Still Hating Trailer Tires

[ptige]

Well, barely two years have passed and I had to replace my latest set of trailer tires. Only made a few trips to Havasu on them. Granted, the last set was a cheap no-name brand of radials because that is what the store had when I needed them. This time as I was pulling in to our destination I could see the front left tire starting to wobble/bulge. Historically, I've found this to mean it will totally separate soon.

I have a 2007 Extreme trailer that originally came with an odd off-size low profile tire. Last time I moved up to 205/75-14's. This time after some careful measurements I moved up to 215/75-14's, which are also a standard size and have a little higher load rating. I am trying the Carlisle Radial Trail HD trailer tire, which seems to be fairly new (still made in China though). Anyone have any experience? The main thing I like is that they are truly speed rated up to 81MPH. I never exceed the speed limit when towing, but I have to believe that a tire rated for that speed will live longer at the speeds I drive.

Also found out that torsion axles may be harder on tires than leaf springs, and are very sensitive to trailer level. My Suburban has air leveling so we always tow the trailer level. However, I guess any time the trailer tilts up and down the torsion axles are independent and don't transfer some load back and forth. Therefore in certain cases individual tires need to carry more weight briefly.

One thing I did for some piece of mind this year is buy a handheld laser thermometer off Amazon. Every time we stop during a trip, I can quickly take the temperatures of the wheel hubs and tire treads to make sure nothing is getting out of line.

[BCRider]

Carlisle (ultra sport) at least from my experience and quite a few others are that they are well......crap. Age has a lot to do with it though as well. I had one blow on me a few years ago and even the guy at the tire shop said he pulls a lot of Carlisle's off. Quite a few people on this forum have had issues with them as well.

I have 4 Maxmilar tires on now and so far they have been good to me. My spare is something else but can't remember off hand. Supposed to be a bit better than the Maxmilar. I'll have a look later and update.

http://www.tigeowners.com/forum/show...Carlisle-Tires

[D&P Powell]

ptige - Have you ever considered storing your boat in Havasu to save time/money/tires? If not, I would strongly recommend it. We initially thought it would cost too much but after weighing our options, we realized it was cheaper in the long run than towing back and forth to So. Cal. With that said, we also realized we would need to make 2 trips a month to make it cost effective... not a bad excuse to make the trips more often.

[NICKYPOO]

I've had two sets of Carlisles, every individuals one of them failed. I've had three sets of Goodyears and never one failure.

[TeamAllen]

That HD must be a new tire from Carlisle. My information shows it has a C load range 6 ply w/ 50psi max pressure.
Kumho makes a D load range trailer tire 8ply w/ 65 psi max pressure.
http://www.kumhousa.com/tire/categor...E-E59335DE416C

I'm not knocking your new set of Carlise tires or anyone else's preference. I had good success with my previous sets, just want inform others of another possible option.

[Thegerman618]

X2 on the goodyears that is what I got on the trailer when I bought the boat and put some hard miles on them and they are still rolling along like a champ with probably 3000 miles since I have owned it and who know before that. I keep mine in Ft. Mojave just outside of Havasu about an hour, and it makes for such a relief to drive across the 40 at noon and not have to worry about trailer tires.

For what its worth, I run Nitrogen in my tires. There was some speculation as to whether or not this is actually effective but in the Havasu heat I never worry about it anymore.

I HATE BUYING TIRES!!!! Its like a fee you pay when you hit 50,000 miles, its rubber and steel we haven't perfected this yet to a point where they are not more cost effective???

[JohnnieMo]

I've found that my Boat Mate has a problem with camber. Backing in and out of my yard is a tight turn. Over time the hubs have literally bent to the point the that front and rear axles are cambered opposite to each other. The result is bald tires in 2 seasons along the inside or outside edge.

The good news is I can swap front to back and maybe get another two seasons. However you are correct - these trailer tires are crap.

[ptige]

I generally agree with the Carlisle commentary. I've had two boats/trailers spanning almost 25 years, and have had problems with Carlisles over a decade ago on a different rig. The tire store available to me recently had the "new" Carlisles and it looked worthwhile for me to try. Maybe next time if the timing allows I'll try the Maxxis tires as there have been some good comments. In years past we owned a place in Havasu where we would keep the boat all summer which is the best plan to minimize desert trailering. Now with older kids though we take fewer trips and need to be prepared to go various places.

[JTs-rz2]

Storing a trailer outside in the sun can burn up tires quickly. Not sure if that is your case.

[Timmy!]

IMO, replace the trailer tires with speed rated, low profile car tires. My '07 RZ2 had the 20" wheel option with Goodyear Eagle GTII's and I had thousands of miles on them and towed at speeds up to 80mph. I think the downfall of some of these trailer tires is that they aren't speed rated and people tow at higher speeds (whether it's right or wrong, safe or not safe) when it's hot out. Move up to some 15" wheels (or bigger), put a 225/50/15 or something that is close to the same height as what you had before and get a tire that has the right load index and then a speed rating of R or higher. Mine were V rated(way more than necessary) with a load index of 106 (2,094 lbs). I didn't have 1 blowout in 9 years and I think tires only have a shelf life of 5 or 6, don't they?

Trailer tires are always a hot topic, I wish a trailer company that uses car tires (like Boatmate) would chime in with their experience on using them.

[rigdale]

Old thread, but I'm curious if anyone has personal experience with Maxxis tires. I'm planning to buy these tires at 4wo|truck parts as a replacement to my worn out Goodyears. Had no problems with Goodyear but I want to try a different tire brand.

[Ewok]

If you have time I recommend kumho radial 857 linked to above. They have a better load and speed rating than Goodyear, Carlisle and maxis offer.

The number 1 trailer tire killer is underinflation. Then it gets compounded by driving too fast. Third, storing boats outside lets the sun break down the rubber shortening the life span.

When you buy new trailer tires buy the freshest set you can and replace after 6 years. When I ordered my kumhos from tire rack the pair they sent were 2 years old already. I refused delivery and had them send me a fresh pair or refund me 1/3 the cost, they sent a new pair.

I also agree with Timmy. If you can find car or SUV tires that fit the wheel, have the proper load rating or higher you'll be good, but look at the pax psi for the load rating. If you are close to maxing out the load rating of the tire make sure you max out the cold max psi pressure.

[Thegerman618]

My new boatmate has 20" wheels and Nitto low Pro tires. I am afraid to even research the cost of them, but they tow amazing no bounce, super smooth.IMG_0511.jpg

[dukesofhazzard]

I am with Timmy, I have had trailer tires go on my travel trailer, last year my boat went, carlisle, 7 year old tires, however I have never, ever had a car or truck tire go, my next ones will be car or lt truck tires if I can find the size, trailer tires are way to expensive for the crap they are.

[hcooperrn]

I'll throw in my experience in the tire world -- for 14" rims, I wouldn't use car/truck tires. There is a difference is sidewall construction, trailer rated tires should have stiffer sidewalls. The bouncing is what builds up heat and causes blowouts more often than not. For that reason, I was always taught to replace boat trailer tires every 2-3 years.

Now that I have 18" rims, with the thinner sidewall profile tires, I'm loving the ride of the Nittos that came on it, and they are pretty reasonably priced to replace every few years.