Trailer tire tread

[kraetzer]

If I understand Vehicle Code 27465 (1) correct, one of my grooves can be less than 1/32 of an inch as long as all the other grooves are good.
Do you dis-/agree?
Thanks,

[eagle123777]

If I understand Vehicle Code 27465 (1) correct, one of my grooves can be less than 1/32 of an inch as long as all the other grooves are good.
Do you dis-/agree?
Thanks,

dont have a clue as to the code....i would worry more about the boat and lousy tires, if you do a search on boat trailer tires u will find they suggest changing every 3 or 4 years no matter the tread due to the weight being carried...

[kraetzer]

But the cop will give me a ticket because of the tire tread. My tire are still in good shape but they wear uneven since I have to push the boat around the corner of my house everytime I go fishing.

[eagle123777]

But the cop will give me a ticket because of the tire tread. My tire are still in good shape but they wear uneven since I have to push the boat around the corner of my house everytime I go fishing.

tough situation..in that case would stay at 55 and not give them a reason to stop u and get a look at the tires..

[mark poulson]

Just be careful. The tread gives your tire a cushion from crap on the road, so running thin treads make you more vulnerable to problems on the road.

[calfisher71]

If any spot on a tire is under 2/32 it is bald and needs to be replaced.

This is common for two reasons.

1) Trailers dont have a option for alignments and tend to wear the inner sides.

2) The tire can be separating and needs to be replaced.

There are ways to straighten the axles and make this not as bad,but as trailers get old this is common.

Im not sure what the code states, but in the tire industry if a tire has any section of it under 2/32 its done...

It is recommended to replace trailer tires every 3-4 years although they can last longer,you increase your odds of separations.

[sTony]

Your tires might look great on one side but the blow out will happen where it's wearing, not where it's not. So, if you have any part of the tire that's below 2/32, it needs to be replaced. It's not like the wear will shift to where there is tread over time.

sTony

[mark poulson]

Probably a dumb question, but I'm asking anyway.
How come car/truck tires won't work for trailers/
Boats are lighter than cars or trucks, so it seems like their tires would be plenty strong enough for a trailer.
Just a question, so don't shoot me for asking.

[hasetak]

Probably a dumb question, but I'm asking anyway.
How come car/truck tires won't work for trailers/
Boats are lighter than cars or trucks, so it seems like their tires would be plenty strong enough for a trailer.
Just a question, so don't shoot me for asking.

some one correct me if I am wrong but I believe it has something to do with the pressure put on the side wall when turning a trailer. the side walls role under when cornering.

[calfisher71]

To Answer why Trailer Tires are different.

It's all in the construction of the product.

Trailer tires are designed differntly.
They have to handle not only the load but the "SHOCK"

Trailers have no shocks therefore the tire takes all the blunt of every pothole bump cornering ect.

Passenger and Light truck tires have complex suspensions and shocks or struts to help soften the blow so to speak.

The other thing is trailer tires are designed with the fact they will sit longer bewtween usage than normal tires.

[mark poulson]

Thanks for the answers. They make sense.

[Kevin Evans - Kap]

Funny, I just noticed this past weekend how mine have worn mainly on the inside tread. Good advice this post is, I know my trailer will be getting new tires before she rolls again.
Keep em full of air pressure insures longer life as well...

Kap

[dwise]

My trailer tires recently went bad. Thank goodness I wasn't on the freeway when it happened. I had just pulled out of the driveway when I heard this, "Klump, klump" sound. I got out of the truck and couldn't find anything wrong, so I got back in my truck and started to go down the street. Again, I hear the klumping sound. I looked at all around the boat, and still couldn't find anything wrong. Well, I finally klumped my way down the street a ways and I hear some guy yelling at me from across the street. So I had to go around the block before I could turn into the driveway of a tire shop. The caps had come away from the tires, even though the treads were still good. The tire man said my tires were 9 years old (bought the boat used) and needed to be replaced.

I think I paid a little over a hundred bucks per tire installed. Not bad but it was an unexpected expense. So, if you aren't sure about your trailer tires, change them before your caps come off on the freeway! Better to be safe than sorry.

The tire guy told me that I should inflate my trailer tires to 50# psi. He said the tires were specially made for trailers, and that they are heavier than the standard truck tire, made to handle heavy loads.

I didn't know much about tires, but boy, I learned something that day!

[calfisher71]

What happend is common with trailer tires, they seperated.

Stick to 3 years max and just replace them!

regaurdles of tread depth for safety reasons.

I have had them last 6 years,but I have had them seperate at 3 and at 6 years of age.

[mark poulson]

I drove right out of the tread when I had my Tracker. The tires were Carlyle. Never again. One+ years, and total delamination.
The funny thing was it happened right at the offramp to Castaic, but we never felt a thing. We only found out when we were in the West Ramp parking lot, unhitching the boat.
Scary to see you've been driving on what is basically an inner tube.
We looked for the tread all the way down that afternoon, and finally saw it as we were entering the freeway on the way home, lying on the side of the onramp.
The replacement tire lasted one month, and developed a huge blister. Cheap tires!
The Marathons on my Ranger trailer have been great.

[GregD]

Probably a dumb question, but I'm asking anyway.
How come car/truck tires won't work for trailers/
Boats are lighter than cars or trucks, so it seems like their tires would be plenty strong enough for a trailer.
Just a question, so don't shoot me for asking.

There are different schools of thought regarding whether or not passenger car tires will work for trailers. BassCat comes right out and recomends passenger tires AND equips all their trailers from the factory with passenger car tires.

[dwise]

So, how does a person know what brand of trailer tire is good? Should a person just go by the price to gauge the quality of the product?

The tires I bought were made by DURO. The tire guy said that the company has been in the business 18+ years. He didn't have to "sell" me on the tires, I would have bought them regardless because it was an emergency situation as my caps were already coming away from the tire.

But if it wasn't an emergency, and I was just looking to replace the tires, how would I know which brand is good and which brand isn't?

[mark poulson]

Probably a dumb question, but I'm asking anyway.
How come car/truck tires won't work for trailers/
Boats are lighter than cars or trucks, so it seems like their tires would be plenty strong enough for a trailer.
Just a question, so don't shoot me for asking.

There are different schools of thought regarding whether or not passenger car tires will work for trailers. BassCat comes right out and recomends passenger tires AND equips all their trailers from the factory with passenger car tires.

Greg,
Do their trailers have shocks?
I had a trailer shop tell me that shocks don't last when they're dipped into water after a long drive where heat has built up in them. The same rapid cooling that sucks water into oil bath bearings sucks water past the seals into the shocks, according to him.

[GregD]

Probably a dumb question, but I'm asking anyway.
How come car/truck tires won't work for trailers/
Boats are lighter than cars or trucks, so it seems like their tires would be plenty strong enough for a trailer.
Just a question, so don't shoot me for asking.

There are different schools of thought regarding whether or not passenger car tires will work for trailers. BassCat comes right out and recomends passenger tires AND equips all their trailers from the factory with passenger car tires.

Greg,
Do their trailers have shocks?
I had a trailer shop tell me that shocks don't last when they're dipped into water after a long drive where heat has built up in them. The same rapid cooling that sucks water into oil bath bearings sucks water past the seals into the shocks, according to him.

I have a BassCat Pantera with a dual axle trailer. It does have leaf springs on each axle, but it does NOT have shocks.

[mark poulson]

Greg,
After reading your post, I went on the Bass Cat website, and then called and talked to their trailer guy.
He said I could use car tires on my Ranger trailer with torsion box axle.
He said that's all they put on their trailers, both with leaf springs and with torsion box axles.
He said Bass Cat had been using Firestones, but, when the model tire they liked was discontinued, they went to Cooper Tires.
Thanks for pointing me in the right direction.

[GregD]

No problem Mark! I was a little skeptical myself when I lerned the Pantera I was buying had passenger car tires on the trailer, but then it occured to me that they sure as hell have a lot more experience than me on the subject and if they were OK with the set-up I should be too. No problems so far.

[dwise]

What's a torsion box axle?

[GW]

I have passanger car tires on my Ranger trailer. Have had it all over N Cal, Nevada and all the way to the mid west and back with no issues whatsoever. Had a tire guy tell me that its fine if you mostly do freeway driving as a boat is lighter than a car.

[mark poulson]

What's a torsion box axle?

It's an alternative to a leaf spring axle.
I'm not mechanic, but it basically uses short cantilevered arms that flex under load, instead of springs.
I'm guessing the torsion box part is in the end of the axle, and provides the flex, but don't quote me.
I do know a lot of boat trailers are using them now.
Here's a link to an explanation:

http://www.boatwheels.biz/faq.htm