tire.

Good luck with whatever you go with!
 
Lou C

Lou C

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Funny thing.
Back in the old days of the 1970s we all drive big American cars with belted bias tires. Now they didn’t handle well ans only lasted like 25,000 miles. But never had a tread separation which was the bane of early American made radials. Remember the Firestone 500 and Wilderness AT recalls? In both the tread separations seemed to be bad quality control trying to build a radial tire to a set price. That’s why I say don’t buy cheap radials. If you want cheap buy bias ply. For a locally used trailer they are fine; they will crack and rot before they wear out. High speed long trips I agree with Bruce, buy the best radials you can get. Also, if you can upgrade to a 6 lug 16” rim you can buy better and higher capacity tires. Then you’re not limited to a 15”
Load range E tire that maxes out at 2860 lbs. If I towed my single axle long distance at high speeds I’d do that. A pair of 16” tires rated at 3,000 lbs each to match the 6,000 axle. Plenty of safety margin for long trips. Expensive yes, quality always is….
 
Lou C

Lou C

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Pmt133 said:
Last set I put on the boat trailer was hercules which are made by Cooper out in Ohio. My guy reccomended them and they're popular in the over the road and commercial application. See them on a lot of the trucks that come through with chemical so that's good.

I've used the goodyears, Kenda load stars were what came on the trailer and they went about 15 years. Replaced them when the tread was delaminating. Only tires that ever gave me an issue or blew out were relatively new goodyears and in multiple applications more than once. Goodyear doesn't get my money anymore. If they were running near max load ir were under inflated I'd get it but never really figured out what happened with them.

My suggestion is whatever you get, make sure there is a lot of overhead on the tire weight rating. I know some people like to run LT tires on trailers too but I have yet to find one that both fits and has the load carrying capacity of a small size ST tire.

Good luck with whatever you go with!
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To do that (LT) you need to go up to 16” rims….
 
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Pmt133

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Lou C said:
To do that (LT) you need to go up to 16” rims….
Click to expand...
I was just saying on my work trailers in general. (Which are 16s and 17s) The ST tires still typically have higher carrying capacity in the same size.
 
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airshot

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Looking back over 60 plus years of trailer towing of various size trailers I can only recall two times I had tire issues. Then again, I keep close tabs on my tires ! Anyone can have a bad batch if tires, not uncommon at all. Most tires will give clues when they begin to fail, but most folks pay no attention until an issue arrises. At the beginning of each season, thevtires, wheel bearings get a thorough inspection and service to start the season. I don't blew be trailers parked in sun without some type of cover. Even a large plastic trash bag will give UV protection. Monitor tire pressures often, inspect for cracks and check temperatures often when on the road. I have owned all types from high quality brand names to cheap imports. The couple issues I had with tire failure were from the better brand tires...you can't blame nails, screws, or other abuse on the tire mfgr. A neighbor down the road us not good at backing his trailer....actually not good at going forward either....often cuts corners and abuses his tire side walls. They are chewed up pretty good....yet he still blames the " cheap tires" for his tire problems....
 
Lou C

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I also go by the company’s rep. Kenda Tire has been in business since 1962, based in Taiwan. I had good luck with those so will probably stick with them. They are one of the few that makes a 15” trailer tire that has a deep off road tread more resistant to punctures, good for some of the lousy ramps we have. I might try those next, they are a 235/75-15 steel belted radial, not cheap, but good for my needs.
 
dingbat

dingbat

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I’ve only had one tire failure on a trailer in 30+ years.

Cut a corner too sharp, blowing the sidewall out in the process on the way to a tournament in Jacksonville Fla.

Had no spare. Fortunately, the 15” spare tire off the Jeep fit. Threw it on the trailer and went down the road.

Made it to the tournament and back home to Baltimore w/o further incidence. Knowing the spare for the jeep fit, never bothered to purchase a spare for that trailer.
 
bruceb58

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dingbat said:
I’ve only had one tire failure on a trailer in 30+ years.

Cut a corner too sharp, blowing the sidewall out in the process on the way to a tournament in Jacksonville Fla.

Had no spare. Fortunately, the 15” spare tire off the Jeep fit. Threw it on the trailer and went down the road.

Made it to the tournament and back home to Baltimore w/o further incidence. Knowing the spare for the jeep fit, never bothered to purchase a spare for that trailer.
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I have had a number of failures when I did 1000 mile round trips from LA to Tahoe. I have some Chinese Tow-Master where the tread ripped off of 3 year old tires( 2 of them in a trip). I also had multiple Chinese Hercules(also 3 years old) develop huge bubbles...also in one trip.

No more issues once I switched to either Maxxis or GY Endurance for trailers that I do long trips with. I replace tires when they are 5 or 6 years out from the date code.

Most of the people I know that never have issues are doing short 50 mile one way trips or less. You can basically use any tire for that.

I only use GY Endurance these days on my travel trailer which I put around 8K miles a year on.
 
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Pmt133

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Couple of the trailers have maxxis. They've been fine as well. Throw off a little noise if I recall correctly.
 
redneck joe

redneck joe

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I've never had a tire issue, only bearings and wheels flying off.



Also remember UV is an enemy with rubber. I went to have wife's tires balanced because getting some wobble, tread was about 70% left. Tires were 10 years old. She doesn't drive much.
 
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airshot

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bruceb58 said:
I have had a number of failures when I did 1000 mile round trips from LA to Tahoe. I have some Chinese Tow-Master where the tread ripped off of 3 year old tires( 2 of them in a trip). I also had multiple Chinese Hercules(also 3 years old) develop huge bubbles...also in one trip.

No more issues once I switched to either Maxxis or GY Endurance for trailers that I do long trips with. I replace tires when they are 5 or 6 years out from the date code.

Most of the people I know that never have issues are doing short 50 mile one way trips or less. You can basically use any tire for that.

I only use GY Endurance these days on my travel trailer which I put around 8K miles a year on.
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You make a good point on the long trips. I haven't had any tire issues either, but most of my trips are under 25-30 miles each way. Long hard highway miles can create some big heat buildup, and that will defiantly test your tires!
 
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Jeff J

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The only trailer tire problems I had involved the small bias ply tires that came on my jon boat trailer 30 years ago. Guaranteed one blow out on every trip more than 20 miles. One long trip from Fairbanks to Circle cost me 2 tires. I raised the fenders and installed radials. Never had another problem.

Current boat trailer tires are about 12 years old and are about the make a 500+ mile run but it lives in the garage. Of more concern would be the dove tail that will be making the same trip several times this summer on older tires. The tires still look good but I’ve made a effort to park it in the shade as much as possible. Always carry a spare!
 
Lou C

Lou C

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On tows even in my local neighborhood, I carry:
a scissors jack adapted to use an impact gun, there is a special adapter you can get that works great if you have a long extension for your impact gun
a De Walt 1/2" drive impact with a fresh battery
sockets that fit both the Jeep and trailer (remember most trailers take 13/16ths sockets), not 3/4 or 19mm as is common on SUVs and trucks today
block for opposite side wheel
long handled 1/2" drive ratchet just in case impact won't budge it.
because I have all this stuff, I don't get flats, lol.

I am thinking of these Kenda tires next, because one concern I have for regular trailer radials is that the tread isn't very deep when new, making them a bit more prone to punctures from small nails, screws, etc. These have a deep AT/MT style tread, are just slightly taller than my current size (225/75-15--->235/75-15) and are a load range D tire (65 psi) but have the same load capacity as a load range E tire in the 223/75-15 size, so you'd get a bit softer ride. Expensive but might be worth it.
 
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aspeck

aspeck

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Never had a tire failure on the trailer. I did have the rim break apart at the bolt holes. Bolts were still tight to what was left of the rim. The outside of the rim and tire passed me on a curve before heading into the weeds. I never did find the wheel and what was left of the rim. That was the day a piston broke and put 3 holes in the block of the Johnson. That was not a great day.
 
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