Trailer tires

adamsj13 · Post by **adamsj13** » Mon Aug 18, 2014 8:19 am

I noticed my one of my tires on my trailer is starting to separate. They are original 05 Good Year marathons. I hear the new marathons have issues and to stay away from them. What tire to you recommend? I have a ranger z20 with single axle. ST225 75/15

fishwithron2 · Post by **fishwithron2** » Mon Aug 18, 2014 1:30 pm

Go to America Tire and get Towmaster

Bruce Theriot · Post by **Bruce Theriot** » Mon Aug 18, 2014 1:48 pm

Towmaster; check Costco they had them.

DanO · Post by **DanO** » Mon Aug 18, 2014 2:55 pm

I got the Carlisle Radial Trail RH Trailer Tire at America's Tire right before we made our move to Alabama about three weeks ago, and they did really well all the way here. No issues at all.

They were right around $400 for my tandem axle trailer.

DanO

Robb R · Post by **Robb R** » Mon Aug 18, 2014 4:28 pm

I took advise from others on this board last year .
If you have tires on your trailer more than 5 years old ---regardless of how many miles are on them , replace them . Mine were almost 6 years old , I went on a search and found the exact model that were originally on the trailer . When I inspected both tires , they both looked really good on the outside , but one of them on the inside looked like it was 20 years old , totally different than the same exact model on the other side . The technician said that was mainly due to incorrect tracking on ALL trailers . You have no way to adjust the tracking of trailer tires like you do on a car .
The original post over a year ago was from a guy with a fish and ski boat , single axle trailer that had one of his 7 yr old tires totally blow , taking out the rear wheel well , trailer axle and outboard motor --all at 60 MPH .
Talk about motivation , I replaced my tires one week after reading his post and I am glad I did .
Robb

Ron T. · Post by **Ron T.** » Mon Aug 18, 2014 5:30 pm

2002 Champion. 4 sets of Goodyear Marathons on the bass boat and one on my wifes ski boat. Never had a problem. Accurate Hitch in santa clarita can fix the tracking problem. They remove the axle and tweak it in a press to align.

toddmc · Post by **toddmc** » Mon Aug 18, 2014 6:54 pm

There are lot of old threads on this subject. Just like batteries, there are good and bad experiences with every manufacturer. I replace my tires on my single axle 188 Champion trailer every 2 and a half to three years to be safe. I'm scared one will blow and ruin my boat or trailer or even worse. It seems like every tire either has substantial tread wear or other problems by the third year when I trailer about 75 hours a year. I've had bad experiences with many manufacturers. A couple of my Marathons delaminated about a decade ago and I have had several other manufacturers wear too quickly and blister. Some people will tell you that most tires are now being made in China and it doesn't help. I basically trust none of them. The only answer is to inspect them every trip and replace them often to be safe. I'm back to Marathons because I can't get the Trailmaster tires anymore.

calfisher71 · Post by **calfisher71** » Tue Aug 19, 2014 8:55 pm

OK Folks here's the Deal. Im in the Tire business and have been for over 16 years. I sell all kins of tires in mega volume and I own a Bass Boat. There is no majic brand really they are all made in CHINA!!!!! That includes Goodyears! So what do we pick? Right now the moving target that's working the best is Maxxis. I have several dealers that are testifying this fact. Truth be told I see all the warranties and issues with all Trailer Tire brands. Improper air pressure,trailers with worn axle parts and Seperations due to impact breaks are the reasons for failures.

My recommendations are to change your tires every 2 years no matter what the tread looks like!
3 years MAX!

Maxxis-not made in CHINA and Goodyear-made in CHINA have pretty good warranties. Since most brands are all made in CHINA I would stick to these brands when possible. Goodyear did ahev a problem, but that was fixed a few years back.

Keep in mind Trailer tires take a beating and are very easily damaged with todays terrible road conditions.
99% of Seperations are due to Tire Damage!

Big note to Buyers, the USA is imposing a Tarriff on all Import Tires from China from 30-60% this is foretasted to start in Jan/Feb of 2015 , but could be sooner! This means all Trailer Tire Prices will go up 30-60%. If made in CHINA...

Now where to BUY.
I will always recommend local Tire Dealers , not chains that send our money and profit elsewhere.

In Stockton PK Tire is a Goodyear Dealer and Sponsors Stockton BASS
In Citrus Heights Bobs Quality Tire is just up the street from CC Marine and owns a boat and has Sponsored 100% Bass in the past.
In Folsom- Folsom Tire Pros and Orangevale Tire Pros are close and been in business over 20 years plus each.
In Antioch -Tred Shed has been around forever.

www.tirepros.com for a list of premium Tire Dealers Nationwide all Independently owned.

Good Luck
Ron Howe
www.rbbass.com

Gary Dobyns · Post by **Gary Dobyns** » Wed Aug 20, 2014 9:10 pm

Great post Ron.

I called Ron last week for truck tires. He's a bass fisherman and a tire expert....he gets my business. Ron asked me several questions about likes...dislikes...usage and so forth. He dialed me in on the right tire... Then referred me to a dealer he works with in Yuba City and Ron ordered my tires. Easiest transaction ever and I knew I'd be taken care of with service and fair price.

Ron will help any bass fisherman and do a great job for them.

TonyM · Post by **TonyM** » Thu Aug 21, 2014 9:53 am

Ron-Is there a problem using "car tires" on trailers. I see some manufacturers using what I would consider car tires on their trailers. I've heard mixed opinions.

adamsj13 · Post by **adamsj13** » Thu Aug 21, 2014 2:34 pm

I used Tirepro in orangevale today and got the Maxxis M8008 10 ply. So far so good. Thanks for the recommendations

calfisher71 · Post by **calfisher71** » Thu Aug 21, 2014 8:16 pm

Trailer Tires or Car Tires?

Some manufactures are putting Passenger Tires on Trailers.
They are doing this to spice up the rim package and yes the tires carry the correct load.
The Passenger Tires do not have the same construction as a Trailer Tire.
They have less sidewall to increase rim size and do not have as many belt edge strips in the sidewall.
Since trailers have no shocks the Tires take all the punishment!!!! And require a totally different construction.

99 pct of Tire Dealers wont mount a Car Tire on a Trailer due to failure rate!!
They dont want liability issues. Can you blame them?

The Bass cat comes with 20" tires and are very susceptible to impact breaks from pot holes.
" stay away from cheap tires in 20 inch"

I would stick to Trailer Tires for the fact they ate designed to take the punishment.

Some may have good luck with Car Tires, but hundreds of Tire Shops wont mount them on trailers for a reason!

Reminder change them every 2-3 years and check air pressure often!
As it gets cooler our air pressure will drop quickly and its not uncommon
For a tire to drop 10 lbs in pressure in a year!
This makes tires carry the load all on the sidewall causing heat and then failure!!

Check your air, rotate on tandem axles and be safe!

calfisher71 · Post by **calfisher71** » Thu Aug 21, 2014 8:20 pm

Thanks Gary good to hear your happy!
I sent Gary to Elite Tire Service in Yuba City .
They have been in Tires for 30 years!

I only recommend quality Tire Stores , price shoppers need to be careful!
Many dirty looking Tire Shops that are cheap employ untrained people!

Im not gonna be cheap when my Life and my Bass Boat depend on it!

mark poulson · Post by **mark poulson** » Fri Aug 22, 2014 7:00 am

calfisher71 wrote:Thanks Gary good to hear your happy!
I sent Gary to Elite Tire Service in Yuba City .
They have been in Tires for 30 years!

I only recommend quality Tire Stores , price shoppers need to be careful!
Many dirty looking Tire Shops that are cheap employ untrained people!

Im not gonna be cheap when my Life and my Bass Boat depend on it!

If you've ever pulled up to a boat ramp, and found that your trailer tire is missing it's entire tread doughnut, you'll understand how true that is.
I pulled up to the West Ramp at Castaic, and all I had was an inner tube on one tire. After putting on the spare, and fishing all day, we looked for the outer tread rim all the way back down to the freeway. We spotted it lying next to the off ramp on the other side of the freeway, so we had evidently driven all the way from the offramp to up to the West Ramp parking lot on just the inner liner.
I guess children and fools do get a free pass once in a while, and I'm no child.

npangler · Post by **npangler** » Sat Aug 23, 2014 3:10 pm

Cooper /cobra radial G/T been on my trailer for 6 years still going strong.....

fishwithron2 · Post by **fishwithron2** » Sat Aug 23, 2014 5:45 pm

much safer like cafisher71 and toddmc said " best to replace 2 1/2- 3 years " Going longer is taking a chance as one hot day coming home you could end up with a blowout. Had tires after 3 years the side start showing cracks so had them replaced.
Glad Marathon corrected their problem as my partner had them on and had two blow outs which still had alot of thread on it. Problem was the side blew out not where all the tread was.

Trace · Post by **Trace** » Mon Aug 25, 2014 9:41 am

I would recommend thinking about changing the leaf springs too. Look at them often. I had one break on a single axle trailer at 9 years. So I would think about that. I hit pot holes all the time in the valley. I have a tandem axle trailer now and I think I will change them soon even though there are four instead of two. Sounds like you got some good stout tires. Tracy

Rich hamilton · Post by **Rich hamilton** » Mon Aug 25, 2014 7:55 pm

great discussion, opened my eyes and my wallet too

Brianberndt93 · Post by **Brianberndt93** » Mon Aug 25, 2014 11:19 pm

I work at firestone. We recommend tires based on age and looks. On trailers you need to think how often are they covered or sitting out in the sun getting baked. Are they cracking or showing weird wear patterns. The best tire for the money is definitely Carlisle. Simply put the best tire for trailers hands down. People come in and ask for the cheaper tires all the time. We usually end up selling them the Carlisle just because of experience with the tire. They way I look at it is your tires are like fishing equipment. Are you going to walmart to buy it or are you going to bass pro or a local fishing store. You pay for quality.