Put trailer on jack stand for long-term storage?

[sstexan]

Hi there everyone!

I seem to be spending more money on maintenance for my trailer than my boat. I am religious about keeping a full 50psi on my tires and I still have issues every year. I am good for at least one tire either blowing or showing tread separation every summer. I have a tandem Eagle with 14inch tires with a 236 sitting on top. I have used everything from Carlisle's, Marathons, and even Green Ball's from Sam's.

I keep my boat on the trailer stored indoors 99.9% of the time. I have heard from a few folks that jacking up the trailer and keeping the tires off the ground may be my solution. Their claim is that over time sitting; the steel belts get weak and create a kink in the belt. Once they are warm that is where the separation happens? This kinda makes sense, I just thought I would ask the masses here? I live in Texas and tow while it is stupid hot out. I usually keep it at 65 maybe 70 tops.

I have my bearings re-packed yearly and get the brakes adjusted at the same time. I almost always need at least one bearing replaced during the re-packing. Luckily, the bearings have never left me stranded, just 2 flats with one spare during one trip.

I wish I had 15" tires so I could upgrade to D range, but I do not have the clearance to do so. What is everyone's thought here? Thanks in advance for your responses!

sstexan

[swankster]

I live in TX and my long term storage is at most 4 months. I've never had a problem with belt separation but only pull it long distance twice a year. Other than the long trips, it is 40 miles per week, storage to ramp and house, every weekend. Over the 2 years I had the 230 SANTE with the Boatmate trailer with 205/75/R14 BW Trail America tires, I had three flat tires due to nails and screws in the storage yard and boat ramp, but other than that no issues.

So far zero issues with the tires on the Boatmate for the G23 with same hauling but no flat tires .

[Paxdad]

It sounds like what you have described is that you have a brake caliper dragging on one wheel only. I know you said you have them adjusted but you also indicated that you always have one bad bearing. This is not normal. I would also try to eliminate the use of rubber valve stems and replace with all metal as I have seen the valve stem go bad, causing the tire to run on low pressure and heat up the side wall and self destruct within a very short distance.

[Zach@n3]

"At least" one bearing means not the same bearing which would point to a caliper dragging. Ever thought about having a trailer shop check the axle alignment? If one axle is slightly one way and the other slightly the other way then the trailer might track straight but it could be heating up all of the tires and all of the bearings. I assume you set the hitch up to tow the tandem level. My 86 trailer had the original bearings in it up until this last summer so you have some issues.

[sstexan]

Thanks for the responses. No, it is not the same wheel or axle that I have replaced tires or bearings. They have been all over. Typically on a blowout, its a lead tire, but I have had issues with the rear as well. I religiously check the temps of the tires and bearings at every stop to make sure they are all the same temps.

I do make one 1,200 mile long haul trip each year, and that is almost always when I have my issues. Thanks,

[DanielC]

The number one reason tires come apart is heat. Three things cause more heat build up. Weight, underinflation, and speed.
How much does the boat and trailer weigh? Do not guess, find a scale. Try to weigh the axles independently.

You know about tire inflation. Check when tires are cold, I know a relative term, in Texas. Check before you start the trip. If you check the tire air pressure while underway, do not bleed the pressure down.

You might be able to reduce boat weight by not travelling with a full tank of gas in the boat. Obviously empty the ballast tanks. You probably know that, but I have seen wake boat travelling with full ballast. Move the spare tire to the tow vehicle?

That leaves speed as the last easily controlled variable. Here is the problem. Heat builds up at the square of the speed travelled. Four times as much heat builds up at 80 MPH, as it does at 40. When it is "Stupid Texas Hot" you might consider slowing down. It will take longer to get there, but if you do not blow a tire, the trip may end up taking less time, than driving faster, and having to stop and change a tire. You will get better gas mileage too.

Another option, travel at night, or early morning.

[Zach@n3]

Weird, I have pulled various trailers for many years and have had only 2 tire issues. Both involved tread separation on older tires. One lead to a blow out the other made it all the way home on my dads old trailer not knowing the tread had completely came off. I run cheap Carlisle trailer tires and always have. The separation happened with a BFG trailer tire. The other was some old no name brand on my brothers bass boat. I always check temp of bearings after a fresh repack. Do they all seem to run close to the same temperature under normal circumstances? Mine never get more than luke warm running 75mph or so. They feel slightly warmer than air temperature to the touch.

[kend]

Not to complicate matters; but I wonder what kind of suspension the trailer has or if it uses shocks?

[DanielC]

If a tire is lightly loaded for its weight rating, it does not flex as much. The flex causes the heat build up. Tires not overheated, that are old, or may have been mishandled in the manufacturing process could be more susceptible to tread separation.

I do not know if any one remembers an issue Ford had with Firestone tires, on Explorers about the turn of the century, with tires coming apart, but one investigation found that during a labor dispute at the Firestone factory, steel tire cords were left outside overnight, and the dew caused a very slight rust on the steel, and that interfered with the bond between the rubber, and steel tire cords.

[nyryan2001]

Sstexan-

Do you routinely or often make very tight turns while towing?

Lots of tight turns on dual axel trailers are murder on tires... No matter how good they are. If your trailer is perfectly level.... It's a 50/50 distro of straight dragging tire across the pavement sideways . That's terrible for the tires. If your trailer isn't perfectly level...then depending on the tilt, either the fronts or backs get it even worse.

i destroyed a set of high end tires back in 2007 due to the hard angle I had to repeatedly cut to get my boat in the garage. Treads completely separated from dragging the tires during those right turns. I'd say you start to get permanent bad damage after 5 super tight turns with the tread patterns on ST tires.

I've got wider bling rims and tires now, treads aren't as pronounced as on the STs, likely wouldn't damage as easily.

[xrichard]

IMHO, DanielC is right on the money. I haven't had a problem with boat trailer tires, but I've had problems on travel trailers.

I haven't had any issues since ( 1 ) I started towing slower...never exceeding 65 and typically running 60; ( 2 ) upgrading to higher load rated tires (this might be difficult in 14" and might require new rims); ( 3 ) becoming anal about air pressure.

If you're eating bearings, I'd be concerned that you're too heavy for your axle rating. That's worth checking as a 236 is heavy and could be the problem if you're on 3000lb axles running load range C tires (it's a big problem on travel trailers and fifth wheels...straight from the factory there can be very little capacity for any cargo/options).

I'd also check alignment especially if you are noticing uneven wear.

FWIW, based on discussions on various rv forums, I switched to Kuhmo 857 tires. Kuhmo sells them for trailer use, but they aren't ST...they were developed for small bus applications.
http://www.kumhousa.com/tire/categor...E-E59335DE416C

[Zach@n3]

A current 230 with a full tank of fuel weighs roughly 5057lbs. I assume a 230 capable trailer would weigh 1100+/-. That puts you around 6200lbs without gear. I would hope they used the more standard 3500lb axles instead of a 3000lb axle? Regardless I would hope bearings in 3000lb axles wouldn't burn up all day long because they were overloaded by 200 lbs. Our car trailer has 3500lb axles in it and the trailer is a double frame steel deck that weighs around 2200lbs unloaded. We regularly pull loads on that which range from 6000-9000 lbs including the trailer. It probably has 20+ years and well over 100k miles on it and is rolling on original bearings that get packed maybe every 3-5 years? Never had a tire failure and I have backed that thing up in tight spots loaded countless times. We have owned it personally for 15 years and I even forget what year it is. Maybe Eagle used junk axles that aren't up to the task for the bearing size. Maybe it has other issues going on. Like Xrichard stated, have the alignment checked. I imagine one running at highway speeds with more side load than normal would probably overheat the tires and the bearings rather quickly.

[sstexan]

Thanks again for the responses. It has 3500lb axles with Tie Down Turbo lube hubs with disc brakes on both axles with leaf springs. It was made in 2008.

I have the bearings re-packed every year as I make some long haul trips. I also try to take that trip with empty fuel in the boat. With all the gear I take for a week long trip, it is probably a wash weight wise.

There is no doubt the trailer should have 15inch wheels. Most of trailers I see with 230's either have the bling 20's with Nexxus or 14's with Carlisles or Marathons. I will look into Kumho D range 14 inch tires. They seem to be the only one manufactured with a D range at 14.

I will also have the alignment of the axles checked out.

Thanks again for all the responses.

sstexan

[AirTool]

I've been disconnected and just seeing this one. I was going to make a bullet list...but as usual...the experts here have hit them one by one. Lots of good info in this thread.

I'm going to elaborate on the heat.

1. DC's note reminded me - I had two Firestone tires separate in 2000. One bulged and the other peeled like a banana. Both failed on a long trip from Lubbuck to Houston and the temps there were well over 100. Speed was high. I could write a lot about that event but one thing funny is the tires were never recalled by Firestone...only Ford....and not initially. There was no wreck. My sister in law was driving and she is/was quite capable. Had her young son or my wife been driving, those two would have slammed on the brake and everyone would have been killed. The tires were bad....but the heat and speed accelerated the failure.

2. Back in the summer of 96 but it doesn't matter the year, I shipped a heavy piece of equipment (IIRC 75 tons) on a special truck with lots of axles plus a "stinger" with more axles. (IIRC, there were 26 axles - I'd have to find the pics) We loaded the package in a building and it was raining outside. I asked the driver how long it would take him to get to the destination. He responded, well...if it keeps raining, I can drive 70 and make it in "X",....if it quits raining, then I'll have to limit to 45. He added in summer heat with that load...if he drove 50 his tires would fail from the heat. The rain would keep them cool and he could haul ***.

[Zach@n3]

So basically what you are saying is travel in rain storms at high speeds haha.