Trying some new trailer tires...

[JASinIL2006]

I went out to the garage to get my boat ready for a weekend outing only to find the right tire was totally flat. I jacked up the trailer and pulled the tire, thinking I must have run over a nail or a screw in our alley, only to find about a hundred little steel wires sticking out of the tire where the sidewall meets the tread. Clearly, this tire is toast. We just got back from taking the boat with us an 1800 mile round trip to Northern Ontario, so in way, I guess I'm lucky it didn't go flat until now.

It imagine one of the steel belts ruptured and hosed the tire. (Perhaps I've taken one too many curbs when making right turns!) The tires are Karrier radials, and while I've got pretty good use out of them (they're about 5 years old and have thousands of miles on them), I think I'm going to try Goodyear Endurance tires. The Karriers were load range C and the Goodyears will be load range D, so I'm hoping they'll be a bit more durable.

One question for the tire gurus: The tires I pulled off the trailer had an odd wear pattern: the center of the tread was pretty well-preserved, but there was noticeable wear on the outside edge of the tires. In fact, the tires were fairly smooth on the outside edges. A bit of web research shows that pattern is associated with under-inflated tires. That is very puzzling to me, because I am religious (the Admiral would say I'm obsessive) about checking inflation and keeping the tires at the max recommended inflation. Any idea what gives with the uneven wear pattern? Both tires exhibited it.

 

[ajgraz]

Weak sidewalls (as in, low-quality) will give the same wear pattern as under-inflated tires.

 

[alldodge]

the center of the tread was pretty well-preserved, but there was noticeable wear on the outside edge of the tires. In fact, the tires were fairly smooth on the outside edges. A bit of web research shows that pattern is associated with under-inflated tires.

Agree, under inflated

I no longer use steel belt tires on trailers unless there is nothing else, I like the old nylon cord tires. They do give the bump, bump, bump until there warmed up, but without steel there is nothing like what you have now. Have had 5 year old Marathon blow out with perfect tread and checked pressure before leaving on a 150 mile trip, made it about 130

 

[superbenk]

I’ve had a different experience where I find the steel belted radials fare better than the bias ply over time. The radials run a bit cooler & are a lot more forgiving on the ride. I’ve had bias ply come apart on me but not radials.

Dry rot has always been a problem for me long before tread wear.

 

[JASinIL2006]

I really prefer the ride when pulling the trailer with radials. Much smoother and better-tracking.

 

[Silvertip]

Is it possible you are you overloading the trailer? Unless you weigh the rig you won't know for sure. Rims too wide for the size tire being used?

 

[ahicks]

That's what I was just thinking as well. Getting that trailer weighed may be a really good plan. If it's heavier than what the tires are rated for, even when running the tires at max inflation they could be running under inflated.

 

[JASinIL2006]

That sounds like something for me to check out. I bet I am at the upper limit for Load range C tires, The new tires will be load range D, so they should accommodate a heavier load.

 

[JASinIL2006]

Got the new Goodyear Endurance tires and took the boat to the river this weekend. Seemed like the tires are considerably firmer than the old Load Range C tires they replaced. I could feel the boat bouncing/bumping a bit more, but they still felt pretty good as I was pulling the trailer. Sidewall instructs to inflate under max load to 65 psi, so I have them near that.

Be interesting to see how these hold up. Now I need to weight the boat and see how much exactly I have back there.