Common tire size

Hi everyone, I'm new here but not so much to boating as this is my third boat.

Anyway, I just purchased a 87 Bayliner Capri that an Easyloader trailer. The owner told me that it needs new tires due to dry rot. Since the boat is 500 miles away and I'm not picking it up for two weeks, I have no way of finding out what size tire/rim that is standard on an Easyloader trailer. The owner won't be able to look at the boat for those two weeks as well.

So, if anyone has an idea what the most common size was on the Easyloader trailer this would help out tremendously.

Brian

Re: Common tire size

Brian, that is an impossible question to answer. i would try to pick the boat up, on a weekday, and tow it to the closest, tire dealer, and have the tire mounted, and bearings serviced. or, that the wheels down and have the changed, balanced, and do the bearings yourself. besure to purchase "ST" rated tires, they are trailer tires, which are different than auto tires.

Re: Common tire size

TD has the best advice,
If i were to guess it would be 205-75-14 tires mounted on a 5 lug 4.5 bolt pattern wheel....THAT IS A GREAT BIG GUESS THOUGH!!!

If it were me go look at the boat and find a local tire shop,Northern Tool or Tractor Supply store and get a spare and tires...

Re: Common tire size

Brian,

We just went through a tire issue with our EZloader. We purchased a boat/trailer this past spring and the previous owner put auto radials on the trailer. Come to find out like TD mentioned - you are not supposed to put auto tires on a boat trailer. The tires were too mushy to take long hau.

For fit, it all depends on your fender height and hub/lug measurements.

In our area, trailer tires are not a stock item at NTB or chain stores. We even tried WalMart. So do some research prior to your trip to make sure there are places that stock the trailer tires. A trailer service center is best.

OR as a 50/50 chance, go to Tractor/Freight and get two new tire/rim combos - they're about $70 each so you have a possible backup when you get there - those fit ours luckily. But like TD said - there's no way to tell the size. You have to measure the height from the lug to the top of the fender to see what you have for clearance.

We also found out that unless there are bearing buddies installed - some auto stations will not grease the bearings since it is such a pain... Again, we got lucky. But you may want to take along a grease gun and a jack to make sure you're not stuck.

Re: Common tire size

If you have a local farm store, like Tractor Supply, Fleet Farm, etc, they can supply the tires only, rims only, or mounted tires and they will likely be the least expensive and you won't have to pay shipping as you would with a mail order firm. Pay attention to the Load Range on the tire (C, D, E, etc). That letter has a great deal to do with the load capacity of the tire.

Re: Common tire size

Well I know for a fact that they are 15's on a five lug, 4.5 pattern. The biggest thing I have to worry about is are they 205's or 225's. Since there isn't really that much of a difference in the height between the two, I just need to get the correct load range.
The reason I'm going this route is I'm a mechanic and have all the equipment to mount and balance the tires here, as well as a set of brand new 225/75R15's. But, looking in the pictures, it looks like the tires may be the 205's. I don't wan't to pay some other grease monkey to do what I do just about every day.
I'm just trying to save some dough, know what I mean. If I can get up to Wisconsin this weekend,doubtful though, I'll get the exact size.
Thanks,
Brian

Re: Common tire size

Man, I have to get used to this site. I guess you don't get an e-mail when someone responds back to you like some of the other forums out there.
Anyway, as I told Tashasdaddy, I know they are on 15's, just a matter of either 205's or 225's. Then again they could be 215's too.
I have three options, bring the new tires that I have with me and have someone mount them for me, or get new rims here and mount the new tires on them myself and just do a swap. Or, buy new tires at the tire store and have them mount them. Biggest problem with this, besides the 150% markup is what if they don't have the size I need?

If I get a chance, I'm going to go up there and check it out first.
Thanks,
Brian

Re: Common tire size

Alright, I think I'm getting the hang of this site. I didn't realize that you don't respond to the person that posted to you directly. Sorry about the duplicate messages out here then.
On the Delphi Forum's when you make a post and someone responds to you, you get an e-mail that tells you so. As well as the response going directly to the person that wrote to you. Confused? I am.

Brian

Re: Common tire size

if you go to your profile, you can set, the program to notify you. as a moderator i chose not to do it, as i would be swamped. USER CP top left of page.

Re: Common tire size

briguy2817 said:

Alright, I think I'm getting the hang of this site. I didn't realize that you don't respond to the person that posted to you directly. Sorry about the duplicate messages out here then.
On the Delphi Forum's when you make a post and someone responds to you, you get an e-mail that tells you so. As well as the response going directly to the person that wrote to you. Confused? I am.

Brian

Click to expand...

Brian,
Go to user CP, and set it up any way you like it. You can have no notification, instant notification, or daily.

The only loose nut in this machine is on your keyboard.

hope it helps
John

Re: Common tire size

tashasdaddy said:

besure to purchase "ST" rated tires, they are trailer tires, which are different than auto tires.

Click to expand...

OK, dumb question (i.e. learning opportunity). What's it matter if you use "auto tires" or "trailer tires" so long as you stay within the tire's load rating?

Re: Common tire size

There are a multitude of posts on this topic so you can read about tires 'til you puke. But once again, trailer tires have much stiffer sidewalls than car tires and are normally inflated to 50PSI to keep running temps down. Boat trailers are typically loaded very close to their maximum load rating. Car tires simply are too soft and don't hold up as well. They also run hotter which is what causes most tires to fail. Underinflation causes overheating as well and is certain failure on a boat trailer. My load range E tires for my pontoon are inflated to 90 PSI.

Re: Common tire size

metriccrescentwrench said:

OK, dumb question (i.e. learning opportunity). What's it matter if you use "auto tires" or "trailer tires" so long as you stay within the tire's load rating?

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Trailer tires have very stiff sidewalls. This prevents sway and reduces rolling resistance. Soft sidewalls like on auto radial tires allow the trailer to swing back and forth, which can lead to loss of control of your vehicle.

It is preferable to stay in control of your vehicle.

Re: Common tire size

metriccrescentwrench said:

OK, dumb question (i.e. learning opportunity). What's it matter if you use "auto tires" or "trailer tires" so long as you stay within the tire's load rating?

Click to expand...

Oh boy are you going to get the opinions. Structure wise, the biggest difference is that the trailer tires have a stiffer sidewall. The stiffer sidewall helps to reduce sway. The trailer tire also has a 10 percent margin when looking at load ratings. They also have less tread contact, run at higher pressures and hence run cooler. Especially for heavily loaded trailers, I would run the ST trailer tires.

Having said the above, I personally have run car tires on smaller boat trailers (under 3000 lb), and have never had a problem. As a matter of fact, the only problems I have had have been with ST trailer tires. These problems included tread separation, irregular wear and blowouts due to tread separation. None of these happened on overloaded trailers. My current boat has ST trailer tires that came with it when I bought it. They will remain until I have problems and then we will see from there.

I have searched and searched the internet looking for any law or statute that prohibits putting car tires on a trailer. I haven't ever found one. I have only found posts where people have said that there is a law, but no references, or that the tire dealer wouldn't put them on. A dealer not doing something doesn't make it a law. Food for thought: Trailer tires have markings on them that say "Not for passenger car use" or similar. Car tires have nothing that says "Not for trailer use"

Re: Common tire size

>>I just purchased a 87 Bayliner Capri that an Easyloader trailer. The owner told me that it needs new tires <<

Phone him back and ask him to get someone WHERE THE BOAT IS to get the size and call him back..or..have him READ the SPEC sticker on the trailer (if there is one-it will give the recommended tire size for the trailer)

Re: Common tire size

You did not mention which Capri (size, length or weight) you have because there are a number of tire and wheel sizes, along with the number of bolt holes and different wheel bolt patterns used to fit boat trailers from the the past.

Agree with others about calling the current owner back for the correct information.
If it has 5 bolt wheels, get the measurement from the center of one bolt to the center of the next bolt hole (if it is 6 bolt just get the tire size #'s) and if you have problems understanding the size, then post your info here and we will figure it out.

No law against using car or truck tires on a trailer that I am aware of but ST tires are designed to better carry the weight of the trailer, sit for long periods of time with out damage and in the case of dual trailer axles turn tight corners without chunking tread blocks unlike car or truck tires which will fight the sharp turning side forces on the tire and in some cases peel the tire bead off the wheel.

We had an 87 Capri 2150 BR which originally came with Goodyear H78-15 bias ply trailer tires on a 6 bolt wheel and when their time was up - we replaced them with Goodyear Marathon ST225/75R15 load range "D" (same load capacity as H Bias ply) on the original wheels.
I found that the new radials on the trailer made a huge improvement in the ride of the tow vehicle when towing.

Mike.

Re: Common tire size

The delima I'm in right now is the owner will not be with the boat until next weekend. Because I'm picking it up on the 14th, it would only give me about 6 hours to get the correct tire size. As I stated before I can either figure out which size here at home or hope that a dealer around there has the correct size.

The other thing I thought of is, they may not even need to be replaced. Some people think tires look bad when in fact you have another 15,000 miles left on them.

I do have two ST225/75R15 tires mounted on rims here that I can use in a pinch to get me home, I'll then get the correct size, if not 225's after I'm home.

Brian

Re: Common tire size

I did forget to mention the size didn't I. The boat is a 19' Bayliner Capri with the EZ Loader trailer. I know this trailer didn't come with the boat from the factory and can't find squat from the EZ Loader site.

I have spoken to the owner and he does know for a fact that they are 15 inch rims. Since there is only one bolt pattern for 15's with 5 lugs, I should be good there(correct me if I'm wrong).

As I stated in a previous post, I'm a mechanic and don't want to pay someone to do what I can do. I think I'm going to go the weight route right now. I'll find out how much the boat weighs and then get the correct rated tire that way. Since a 205, 215 and 225 size tire will fit on the same rim, I only have to worry about height. And, looking at the pictures, I think a 225 will fit in there, think is the key word here.

The biggest difference between the 205's and 225's is the load rating. The 205' have a max of 1820lbs, while the 225's are 2150lbs. So as soon as I find out the weight of the boat, I'll have most of my answer.

Thanks for the reply,
Brian

Re: Common tire size

Brig2817, I thought there were 2 - 15 inch 5 bolt trailer rims, but I double checked my old Champion Trailer Catalog and in 5 bolt there is only one available (with 4.5" bolt pattern). Double check that is the same on your spare?

My guess is that trailer already has the larger tire 225 size and there wont be a clearance issue but if the old tires are the smaller 205 or 215, the fender brackets on the trailer should be adjustable to accommodate the larger circumference / higher capacity tire.

We nursed our old bias ply boat trailers too long - over 10 years old with visible dry rot (despite almost no tread wear) and they never gave us a problem (other than a rougher ride in the TV over time) but we replaced them because it was only a matter of time before the dry rot left us on the side of the road.

We have a 33' travel trailer that we bought new, checked and maintained tire pressures religiously and yet had a trailer tire go bad at 4 years old (middle of Ohio @ 2:30am) with no strange wear patterns on it or any of the other tires and lots of tread left on all of them. We replaced all 4 trailer tires with new Marathons - now load range D (made in China now) in place of OE load range C and will see if these last longer. Thankfully another driver saw the smoke from the tire going bad and flagged us down before it did any damage and the spare got us home.

Camping forums that we belong to agreed that 4 years seems to be about right time for replacement (freak road hazard notwithstanding), and so long as you carry a spare tire, a long handle 1/2" drive breaker bar and a jack, you won't get caught on the side of the road! DW needed a new breaker bar for work, as I keep the old one in the van.

Enjoy the boat and don't forget the plug,
Mike.

Re: Common tire size

metriccrescentwrench said:

OK, dumb question (i.e. learning opportunity). What's it matter if you use "auto tires" or "trailer tires" so long as you stay within the tire's load rating?

Click to expand...

Excellent question. Yes, you can use P-metric tires, as long as they have the load rating needed for your trailer.

The problem is you probably won't find a P-metric that satisfies the load rating without going to a larger tire.

The ST (or LT) tires allow higher pressure which, in turn supports your heavy load for a given size.