Life of Trailer Tires

**DanielC** · 08-16-2010, 12:35 PM

Tires blow out because they got too hot. Heat is increased when the tires are overloaded, ran too fast, or under inflated.

**Sephmu** · 08-16-2010, 02:39 PM

2005 Tires....probably dry rotted, the less use, the more prone to rot as well.

those tires were probably made in 2004, then thrown on a few warehouse shelves before being slapped on your trailer...they were due for replacement.

At least your boat and trailer made it in one piece, and now your an expert trailer tire changer!

Always check your air pressure's and look for small cracking or flaking around the sidewalls

**OKWAKEBDR** · 08-16-2010, 03:06 PM

Thanks. The tires were definitely not under/over inflated, so it sounds like I should just attribute it to the age of the tires and the heat of the road. With the actual temperature at 106+, I'm sure the temperature of those tires turning 65-70 mph on the highway was screaming hot.

The trailer didn't exactly make it in one piece...the 3rd tire that blew threw the tread up into the wheel well and bent it up. I had to beat it back with a hammer on the side of I-70 so that I could mount the spare without it rubbing on the sheet metal. I'll have to have it repaired this winter...it will work for now, I don't have any more long distance trips planned this year.

Do you guys have suggestions for tire brands when I replace them, or should I just stick with the GY Marathons.

**shawnb7** · 08-16-2010, 03:21 PM

Same Thing Happened to Me

Always stored indoors with not that many miles, but 100+ degree heat and we lost 2 tires and a third was bulging at the sidewall by the time we got home. Only our trip was only 200 miles from home.

I agree with the recommendation of replacing every 4 years(actual age of tire, not date of purchase).

The problem with non use is not so much where it's stored, it's that the tires develop flat spots from sitting in one place too long. Someone recommended putting your trailer on jack stands if you won't be running it for a long period of time. Not practical in my case, as the boat is parked in my less-than-level driveway for the winter.

**ronskal** · 08-16-2010, 03:42 PM

Originally posted by OKWAKEBDR View Post

Thanks. The tires were definitely not under/over inflated, so it sounds like I should just attribute it to the age of the tires and the heat of the road. With the actual temperature at 106+, I'm sure the temperature of those tires turning 65-70 mph on the highway was screaming hot.

The trailer didn't exactly make it in one piece...the 3rd tire that blew threw the tread up into the wheel well and bent it up. I had to beat it back with a hammer on the side of I-70 so that I could mount the spare without it rubbing on the sheet metal. I'll have to have it repaired this winter...it will work for now, I don't have any more long distance trips planned this year.

Do you guys have suggestions for tire brands when I replace them, or should I just stick with the GY Marathons.

The tires you had are rated for 65 MPH and yes were pushed to their limit. Since they were 5+ years old you were on borrowed time. I have seen lots of posts bagging on Marathons, had good experience myself. If you want a better tire, found a load range D tire. Maybe Kuhmo's or some other brand that sells a D. The Marathons were C's more than likely. If you already spent the money on Marathons, just stick with them for now.

**gride300** · 08-16-2010, 04:17 PM

i bought my trailer in april'ish of 08. it's an 06' model. i just recently was informed trailer tires go by age and not tread life. thankfully because i was about to take a 3 hour tour to the dealer and it's mostly back roads. now i have the pleasure of spending 500$ on tires, one of which i never use, but need to have, i.e. the spare. good year marathons are great tires.

**AirTool** · 08-16-2010, 06:17 PM

Double check the Good Year online catalog for the USA version. IIRC, some sizes have two options 1)USA and 2) China.

On the three that blew, can you post the DOT code from each tire?

**shag** · 08-16-2010, 08:22 PM

The person who recommended the 'D' range is right. And I think that would make it a 225/75/14 size if I remember right. What brand trailer? They were probably a year or so old before they were mounted. A lot of trailer manufactures don't leave much room for much extra weight.
How much do you load your boat up with for the trip? 50 gallons of fuel (about 400#), extra weight/ballast?, supplies ect? All adds up. I personally have had good luck with Marathons, but would be cuatious about going long distances on any trailer tire near 5 years old.
My dealer has said that if an axle becomes out of line (how, i don't know) that it could also cause heat build-up in tires from the tire not rolling straight.
At any rate - what a crappy trip you had.... Good luck next time!

**OKWAKEBDR** · 08-17-2010, 08:07 AM

Lesson learned. Sounds like I should have replaced them before the trip. The tires were 2004 model, the GY tire shop could tell by the numbering on the side of the tire.

I did have some extra gear in the boat, but the gas tank was empty. I tried to make it as light as possible so it wouldn't be such a load to pull...especially on the way back up to Denver.

AirTool...I don't have the DOT codes. The tires are gone. The first 2 were completely shreaded by the time I was able to pull over at a safe place to change it. The last one was disposed of by the GY shop that sold me the new tire.

I actually only have 2 new tires. The third one is the "original" spare which has never been on the ground, but is 6 years old also. I probably should look into buying 2 new ones. I'll probably wait until spring though because we don't have any more long distance trips planned this year.

Going to a "D" rated tire is a great idea. If I have to change sizes, though, I'm not sure they will fit in the wheel well. 225/75/14 is 1/2 inch larger diamater and 1/2 inch larger width than the 215/75/14.

**xrichard** · 08-17-2010, 10:34 AM

I recently blew a Carlisle ST tire on my travel trailer--it was about four years old. In the past, I've always used Goodyear Marathon tires when it's come time to change out tires, but I read a lot (especially on rv.net) after this latest episode and I've decided to use LT tires instead of ST tires. A lot of guys in the forums have made this switch and it I didn't read any unhappy post-switch stories. A lot of LT tires are recommended for trailer use by their manufacturers, but you can't use ST tires on passenger cars / light trucks.

FWIW, from what I've read, it appears that ST tires have softer sidewalls to make up for non-compliant suspensions on most trailers. This is a disadvantage from a durability-standpoint as it allows them to heat up and sway a bit easier. They also have thicker cords--I don't think there's any disadvantage here.

Whether you stick with ST or go with LT, the consensus is that you should move up a load rating....depending on size, this might be easier to do with LT than ST tires.

WRT LT tires, on trailer forums a popular choice is Continental Vanco 8. It consistently gets good feedback.

Unfortunately, in 14", there isn't a huge amount of choice. If you need smaller sizes (e.g. on my travel trailer, I need 205/75-14), then the only load range D tire I've found that I can actually get a hold of is the Kuhmo 857. Tirerack sells it as a trailer tire, but Kuhmo markets it as a "commercial light truck, transporter, van and trailer" tire.

One last note: check the specified diameter of tires you buy to make sure they match your spare. I bought a Goodyear Marathon to put in my "spare" position after my last blow out (before I decided to switch to non-ST tires). For the Kuhmo 857, the 205/75-14 is almost an inch bigger in diameter than the Marathon 205/75-14. The Kuhmo 195/75-14 is within .1"...so I'll go with that to make sure I don't have a clearance problem in the wheel wells and so the diameter of the spare matches the other tires.

**srock** · 08-17-2010, 02:24 PM

Yep, throw em out after 5 years especially if you travel any distance. I've had all manufactures with the same blown result. I've probably have 4 to 5 blowouts in the last 10 years. I'm replacing my never been used goodyear marathon spare right now.

I am now going with the least expensive trailer tire I can find knowing that I will throw them out before they are even close to worn out.

I also learned on a late Friday night, if your in a pinch, Lowes or Home Depot's largest 5 hole trailer tire will get your single axle trailer 150 miles down the road with no problem. It's like a compact spare.

**DealsGapCobra** · 08-17-2010, 05:44 PM

This is crazy! While it may be good practice to replace your trailer tires every 4-5 years, they should not be blowing out! I have an enclosed car trailer that normally runs at about 7,500 lbs loaded and was stored outside for maybe 8 years. I finally had to replace the tires due to thread life. On my previous boat, stored inside, I still had the original tires after 20 years!!! I never really thought about replacing them simply due to age but did keep a close eye on them and knew I was beyond running on borrowed time.

I would check to see where they were manufactured, in fact I think I will check the tires on my new trailer. China doesn't seem to do that well with wheels and tires.

Can you check and DOT number off of the remaining tires?

**AirTool** · 08-18-2010, 12:18 AM

Originally posted by OKWAKEBDR View Post

AirTool...I don't have the DOT codes.

I actually only have 2 new tires. T

Can you post the DOT codes of the new GY tires?

**srock** · 08-18-2010, 05:51 AM

It is crazy but if you do a little search you will find the exact same comments time and time again.

Life of Trailer Tires

Life of Trailer Tires

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