What Tires To Buy

[mrmushroomman]

I am looking for some advice as to which tires to put on my trailer. I currently have 205/75/14 Good Year Marathons and had the tread seperate from the tire and left me on the side of the road. They are the radials that are rated for 1790lbs a piece. When i have 50psi in them they look a little squated or low. My boat is a 18.6 foot and proably weighs in the area of 3800lbs with fuel and gear. I called a tire company here localy and he said i could go with the Carlile bias which is rated for a little more weight than the Good Years but that it would be a bumpier ride than the radials. He said that the Good Year Marathons that i have are the best radial i can put on my trailer with the size i am looking for. I need some suggestions on what path to take buying the new tires because i am trying to get the boat out this weekend. Any advice is greatly appreciated.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: What Tires To Buy

i have had excellant service with Carlisle Tires, i would go with the Carlisle Radial they have two to chose from. the trick to trailer tires is to inflate them to the max pressure, they will last much longer.

#2439 ST205/75R14 class C 1760 lbs load

#2440 ST205/75R15 class C 1820 lbs load

there is about a $5.00 difference in price.

the radial tire will trailer better.

 

[reelfishin]

Re: What Tires To Buy

I've found that most of my trailers tow better with bias ply tires, less sway and their stiffer sidewall tires. I had one trailer that towed horrible with a pair of Towmaster tires, I need them for another trailer since they were newer and swapped wheels for the trip. Never having switched them back, I used the trailer I took them from with the older set of bias ply tires and it tows perfect.
I've swapped over 4 of my trailers now back to bias ply tires.

They don't last as long when it comes to wear, but they have much stiffer sidewalls making the trailer less likely to sway. They also seem to roll easier for some reason although that's not supposed to be the case. Two of my trailers will buck and trailer hitch badly with radials but run smoothly with bias plys.

If going with a radial, go with the heavier ply tire. I do have a pair of 6 ply Carlisle tires on one trailer and it tows good. The side walls on the Carlisle tires are as thick and heavy as most bias ply tires, the Towmaster 6 ply tires are rather light and soft side walled. They seem to flex too much under load.
Go heavier than you need when it comes to tires rather than just enough. An overloaded tire will overheat and self destruct on a long trip.

 

[mthieme]

Re: What Tires To Buy

They are the radials that are rated for 1790lbs a piece. When i have 50psi in them they look a little squated or low.

It sounds like you over spec on the tires with the load. I assume it is a single axle trailer (?).
I had that issue with the trailer under my 19' Searay. I had the good fortune to swap my single axle for a dual axle. This made a world of difference.

 

[Mkos1980]

Re: What Tires To Buy

I run the Tow Master Trailer Service Radials. I've had excellant luck so far. Its only been a year but I've put on about 3-4K miles on them already.

 

[KM2]

Re: What Tires To Buy

The carlisles I had seperated badly and damaged my trailer. Not a fan of them. I went to Cooper custom trailer plus tires. Rating is over 2500#. The price wasn't bad either. Have lasted for 4 years now and still look and work great.

 

[VaGent]

Re: What Tires To Buy

I am trying to find out which is the best tire size to run on my pontoon trailer. The tires & wheels I have on it now that came with the trailer (used)are H78X15 on galvanized wheels. I've read on many of the trailer manufacturing sites that they are putting 20.5X10 on all their pontoon trailers. Can anyone advise me as to what would be the best to use?