Trailer tires...

[dankirk]

I know this is off topic, but I couldn't find the trailer forum... I need to replace the tires on my tandem axle trailer. Some people say that I should use tires specifically made for trailers, while some say that car tires will work fine. I like the way car tires look. What's the real deal, will car tires be ok?

[racingrascal]

dankirk it depend on how much the boat and trailer way.
Andy

[Bubbledeck2]

dankirk I have car tires on my tandem trailer, I've had the boat for 5 years and the tires were on the trailer when I got it.
Make sure you get tires rated to carry the weight you have (most will be fine) and I'd get tires with a good temperature rating, "A" being the best .. you can find that on the sidewall of the tire

[HBjet]

Get car tires, and carry a spare. I use car tires on my tandem, no prob. And it's better on the wallet. Oh, they look better too.

[SPECTRABRENT]

DAn,
I use car tires on my trailer with no problem. I replace them about every 2 years car tires are cheap. Be sure to carry a spare tire.
Brent

[058]

dankirk, You might have a problem with a tire shop installing car tire on a boat trailer, their reasoning is the car tire aren't stout enough to carry the load. A well known tire chain tried to sell me truck tires with at least a 6 ply rating for my 18' Hondo flatbottom. Not only they look funky they ride like sh*t. They would not sell me car tires, they didn't want the liability. If you run into this prob. pull the wheels and carry them in and don't tell them what its going on, if they ask just tell them "a car". One last thing, go for the biggest tire you can fit under the fenders without rubbing. The bigger the tire the greater the load capacity. The tires have a maximun load rating on the side wall.

[Bubbledeck2]

I just checked my trailer tires ..
they are 175 R 14 which are kinda little weenie tires. They have a max load rating of 1310 lbs each which gives a total capacity for 4 of 5240 lbs. My boat & trailer only weight about 3,000 lbs.
so 058 I think the tire shop was blowing smoke up you bASSetts ;-)

[058]

Bubbledeck2, No doubt they were blowing smoke up my bASSets but I still went away empty handed, all this after the 2 days they had my wheels...A major inconvenence to say the least. Just thought I'd throw it out there so that it might not happen to someone else.

[Bubbledeck2]

good advice though 058
When the time for tires comes I will take them off my trailer and carry them down to the tire shop mainly so I don't have to worry about bad things happening to my boat while it's there :-)

[spectras only]

We had a discussion about trailer tires before,and everybody had a different opinion as usual http://free.***boat.net/ubb/biggrin.gif. The only reason you should have a specific trailer tire is liability, in case of tirefailure.If you had an agreed value ins on your boat,and it got damaged due to inproper tires,your insurance agent may argue about your settlements.My 1976 boat came with the typical skinny bias tires with the proper sideloading specs,now I have a 6 ply radial car tire [ looks better].However this is for a 21 footer with a total boat/trailer weight 4035 pounds.My 24.6 boat weighs over 6000 pounds with trailer,and I use the Marathon trailer tire for the safety reason.Maybe in California it isn't an issue yet,but here in B.C the highway safety concerns about inproper loadings by trailers,campers and boats put the hwy police into a frenzy of checkings,and started pulling rec veh off the road.You wouldn't be a happy camper parking your trailer/boat at a weight station till you get it roadworthy by the ministry of transport's standards.I know all this government intervention about individuality sucks,but by 2009 everybody has to have an operating certificate to operate a vessel as well, regardless of experience.Brakes were also became mandatory a few years ago over 2000 pounds,yet thousands of boats never had their trailers equipped with brakes.Case in point,my 1978 19 foot spectra,1950pounds+ tandem trailer,1000 pounds. I've been following a Lincoln Navigator smoking it's brakes going downhill pulling a tournament skiboat without trailer brakes[Supra]and it eventually had to pull out at a runaway lane to avert disaster.If you tow on flatland you can get away with almost anything ,but mountain towing is another story.Trailer boat magazin is the only publication that does frequent tests on tow vehicle ratings and tires.
[This message has been edited by spectras only (edited August 20, 2001).]

[gstark]

Suggest you check Trailer Boats magazine as they have done several articles on why trailer tires should be used. A trailer tire sidewall is designed to absorb road shocks and has different stiffness properties that a bias or radial-ply tire.

[rivercrazy]

I've had nothing but trouble with car ties on boat trailers, especially radials. The sidewalls are just not strong enough. The result is excessive heat buildup that causes them to BLOW. Not fun. On a tandom, blowing the front tire usually results in that tire shreading and blowing the back tire also.
I'd go with specifically designed trailer tires overrated for your load. A blown tire in the desert is not fun and will actually cost you more than upgrading to trailer tires to begin with. Trust me, I've learned the hard way on this one.
One last tip. Make sure you check your tire pressures cold and put in the maximum rated pressure. This will keep the tires cooler and reduce the chances of BOOM!

[gstark]

Check out this topic on the Real Jet Boat website. You'll find a real difference in opinion. They are at
http://disc.server.com/Indices/152642.html

[jroos]

O58, same here. They wouldn`t sell me car tires `cause I said they were for my trailer. Went and bought some GT Qualifier`s and then brought them to Pep Boys and had them fitted and balanced. went home and put them on. I went with these because I bought a jet to look and feel cool. Let`s face it, you have this polished aluminum and chrome and money tied up in it to look cool. And jets are a lot of show and a little bit of go. I have a tandem, turning at slow speeds sharp puts a hell of a lot of stress on the sidewall of any tire. A trailer tire has 4 ply sidewalls for this. Now , swaying will not be a problem if you have a tandem. I would have bought trailer tires if they were wide enough and had raised white letters to match my Jeep tires.

[GOT WATER ??]

The tire's I put on my trailer have a 160 mph rating.
I'm always in a hurry to get to the Lake!!
Not really!!
I use light truck tires. It just makes me feel better when I'm going 65 and it is 105 outside.

[gstark]

I must confess I am a little surprised about most of the responses on this subject. It seems that most are more concerned with how something looks (cool or not cool) as opposed to how it functions. For an item that is safety related, this seems to me to be putting the cart before the horse. That is a nice way of saying "not too smart" in my book.
As GOT WATER?? said, doing 65 in 105 ambient temps, he has a better feel using truck tires. I have seen many towing at speeds exceeding 80, and that is simply not prudent. Asphalt temps can easily be +50F on top of this, the tires are running real hot and standard bias and radial ply tires were not designed for this type of trailering service. Nothing like a blow out at high speed. And, if you have a single axle trailer, hold on.
Buy the correct and the best tires you can afford, safety is not to be taken for granted. One event can change your life on a permanent basis. And, you would't shortchange things on your boat, so why the trailer?

[058]

I have used truck tires on a trailer before and It rode like sh*t, boat bounce all over the trailer and wouldn't corner worth a damn. When I took those Flintstones off and replaced with pass. car radials the boat/trailer finally went around a corner without hopping and chattering and I cut 10-15 min. off my travel time to the lake. Rated capacity isn't an issue as they are rated at 1650 each, boat/trailer only weighs app. 2600 lbs.

[smash]

if you put cheep tires on your trailer you got what you paid for. We tow almost 100,000 miles a year both race boats and race cars all with lt tires.as long as the tires are rated for more than the trailers weight you are safe. tires rate 12000lb trailer 6400 loaded. the truck tires out last the marathon tires 40% with less problems
my 2c

[future boater]

from what i understant is bias-ply tires are the way to go... the reason is the have lee rooling resistance which keeps the temp down as well as increasing the gas mileage the've also have more sidewall strength

[jroos]

Correct future, the belts will tend to roll. On tandems this is a problem. I tow about 3 miles 1 way to the lake. Sometimes about 60. I go in a straight line. I sometimes tow at speeds exceeding 85mph. I`m not towing a trawler. It`s a speed boat. Doesn`t weigh as much as a compact car. I bought some Polished aluminum cragars. No, I`m not running skinny trailer tires with my beautiful boat and trailer. Now, if you tow distances, use trailer tires. They will last a long time. In fact you will replace them not from wear but from dry rot. Is looking cool everything? No, it`s the only thing. I bought this boat for that reason. I restored it for that reason. I use it for that reason. And I tow it with my raised whites for that reason. If someone with a jet tells you different, then take a look at their boat, it`s probably a piece of shit. Again, i`m not talking about offshore rigs, 24' jets with a cabin, single axles, just speed hulls and mini daycruisers. I know, some moron with tri-axles towing a 48' Skater on a fith wheel no doub will come on here and blast me! My reply to that person is: " Get a life!".

[058]

Bias ply tires? Do they still make those? Bias ply do not have less rolling resistance than radial tires. This is the whole purpose of radial tires, less rolling resistance and they will go in the direction they are pointed wereas bias ply will resist turning. I switched my Kenworth tractor/40' flatbed to radials and increased my fuel milage over 1 mpg [from 5.4 to 6.5] with just radial tires on all positions. I wouldn't use a bias ply on anything that runs over the road. Only place for bias ply tires is offroad where tire damage is common. But thats just my opinion, it works for me.