Trailer Tire Wear

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greekfreek

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Newer Trailer with "Carlisle Tires". Always check pressure to 50lbs before taking to the road. Approx 2800 miles. Both wore outside and inside and seemed "cupped", more so on right. Just got them balanced which is late but, Right-4 3/4oz: Left-3 1/2oz of weights. Crappy tires, more inflation,etc. Opinions?? Pics of right tire. Tires 001.jpgTires 002.jpg
 
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ufm82

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Re: Trailer Tire Wear

Single axle? I'll assume so since you posted two tires. What is the package weight? And yes, running them out of balance will cause your issue as you get more "pressure" on the heavy side when the tires rotate. With weights like that I'm surprised you don't have things coming loose on the boat! At 65mph that weight imbalance is significant. Those are toast and will be coming apart on you soon. All trailer tires will fail if not cared for and yours obviously have not been. Your weight comment shows you why the right side is worse.
 
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greekfreek

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Re: Trailer Tire Wear

Yes Single Axle. Trailer capacity 3,000lbs. EZ Loader bunk. Boat weight 2375. I know there are different opinions about trailer tire balance,but I'm a believer. Makes sense.
 
bruceb58

bruceb58

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Re: Trailer Tire Wear

I wonder if your axle is bent. Almost looks like what you would have if the toe wasn't correct!
 
Scott Danforth

Scott Danforth

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Re: Trailer Tire Wear

carlisle tires are crappy tires, however check to see if you have a bent axle as well.
 
'78 Crusader

'78 Crusader

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Re: Trailer Tire Wear

My tires, which are Chinese crap, show the same signs of wear as well. They were new in the fall of 2010 and I had the balanced as well. At about 65mph I do feel a vibration coming from the trailer too. The trailer tires took a significant amount of weight in order for them to balNce and yet I still have vibration issues.

Trailer tires are darn expensive. Why the heck can't the tire mfgrs put out a round tire??
 
j_martin

j_martin

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Re: Trailer Tire Wear

Run the whole rig into a good alignment shop and have the trailer wheel alignment checked. If it's in spec, your boat is heavier than you think.
 
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ufm82

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Re: Trailer Tire Wear

A toe issue will cause wear on one side of the tire. One a single axle trailer is the toe is out the trailer may dogtrack. Toe in will eat the outside edge of the tire and feather the inside. Toe out will cause the reverse. However, the tread will take on a sawtooth-like appearance as the rubber will be getting "scrubbed: from the carcass. Cupping is a classic balance issue. It can also be an out-of-round issue but the balance issue is much more prevalent.

78- if you are feeling a vibration from the trailer through the hitch and through your vehicle all the way into your butt, you have a serious issue. Either the tires are out-of-round ( and balancing won't help that) or you have a trailer integrity issue. Vibrations can accelerate wear on the trailer and on the boat. I've seen consoles, handrails, bow rails come loose, accessories like radios and depth finders die early deaths and wear on hulls where guides or straps contact the gelcoat as a result. Vibrations are not to be taken lightly. They will destroy your stuff.
 
Scott Danforth

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Re: Trailer Tire Wear

'78 Crusader said:
Trailer tires are darn expensive. Why the heck can't the tire mfgrs put out a round tire??
Click to expand...

because trailer tires are not sold at the same volume as car tires, so there are fewer manufacturers of true trailer tires. many are contracted thru Carlisle and Kenda. the natural rubber used in tires is also a dwindling resource, so the lower volume products tend to suffer from various fillers and batch manufacturing. try finding a good snow blower tire, or lawn more tire as well.
 
NetDoc

NetDoc

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Re: Trailer Tire Wear

greekfreek said:
Newer Trailer with "Carlisle Tires". Always check pressure to 50lbs before taking to the road. Approx 2800 miles. Both wore outside and inside and seemed "cupped", more so on right. Just got them balanced which is late but, Right-4 3/4oz: Left-3 1/2oz of weights. Crappy tires, more inflation,etc. Opinions?? Pics of right tire. View attachment 109938View attachment 109939
Click to expand...
This is an example of "Vector Tire Wear" named after the Goodyear tires that made the pattern infamous. Non drive independent rear wheel with both toe and camber out of whack will cause this. Look for something bent or loose. While an alignment shop can check this and an excellent alignment shop will have the tools to repair it (hydraulic ram), you might fare better with a collision shop that handles bent frames. Of course, if you have stub axles (unlikely) then finding and installing the correct shims is the way to go.

The best way to avoid this is to go with a block and rib style tire and balance them. Look at the Goodyear Marathon trailer tire:

gdt-762173137_w.jpg

The square elements resist that type of chop wear. I was in automotive for 30 years, with half of that spent as a mechanic or service manager for Goodyear. I haven't worked for them for over 10 years now, but I still like the product.
 
'78 Crusader

'78 Crusader

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Re: Trailer Tire Wear

ufm82 said:
78- if you are feeling a vibration from the trailer through the hitch and through your vehicle all the way into your butt, you have a serious issue. Either the tires are out-of-round ( and balancing won't help that) or you have a trailer integrity issue. Vibrations can accelerate wear on the trailer and on the boat. I've seen consoles, handrails, bow rails come loose, accessories like radios and depth finders die early deaths and wear on hulls where guides or straps contact the gelcoat as a result. Vibrations are not to be taken lightly. They will destroy your stuff.
Click to expand...

Thanks.

The only difference between the tires I have on now and the ones that were on there before is that these are trailer tires and the other tires were not. The only reason I replaced the prior tires in the first place was because the tires were old, dry rotting and I discovered they were car tires. I bought the boat and trailer a while back and had no issues with tire wear until I put new "Trailer tires" on it back in the fall of 2010. I have ...maybe 2,500 miles on the tires and they are worn as pictured above in the OP's post. Yes, the tires do appear to be out of round...... as I can see them slightly bouncing in my side mirrors (the trailer is wider than my truck).

When I had the new tires mounted, I had the guy balance them as well.....I guess that was a mistake as the tires took a lot of weight.
 
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rbh

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Re: Trailer Tire Wear

What is the weight of the trailer and boat combined??

What is the load rating of your tires?
 
'78 Crusader

'78 Crusader

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Re: Trailer Tire Wear

I have a tandem axle trailer with what I believe are 1760 lb rated tires. The boat and trailer weigh ~ 3,500 lb.

1760 x 4 = 7040 lb.

7,040 - 3,500 = 3,540 lb remaining capacity.

I'm well within the weight restrictions of the tires.
 
NetDoc

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Re: Trailer Tire Wear

'78 Crusader said:
I guess that was a mistake as the tires took a lot of weight.
Click to expand...
balancing them was not a mistake. That they needed a lot of weight should have been a red flag. Either the rim or the tire is to blame for that. Obviously, the soft tire will follow the hard rim's lead. I have seen cupping on tires that were not dampened properly, but the diagonal appearance of the wear seems to scream alignment issues.

Seriously dude: 2.5K??? I would be going back to the shop that sold me that tire and demanding a replacement. If they don't give, please let us know who they are so we can avoid them.
 
bruceb58

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Re: Trailer Tire Wear

I hate it when we have the hijack going on like we do in this thread. Hard to tell who is talking to who here.

Are we talking to the OP Greekfreek or 78 Crusader now?
 
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greekfreek

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Re: Trailer Tire Wear

OP greekfreek here, going to call the dealer when I get a chance. These are the OEM tires that came with the NEW boat & trailer package last year. Also looking into alignment shops & scale. FYI, NYS April 1st banned the use of lead wheel weights. Anyhow, sometimes I think I should of kept my '88 Imperial !!
 
'78 Crusader

'78 Crusader

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Re: Trailer Tire Wear

bruceb58 said:
I hate it when we have the hijack going on like we do in this thread. Hard to tell who is talking to who here.

Are we talking to the OP Greekfreek or 78 Crusader now?
Click to expand...

Exact same problem, just wanting clarification is all. Lighten up.
 
Scott Danforth

Scott Danforth

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Re: Trailer Tire Wear

'78 Crusader said:
I have a tandem axle trailer with what I believe are 1760 lb rated tires. The boat and trailer weigh ~ 3,500 lb.

1760 x 4 = 7040 lb.

7,040 - 3,500 = 3,540 lb remaining capacity.

I'm well within the weight restrictions of the tires.
Click to expand...

question. are these the front axle tires, or rear axle tires. on my tandem under the searay, I replaced the goodyear marathons due to cording about every 2 years because of the severe turning I did to back up the boat. the tires had less than 400 miles on them and they would cord and separate due to the high side forces while backing into the garage.
 
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