How long do trailer tires last?

[Rogue14]

I'm obviously not talking about simply wearing out the tread as that depends on how many miles the trailer goes. I mean if you don't tow that often, plenty of tread left, how long do the tires last? I just started to get my boat ready for the year and noticed side wall cracks on 2 of 4 tires. They are 6 years old. It is stored outside but the tires are always shielded with plywood planks from the sun. How much of a worry are the sidewall cracks? My plan was to put the boat in the water as is in about 2 weeks (it stays in the water until about Labor Day) let the trailer/tires sit outside until the fall and put new tires on right before I take it out of the water this fall. Sound reasonable or are any sidewall cracks too dangerous to tow with at all?

[TX-Foilhead]

I find that if you get more than 4 years your doing good, plan on replacing them all at the same time, once the first one goes the re usually follow quickly, sometimes on the same trip. This pretty much holds true for all trailer tires, I have had a trailer of some sort behind what I'm driving almost daily for the last 15 years and I learned this from experience. The amount you drive has little or nothing to do with it, overloading the trailer often will shorten the lifespan, but that's not really applicable to a boat trailer. If you plan on replacing them every 4 and get an extra year that's great, but if I was taking a long trip that year I would do it before I left.

[TX-Foilhead]

Oh 1 other thing, if you'll watch the sidewalls in the rear view mirrors you can see them start to shake and wobble long before you will feel it. That's the belts starting to go and the tread will start to seperate next. When that happens you start to get a lump forming and that will eventually blow. With a tandem axel once that pops and the tire goes flat then it will start to throw pieces and tear up fenders. I had the pleasure of watching all this happen to 3 different tires one trip, fortunately is wasn't my trailer so it just wasted a little bit of time. Now we use the change them all theory unless they are fairly new tires and there is an obvious reason for what happened to one of them.

[mcbridek]

http://www.planetnautique.com/vb3/sh...res-at-6-Years

[HS]

Are Maxiis better than Goodyear? (looks like better warranty at 4 years vs 2 with Goodyear?)

Tire rack . com rates passenger tires, but do they (or does someone) rate trailer tires?

edit: Tire rack says search by size and trailer tires will come up:

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/TireSe...75&diameter=14

[HS]

http://www.greenball.com/categories.php?category=1

Some research pointed to this brand

[Rogue14]

Update:

I took (a very small I think) risk and drove the 35 miles uphill (2000ft elev. to 5000ft) to put the boat in the water last Friday. No issues. As people have said, I guess it is that the tires just rot. The 2 that had cracks (few in number and small in size) were actually on the north facing side of the trailer so although I'm sure the heat did not help, it was definitely not just a direct sunlight effect, especially with the plywood planks I have covering the tires all year. I'll now let them rot another few months and put 4 new tires on in the fall when I take the boat out.

As for now--can't wait for the 4th of July weekend at the cabin!!

[TX-Foilhead]

I just lost a set on a work trailer, it stays covered and is only outside on the weekends. Again, it was the 4th or 5th year and they started to wobble about 150 miles before they blew. I just got real busy and didn't have time to take they to get replaced, and the final straw was an unexpected trip about 2 times longer than I was expecting them to last.

If your only going 35 miles at a time I would take them out for a test ride before the next trip and if they look good in the mirror you should be OK for a trip that long. The clock starts ticking once you get new ones, so putting off until next spring gets you 6 months extra. Once you know what to look for you'll know when they need changing long before they doo something bad.

[markj]

Okay so I've had mine indoors for 7 years. They almost never see the sun and don't have any cracks. Should I replace them anyway?

[jeepn]

Okay so I've had mine indoors for 7 years. They almost never see the sun and don't have any cracks. Should I replace them anyway?

my indoor kept, jacked up off the floor over winters, trailered 300-500 miles per year, lasted 7 years.

I was shocked when I found the old receipt, I thought they were only 5 years old.

[mdvalant]

We sold our 1990 SN two summers ago with original factory trailer tires still looking really good. We probably only put 2k miles on that trailer in 20 years. I don't think there's a black and white to this though.

[MikeC]

I, like many others on here, learned from experience. My trailer sits in a climate controlled garage all year and I trailer it probably 1000 miles per year. I had changed out the front two tires because of punctures and issues with holding air pressure when they were about 4 years old. I made it another 3 years before I lost both of the rear tires within 30 miles of each other. None of the tires showed any signs of wear - no cracking, no blistering, no wobbling, nothing. Also, when I lost the rear tires they both took out the fenders, I mean curled them up like tin cans ($200 per fender to replace). So my advice, put a date on them and change them on that date (kind of an expiration date) because they will expire and just when you least want it.

[AirTool]

We sold our 1990 SN two summers ago with original factory trailer tires still looking really good. We probably only put 2k miles on that trailer in 20 years. I don't think there's a black and white to this though.

Those were probably "Made in USA" with quality material before the rubber shortage and profit wringing.

[gride]

4 years and i get new ones; or if something happens i'll do it sooner.

[srock]

All the comments are right on point. They seem to go in year 4-5 no matter what you do or what you buy. They will get a wobble before they blow. Sometimes the wobble gives you a couple miles to pick up on the impending failure other times it's pretty quick. I have gotten to the point where I can feel it in my seat, then a quick look in the mirrors and you can see the wobble, then its a question of making it to the shoulder before they blow. If you tow just a few miles I would just have a good spare. If you hit the highway where the tires will generate some heat, be prepared. My fenders look like ****.

If I can add anything it would be to look at the DOT production date on the new tires. They can sit on a shelf for a couple years. If they are more than 8-10 months old you should demand a newer tire.